Going to Oregon Sept 3

FAOL Community Fly Anglers Online
1

Hello,
A friend of mine invited me to go to Oregon with him. We are flying into Portland and he mentioned staying in Seaside for a couple of days. The rest of the time I guess we will spend driving around. He is not much of a fisherman but likes Kayaks, hiking etc. I am going to have alot of freedom to do what I want to do while he does what he wants to do. I am taking a 4wt and 6wt rod, waders and fins. I thought I might purchase a float tube. I love kickboat type fishing. Needless to say, I am excited. Can I get some ideas on what fishing that I might to do while I am in the area. I have no stream or cold water experience (just warmwater). Might come up with the funds for a guide one day if not too expensive. Thanks for any info! Sorry, I don’t have much info about where we are going. I guess I might say “Portland” area. He mentioned Mt Hood, Columbia River Gorge, and Mt. St Helen.

Tom

2

OK all you members from Northern Oregon. Give this man a hand. I would invite him to Southern Oregon but I am going goose hunting during that time frame.

Tom hope you have a great trip. Good Luck!!

Tim

3

Tom,
Mt. Tabor Park in Portland, is one of the best places to go walking and hiking;http://www.portlandonline.com/parks/index.cfm?a=96559&c=39872

In the Columbia River Gorge, the Eagle Creek Trail is very popular;http://www.splintercat.org/EagleCreek/EagleMainPage.html

Silver Falls State Park is a popular place to hikehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silver_Falls_State_Park

4

Tom,
Google “Mt. Tabor Park”, (Portland) “Eagle Creek Trail” (Columbia River Gorge), “Silver Falls State Park”, (Silverton Oregon)
Doug

5

Tom;
“Seaside”, Oregon huh?? Seems I’ve heard of the place and in fact, I THINK, it’s around me, here, someplace…like about 4 miles down the road!
If you want to do “warm water” there are several lakes, all within a mile or three of Seaside. For “Cold Water”, The Necanicum River, flows through downtown Seaside and the time of year, you’ll be arriving, the Sea Run Cutts should be coming into the river too.
If your buddy likes to hike, etc. then he can hike coastal trails all around the Fort Stevens area, while you warm water fish on the lake,(Coffenbury Lake) located in the center of the park/campground.(Fort Stevens State Park). It’s natural, for Bass, Crappie and 'Gillls, but also stocked with Trout and excess brood Trout, (up to 7 pound Rainbows), from ODFW’s overstock at the local hatchery.
When you’ve fished out, Coffenbury, then you can head a couple miles south and repeat the process, by fishing Cullaby Lake also within spitt’in distance of Seaside.
Depending on your schedule, there’s nine more lakes and 5 coastal rivers to choose from, all within a day’s reach of downtown.
As for “hiring a guide”, I know of one. He’s not much good at this long rod waving, and I was told he can turn water to beer foam,with his wild attempts, but the locals claim he can be had for a day’s fishing, for only a hot dog and a root beer.
If you’re interested, drop me PM and we can work out some details of your trip!

6

Flybinder,
I read this message to my wife. She called me a “dirty dog” and said she was green with envy. My buddy has been to Ft Stevens Park and said that one of the places that he would want to go back. I will send you a PM after I get over the “shock” of my good fortune!

Tom

7

Well, Tom;
Taking into account that you hang out HERE, with this bunch, I’d guess your lovely bride’s account of you is right on the money. (I only say that, due to my own wife’s description of me and who I hang out with).
Fort Stevens is a nice park, but there are lots of other options, too, so I’m sure I can get you going in some sort of “right direction” so you’ll have a fun trip!
I helped Harley Bob, when he came to my neck of the woods and we got together, while he was here. He even managed to survive the ordeal and except for the very small “twitch” and BARELY noticeable “stutter” he now has, he claimed he enjoyed his visit!?!
Look forward to hearing from you!

8

Flybinder,
I read an article from FAOL about searun cutts and some past posts. I am really excited about this fishery! It does not sound too complicated and I may have all the equipment that I need.

Tom

9

Tom;
You mentioned that you’re bringing “a 4 and 6 wt. and waders”!?!
For this area and our rivers this time of year, (low, due to lack of rain), your 4 wt. is ideal and of course, the waders are a must for navigating the streams.
You don’t mention the “length” of your rods, but if either the 4 or 6 is shorter than 9’, that can be a plus, too, but not a big deal, if they’re not. (The coastal rivers are brushy and a shorter rod can be a plus).
Make sure, for both warm an cold water fishing, that you bring 9’ 5x leaders though. Braided/furled leaders are also, okay, but you’ll probably want to end up at the fly end with 5X tippet.
You no doubt already have all the warm water flies that you’ll need. For Sea Run Cutts, though, you might want to tie up some flies for them, ahead of time!?! Check the thread, here on the BB, that recently discussed the “Best Flies For Sea Runs”, suggestions, for a list and an idea on what to tie up.
Don’t worry too much about any of this, though, as I’ve got the shorter rods and more than enough flies, for the Sea Runs!! So whatever you don’t have (or, like me, will forget to bring anyway), I’ll get you outfitted on this end!

10

Oregon has a lot to see and do. There is a nice assortment of stuff in NE Oregon, near the ID and WA border, but it sounds like you will not have the time for that. I will, therefore, focus on PDX, Central Oregon, and the Coast. I recommend that you buy an Atlas Gazeteer published by DeLorme.

If I were going to be in Oregon, the indispensable drive would be out through the Gorge, you can hit several things like Multnomah Falls and the Bonneville Dam. You can cut off I84 to the south to Hood River and then to Mt. Hood. South and east of Mt. Hood you can pop off of Hwy 26 and take the road to Maupin and drive south on 97. You can fish the Deschutes between there and Bend, or just pull off and check out the river and various trails. Driving down to a place called The Junction about parallel to the turn off 97 to the town of Shaniko. It’s a short and scenic drive to the river and back.

Drive down to Madras, and there you can go back up toward Warm Springs and hit the river at Mecca Flats. Heading south to Redmond, you can pop in on the Crooked River Ranch and fish that portion of the Deschutes (this presumes there is still public access below Steelhead Falls). From there, you could make a short side trip out past Sisters to the Metolious River which is one of the prettiest waters you will ever see. You can drive on down to Bend, south of Redmond on 97, and hit the Deschutes River Brewery, and have a bite and a pint. Hwy 97 south will take you down to Chiloquin, which is were the Williamson River is, and you’ll be there in time for the first “season.” From Chiloquin, you can drive through Ft. Klamath to Crater Lake, NP and check that out. From Crater Lake, you can take the Rogue River Hwy and drive west back toward I-5 and the coast. The Holy Water on the Rogue is a good place to check out and fish,and you may want to check out the Steamboat Inn, which has a lot of history.

From that area, you’d have several choices, and the fishing choices include checking out the McKenzie, Umpqua, and upper reaches/forks of the Willamette. Other scenic choices include Oregon Dunes, NP to the south and east on the coast, or crossing I 5 to the coast and taking the coastal highway north up through Tillamook and on to Astoria.

Portland has a lot of good restaurants. The high end of fine dining is more affordable there than in a lot of cities. Genoa (Italian) and Couvron (French) are at the upper end and cost less than they would in other cities, they were 6-8 courses for $55 and $85 respectively excluding wine but that was a few years back. I particularly liked Esparza’s (great Texmex) in the NE, Pambiche (casual Cuban) in the NE, and Gino’s (casual Italian) in Sellwood. My friends in Portland turned me on to them.

11

i was in portland 2 summers ago and had a blast. i was able to spend 2 days flyfishing one on the deschutes the other on the tillamook. i also spent 1 day sturgeon fishing on the columbia. i highly recommend you try the sturgeon fishing if you do i had a great experience with river run guide service www.riverrungs.com very reasonable rates and great fishing. the tillamook was tough fishing, low clear warm water. the deschutes was a blast. i fished that around maupin. sisters and bend were just too far of a drive without staying overnight. they also say the smallmouth fishing in the columbia and willamette is good.

12

Don’t miss Multnomah Falls and the several other falls along the road that parallels I-84 east…like Oneonta, Wakeenah, etc. They are spectacular, and we see them every time we’re out there (including last week!), which is about once a year.

If you head up to Mt. St. Helens, Lake Merrill is very good, as are many spots along the Lewis River and some of its impoundments. However, that’s a drive up into WA state from Portland, and you can do yourself one betetr by driving into central Oregon (about 3 hours SE of Portland by way of 26 and 97), where you can fish the Cascade Lakes, the upper Deschutes, the Metolius, or other trout streams/rivers.

Around Hood River, you can fish the Hood River, OR you could stay closer to Portland and fish the Sandy for steelhead. The numbers of fish coming through the Bonneville Dam are outstanding this year!

Depends ultimately on what you want to do - fast water, still water, cold/warm…there are just too many options available to you.

Here is a beautiful bull trout that the Metolius offered to me on Friday the 15th. Went back unharmed and scrappy as can be!

Marty

13

Talk about envy. Tom might become a cold case file…and I might show up and say “Hello, my name is Tom”

14

I am reading every word! Thanks for the input! One of the guys that invited me called tonight and said that he was interested in the Lewis River. I am trying to find out info on it tonight.

Thanks,
Tom

15

Tom,
Here is a link;http://lewisriver.com/
Doug