Help planning a trip to Washington or Oregon

[joelw23]

The wife and I are planning a vacation for the 2nd week of June 2011. I'm not sure where to go and what to do...I know we want to go to the NW and would like to get some fishing in.. Please give me some ideas on where to go and what to fish for.

Thanks,

Joel

[ScottP]

Great forum, lots of information and help from the folks here:

http://www.washingtonflyfishing.com/board/

Regards,
Scott

[ducksterman]

Should be a good time to fish the Deschutes.

[Eric-WD]

Were I only coming once, and only had a week, I would start at the north end of the Oregon coast and drive to the south, along highway 101. There is enough to keep you buisy for a month or more. I would spend nights in Astoria, Newport and coos bay/ bandon. I would probably go out fishing on the ocean one morning just because you can't do that in WI and other than that I wouldn't fish but just sight see.

Eric
Born in Oregon currently living on the Washington Coast.

[luckie88]

The Salmon fly hatch is usually around this time in the NW so think stones. And yes, the D is really good this time of year!

[joelw23]

any specifics on where to fish on the D?

[sagefisher]

Joel,

What kind of fishing do you want to do? River or stream or lakes?

The Northwest (Oregon & Washington) has a huge assortment of styles of fishing. You have coastal rivers that offer summer run steelhead and salmon and SeaRun Cutthroat (now called coastal cutthroat I believe). There are small lakes along the coast that contain some great bass and crappie fishing along with trout.

Then as you move inland a bit you have a limited number of rivers that actuall produce good fishing. Many of our rivers are fed mostly by glaciers and are very milky during the summer from glacier runoff. There are a number of lowland lakes that offer decent spiney ray and planted trout fishing.

Then you get up into the Cascade Mountains. That area offers some really nice small stream fishing, river fishing, and high mountain lake fishing. HOWEVER, in June? IN 2011? I don't think so. We may end up with a big snow pack this year, then again we may not. But, so far the weather has been bringing in lots of moisture and that means snow up in the mountains. So, depending upon when the snow starts to melt, again the weather dictates that, you may not be able to access any high mountain lakes or rivers or they could all be blown out or you may be too early as many of them may still be closed.

Then as you travel eastward you get into the real fishing areas of WA and OR. The Eastern areas, made up mainly of high dessert or arid type area. Rivers like the Yakima River near Ellensburg, WA or the Deschutes River in Oregon fall into this area. They are located on the eastside of the Cascade Mountains. They are great for fishing. But, they are subject to runoff like any mountain river can be. We have some really good lakes over in the eastern parts of WA and OR, some have trout but most have bass and crappie/bluegill/perch fishing.

So, it all depends upon what type of fishing you like to do and what type of water you like to fish.

Larry ---sagefisher---

[luckie88]

The lower D has the most prolific salmonfly hatch, but the middle should not be over looked just got to know where to go. I like to fish from Pelton Dam (Warm Springs) down, because it's closer to Bend. It can get really busy down there typically around Maupin because you get alot of Portlanders. There are some nice fish to be had. Last year in July I took a trip to the Yak and that was great too. The thing about the D is no fishing from a boat so best to keep an eye on the flows. I fish all of the D from the headwaters at Little Lava down. Each stretch is great and has a whole lot of character to it and species. Here's a great link to the whole Deschutes Basin to check the real time flows:

http://www1.wrd.state.or.us/cgi-bin/...ge.pl?basin=05

If you would like to know more about some particulars let me know.
-Jake

A few pics
HPIM1225.jpgHPIM1150.jpgHPIM1196.jpg

[Marco]

Wife and I did a similar trip a few yers ago. A week is NOT enough. It'd be like taking ONE spoonful of bread pudding. We flew into Seattle ,ferried to Vancouver and back, and then drove South from Seattle along 101 and 1 to California and Santa Barbera. I had planned to fish but abandonded that idea in favor of sightseeing. Mount St. Helens and Mount Rainier are not to be missed. The views are intoxicating. We had a book "Eat Your Way Across the US" by the Stearns and that put us into some memorable restaurants, diners and dives.
You WILL enjoy your vacation, GUARANTEED.

Mark

PS: Can anyone from thataaways tell me the name of a restaurant/ buffet/ abandoned loggers dining/mess hall on the waterfront either in WA or OR serving , among other great things, a WHOLE pie for every two people in your party. We're hardly talkin gooormay BUT you ain't leavin hungry.

[Panman]

Joel: I agree with both Marco & Eric that there is so much to see that it is impossible to see it all in a week and still get in much fishing. When we moved to Oregon the wife & I drove to Seattle to visit friends. Upon leaving we took the coastal route, US 101, from Seattle down to Frisco. The scenery is fantastic. The mountains, the seashore and the Redwoods are amazing as well as Crater Lake National Park. I could list more neat places but I think a travel guide is in order.

That being said I would throw in a rod or 2, maybe a 5 & an 8 weight and if the urge to fish becomes too much to ignore check with the locals and give it a shot. Hiring a guide for a half day trip on the Rogue (Hemingway's River) could result in some great salmon.

Tim