11 minute read
KISS SOME OREGON BASS THIS SPRING
With largemouth and smallmouth getting ready to spawn across the Beaver State, here are tips for catching some.
By Troy Rodakowski
Springtime in Oregon can be pretty unpredictable. Like they say, just wait 10 minutes and the weather will change. An angler can experience all four seasons within half an hour, which is why we take plenty of extra gear when out on the water for a day. And in April some of that gear should be for bass because as the spawn starts to take hold, anglers should be ready to experience some good fishing.
Lakes and ponds will be the first to warm enough for bass to increase spawning activity and become aggressive toward baits.
“Sixty-degree water temperature is the key,” says Gary Galovich, warmwater fish biologist for the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife. A lot depends on water depth and sunlight exposure, but the bass spawn is driven by increasing daylight and the stability of water temperatures in the 60s. For larger lakes and reservoirs in the Cascades and Coast Range, it could be late May before waters reach these temps.
Early in the season, waters tend to be murky and clouded, so I like to keep my presentations slow and deeper. The takes on spinnerbaits, rubber worms, crankbaits and the like
Author Troy Rodakowski gives a bass a big kiss last spring. This is a good time of year to chase bucketmouths and bronzebacks, though you’ll want to fish slower as waters are still
Later in spring bass will be really receptive to topwater presentations, especially on warmer days after the spawn is over. (TROY RODAKOWSKI)
are oftentimes light. To me, it almost feels like a heavy weight grabbing onto my lure. But the warmer the water, the quicker the retrieve and the harder the strike will be as the fish begin to protect their spawning beds. Focusing on private waters, backwater sloughs and small lakes this time of year, one can find some of the best bass fishing of the season.
THE FIRST COUPLE of really warm days are usually money for takes on bass. Most smallmouth tend to be in cooler river systems, so they fish really well late into spring and through summer. The Umpqua, Willamette and John Day produce some great fish. Many of the bass on these rivers can approach 20 inches in size.
For the John Day, fishing is best when the river flow is 7,000 cubic feet per second or less. The darker, fast-moving water is tough to fish. This holds true for the Willamette and Umpqua as well. Less flow means a bit clearer water and better fishing for these red-eyed beauties. Smallmouth are great-eating fish and if an angler plans to take a few for dinner, try to keep those that are 10 or so inches and not of breeding age. Also, make sure to update yourself on current regulations for where you plan to fish, as bag limits have changed over the last three to four years.
We used to make annual trips to the Umpqua and use drift boats to float good sections of the river where bass like to hang out. Usually we brought home some good-sized fillets to cook up after a couple days of fishing. Most bass fishing for largemouth is catchand-release as a gentleman’s rule anyway. To each their own, but it is nice to preserve good fisheries.
O.D.F.W. OWNS AND manages some good warmwater fisheries in the Willamette Valley, including Wilsonville Pond, Woodburn Pond, St. Louis Ponds and Bond Butte Pond.
“We closely monitor these and are frequently working to enhance habitat, and on occasion stock them as well,” says Galovich.
He also suggests the Freeway Lakes
near I-5 in Albany, especially for anglers who are short on time.
Larger standing waters like Cottage Grove, Dorena, Henry Hagg and Fern Ridge Reservoirs are good places to spend time. The fishery in Fall Creek Reservoir continues to improve as well. Of course, we cannot forget about Green Peter, as it has produced some very nice bass over the years and remains a popular tournament location. Smaller ponds scattered throughout the valley, both unmarked and private, have some fantastic numbers of bass, as do those in Eastern Oregon, and have been some of my best fisheries over the years.
PRO BASS ANGLER Jason Haley of Haley Way Outdoors in Rogue Valley reminds folks to “keep it simple.”
“If you have too many rods with different gear, then you are lost,” he says.
Haley has done his best in tournaments with only a couple different options ready to go, such as a Texas-rigged worm and spinnerbait.
“Bass are generally shallow-water fish and like the warmer waters, especially in late winter and spring. Slow down when it’s cold and speed up when it’s warm,” tips Haley.
He also reminds anglers to follow seasonal patterns, such as fishing coves and creeks, especially late in the spring. The spawn is entirely different, of course, when angling can be on fire or pretty dead.
Then there is what some consider to be the bane of lake fishing.
Using a pig-and-jig-type setup in early spring will drive bass crazy. The fish can’t resist the rig’s motion as it scoots across the bottom and resembles a crayfish swimming.
Of course, my favorite is when the topwater bite is on. I like to hit it hard when the fish are going crazy.
This is also an excellent time for fly anglers to try and get some grabs from hungry and angry fish. Woolly Buggers with a beadhead, crayfish imitations and Prince Nymphs, all in sizes 16 or 18, are my favorite choices during the month of April, especially when fishing on smaller waters.
I like to tell other anglers that finding good bass isn’t always easy. However, if you are able to find a good combination that works, stick with it. There have been many times that we have walked away skunked, but those are the times that we have usually learned the most – about what not to do. Of course, it does make the good days that much sweeter to catch fish.
No matter where you choose to wet your line this spring, just remember there are plenty of bass out there waiting for a big kiss. NS
Spring, Oregon’s Sea And Me
When the frogs begin to sing, I smile huge. Loving their love like I do, it is the year’s very first song of spring that I connect with. The vultures haven’t arrived, so the salmon have yet to make their way home. The geese are still sitting on their nests, waiting for the arrival of their sweetest By Sara Ichtertz FOR THE LOVE OF THE TUG little goslings. The fruit trees typically have yet to bloom, while the crisp cold of morning is still very present, and yet hearing the frogs sing each night lifts my spirit, knowing the birth of a new season is upon us.
Rivers and streams have always been a part of me. Embracing the banks of my creek with all of my heart as a little girl led into this beautiful feeling of coming home when I decided to embrace the rivers seven years ago. I knew the river well and spent many a day on it as a young mother, enjoying time with my babes in the comfort of nature, though I had no idea the joy that still awaited me. I had no idea that through this undeniable intrigue, I would find passion and devotion that truly was second to none. I would naturally find comfort in the sport of river fishing because it was within my heart already.
I think it was obtainable because I was so very much at one with my creek. My sisters and I would embrace large chunks of our ranch’s amazing stream, giving days, weeks, entire seasons and years to the bounty of the creek. Just like the river is for a now older me, the adventures along flowing water constantly changed as the planet made its lap around the sun, and so I grew up right there, getting the most out of a creek that a girl could possibly get. It’s no wonder I naturally became this woman who prefers to hunt the river.
The one downfall I find in loving the steady flow of a stream like I do is that I could just stay there. I very much am a creature of comfort and at times can get myself into scenarios of predictability, even if I know the outcome is a sad one. As this spring is upon me, I am daring myself to embrace bigger waters, to learn fisheries with depths I have only dabbled in, simply so I could hurry home to the river. I realize I am not getting any younger and so being a lover of all things water, in 2021 I will no longer let the fear of the unknown hold me back. I have the chance to truly embrace the ocean like never before and so even though the sway of that massive body has tried to get the better of me at times, I will not fear this; I am going all in.
What began simply as fishing for surfperch off an Oregon beach now finds Sara Ichtertz raring for a chance to get out on the briny blue. “I am beyond ready to get outside my comfort zone and embrace the new,” says the confirmed river lover. (SARA ICHTERTZ)
“Tuna, it’s been far too long!” writes Sara, who also looks forward to fishing for halibut and salmon on the ocean. (SARA ICHTERTZ)
I HAVE DABBLED enough on the salt to see the beauty in this new horizon. As a fisherman, I should always be willing to learn more, simply to be able to connect with as many species as possible, as I absolutely love the act of angling. I love having the fish choose me. That feeling of life on the line stole my heart with such a mighty tug that I would be a fool to ever let that pursuit – that one-of-a-kind connection – go.
Fishing for surfperch from the beach in spring was the first salty water I ever embraced. Connecting with those most beautiful little creatures in the surf of the mighty Pacific filled me with intrigue, though my feet were still planted firmly on planet Earth. I was safe.
When opportunity arose, I was fortunate enough to experience that deepest, bluest-of-blue water and the intense fulfillment found within those most explosively beautiful torpedoes – tuna. They are hunters too, and to say I wasn’t completely blown away by albacore would be a lie. I wanted more and yet have not seen such waters in three years.
Thinking back about every salty situation I have ever embraced, I recall walking away astonished at what the ocean has to offer. The meat we are able to harvest is clean and crisp to the palate and to the heart. It’s new, so yes it’s ultimately scary to me, but it’s one of those types of fears we should embrace because that growth is worth far more than the fish themselves. Loading my calendar with the unknown feels right to me in this crazy time of uncertainty.
Halibut, I am coming for you. Truly learning to hunt for salmon outside of the river – it’s happening! Tuna, it’s been far too long! If you would like to fish with me, reach out on social media on my blog, For the Love of the Tug, or at Northwest Oregon Outfitters, as Ted Jones is the guide I will be embracing these fisheries with. I am beyond ready to get outside my comfort zone and embrace the new.
It is time.
WITH SPRING HERE, I can’t help but believe this rebirth is not only for the forest, but this awakening is for me as well. The river, she will always be the keeper of my heart. I will never abandon her. But just like any caring mother, she would want to see me challenge myself and grow. She would want me to embrace new horizons and assure me that home will be right here waiting for me.
Yes, the new beginnings of spring come with or without you. The thing about being human is new beginnings only come if and when you decide to begin. The choice is yours. My heart is on the river and I couldn’t change it, even if I tried. NS
