A long morning wait.

Last weekend we took H's mom up to Faraday lake, some friends also joined us. When we arrived we were really suprised to see that there was hardly anyone there. We thought that we had gotten lucky and so took a seat near the end of the damn. It was still cool, swallows were fishing for bugs off the waters surface, devouring the mosquitos and midge flies gathering there. I got all of our rods set up, and after some practice casts for H's mom we all had our lines in the water. We sat for quite awhile before our friends showed up, we still hadn't gotten a nibble. It took their arrival, and our buddy R to cast out when ue got a fish on. From there we had very little down time. I caught one shortly after, then H. R and R were bringing in bows too.
Lunch time struck in short order, and with it a swarm of bees that seemed to affect everyone at the lake. We over heard a young woman who loudly proclaimed that she had gotten stung on the rear. The group down the dam from us were keeping us quite entertained in between fish. The squeels when they finally caught a fish had us all laughing. They didnt want to touch it! One girl even squeeled when her worm touched her toe.

All in all, we had a successful trip. As a group we bagged 11, three over 12".

They went into the smoker the next morning as fillets and are tasty, tasty!

Happy Boat Day!

Today is boat day! It would be an even more exciting day, if it wasn't also transmission service, rear seal, U-joint day for our SUV. Hopefully the rig will be ready for the drive out to take a look at the boat, I will post pictures later today once I know more.

This weekend will be spent fishing (like pretty much every other weekend, evening, early morning day!), we are taking H's mom out for the first time. (She has done some catfishing, but not much trout fishing). I got one of my old Shakespeare rods and a Quantum reel ready for her. You might be able to spot us up at Northfork reservoir come Saturday morning.

Happy fishing and thank goodness its Friday! Feel free to post some pictures of your weekend excursions, and your catch!

Olallie Lake

Photo Courtesy of Muddycamper.com

 

Olallie lake, situated amongst the Mount Hood National Forest, inside the Olallie lake scenic area is one of the larger lakes around. I have camped in the area, in one of the many camping spaces available along the lakes edge several times. The fishing is particularly good on the southern edge of the lake. Rowboats are available for rent at the main campground store, as are amenities and basic camping essentials.

 

We had our best luck with the good old standard worms, and red sparkle powerbait. Drop weights on 1.5' liters work fine here, as there aren't many weeds to combat. Most of the year, the lake here is crystal clear, and you can see straight down to the bottom until you reach the southern most side where it drops in depth. We've fished here on both the rented rowboats, and float tubes and had decent luck in mid summer weather. The campgrounds here fill quickly, even from the bank by the campground you can catch bows of keeper size. The best part of Olallie is the nighttime, not for the fishing...but for the stars. The sky here is often crystal clear, and the sky lights up with sparkling stars like the fourth of july. Absolutely stunning. But enough about the stars, the fishing here is pretty darn worth while too.

 

If you make the long trek up to Olallie, camp here at the lake and make a day trip up to Horseshoe lake, by following the main road. The fishing is better at Horseshoe, but the campgrounds aren't as well maintained.

 

 

The Pacific Crest trail also runs through the area, and you may see long distance hikers passing through. (not that this has anything to do with the fishing).

 



Northfork Resevoir, how 10 feet can make a difference.

Sunday morning, we were up bright and early. We got up to the lake around 6:30am and our lines were in the water before 7am. H was using my Daiwa ultra light carbon fiber rod, which we traded. So I am running on her Quantam 36pro Graphite medium. After doing some work for H's mom this weekend, I was able to purchase a new Quantam Triax spinning reel, loaded up with Chameleon Maxima 8lb line. My rigging for this spot, was a bullet slide weight, a round slide weight (to give me the extra weight to get out past the weeds, with the bullet to help cut through them on the reel in) a 2' 6lb test liter and an eagle claw #10 hook, with the barbs removed. (fishing in Oregon has all gone barbless for the most part, so if your thinking of going trout fishing, remove the barbs before you go. Or pinch them down with your tackle box pliers)

When we first got up to Northfork Res. we had settled in about mid-lake off the bank, around the corner from a few other fisherman. I started catching almost immediately. After our first 2 fish the bites died down and we thought we were going to be in for the long haul. A few others had passed by us on the trail and headed around the corner, and as we were listening in, they had already limited out and were packing up and leaving! Score! So we packed up, and move around the corner. After chatting with one of the guys, we casted out from the bank...and sat, and sat. H finally moved down about 10', and caught another. So we had 3 on the stringer. Soon, we heard the group that had been next to us catch their last and leave, so H decided to move back over. I was getting skunked in the supposed glory hole and had tried casting all over the damn place. 'did they leave any fish in here?!' No more than a minute and H has landed another one! so I pack up, and move back over. I feel like I have now fished from every inch of the bank. But H managed to find the sweet spot, and finished out our stringer in less than 20 minutes. By 12:15 we were running out of time in order for H to make it to work on time, so we were forced to pack up and head back early. As we were moving out, more were moving in. Though this time, the secret honey hole left with us.

We caught 7 total this trip with two being over 12" in length. H out fished me by 3, at the very end of the day, it wouldn't have taken long for us to limit out but we had to get H off to work and a very scary pile of dirty laundry awaited me back at the homestead.

This Friday brings with it some excitement, we are going to look at a boat. We have both been wanting one, I prefer row powered over gas powered, with an electric trolling motor when the expense can be warranted. But right now, I am excited to go check out a boat.

A horrible shot of the stringer of fish, as we ended the weekend. 

The road out, from the night before. It was a beautiful sunset.

H caught only one 9" rainbow the Saturday evening before, she had two fish that jumped the hook before shore though. 

 

Promitory Park & Northfork Resevoir

This evening H and I headed out to Promitory Park, we stopped first and got new line on both of our reels. I went with Maxima chameleon in 8lb, and H got Maxima Hi-vis green in 8lb. I also filled 2 old reels with some 6lb Pline CX to run as backup or for when we have guests out fishing.
When we got up to Promitory we did a little pre-scouting in the car before settling on an entry point. The fishing docks we were looking for were hidden by rolling hills, tall trees and plenty of camping spaces. We hiked in near the covered picnic area and found a boat dock to try our luck from. We had plenty of nibbles, but mostly small fry and nothing worth keeping. After about 2 hours we decided to move down towards the main dock by the boat ramp for Northfork Resevoir, from here H caught the only keeper for the day. The weather was perfect for this evening run.

Look for my review on the Maxima Chameleon line and the Hi-vis shortly in the gear reviews section.

Fishing faraday this evening.

When I got off work, H suggested that we go out for the evening bite and while I was hungry for dinner she was thinking of the trout instead. So we headed out towards faraday lake. We hit the tail end of the evening bite which was about 4:45pm. H had two grab on but both managed to bail just before the dam.
I put together a fluff chucker rig and I had a good sized fish following the fly but it just wasnt enough to entice a bite out of him. We packed it in around 6:30pm as the small fry started jumping. Seems to be about the norm for faraday, you know the evening has turned cold when the little guys start having dinner. Overall not a bad night, even though we left with an empty net. The weather was calm and the water was clear enough to see the first bar pretty well.

Horseshoe Lake, Oregon

Photo credit: Chris Thayer

 

Horseshoe Lake is located in the Mt. Hood wilderness area, out past Olallie Lake in Oregon. It has been a favorite fishing destination for my family for several years now. I have fished it both on the bank and by float tube and I limit out every. single. time.

 

I chose the above photo to give away a secret, the best fishing in the entire lake is hiding from most boaters and campers. Tucked away back by the rock fall. The fish there will bite on anything. I've ran powerbait in chartreuse, red, pink, yellow, mixed and maggots. I've fished rooster tails, spoons, flat jigs, and even fluff chuckers in this part of the lake and have never been disappointed.

 

We visited Horseshoe lake midway through the Oregon summer, in late July and easily caught our limit from the bank. I was running on my Shakespeare Synergy rod, with a Quantum Optix series spinning reel. Nothing fancy, but it certainly does the trick. The weather when we were there was sunny and warm, there was only moderate bugs. Mostly fly's and bee's, we didn't encounter any skeeters but we didn't have to stay late because we caught our limit by almost noon. The lake here is a site to behold, the water was crystal clear for our trip and we could easily see large trout out in the water before us.

 

The hardest part about fishing Horseshoe lake, is getting there. The road is long, dusty, and is best traveled by a high clearance vehicle or a car your don't care about bottoming out on. (I prefer the high clearance method myself). For this trip we rode up with a friend in his wife's 2012 Jeep Rubicon and had zero issues. In the rainy season the road is super muddy. Once your in the campground area (if I remember correctly, the campground here at the lake is first come, first serve for all of its sites.) you have to drive around to the far end and then hike into the lake. H had a minor disagreement with a fallen log during the hike and ended up with a nasty bruise on her shin. On a side note, due to the hike in...after this trip was made I purchased a case for my rod and reel so that I could do away with snagging tree branches, tall shrubs, weeds, and what not and focus on getting down to the water instead.

 

All in all, the fishing here is prime. If you can make the trip, its worth every penny.

 

 

This is a PTC hiking map, but it was one of the few maps I could find on-line that accurately showed Horseshoe lakes location.

 

Look for a write up on Olallie lake in the near future.



Faraday Lake, Oregon

Faraday lake, is a small resevoir, stream fed from the clackamas river, downstream from North Fork Resevoir. There are no watercraft or floatation devices allowed. We've been out to Faraday several times this year, and had decent luck each time. Mom and I ended her birthday trip here, after getting rained and mudded out at Henry Hagg lake.
We perched about midway down the dam, one of the better places to fish. (Though there is decent fly fishing up stream from the lake), mom was fishing red power bait with gold sparkles and I was fishing chartreuse. Shortly after the first cast out, I had a strike. My first on the new rod, it was a good strong strike and I landed the hook easily. After letting the fish run and playing a bit I landed a nice 10" rainbow. About 30 minutes later, I pulled in a 13" rainbow and while I was removing the hook from mine, mom got a nice strike and pulled in a nice 12" bow. Dark clouds started moving, and the nibbles and bites died down to nothing as the sun started to go down.  We decided to call it a night as the small fry were jumping for gnats on the surface. Nice to finally hook some fish for the weekend, and get some good play on the new ultra light rod.

After the weekend, I decided to pack both the ultra light and the shakespear synergy medium action 6.0 rod that I have.  The synergy is more trustworthy in moving waters, where as the ultra light reacts easily in calm waters but moves a lot in the moving water.

I might want to add a tip here for fishing from the dam at Faraday, weight is key. Its best to get out past the first sand bar about half way between the first and the second. we use a 1/2 lb drop weight with a 3ft leader line. To get above the grasses. Faraday was closed in 2012 for a revamp, but it hasn't affected the fishing much. Glad to see that its been reopened!

Henry Hagg Lake, Oregon

September 2nd, I took my mom out to Henry Hagg lake for her birthday. My mom loves to fish, my dad too came along for the trip. Though he isn't much of a fisherman. We got out to Hagg lake early, we had checked the weather the night before and were expecting a small rain spell early in the day. What we weren't prepared for was how low the water was. We started hiking in from a east side parking area, about 10 feet from where the grass ended and the dirt bank began we were hit with a downpour. Mom took cover under a large tree and my dad and I quickly joined her. We were hoping to wait out the squall, but after awhile spent waiting we decided to hike back up to the dry car. We headed around the lake and mom and I decided to hike down a trail and check out the lake from another angle. The short hike turned into a muddy walk, and mom lost part of a shoe before we turned back and decided to call it. As the rain showed no signs of stopping. I can't comment on the fishing as we never did get to drop lines into the water. My rod never even left its case. But the water was so low that it made bank access difficult and muddy. Best bet for fall rainbows here would be by water craft, in order to access the more difficult areas to hike into. 

Trillium Lake, Oregon

Prepare yourself for a rant...just saying.
Trillium Lake, should you Google it (like I did for the above picture...since I am blogging from work. Sssshhhh, I won't tell if you won't.) looks like a serene, mountain lake.

It used to be one, well...okay, so the view of the mountain and the lake is still incredible. Wild trilliums grow around the lake, the trees provide a dense canopy for walking trails around the campground and the fishing used to be one of our favorite places in the world. Until they re-built the dam to make it more user friendly and fish accessible. Sure its more user friendly, but when H and I drove by on our end of August 2013 run, there was 3 fisherman out of quite possibly 50 people! 50 PEOPLE!!! swimming in the water, playing on pool toys, blow up rafts, and jumping off of the bridge. When in the world did Trillium Lake become a swimming hole?! My family and I have been visiting Trillium as a fishing destination for the better part of the last century, and it was always a prime fishing destination for rainbows, and if you were really sucking, a dirty carp or two. We have gone out on the float tubes on this lake several times and always had no problem catching our limit in short order.
After the dam was re-designed my entire family and I, all feel as though the fishing at the lake has been ruined. I don't know if I will ever return to Trillium for summer rainbows, maybe I will try it again in the fall, when the cooler temperatures and fall rains scare away the recreational swimmers and camping families.
Don't get me wrong, Trillium will always hold a very special place in my heart. It is a beautiful destination, and provides some of the greatest views for cross country skiing in the winter time, however I wouldn't recommend it for summer bank fishing any time soon.

Harriet Lake, Oregon

Our second stop as we rounded out August 2013 was at Harriet Lake, I didn't take the above photo...it came from the Oregon fishing forum, I wish I had...because this photo makes the lake seem like a surreal vacation destination. Our experience was of a crowded campground, cars lining the dusty gravel road leading up around one side of the lake, and a hatch of mosquito's that would make any trout obese in short order. We didn't end up staying for long, between the crowds and skeeters we plunked lines under an oversized pine, sharing the bank with a really unfriendly middle aged gentleman, his mom and their dogs. H got a couple of nibbles, and I was again getting skunked. I was beginning to wonder if my new rod was cursed?!
I knew it wasn't the right fishing hole, when on my second cast out, the tree reached out and grabbed my damn line like it was thanksgiving dinner. I ended up having to cut my losses. (literally) we climbed back up the bank and hauled out of town. Good bye Harriet, our first visit was probably our last until we can get a boat and ride your sorry (bleep) out into the shady hard to reach areas.

North Fork Resevoir, Oregon

August ended with our first time fishing the "hot spot" at North Fork Reservoir, "hot spot" seems to be a giant misnomer however as nothing was hot about it, except for the sunshine. H, Managed only a pea sized handful of nibbles using trusty old Chartruse Powerbait, and hooked one 12" rainbow. But I got completely skunked. Not a bite, nibble, nip...I was beginning to wonder if a single fish swam past my rigging at all. It certainly didn't feel like it.

Perhaps I was still working the "new rod smell" off of my Daiwa Laguna 6.6 carbon fiber rod. The rod worked flawlessly, this was my first time running an ultra light and there was a slight adjustment period to noticing small movements in the tip, from water fluctuations (or the irritating boat, speeding through the "no wake zone" that sent water crashing into the shore and successfully tangling my rig into the weed bed, but I promised I wouldn't talk about it.)

We stayed at the lake for only a couple of hours before deciding to move around a bit and make a day of it. We got in around 6:45am and left around 8:30am, it was a clear blue sky and the lake surface was like polished glass when we dropped our first lines. We visited 2 other lakes before finally settling down on the other end of North Fork Reservoir at Promontory Park. In that time before we left, we witnessed an older gentleman just north of us catch 3 nice sized "bows" in short order, and overheard him say that he was using red power bait eggs. We tried the red, the green, with sparkles, without sparkles, the patriotic smear, fireball eggs, even what has been called amongst friends as our secret weapon, the power maggot...didn't seem to be working. Maybe we spent too much time with the cats this morning before we hit the lake. Or maybe we just weren't in the right hole.

 

The 12" rainbow H caught. A good looking fish.