I know, it’s a completely different river, but we don’t yet have a post for the western rivers, so you get to read it here.
I spent the weekend in Florence, Oregon fishing for salmon with my dad on the Siuslaw River system. What a treat! It was quite an interesting trip and of course, I learned new stuff as I always do.
The fishing is a bit slow out there still. Lots of boats but very few fish caught on the river as yet. The lack of rain on the west coast is certainly a big factor according to some of the locals, as the fresh water coming out of the river sometimes keys the salmon to start their annual run upstream.
Here are a few highlights, though. First, the tide is interesting. We fished with the current driving upstream, if you can believe it. We started about 3 miles from the mouth of the river and fished upstream both Friday and Saturday, but the current in that area runs in the opposite direction. It runs pretty fast, too. The water is salty and the tide tends to push everything upriver quite a ways. In fact, we traveled up about 8 miles and still had the current going the “wrong” direction. Even drifting would take us upstream at about 2 miles an hour, believe it or not.
Fishing there is just about the same as it is on the Mississippi. Sizes are a bit different, but you use the same technique… a three-way with a four ounce sinker in this case, a double hook about the size of my hand and a herring, plug cut and cleaned. The only big difference is that the key to attracting salmon is that you have to get the herring to spin. Interesting thought.
We trolled slowly upstream, at about .5 mph with the current. Presentation and boat control are still the key. We also spent time trying to locate schools of herring and other baitfish and located a couple of good sized ones that we fished over for awhile. No bites, but things got hot on Saturday afternoon and we did see two good-sized salmon caught right in the area where the baitfish were hanging. Both catches came on three-ways.
The river itself is gorgeous. It’s not nearly as big as the Miss. but certainly offers up some beatiful scenery. Plenty of mountainous terrain to keep your mind off the lack of fish. The weather was great, too. Not much mist, a cloudy sky and mid-60’s both days.
Bullheads look different out there. They don’t hae spines and have huge wide, flat mouths, just like a sauger. Same slimy feel, though. They tend to be small, but we caught 4 of these little guys on our herring plugs, each one just about the size of the plug they were trying to eat. I nearly caught a seagull, too, when I pulled my bait to the surface to check it and watched one swoop down onto the water pluck the plug from the hooks and leaving me to rebait again. Those guys are aggressive out there!
River fishing is quite an experience on the west coast. Rules for fishing are quite different. I’ve attached a pretty bad picture of the boats that crossed the river in one busy spot. About 60 of them all traveled in different directions with very little rhyme or reason to their direction or side of the river. Most of them like to be in the middle of the channel where the fish tend to stay and no one has a clue about right or left when they’re working the river. The intent is to find the fish first, apparently, regardless of what direction you happen to be going. Makes for an interesting trip.
I’m hoping to get back out next year and do some more. After seeing the size of the two salmon that were pulled in, I’d have to say that the adrenaline high from pulling in a 20 pound silver monster has to be enormous. Plus, there are lots of other rivers to fish in the area.
One last comment. Oregon’s DNR sure beats ours. They are legendary in their toughness and protective attitude. Coho salmon cannot be kept and have to be released before they are pulled from the water. I was amazed at the fines and penalties and the enforcement is so strict that very few people are even tempted to violate the laws. Sometimes, after seeing the over limit catches around here, it makes me wonder.
Happy fishing!
Mike
Hawger 