Clackamas @ Riverside/Summer STEEL

[ArcticAmoeba]

I went down real early to Riverside and hiked upriver to a spot that i had luck in before, last summer. Got out there and started casting out my old go-to, dual drifters with sand shrimp. Had no bite for an hour, so i switched to eggs, and 15-20 minutes later, BAM, Zingggggg. First one of the day! WOO. Had a nice 10 minute battle with her, and brought it in and sacked her up. Sweet, eggs are workin. So after i got all antsy after 30 minutes of nothin i switched back to sand shrimp.(Under a slip bobber.) Another 20 minutes went by and no bite, then a weird tug, then another long slow rubber band type pull, and splash, splash a fish came out of the water! I thought i snagged a small log! No way, a nice hatchery male. This fish would have been a great acrobat...I don't know how many times he crested the surface, but another 10 minutes later and I had my LIMIT. Oh baby!:dance: I was out of there by 10:15, with like 15 pounds of fish. My scale really sucks so it is close, 14-16lbs. Anyhoo had a great day in a secluded spot on the river, and a Quadruple decker PBn'J. Oh yes i love that we can do this so close to home!

 

[osmosis]

I told ya riverside has been fishing well, There's a reason I've spent the last several weeks launching there and heading upstream.
Great job on the quick limit.

 

[ArcticAmoeba]

Thanks Osmo! I went in to work and 3 of us ended up gettin sent home, i actually volunteered, and switched with another guy. What was i supposed to do, i had all my steelhead gear for later that day. Thanks again for turning me on to Riverside. You are the reason i went.

 

[osmosis]

Sounds like a good day that kept getting better.
Did you fish the big eddy in the first corner above the park?
We should meet up at riverside sometime and do some fishing.

 

[ArcticAmoeba]

You know that section of river all too well Osmosis. You are absolutley correct on the location. I had heard from Gary Waterhouse @ Great American Tackle that the eddy upriver from the park is really good. Just never tried it until we started shootin back and forth about slayin Clack. I will definitely let you know here in the next day or so what days i can get out there...

 

[osmosis]

sounds great let me know how your schedule works out.

I fish that section of the river very often it's my favorite section.. for future reference if you hike past that corner you fished to the next corner, it's 35' deep and holds a lot of fish, little harder to fish but worth it..
I'll show you a bunch of nice spots when we go fishing.

 

[JTLunker]

Very nice Artic! Fantastic even. That is some nice iron. We should hit the water sometime this summer. Let's try for after the 4th. Do you have afternoons off? I can be at the Clack by 5:30 most days. Let me know on here or PM. Good work man!

 

[SDK]

You guys are killing me :clap:

Great report and pics....

 

[ArcticAmoeba]

Very nice Artic! Fantastic even. That is some nice iron. We should hit the water sometime this summer. Let's try for after the 4th. Do you have afternoons off? I can be at the Clack by 5:30 most days. Let me know on here or PM. Good work man!

Geez JT you're all maxed out in the messages:lol: so I'll post here. Sounds like a plan to me. I'm in the process of getting a job right now, but i will work days anyways, so the afternoon sounds great. We will talk on here some more after the fourth I'm sure, so we can plan somethin.

 

[c_13_b]

Riverside?

Riverside?

Where is Riverside? Don't think I have ever been there??

 

[dud3r]

I am so jealous right now. I need Steelies too!

Nice Fish! :clap:

 

[osmosis]

Riverside is at the end of evelyn st. in Clackamas - Behind the safeway distribution/bakery. It gets terribly crowded with swimmers on warm days... For some F'ed up reason pretty frequently guys stand in the middle of the boat ramp to fish and tell you to get out of THEIR way while your launching, its a joke sometimes.. Not to mention this park seems to be the hotspot for drunk loud teenagers, and people playing fetch with their dogs in the water..

There are TONS of fish throughout the entire clackamas right now - from the mouth up to the dam/deadline. The riverside section of river is best fished from a boat, not the bank..

The spots you go to now are probably a more pleasant + trash free environment to tell you the truth.
From tomorrow on I'm launching at carver, There are more fish being caught up there.

 

[ArcticAmoeba]

Thanks Dud3r! Yeah i would head up the rier a ways, Riverside is fishable from the bank, but it can get a little crowded in spots with the water being so high. It will be easier to catch fish farther up from Riverside too...

OSMO - Hey how does early next week sound, Monday or Tuesday? I will come out to Carver, or where ever you will be. Lemme know how your week looks buddy.

 

[osmosis]

Either monday or tuesday could work for me, let me know. We'd be meeting up at 6am at the launch if that's not a problem. Either Carver or Riverside depending on whats going on with the river.

 

[ArcticAmoeba]

Tuesday is looking the best for me, but if not i could do monday, just would have to be back at the launch by 2 or so. I will be where ever you want to put the sled in...definitely take a look at the river this weekend. I though it was predicted to come down? Anyhoo, I actually had a bid out off of Springwater, near 211. I ended up havin most of my gear with me, no waders, so i went to the dam hole via McIver, at 2 and stayed a while. Lots o nook cresting and sloshin around, only 2 fish brought in all day though. We'll see how that rivers flowin this week!

 

[osmosis]

I fished today with two good fishermen for 7 hours and we worked hard for two lost chances at chinook, we ended the day with about a dozen squawfish (a couple 4lb pigs too).
It was a very slow day and no one we talked to had anything. The river was up and down but mainly on the drop today.

I always check this guage before heading for the water, it helps: USGS Real-Time Water Data for USGS 14210000 CLACKAMAS RIVER AT ESTACADA, OR

12.73' right now and it gets a bit exciting to run much lower than 12-12.5 though it still fishes well. Hope we have enough water next week.

I'll write down tuesday on my calendar. Lets Just meet at carver, There are plenty of fish up there we can chase. I normally fish from 6am until noon, sometimes 1 so no problem being back in time.

Do you know how to backbounce? If you're not familiar with that, we'll run divers and bait.

 

[ArcticAmoeba]

I do know how to backbounce. I have really only done it with bait actually, just a few times with terminal tackle. Divers 'n bait, backbouncin, whatever you think would be best. Your knowledge of conditions out there is far superior to, well a lot of people. I will be at the launch in Carver just before 6. I'll keep an eye out for the sled. Black stripe down the side like a lot of others right?

 

[osmosis]

correct on the black stripe.. we will be backbouncing eggs through the deep holes and running divers and bait through some of the drifts I like - a bit of both will happen since you know how to backbounce. We will see what the current is doing when we get out there.. I was just asking to see if I should bring backbouncing rods.

I will bring all the gear and bait unless you have some favorite eggs or a favorite rod. All you need is layered clothing and non greasy snacks (NO CHICKEN! fruit and baked things are best.) bring a camera if you want pics too.
I do have bottled water on the boat.
Now just hope we have enough water to make the run a few miles above carver.

 

[FishSchooler]

I might go check it out at the corners, I have a problem though... My baitcaster is the only reel with strong enough line... But it is 25 lb cause it was meant for salmon, until I found out you can't keep salmon until august. Would 25 lb be ok or should I get a thinner leader, like 12 and put it on? I think I'll plunk with a spin n glow and eggs or prawns.

 

[osmosis]

plunking is a good way to waste a day by a river - not a good way to catch fish. period.

25 will work, I use #15 main and #14 leader in the clackamas.

a lot of the questions you ask have already been answered many times on this board and others. the search function is there for a reason.

you can catch fish with #50 braid tied directly to your lure, They ARE smart fish but don't give them more credit than they deserve.