Large Willamette pikeminnow

[TTFishon]

I have seen some 20lbs here in the Mo I would try. My Dad went to company potluck years ago an had carp. He didn't know how they cooked it but said it was better than catfish.

20 pounders would be fun to catch too.

 

[GraphiteZen]

Yep, pikeminnow. What's the big deal? They eat the same thing a trout eats. The problem I have with eating them now is where they came from. lol

Dude, I tried to take one home to smoke and couldn't keep the thing in my boat for more than 20 mins. I thought I was gonna hurl. It was just an unbelievable stench, like moldy cinnamon and butt.

 

[beaverfan]

smaller pikeminow don't fight but the big ones are off the hook, especially on a trout rod, thats a great story jay. what kind of bait did you use? i usually have wormas for the small ones but that little fsh seemed to get aslot of big fish

We were using chrome mepps spinners. Like you said it was like fighting a small steelhead.

 

[TTFishon]

Dude, I tried to take one home to smoke and couldn't keep the thing in my boat for more than 20 mins. I thought I was gonna hurl. It was just an unbelievable stench, like moldy cinnamon and butt.

Don't know what to tell ya except I was young and beer can make anything taste good.:lol:

 

[colbypearson]

about 2 years ago i was fishing the park in independence and found a small dead fish on the bank dad cut it up and we used it as bait,, we were all the way at the end of the park down the small hill and we waded in.. the water we were fishing was atleast 20ft deep calm and green. we both ended up banking 3 pikeminnow but the weird park was,, they were around 5-6lbs each and the size of a decent sized steelhead, and they put up a nice fight , was it the bait i was using? the time of year? (summer) has anyone else caught pikeminnow this big? thanks for any input i forgot about that day and have been baffled about the size of those fish for a while

brandon

i was fishing the south umpqua for smallies and i know its not a pike minnow but i tail hooked a massive suckerfish i dont know how big the suckers get in there right under that park in roseburg it was a big sucker though easily the biggest i have seen, i got a few pike minnow when i was a kid biggest maybe 3lbs though..... although once i was fishing the willamite right under corvallis area and i was smallie fishing of course i hooked into what i thought was a smallmouth but it may have been a pike minnow but if it was a smallmouth............ it was BIIIIIIIIIG one

 

[Drew9870]

although once i was fishing the willamite right under corvallis area and i was smallie fishing of course i hooked into what i thought was a smallmouth but it may have been a pike minnow but if it was a smallmouth............ it was BIIIIIIIIIG one

I bet you snagged a Carp, my buddy foul hooked what must have been the same one in two casts using one of those rubber grubs that are tapered on the ends without the curly tail, I have the name of them right at the tip of my tongue.

A lot of people targetting Bass will foul hook a Carp unknowingly, especially bouncing plastics. Did you hear about the Grass Carp the dude pulled in during some sort of Smallmouth Tournament? I have noticed the areas I fish don't get too many weeds, and there is an assortment of structure and bottom types that should be suitable for vegetaton.

 

[colbypearson]

I bet you snagged a Carp, my buddy foul hooked what must have been the same one in two casts using one of those rubber grubs that are tapered on the ends without the curly tail, I have the name of them right at the tip of my tongue.

A lot of people targetting Bass will foul hook a Carp unknowingly, especially bouncing plastics. Did you hear about the Grass Carp the dude pulled in during some sort of Smallmouth Tournament? I have noticed the areas I fish don't get too many weeds, and there is an assortment of structure and bottom types that should be suitable for vegetaton.

it was hooked in the mouth so i assume it wasn't a carp but i have caught pike minnow in the mouth on bass gear, the reason i say i dont necissarily think it was a smallmouth because it was un godly big, not your run of the mill 2,3,4,5lb smallmouth i mean this thing was a real toad it came up breifly and i just saw the head with my bait handing out of its mouth since it was a spinnerbait it was pretty easy to see it then ran back up the tributary i was fishing and snapped me off, 6lbs is an understatement therefore since i didn't land it i wont put a weight on it smallie, or pikeminnow it was a big fish and i say it is the latter of the two because i dont want to think about losing a smallie that big haha

 

[GraphiteZen]

it was hooked in the mouth so i assume it wasn't a carp but i have caught pike minnow in the mouth on bass gear, the reason i say i dont necissarily think it was a smallmouth because it was un godly big, not your run of the mill 2,3,4,5lb smallmouth i mean this thing was a real toad it came up breifly and i just saw the head with my bait handing out of its mouth since it was a spinnerbait it was pretty easy to see it then ran back up the tributary i was fishing and snapped me off, 6lbs is an understatement therefore since i didn't land it i wont put a weight on it smallie, or pikeminnow it was a big fish and i say it is the latter of the two because i dont want to think about losing a smallie that big haha

I could have been a carp. I have hooked them on smallie flies, they can be pretty aggressive.

 

[Drew9870]

Only god knows, coming from the Willamette, it could've been one of Nessie's offspring.

 

[GraphiteZen]

Only god knows, coming from the Willamette, it could've been one of Nessie's offspring.

hahaha Indeed.

 

[colbypearson]

I could have been a carp. I have hooked them on smallie flies, they can be pretty aggressive.

oh ya i understand just the shape of a spinnerbait would be pretty hard to snag a carp it was right in the face too, how theyre set up with the wire in front of the hook and the blades positioned above it would just be a really hard thing to do its not impossible, anything is possible i wouldnt think it was a carp though... it doesn't matter though i didn't land it.


the locals told me there wasn't even any smallmouth in the area of corvallis? i got a few that day and lost that mystery fish is it just me or does anybody else get them there ever?

i mean like in the city of corvallis maries river or whatever thats called etc..

 

[Drew9870]

Maybe even a Chinook unless you were in a slough.

 

[GraphiteZen]

oh ya i understand just the shape of a spinnerbait would be pretty hard to snag a carp it was right in the face too, how theyre set up with the wire in front of the hook and the blades positioned above it would just be a really hard thing to do its not impossible, anything is possible i wouldnt think it was a carp though... it doesn't matter though i didn't land it.


the locals told me there wasn't even any smallmouth in the area of corvallis? i got a few that day and lost that mystery fish is it just me or does anybody else get them there ever?

i mean like in the city of corvallis maries river or whatever thats called etc..

haha who told you there were no smallies in the Maries? I slay them from the Willy, up through the park and as far up as I can paddle my kayak in a day.

 

[colbypearson]

haha who told you there were no smallies in the Maries? I slay them from the Willy, up through the park and as far up as I can paddle my kayak in a day.

i knew there had to be some i caught quite a few everyone i talked to sad theres nothing around with smallmouth haha

 

[GraphiteZen]

i knew there had to be some i caught quite a few everyone i talked to sad theres nothing around with smallmouth haha

The rule is: Anything which is attached to the Willamette has smallmouth in it. And largemouth, and carp, and Pikeminnow, and on and on...

 

[Drew9870]

So are you saying there are Common Carp in the Santiam River?

 

[GraphiteZen]

So are you saying there are Common Carp in the Santiam River?

Well played. I retract what I stated. Rather MOST rivers that... blah blah..

 

[TTFishon]

This brings up an interesting question to me. How far up the Willamette do you suppose carp live? I've seen them as far up as where the coast fork dumps in and that's pretty much still in Springtucky.

 

[brandon4455]

i see them up to the mouth of the luckaimute river then the water uyp further is usually a bit swift and only has sturgeon or pikeminnow or old nasty salmon/steelhead

 

[benkearney]

First fish I ever caught on my fly rod was a pikeminnow out of the McKenzie. A slightly disappointing start to what has otherwise been a glorious fly fishing adventure.