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I hit the Willamette out of Newberg on August 15. I had a bit of a topwater bite to start the day. I had to downsize to a Heddon Baby Torpedo to get that going - I did not get any hits on Sammy or a Choppo. After the brief topwater flurry the rest of the day belonged to soft plastic. Most of the fish came on a Ned rig, some on a dropshot and some on a swim jig with a creature trailer. I have started throwing the swim jig + creature more to try to increase the quality of the fish that I catch. That seems to work somewhat. My best fish did come on the swim jig and I don't seem to hook nearly as many dinks. I ended up with 41 bass with the biggest being a 2lb 1oz smallmouth.
Most all of the fish came from deeper rock (10'-25). A good sonar goes a long way to effectively finding and fishing those structures.
I hit the Willamette out of West Linn on August 21. There was cloud cover most of the day and the topwater bite was really good all day long. I started with a Sammy but after a few half-hearted strikes I switched to a Choppo and that seemed to be like switching from a tofu burger to a ribeye. The fish were smashing the Choppo all day long. I did spend some time throwing other lures, going back over productive spots with a Ned rig, drop shot, swim jig+creature, swimbait and spinnerbait. They all caught fish (just one of those wonderful days) but they seemed to hit the Choppo the best. Plus, I am not going to pass up a topwater bite!
I put in a long 10 hour day but I ended up with 68 bass. The big was only 2lb 0oz but it was still a blast. The river was crazy busy with fisherman. Lots of bass boats and lots of kayaks fishing for bass. I am not sure how most other folks did. I had most all of my success out on the mid-river humps and it seemed like most folks were beating the bank. I guess there were fish there as well but it was nice to really have all the water I wanted to fish to myself on such a busy day.
Funny thing is that I did not see much topwater activity (other than the fish eating my Choppo) all day long. I kept thinking that the topwater bite has to die soo but those fish were just nuts all day long. Usually when I am having a good topwater day I see lots of surface activity but I guess this showed that is not necessary.
I have to say again that having the really great maps built up on my Garmin (made through Quickdraw) is incredibly helpful. Those maps coupled with a heading sensor, good 2D and SIdevu make for a deadly screen setup. It is easy to find those mid-river humps and to position myself exactly where I want to be on them once I figure out how the fish are setup. Most of the fish were in 5'-10' of water but I did catch some deeper as well. To be fair there may have been a ton of fish deeper as well but I am not going to seek out deepwater fish when I am having an awesome topwater day!
Most all of the fish came from deeper rock (10'-25). A good sonar goes a long way to effectively finding and fishing those structures.
I hit the Willamette out of West Linn on August 21. There was cloud cover most of the day and the topwater bite was really good all day long. I started with a Sammy but after a few half-hearted strikes I switched to a Choppo and that seemed to be like switching from a tofu burger to a ribeye. The fish were smashing the Choppo all day long. I did spend some time throwing other lures, going back over productive spots with a Ned rig, drop shot, swim jig+creature, swimbait and spinnerbait. They all caught fish (just one of those wonderful days) but they seemed to hit the Choppo the best. Plus, I am not going to pass up a topwater bite!
I put in a long 10 hour day but I ended up with 68 bass. The big was only 2lb 0oz but it was still a blast. The river was crazy busy with fisherman. Lots of bass boats and lots of kayaks fishing for bass. I am not sure how most other folks did. I had most all of my success out on the mid-river humps and it seemed like most folks were beating the bank. I guess there were fish there as well but it was nice to really have all the water I wanted to fish to myself on such a busy day.
Funny thing is that I did not see much topwater activity (other than the fish eating my Choppo) all day long. I kept thinking that the topwater bite has to die soo but those fish were just nuts all day long. Usually when I am having a good topwater day I see lots of surface activity but I guess this showed that is not necessary.
I have to say again that having the really great maps built up on my Garmin (made through Quickdraw) is incredibly helpful. Those maps coupled with a heading sensor, good 2D and SIdevu make for a deadly screen setup. It is easy to find those mid-river humps and to position myself exactly where I want to be on them once I figure out how the fish are setup. Most of the fish were in 5'-10' of water but I did catch some deeper as well. To be fair there may have been a ton of fish deeper as well but I am not going to seek out deepwater fish when I am having an awesome topwater day!
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