Siltcoos Lake

[rogerdodger]

lake level is what I would call 'normal' for this time of year, I do not think the dam has been open yet but it could be fairly soon as we get more rain. river is much clearer than previous years and lake is cooler...I released an undersize (13") coho on Monday (reg note: jack coho is 15" to 20", under 15", even if it is really a small jack and has been to the ocean, cannot legally be retained. Easy way to tell a small coho from a sea-run cutty is check the tail- the trout can have spots on the whole tail, coho never have spots on the bottom half of the tail).

saw this little 15" SRC swimming in the river below the dam on Tuesday...

 

[Dustin0718]

Thanks for the update, Roger.

I'm going to try my luck at Tyee on thursday, however i doubt the rain tonight and tomorrow will be enough to get it moving by than.

 

[killigan]

Yes, Thank You Roger for all the information you provide.

 

[Dustin0718]

As of noon today the dam was open! I got to the river above the dam around 1 and was met with a flowing river and about 7 other anglers. I chose not to fish as I did not see any fish rolling and all the anglers reported no bites yet. I presume it will take a day or two to pump some fish up from the beach. Considering headed down tomorrow morning to see how it is.

 

[rogerdodger]

As of noon today the dam was open! I got to the river above the dam around 1 and was met with a flowing river and about 7 other anglers. I chose not to fish as I did not see any fish rolling and all the anglers reported no bites yet. I presume it will take a day or two to pump some fish up from the beach. Considering headed down tomorrow morning to see how it is.

I was at the Siltcoos mouth on Wednesday and there were no fish trying to get in and only 1 seal out in the rocking surf, normally 20 to 40 seals out there if the coho are thick...and there were none in the lower river or up near the dam, so I think opening the dam is going to help the main run find the river and get some moving in but probably a day or 2 delay...and the storm next week is good news.

this is the whole Silcoos river at the beach, dam closed, ankle deep:

this is a 75# Lab-Catahoula coming full speed at your hip:

 

[GaryP1958]

Rigging my Red Wiggle Warts as we speak! LOL!

 

[rogerdodger]

Friday 9am: dam closed tight, no fish observed in the lower river or Tyee, lake level looks pretty much the same as it was Wednesday, so if the dam was opened on Thursday I don't think it was for very long.
I was too busy Thursday to check on Siltcoos...:lol::lol::lol:

 

[Gary W]

I intended to try coho fishing last year in Siltcoos last year but closure of boat ramp stopped me as I did not like the little square dock at Darlings by the boat ramp. My question is while both siltcoos and Tahakinitch are shallow what do you do to keep above the weeds or just what do you fish with for gear and how do you keep weeds off? Do you have to check every few minutes to clear weeds? Do you use bait or spinners do you use banana weights or no weight or divers? Is the only way to know if dams are open by folks like rogerdodger or is there a site to watch? Is there a dam on the tahackanitch?

 

[rogerdodger]

I intended to try coho fishing last year in Siltcoos last year but closure of boat ramp stopped me as I did not like the little square dock at Darlings by the boat ramp. My question is while both siltcoos and Tahakinitch are shallow what do you do to keep above the weeds or just what do you fish with for gear and how do you keep weeds off? Do you have to check every few minutes to clear weeds? Do you use bait or spinners do you use banana weights or no weight or divers? Is the only way to know if dams are open by folks like rogerdodger or is there a site to watch? Is there a dam on the tahackanitch?

there are dams on both lakes, I think you can see the one on Tahk from the 101 bridge over the outflowing creek. no way to check dam condition that I am aware of other than notice lots of water movement in the rivers (outgoing tide will cause increased water movement and can trick people into thinking the dam is open... )

there are areas with weeds coming up near the surface, really thick in places, other areas with no weeds, plus lots of floating chunks of weeds that the wind pushes around...sonar very helpful with the weeds, not for the fish (not deep enough to see them)...lots of people troll plugs. I troll or cast spinners, that is it. To troll them, I cast back 10 yards or so, with the boat moving, close the bail and I am fishing. this avoids picking up weeds while letting out line. I check for and clear weeds often, especially if I see a weed bump or lose spinner action on the rod tip...#4 Blue Fox or 1/2oz in-line or rooster tail are my favorites.

 

[Gary W]

Thanks Roger. I used to live on the Alsea and my go to lures in the river both fresh water and brackish water was Bud #4s and #4 Blue Fox do you have any preference on color of blue fox and apparently you do not use weight. Not sure if I can troll my 9.9 down slow enough to keep barefoot lures below the surface. Many years ago I used to fish the slough across from the Dairy Queen by Toledo off the Yaquina with Rooster tails they were deadly when you could keep them spinning when casting. I only used Buds #4 s in fresh water casting too.

 

[rogerdodger]

Thanks Roger. I used to live on the Alsea and my go to lures in the river both fresh water and brackish water was Bud #4s and #4 Blue Fox do you have any preference on color of blue fox and apparently you do not use weight. Not sure if I can troll my 9.9 down slow enough to keep barefoot lures below the surface. Many years ago I used to fish the slough across from the Dairy Queen by Toledo off the Yaquina with Rooster tails they were deadly when you could keep them spinning when casting. I only used Buds #4 s in fresh water casting too.

those are good spinners, also really good are the ones from our local producer NorthCountryLuresAndFlies...pink bell hootchie and orange in-line with hootchie, plus most the other colors, in the medium sizes...

sunny conditions I like pink, orange, or blue bodies, also chartreues at times, silver blades, with or without hootchies....cloudy/storming/darker conditions I go to all black #4 bluefox with some dark green tape on the back of the blade...or a gold/red lil'cleo 2/5 (not to troll but cast and retrieve like a jig, I call it "twitching a cleo" )....I troll 1.75 to 2mph...not sure if a little faster would also work, not sure what the plug folks troll at...

 

[Gary W]

Good I can get below 1.5 knots in the river according to my radio and gps

 

[Dustin0718]

Yeah, i stopped in at tyee at 7 am, presuming the water would still be moving, and it was not. An informed gentleman told me he spoke to someone who told him they closed it back down last night to remove debris from the dam, and wouldnt reopen it until the lake level was back up to 8 feet again, which he said was at about 7'7 as of this morning(unsure of the accuracy of that measurement. There was some more rain this morning but i doubt enough to get it back open before next weeks rain system.

 

[hobster]

I was at the Siltcoos mouth on Wednesday and there were no fish trying to get in and only 1 seal out in the rocking surf, normally 20 to 40 seals out there if the coho are thick...and there were none in the lower river or up near the dam, so I think opening the dam is going to help the main run find the river and get some moving in but probably a day or 2 delay...and the storm next week is good news.

this is the whole Silcoos river at the beach, dam closed, ankle deep:

this is a 75# Lab-Catahoula coming full speed at your hip:

Pepper!!

 

[xltom]

Hey rogerdodger! Any word on whether the dam has been open? My buddy called one of the fishing resorts on the lake and the owner swears that he's seen a couple pulses come through and even caught a jack. I'm trying to figure out if he's just trying to rent some cabins or if it's for real. My friend did rent a place for tomorrow night but I'm not sure if I will tag along...

 

[rogerdodger]

Hey rogerdodger! Any word on whether the dam has been open? My buddy called one of the fishing resorts on the lake and the owner swears that he's seen a couple pulses come through and even caught a jack. I'm trying to figure out if he's just trying to rent some cabins or if it's for real. My friend did rent a place for tomorrow night but I'm not sure if I will tag along...

remember there is a fish ladder on the dam, the dam does not block the fish. opening the dam "calls the fish" in from the ocean. lots of what is in now are SRC, plus a few jack coho are likely trickling in, and even some adults...as of Sunday the lake is full and I observed no coho in the river either above or below the dam.

 

[GaryP1958]

No Title

Dam opened last night I know of 4 fish caught, I fished from 3 to 5 today no fish but metered some . talked to a guy who lives on the river and last night a big pod of fish came through and left a wake in front of his house!

 

[Dustin0718]

Tried fishing the river for about 4hours this morning, not a single hit nor did I see any rolls or jumps in the river. The dam was still open at that time. I ventured down the beach to see what the river looked like there. Strong flow and witnessed two big fish flop just above the tide line! I also observed at least 16 seals pooled off to the right of the rivers flow into the ocean, and I'm sure there were much more hanging around the waves. If the dam holds open through tomorrow it should remain open well into next week and should see many more fish heading toward the lake!

 

[killigan]

Anyone have a recent report on Siltcoos? Looking at Darling's webcam, the lake looks nice and full and hopefully with a few coho. Heading over Saturday to troll plugs and spinners, any info would be appreciated. Thanks.
(Side Note - Sea Run Cutthroats are also very tasty in my opinion, I'll take a few of those as well. Love me some fish tacos!)

 

[getsdwyz]

No Title

here was Sundays catch pulling plugs down by maple creek