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Oregon Lake Fishing Report

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Wednesday, November 9th, 2011

  • Coos County
    • By

      Water Temp: 54-56.5

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: Carl and I went to Cottage Grove lake and didn't catch a bass...but we did have fun. On Wednesday,the 2nd of November, we took the boat out to the lake to try and get in one last shot at some bass. I had my rods loaded with 3 or 4 crankbaits and that was all I brought in my tackle bag. Also had a small box of rattletraps and 3 or 4 jerkbaits. We didn't launch until 9 AM or a little after and it was right around freezing. Carl got the first fish- a 13" fatty trout on a Bill Norman crank. He was casting it out near the rock wall area by the dam. Half hour later we decide to troll uplake to check water temps and I get a 13" trout on a Bill Dance crank. Then we have an hour and a half of no fish but lots of surface activity. The sun pops out and takes away the cold. We head back over by the dam and I can't stand it- I've got to try my trusty jig and beaver! As I reel it in quickly to make another cast a nice looking shiny fish follows it right up to the boat. I go back to my crankbait and speed it up a bit. We're now up against the barrier and the clock. We've got about 45 minutes left to fish and we'd sure like to get a bass. Carl holds up a craw colored crank and says "Do you think they'd hit this?" I nod and mumble something about bass always loving crawdads. I believe it was on the next cast he gets a bite at the side of the boat and the fish does 4 drag pulling runs before he gets it to the side of the boat. Mind you he's using a very light rod with 4 lb. line! Finally I put the net under the fish and just as I lift the crank pops out.....but the fish is in the boat. A beautiful 19", approx. 3 lb. rainbow- that fought like a steelhead. Carl and I were both amazed that he landed this fish- one scrape of his 4 lb. line on the bottom of the barrier and snap that baby is gone. He really fought it perfectly. I of course would have snapped it off on the hookset! I tied on a craw colored crank too- a Timber Tiger I believe it was and after 1/2 a dozen casts got another 13" trout. Then we decided to troll back over to the ramp- he with the Bill Norman and myself with the Bill Dance crank. About 1/2 way back my rod loaded up but no headshake at all. Sure enough, Guthook Bob strikes again. Another 13" trout stuck in the side. So we ended the day with 5 trout and no bass. But as usual when Carl and I go we always have a fun day. The temperature rose 30 degrees from the time we launched until we got home. Amazingly beautiful fall day! I'm heading out right now to shore fish before work. Maybe getting out early with the better moon phase will help me get a couple late season bass- who knows! Report to follow-stay tuned.
      City: yoncalla

      Tips: Dress warmer than you think you need to- you can always peel layers. Cranks and jigs.

Wednesday, November 2nd, 2011

  • Jackson County
    • By

      Water Temp: 56

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: Took my daughter out in the after noon around 1:30 for a few hours. Hit some smallies in about 10' of water. I got a nice 5+ lb large mouth just off the bank. Lost a real good fish over near the mouth of the main creek. Boat ramp a bit of a problem water very low. Daughter caught three trouts on Senko's.
      City: White City

Saturday, October 15th, 2011

  • Coos County
    • By

      Water Temp: 65

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: This lake is horrible in the late summer early fall due to the shortage of water and the thickness of dead weeds. This lake has two main places to catch any quality fish and they get hammered all the time. I only managed to get to small 2#'s for the whole day. When the rains start and the lake begins to fill again, there will be lots of fish in the back arms again esp. Coleman, Templeton and Big Creek.

Friday, October 14th, 2011

    • By

      Water Temp: 65

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: The majority of the fish I caught were in less than 5' of water. I caught a 6# and several 2's and one 3#. The final weight for the day was 16# 4 oz. not counting 12" or less. All the fish came on a variant of white. Most of the fish came on a white/goby tube from Dry Creek Baits including the 6#'er. One fish came on a bone white crankbait that I made.

Sunday, October 2nd, 2011

    • By

      Water Temp: 66

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: Jacob & I went out around 3:00pm, fished til right before dark. Bite was slow. Cranked and threw hula grubs. 2 dink smallmouth, 1lb largemouth & a 4lb largemouth
      City: J-Ville

Monday, September 19th, 2011

  • Coos County
    • By

      Water Temp: pretty warm

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: Hey Swimbait- With the current water level there are only about 3 places "Up the creek" that you can fish from the shore. As fast as they're pulling water out now wait about 3 weeks and you'll be able to walk the whole shoreline as well as see the giant stumps that sit on the edge of the creek channel. I highly recommend bringing a camera the first or second week of November and some rubber knee boots. You'll be amazed at how low the lake gets and even more amazed at some of the great looking drop offs, stumps, rockbeds and more. It's how I learned most of my good spots and it's fun standing 400-500 feet away from the shore in what's normally 15' of water snapping photos. Be careful you don't hit a softspot and lose a boot. By all means bring a pole and try standing at the edge of the creek channel and casting back up to the creek dock. That's the opposite of how I got the 4.7! Boy do those big Senko's fly!!
      City: yoncalla

      Tips: When the water level bottoms out the lake becomes about 1/2 the size it is now. Most people have no idea about this 'cause who goes to the lake on a cold late Nov./early Dec. day? Take your binoculars and mudboots and a thermos full of hot chocolate and go get some cool photos!

Saturday, September 10th, 2011

  • Coos County
    • By

      Water Clarity: Muddy (0-2 foot visibility)

      Report: BOB..When u say i fish from bank "up the creek" can u b more specific?
      City: Springfield

Monday, September 5th, 2011

  • Coos County
    • By

      Water Temp: felt warm

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: Fished from the shore up the creek today and broke in my new Dobbyn's rod the right way. Got a pressure type bite on a big Senko and set hard. I've got a baby Curado with braid and a floro leader and this fish was a digger. I had the drag 2 clicks shy of locked down and it still took a while to land it. The bass was a little over 20" long and was built like an NFL linebacker. The stick read 4 pounds and 7 ounces. Got 2 quick photos and slid her back in the lake. Couldn't get any more to go so drove around the lake and tried 2 other spots- nothin' goin' on over there. A short but well built dog came charging up to me just as I got back to my car. He was white with a black patch on his face and looked like a bulldog body with a pitbull face. Took 3 or 4 photos to show my kids and tossed him a chunk of a Pop Tart. To his credit he sniffed it and walked away. Gotta get up the creek in the boat and toss some swimbaits, crankbaits and big Senkos!
      City: yoncalla

      Tips: Only about 6-7 weeks of good bass fishing left so get out there and hit it hard. These also happen to be some of the most productive weeks and not just small bass! See ya out there.

Tuesday, August 16th, 2011

  • Coos County
    • By

      Water Temp: 72-75

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: Had an amazingly fun day with my 8 year old daughter at Cottage Grove Lake. Got her up and out the door @ 5:38AM. Started fishing by about 6:15 and didn't get a bite for the first 2 hours. Good thing we got up so early. Tried a couple fairly reliable spots and was mildly suprised we didn't get bit. So we headed up shallow and broke out the bobbers and crawlers. We only brought a dozen of them and knew we'd be fishing 'till dusk so we tried to keep the pieces small. Steph caught her first Oregon bass finally- a whopping 3 incher. We had a little contest going with 5 categories: 1) first fish, 2) most fish, 3) big fish, 4) smallest fish and 5) most species caught. She won 2 categories with one 3" bass. By the time the day was over she won 4 categories and tied on the species one. We found 3 or 4 good spots and stayed with them for a couple hours each. Steph ended up outfishing me 31 to 13! I've been hearing it all week and she can't wait to go again. She got the biggest fish on her last cast- a 7" bright orange bellied fattie bluegill! Got some great photos and you should see her smile. She said this was the best fishing day ever. And I would pretty much have to agree. Take your kids fishing right now and take twice the bait you think you'll need just in case the bite is really on! My 5 year old boy is next up- wonder how bad he'll outfish me?
      City: yoncalla

      Tips: Met a couple nice kids (Tyler and Josh) who were all over the lake in their leaky old driftboat. We saw them all over the place and they were really trying to catch some fish. If we'd brought more crawlers we'd have shared some with them but all we could offer them were some plastic worms and a couple hooks. They were out there fishing for at least 8 hours. Gotta admire their desire!!

Sunday, July 31st, 2011

  • Coos County
    • By

      Water Temp: 70's

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: Got to fish every day before work except the 27th this last week. The swimbait bite is starting to pick up and the jig always seems to work here. On the 25th I got a 4.0-19" on the 5" trout and on the very next cast hooked one maybe a half pound heavier. This was the hardest fighting fish so far this year. I was trying to keep it from burying me in the shoreline weeds and put a lot of pressure on it. About 8-10' from shore the bait shot past my left ear! Like to have put that one on the weigh stick! Due to my kids going to see Cars II with Mommy and the visiting nieces I was able to try out the afternoon bite. Got a 3.14-19" on the trout swimbait at a different spot than the morning fish. Saw some fry about 2-3" long swim by and then tossed the bait up fairly shallow near a weed pocket and wham! On the 26th I got another 3.14-19" on the first cast with the trout. One other small nip next cast and nothing after. Should have been there a half hour earlier. The 28th was a real nice morning. Hooked a good fish on the swimbait on the first cast. Pulled back and started reeling- never gave it the hard snapping hookset. Just as I reached down for the net the line went slack- DANGIT! Tossed the trout for about 10 more casts then grabbed the jig and started tossing it. A few casts in a 2.12-17" bass grabbed the jig on the way down. Never felt a bite- never saw the line jump- just felt pressure when I went to lift the jig. Same deal a few casts later but this one was 3.14 and 18" long. This fish was a chunk! On the 29th I got another swimbait fish- 3.4-18". Got my first bite on the next cast where the fish wrapped the tail up in the hook- must have changed its mind at the last minute. All in all a good week and I'm hoping August will be even better and it usually is.
      City: yoncalla

      Tips: Take your relatives from Minnesota and California fishing and show them Oregon has a few good, hard fighting, decent sized bass in our beautiful lakes. As fired up as these fish are seems like a Zaraspook should be working soon but it's so hard to park the jig and swimbait. Get out and GO NOW and don't forget your sunscreen and lots of ice cold drinks! See ya out there.

Wednesday, July 13th, 2011

  • Coos County
    • By

      Water Temp: plenty warm

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: Great job at the brown bag tourney Nick and Kev!! That was not an easy day to fish especially with lures you're not exactly used to using. My pal Mike and I fished it too- we only got 4 for a little over 10 lbs.. But I did win the Dobbyns rod at the raffle after so it turned out great. We got 3 on the sow chow craws and one on the green and black spinnerbait. This was my first brown bag tourney and I love that format. I was sorry to hear that it was Backlashes last one. I hope someone steps up and carries the tradition on. My 8 yr. old girl or 5 yr. old son might want to fish it with me someday.
      Started fishing Cottage Grove Lake on the way to work most days. On the 7th of July I got a 17 1/2" 2.10 on the jig and beaver up the creek. The next morning went back to roughly the same spot- about 100' north- and tossed my jig out. About 6 seconds later I set the hook and the fish comes completely out of the water thashing its head. I thought wow- another one of those full of piss and vinegar 2 1/2 to 3 pounders this lake seems to be full of. But when I lipped her I could see she was a tad bigger- 5 pounds and 8 ounces- 21" long! Almost all the fish I've caught over 5 pounds calm right down once you land them. This one would not she was so fidgety that I had to zero my scale and weigh her twice. Got a couple quick photos and took one of her swimming back into the lake. Wish I would have fished more this early spring- she might have been 6 pounds full of eggs.
      On 7/11/11 (If that isn't a lucky date- what is?) I got my first swimbait fish of the year. Got it on a 5" trout along a fairly steep bank. I tossed it a lot this week and knew it would pay off. This fish was a 3.14- 19" long and had the bait half in and half outof its mouth. Looking forward to an unbelievable week or two coming up. Once that bite gets going it's usually fast and furious- if the swimbaits not working the jig usually is. I've got 4 days off out of the next 9 and the boat will see the water at least twice. See you at the lake.
      City: yoncalla

      Tips: Take your kids fishing- it's fun and you make memories that will last your whole life. Be safe and wear your life jackets too. And again- way to go Nick and Kev!

Saturday, June 18th, 2011

  • Coos County
    • By

      Water Temp: 68

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: we won the brown bag tourney kev got big fish he is 16 it came with less than one hour left in tourney 18.33 total big girl 5.65 great day with son made me very proud brown bag consisted of 2 spinnerbaits 1crankbait rubbercraws calcutasenkos tha worked great fish would not let go
      City: G.P.

      Tips: we were fishing the fish we could not see done spawned 12 feet slow blade early

Friday, May 20th, 2011

    • By

      Water Temp: 56-58

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: Fished Emigrant Arm for 3 hours on Friday. Landed 12 fish. Best 5 went about 12 pounds. Biggest was a little over 3 1/2. Bite started to pick up around 7 pm, and had to leave the water at 7:30..aarrgghhhh. 2 reaction bites (jerkbait). Big fish on Senko, most others on a jig.
      City: Medford

      Tips: DEEP in the willows. Heavy braid and get get in there as far as you can.

Sunday, May 15th, 2011

  • Coos County
    • By

      Water Temp: 55-59

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: Actually went to TENMILE for two days. Fished with my old tournament partner Mike who now lives in Grants Pass. His big blue Ranger is waaay nicer than my boat so that's what we fished from. We had a great day Sunday (15th) despite the grim weather report. Never felt one drop of rain all day! Mike had a fish strip a senko off his hook on the hookset. I tossed my jig in and got a 3 lb. bass to start the day. Ten minutes later Mike gets a clone of it on a jig. Five minutes later I get a 3.13, 19 1/2" bass and five minutes later a 3.4, 18" bass. We're thinking this is gonna be a fantastic day. It slowed down a bit until Mike got a crankbait fish a 8:40. It was 3.6, 18 1/2" and ate the crankbait- you couldn't see it at all. Got slow again and then at 10:10 I got a 5.1, 20" bass on the jig. An 18.8 limit by 10 o'clock is decent. That was the last fish I'd catch this trip. Mike went on to catch a 3.11 and 2.8 bass on jigs, a 2.0 and a 3.12 on the crank, and 2 trout (8" & 10") on the crankbait. So he ended the day on a 6 straight fish run. Our best 5 bass went 19.11 and our other 5 went 13.12. Ten fish for 33.7- WHAT a lake! Monday we got there and didn't get a fish until 9AM- a 6" trout on the crankbait. Mike got a 2.0 bass @ 9:40 and a 12" trout at 9:50. The temps and weather looked the same as the day before but the fish wouldn't touch our jigs. At 10:40 and 11:15 Mike got a couple two pound bed fish to go on a tube. At 12:40 Mike got a hard bite on his crankbait and said "It doesn't feel like a bass". It wasn't! It was a giant rainbow- maybe 5-7 pounds. The fish was going absolutely nuts- cleared the water completely 2 or 3 times and even rammed into the side of the boat once. Once it wore down a bit and he got it alongside the boat we saw why. Somehow it had manage to hook itself in the eye. I'd go nuts too if that happened to me. We got the hook out and the fish swam away. You always feel terrible when that happens but it's just part of fishing. Between 1 and 2 PM mike got 3 more 12" trout on the crankbait. We left at about 2PM. Mike got 3 bass and 6 trout. After I got the 5.1 on Sunday Mike caught 15 straight to my none. After fishing with him for several years I'm pretty much used to A) Having a great time and B) Getting a beatdown- It helps keep me humble!! And I can't wait 'till next trip!
      City: yoncalla

      Tips: Take a total rookie fishing- you may have a chance to outfish THEM!! And IGNORE the dang weathermen!!

Wednesday, May 4th, 2011

  • Coos County
    • By

      Water Temp: feels warm

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: Spent almost 2 hours this morning before work hitting 4 different spots. Didn't catch a bass! The lake looks great- getting towards full and good water color. Weeds are growing fairly well and should be a fantastic spring/summer. I need to get the boat or kayak out ASAP!
      City: yoncalla

      Tips: Hit my best west shore spot, creek dock, a small grass filled cove and Shortridge. They didn't want my craw or bluegill cranks, a 6" watermelon Zoom trick worm or my old reliable jig and beaver. Spending 2 days at Tenmile in a week and a half- 10,9,8,7,6......! By the end of May trust me it'll be on at Cottage Grove too!! See ya at the lake.

Sunday, April 24th, 2011

  • Josephine County
    • By

      Water Temp: 53-55

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: Caught around 20 fish most were small did catch a very nice 8.50lb near dam.
      City: Central Point

      Tips: all fish caught on small baby bass crank bait in 6-8 feet of water

Saturday, April 23rd, 2011

  • Coos County
    • By

      Water Temp: low 50's?

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: Fished Cottage Grove on Friday and Saturday before work. Didn't get a bite Friday but on Saturday I got my first bass of 2011. Got it along the west shore by some rocks with a crawdad colored crankbait. It bit pretty close to shore and didn't feel like that big of a fish- maybe a 3-3 1/2 pounder. Once I was sure it was hooked good I lifted it out and man did she have a fat belly. Put her on the scale and she was 1 ounce shy of 5 pounds. Now that's the way to start the year. The bass was only 20 1/2" long but 19" in girth. Worked that spot over good before moving on and didn't get any bites. The lake looks good the water is 1/2 way up the dock and I like the water color right now. Can't wait to get the boat out soon.
      City: yoncalla

      Tips: I'm gonna try to use more crankbaits this spring- I looked through my records and almost every year I get a few nice fat bass on them and I like tossing them and rooting around the bottom whether it's rock, weed or wood. And thanks for the Tenmile report Gunz- we'll be there in about 3 weeks so we hope you're right about it turning on in 2 weeks! Sorry you didn't catch any hogs- keep at it!

    • By

      Water Temp: 53.5

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: Fished Tenmile on Friday, 4/23/11. Clear and 55-60 degree air temp. Water temp 53.5. Lake depth 11.5 ft. Bass are still deep. Went to 8 favorite spots that produce every year and did not see any bass on or near beds. Fished deeper 6-12 feet off docs and submerged logs, no fish. Bait fish and small bass were not to be seen. Lake has dropped 6 inches in the last two days and warmed up to 54+. Looks like another week or two until the action starts.
      City: Eugene

Saturday, April 16th, 2011

  • Coos County
    • By

      Water Temp: 50-55

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: caught 17 bass on april 16th and then caught 11 bass on april 17th great day on the lake biggest bass was about 6.5 pounds smallest bass was about 2 pounds pretty average day on cottage grove reservoir can't say what i was using because that's the secret lure . ha
      City: cottage grove

      Tips: would like to tell secret lure but cannot due to promises to people but use abu garcia revo line of reels they are legit ! booraa

Saturday, April 9th, 2011

  • Coos County
    • By

      Water Temp: felt ok

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: Finally got to hit Cottage Grove before work today. There were 10 or 11 trailers in the main ramp lot so I assume they were having a small tourney. Fished 3 or 4 spots from Lakeside down to my ditch spot with no bites. Used a senko, jig and beaver and a 4" trout swimbait. On the walk back to my car I saw a man walking his dog so I stopped to pet him (The dog!!) and then went on to work. By the time I got home and jumped in the shower I realized I shouldn't have done that! The dog wasn't on a leash and I noticed a lot of poisin oak everywhere I walked while I was fishing. Most of my left arm had patches of it. I used to get it really bad when I was 9-12 years old. I had to wear a long sleeve shirt at hoop just so I wouldn't give it to everyone else! Time to get that boat out and not have to worry about that itchy stuff. Got a 2 day trip planned for mid May to Tenmile Lake. And then a bass tourney there in mid June- should be fantastic- I love that lake.
      City: yoncalla

      Tips: Avoid petting cute little black dogs not on leashes unless you like the smell of Calamine Lotion! Sooner or later the rains will stop and believe me I'll be making up for lost time. Need to order up a good supply of swimbaits for July and August. Got some relatives coming from Minnesota in August and I want them to get a couple swimbait fish if the bass will cooperate.