Quartzville creek, Breitenbush River, and winter trout fishing (Middle Santiam access?)

[pancakesnarfer]

Howdy folks, with this nice weather we are having I went out for some winter trout fishing. initially planned to go to Quartzville Creek but found out the road was closed due to a landslide after driving all the way there, I instead went around on 22 to Detroit to fish the Breitenbush River. Fished it for a few hours using a bunch of different colors and sized spinners and didn't even see a single fish. I had the same experience earlier in December when I fished Quartzville Creek. perfect conditions, yet I didn't see a single fish the entire day. Is trout fishing in the winter just this slow, or am I doing something wrong with what lures I'm using?

Another quick question I have is regarding access to the middle Santiam River above Green Peter Reservoir. OnX shows almost all of that land as privately owned by a timber company, but I'm not sure if it's open to public access or not. It would be nice to know before I drive up there only to find out that it's all closed due to logging activity.

Cheers!

Bonus. Here are some cool pictures from the trip up to Quartzville Creek of some cool frost crystals on a burnt out RV

 

[troutdude]

Quartzville is a beautiful stream. I fished a lot, years ago, in the Spring and Summer. While I have never fished it in the winter; this lure (Roosertail Firetiger pattern) was the best for me. Sometimes caught and released 20-30 'bows in a few hours--usually starting a first legal light. Seems like I used 1/16 or 1/8 ounce size. But I'd recommend a bit bigger, than that, for higher winter water conditions.

Hope that helps. And, hopefully, others will chime in about Breitenbush. I've only fished that stream a handful of times; and caught some with bait and spoons. I don't recall if I used the Firetiger Rooster Tails there, or not.

Good luck and tight lines, TD