Well I went out fishing out of Newberg, OR yesterday. I decided that I was going to do a split day between bass and trying for that elusive upper river sturgeon. Things did not start out well. I had a late start because the dog was was up and "yakking" all night long - all though how could I get upset about yakking
Well, I decided to start off chasing bass. I have not done much bass fishing in that area so it started out with a bit of searching for a good spot. after about an hour of fishing boring water I found a really nice rocky shelf that ran from shore out to about 12-14' before plunging into 30-40' of water. Just looked like the perfect. I started working the area with a deep diving crankbait, cranking it down until I hit bottom then working it slowly and erratically back, banging off every rock that I could. I worked that area (it was pretty good sized) for about an hour when I felt a hard hit and a decent sized fish!
[url="http://s1377.photobucket.com/user/pdxfisher/media/P3220640%20Small_zpszahf5bgn.jpg.html"]
[/url]
Dang.
I kept working that shelf for about another hour but never had another hit. Man that spot seemed so perfect. Still not sure what is wrong with those stupid bass for not being all over that spot. In retrospect it may have had a bit too much current. That is the only reason I can think of for that spot not to have been crawling with bass, that or they are just stupid
I was late in the morning so I decided to rest my casting arm and see if I could get a sturgeon to bite. I anchored up my first spot and after a half an hour of nothing but pikieminnow bites I decided to haul anchor and try a second spot.
The second spot was much like the first. I kept getting pikieminnow bites and eventually even caught one that somehow was able to gets its mouth around the big hook. That was kind of funny. I was just thinking about leaving when I got a bite that was more serious. After a couple of small jerks that fish picked up the bait and started swimming away. I set the hook and right away I knew - it was not a sturgeon. The fish pulled OK, but it just did not have the size.
[url="http://s1377.photobucket.com/user/pdxfisher/media/P3220642%20Small_zpspxmlaqn0.jpg.html"]
[/url]
Dang on the sturgeon side.
Well, catching something different made me stay on that spot for a while longer, but all I was able to manage were more bites from pikieminnows. It was now mid-afternoon and so I figured I would give the bass another try. I tried a steep bank that had some rocks, but I think that there was just too much current. I then went to a spot where I had caught some fish two years ago (I did not really bass fish Newberg last year).
The spot has a good current break and I first worked the spot with the crankbait without any love. I then switched to a Zoom baby brush hog on a shaky head jig and started slowly working it across the bottom. Now at this point I need to say that I had just switched from mono to nanofil on that rod. The increase in sensitivity was amazing. I could feel every pebble as I worked that first cast back in when I felt that distinctive pop in the line.
I slammed the hook home and a big fish surged hard, the rod bent to the handle and then SNAP! The line had broken at the knot attaching the nanofil to the fluorocarbon leader. Definitely my fault, but man was I bummed. Since it was kind of breezy and I had gotten a bite I decided to drop my anchor and try to work this spot really thoroughly.
First, I very carefully tied 7' or fluourcarbon to the nanofil. I made really sure that the know was good. I then re-rigged with a baby brush hog - after all I had gotten a bite on every cast I made with it
First cast after re-tying once again I am working over some rough bottom when I feel that pop again. I set the hook and felt the weight of a decent fish. The fish really fought hard and even once I got it close to the kayak, it just kept diving under the kayak. Finally I was able to get it to the surface and grab it:
[url="http://s1377.photobucket.com/user/pdxfisher/media/P3220643%20Small_zps00mb6x7w.jpg.html"]
[/url]
Yes!
It was a nice and healthy and weighed 2lb 14oz on my digital scale. I was still bummed about breaking of the first fish, but that one really helped to ease the pain. I reset my baby brush hog and made another cast and got bit again. This one came off after a short fight. I missed the next two fish as well. Then I landed one that was about a pound. I lost the next two fish and missed a few bites before the fish simply vanished off that spot.
It was an incredible amount of action from a very small area. I stopped to think about why I had done so poorly with hooking and landing fish. I realized I had been tentative on my hook sets after breaking off that first fish. In hind site that was a poor decision. I vowed to lay the wood to any future bites. I left that spot and worked a few similar spots, but did not get a chance to try out my new strategy.
I decided to head upriver and give the sturgeon one more try. Plus I wanted to see what that part of the river was like. I eventually worked my was upstream from Ash Island a good ways and anchored up in a decent looking hole that also had a good bit of current. This spot looked quite promising but it was already around 4:45 when I finally picked a spot to anchor up on and I did not want to stay upriver too long. Stayed until 5:30, only catching one huge pikeminnow that took that big hook pretty deeply. On the way back I did find a really deep hole (~70 deep) that I never knew existed. I will give that a try next time.
On the way back to Roger's landing I decided stop at my hot spot. This time I immediately anchored up in what I figured was the best location to fish the magic spot. Man, the bite was even better than earlier and I was able land 7 more bass in the 1-2lb range and lost a few more. All in about 1/2 hour. I was getting a bite on every cast. Not most casts, every cast for about 1/2 hour. The interesting thing was that even though the fish were in the same water they did not have the same coloration.
Some were really plain looking:
[url="http://s1377.photobucket.com/user/pdxfisher/media/P3220644%20Small_zpscip1xymm.jpg.html"]
[/url]
Some were really marked up:
[url="http://s1377.photobucket.com/user/pdxfisher/media/P3220645%20Small_zpsls8gnvn3.jpg.html"]
[/url]
After that incredible flurry of action the bite just stopped dead. I was actually surprised when I made a cast and worked it the whole way back without a bite. If fished that area for another 10 minutes without any action and so I decided it was time to head the rest of the way back to the ramp and call it a day.
No sturgeon from the upper river again, but the good smallmouth bite made me not mind so much!
_________________
Fish tremble when they hear my name
A ship in harbor is safe -- but that is not what ships are built for.
--John A. Shedd, Salt from My Attic, 1928
Login
Register
FAQ
