Shinning lake....

[Grace2u]

I dont fish it anymore I have found a couple of other lakes I like more that I hike in to off the santiam pass behind big lake....but for you guys and gals that dont know about it there is a nice little lake up at the end of a place called Indian Ridge up off the Clackamas river in behind ripple brook ranger station. Called Shinning Lake.
We have caught some very nice rainbow and brook trout from 12-18 in . you need a Mt. bike OR a Polaris 4x4 or something of that nature. I have killed some very nice blacktail up there. It is not a place for thoes who are out of shape...it is not a man killer, but it is simi rugged and the payoff is great for fish... there is also another lake just over the ridge that has some golden trout in it that range from 9-15 in it . I have gone up there in a small tent and spent 3 days by myself....most people ask me if I get scared of doing that..I just say " hey! I have slept in the Jungle when I was seperated from my regament in Vietnam for 3 days and nights watching out for Jungle tigers, land mines, large spiders, snakes and the enemy that wanted to kill me...what on earth is going to scare me in the beautiful cascades of oregon".

 

[FishSlayer420]

first of sll thanks for your duties in Vietnam. These sound like some reaaly cool places to do like a week trip of fishin and just enjooying the great outdoors of oregon. How big was your biggest Blacktail up there by the way?

 

[Grace2u]

It was a 4x6 ..... 22 inside width spread I had one good sholder boned out 2 back straps and two boned out hindquartes, heart and liver I left a lot of the so called trash meat or hamburger meat there it weight with what I packed out at the saushage shop 84 pds. and believe me 85 pds of meat on a pack board with carring a rifle and early morning coat up a ridge 3/4 mile and down to a polaris 1- 1/3rd mile is a heck of a job by the time I got to my polaris I was walikng like a new born baby deer!

 

[Noahk]

Thanks for the info. Is it possible to get into the lake yet? I was at Hideaway yesterday and it was completely frozen over.

 

[Grace2u]

Ya know...I havent been there for 2 years..i might try hunting there again this year..ya see its kind of funny getting up there you have to drive approx 5 miles from the main gravel road now that dont seem far but it is all primitive road...you can not go more than 3 mph in most places..and also you can go approx 2 miles of bone dry road then come to a shady area approx 30 yards long and approx 7ft across..and it will have 4 ft of snow there you can see where it is clear again but if you try to blaze through that stuff and get stuck you are in a heck of a fix..you are a long ways from Estacada and there are steep clifs on both sides of you in most places so getting out , if you were by yourself, would be a very interesting day adventure I am sure. So it would be trial and error to see if you can get back thee early in the season. They stock both thoes lakes every 2 years by helicopter.