Fern Ridge Reservoir

[davidz]

I realized there's no unified thread for fishing at the Fern Ridge Reservoir. I go a lot to that lake, it's closest to me.
The water level at the lake can be monitored here:
USGS Current Conditions for USGS 14168000 FERN RIDGE LAKE NEAR ELMIRA, OR
The temperature of the water for last several years can be found here:
https://waterdata.usgs.gov/or/nwis/w...agency_cd=USGS

Fishing is good March-October(November). During winter months fishing at the Fern Ridge has been very unsuccessful for me, the water lever is really low. Early in the spring fish start biting depending on the temperature of water. The level starts to rise in February. To me the northern side of the lake is the most productive. The water is deeper by the dam. Long Tom river is the stream that forms the reservoir and is also a popular fishing spot. Right before the dam, in the Long Tom river, there's a large deep whole where you can see people regularly trying to catch fish. The Kirk Pond is nearby and is a very shallow body of water, apparently with some amount of fish in it.

Kinds of fish I've caught/seen people catching:
Fern Ridge and the Kirk Pond: crappie, bluegill, catfish, largemouth bass. Carp in the pond.
In the Long Tom: catfish, carp, largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, crappie and cutthroat trout.

I am fishing there so often, that I thought I will share my experiences in this thread.

Let me know how fishing is going for you at the Fern Ridge!

David

 

[troutdude]

Nice report. Thanks for sharing.

BTW, the Long Tom River also has tons of crappie--and a lot of Smallmouth Bass.

 

[C_Run]

Do you know if there is any place to put a kayak in the Long Tom between Fern Ridge and the Willamette without trespassing ? I have been looking on Google Earth and done some driving around near Monroe but haven't found a public access point so far.

 

[davidz]

Fern Ridge Reservoir

Report from yesterday:

After going to Fern Ridge Reservoir for probably about 5 times with no success, I finally got something. Today I noticed that the level of the reservoir was high enough that it covered previously exposed sandy bottom. Using a simple bottom rig (hook on the main line, weight at the end of line) with worm I caught several little bullhead catfish. Bites were very active. Five fish in 30 minutes. The biggest one was probably 2 inches larger than the one on the picture. Last week I was actively trying to fish Kirk Pond. Sadly, I didn't catch anything but had several bites. Crappie or bluegill? The pond is very shallow and has a lot of weeds already. Very hard to fish.

 

[davidz]

Do you know if there is any place to put a kayak in the Long Tom between Fern Ridge and the Willamette without trespassing ? I have been looking on Google Earth and done some driving around near Monroe but haven't found a public access point so far.

You can probably do it right after the dam, at the West Kirk park parking lot. There are some places where you can get to the water. If you're trying to avoid that wave spot you should hike down the gravel path downstream starting from West Kirk. However, the bank becomes pretty steep and rocky there.

 

[C_Run]

Thanks, I will scout that some time.

 

[troutdude]

CRUN, try mapquest / google maps and look at the country roads; off of Hwy. 99@W. Should be at least a couple of places, from the mouth up Monroe.

 

[C_Run]

I've driven the back roads below Monroe and did not see a good spot but it looks like a couple of county roads cross the Long Tom between Monroe and the dam. Ever since Sammy posted a video a couple of years ago, I've been wanting to try the Long Tom.

 

[Willerman]

Do you know if there is any place to put a kayak in the Long Tom between Fern Ridge and the Willamette without trespassing ? I have been looking on Google Earth and done some driving around near Monroe but haven't found a public access point so far.

I believe the video you are referring to, he was fishing off the Hubbard bridge (have done it many times, fun stuff), which is closed now. In order to get where you can park and drop a yak in, take old river road (a little farther north) around to get to the other end of the closed bridge. You can park drop a yak here, but it's not very fun, depending on how heavy your yak is. A small light one should be no problem for an able bodied person. My old one was a lot lighter than the one I have now, and I did it without breaking anything.

 

[C_Run]

Thanks, Willerman. I need to do a scouting trip.

 

[chris_the_wrench]

We tried the lake twice last week with no luck. We headed down to where the long tom feeds into the lake and got a couple small trout.

We saw some fish on the sonar up by the dam but none biting what we were tossing. Perhaps if we were willing to drift some bait in the area above the dam we may have had different results, but I prefer to lure fish.

We'll probably try again Tuesday or Wednesday this week.

-Chris

 

[davidz]

I went a couple times this week too. The south side of the lake is all muddy water with a slight current. The north side is calm and about 1.5 feet visibility. Surprisingly few signs of fish. Something very little was biting night crawler on my float rig.

 

[xlrustylx]

I would like a good thread on this lake, too.

My friend and I have slayed some carp in the pool below the damn and I've got bluegill (small) and tiny cats in the Long Tom but I really have never had success with the pond. I would love to find some more info on the whole subject.