Tenmile Lake and Reports
Sunday, August 10th, 2008
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Water Temp: warm
Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)
Report: I've got a great idea for a documentary. Next year starting on July 1st I can find a fellow fishing addict who likes to run a video camera and he can film every fishing trip for 40 days. We could call it 40 Days/40 Fish. Or wait...40 Days/60 Fish! Yeah I like the sound of that better. You could open to the sound of an alarm going off at 4 AM. Zoom in on my ugly mug and see the smile that appears when I realize it's not a dream- I'm going fishin' ! It would be at least as exciting as that "Documentary on Mullosks" that Monty Python was always mentioning. You could also maybe try to give it that "Hoop Dreams" flavor. Any fishing/film students out there want to waste a month of their life....fishing and um...filming? Imagine for a moment the excitement of watching someone take 3 tries to attempt to tie the perfect uni to uni knot- spellbinding!! The touching scene where a father and his young daughter tie up some new jigs! The cussin filled moment (properly bleeped of course) when I snap off yet another good bass. If we got really lucky maybe we could get Brad Paisley to do the background music. He'd probably be up for some bass fishin'! I wonder if Herve Villachez is still alive- "Look boss- de bassboat, de bassboat!"
City: yoncalla, oregonTips: Quit clogging this website with silly ideas.
Friday, August 8th, 2008
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Water Temp: 72-74
Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)
Report: Took a new friend out to Cottage Grove today. We went in my boat this time and had a real good day. We started the day off with me hooking a good fish and then having it pull off 1/2 way back to the boat! That's fishing. Two casts later we each hooked one- a 19"- 3 lb.,13 oz. for me and a 17"- 2 lb.,9 oz. for him. Seven minutes later we get another double and this time he gets the big one. An 18"- 2 lb.,12 oz. for him and a 17"- 2 lb.,8 oz. for me. Then 10 minutes later I snap off a good one on the hookset- darn adrenalin! Tie up another jig and get a 17"- 2.11. Then the bite kinda died so we moved a bit. The next spot wasn't producing so we tried a 3rd spot. Five minutes apart I got a 19"- 3.7 and a 16"-2.4. The 3.7 looked kinda nasty. It had sores on the tip of both gill plates and seemed like it should have went at least 4 plus- big frame but kinda skinny really. Then it died off again so we headed up the creek. I got a chatterbait fish that was 15"-2.1. Then my buddy got a nice hard fighting 19"- 3.7! Five minutes later I got a 14 1/2"- 1.13. What a whopper. We ended up with 27.7 for 10 fish between us. Best 5 went 16.1. I ended up with 14.11. We had a little over 14 lbs. before 7 AM. The coolest catch of the day was when my buddy was tossing a firetiger squarebilled crank and he reels in and says "Look at this". I turn and he's holding the lip of the bait and a 3" bass managed to spear itself in the back of its tiny little head. It's for sure my favorite picture of the whole trip. Looking forward to fishing with him again- he knows how to fish and we had a lot of laughs. Amazingly enough we didn't talk hoops/sports for more than 5 minutes of the 6 hours we were in the boat. Next trip- I know he loves hoop as much as I do so I'm sure we'll go again.
City: yoncalla, oregonTips: Grab your favorite heavy rod- tie on a jig- drive to lake- cast- be patient- hook good bass- smile- repeat! Summer only lasts so long so don't cry to me- make the most of it!! 40 bass since June 30th- 119 lbs., 6 oz.. What are you doing this weekend?
Tuesday, August 5th, 2008
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Water Clarity: Muddy (0-2 foot visibility)
Report: hey bob, my buddy and i went to the lebanon farm ponds last tuesday. I caught about 15 bass. My biggest was about 4lbs, and I landed 9 fish from one of my favorite holes in about 20 minutes. Great day of fishing, swallows were dipping in the water like they do at many farm ponds, and big lunkers were jumping out of the water I believe attempting to eat them. Pretty exciting thing to see, but nerve racking at the same time because they wont look at any of my baits.
Tips: I caught all my fish on various colored 4in senkos. I tried a jig bob, but these ponds are filled with weeds making my attempts pretty discouraging.
Saturday, August 2nd, 2008
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Water Temp: warm
Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)
Report: Went to Cottage Grove on the 30th, 31st and Aug. 1st. The amazing fishing doesn't seem to be letting up. I fished 2 of the same spots that I hit last weekend. I got a 4 lb.,3 oz. from the first spot and a 3 lb, 2 oz. from the 2nd spot. On the 31st I got up real early and made it to the lake at just about the crack of dawn. I saw my line jump on the 3rd cast of the day and then it started tightening up. Set the hook and missed! I let the jig drop and 15 seconds later another bite- set and nothing! Now I'm beginning to wonder if it could be the huge beaver I scared off as I walked up to my spot. It wasn't happy and slapped his tail hard as it dove under and swam off. I let the jig drop again and didn't have much hope of getting lucky 3 times. Tap-tap! Who's there? Five pound, 2 ounce bass- 21 1/2" long! Only took about 20 seconds to get it in- it bit about 15 feet from shore in about 2-3 feet of water. I was still in a great mood the next morning. I got there early again on Aug. 1st. I got a 3 lb., 10 oz.- 19" from the 5.2 spot at 6AM sharp. And then tried 2 other spots and couldn't get another bite. All these fish came on the jig- I didn't even bother carrying a second rod this week- the jig is working that well. I've got my fingers crossed that I'll get the boat out twice next week- once with the daughter and once alone to see if I can break that 16.5 limit. What would really be cool is if she broke my record herself.
City: yoncalla, oregonTips: From June 30th through Aug. 1st I've caught 33 bass for 100 pounds and 13 ounces. All but 2 came on a jig. This is by far the best month I've ever had! I'm hoping August beats it. The bite is still going strong and I've got a great supply of jigs and a half dozen good spots that are flat out producing. I'll try my best to get the boat out at least once a week- every week.I'll keep the reports coming but you need to get out there and fish. And punch up a report or two would ya!? It would be nice to know if someone else is having a good month.
Sunday, July 27th, 2008
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Water Temp: warm and warmer
Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)
Report: Wow!! We had a great day at Cottage Grove. We got there early and left about 3:30PM. We got 13 bass for a little over 30 pounds. The best 5 went 16 lbs., 11 oz.. We got a 4.1, 3.13, 3.6, 2.13 and a 2.10.. We got most in the morning on jigs at a couple of spots. Then we moved around and hit a couple 3 other spots and got nothing. At 12:30 we were thinking about going over to Dorena but there were probably more ski boats and jet skis there so we decided to stay. We headed up the creek to see if there were any fish still up there. And the added bonus was no jet skis or ski boats. We're happy to report that there are a few up the creek and they are eating too. The only fish we lost all day was a 3 1/4 to 3 1/2 that shook off against the side of the boat. That would have helped cull a 2.10 and would have put the limit over 17 lbs.. Coulda, woulda, shoulda- yada, yada, yada. At least my buddy knows there are bass(and good ones!) in the lake. I'm betting he'll be making a couple trips a year up to fish it!
City: yoncalla, oregonTips: All of my fish came off a jig and my buddy got his on jigs and a rattle trap. We tried swimbaits, ripbaits and crankbaits all to no avail. Tried senkos and small worms too with the same results. Did find one really cool new spot that I will add to my hot spot milk run when I take the boat or kayak.
Saturday, July 26th, 2008
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Water Temp: warm
Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)
Report: Only went to Cottage Grove twice this week but both days were good. On the 23rd I got a 17" and a 19" that went 2 lb,7oz and 3 lb,7oz on the jig/beaver. On the 25th I got a 3 lb,9oz and a 3 lb,3oz that were 20" and 18". These also hit the jig/beaver. Without looking through my log books for the last 10 years I'd have to say that July 2008 has been my best month ever. I've maybe had months where I've caught more fish as far as numbers but no where near the quality of the fish this lake has kicked out. The month started with a bang and I hope it goes out with an even bigger one! I should have a good post in a couple of days- I'm going out all day Sunday with my old tournament partner. Last year he came up and we really stunk up the joint- I couldn't get us onto anything. Don't think we'll have that problem this time. We'll fish half the day at Cottage Grove and half the day at Dorena.
City: yoncalla, oregonTips: Again- have your gear ready! I barely got the 3.9 to shore the other day! She buried me up in some shallow weeds and I had to keep pressure on her. When she shook her head I was able to pop her up and slide her the last 10 feet to me. I need to go buy another pair of rubber boots so if it happens again I can wade out and get 'em. I know that using 30 lb. braid and a 20 lb. leader costs me a few bites but it also saves me some heartbreak. 19 bass for 59 lbs,6 oz = One happy bassnbob! See ya out there!! Can't wait for August.
Saturday, July 19th, 2008
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Water Clarity: Muddy (0-2 foot visibility)
Report: The water temp I put in was supposed to read "warm as our pool", not warm as our poo. First we had the deal where they dropped the f's out of the reports for a while and now they're losing the the l's at the funniest possible time. What next- the b out of bass! Bye.
City: yoncalla, oregon -
Water Temp: warm as our poo
Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)
Report: Went to Cottage Grove the 16th, 17th and 19th. Did not get a bite the first two days. Saturday I got there about 5:35AM. There was only one boat at the main ramp but there was a tourney going on because I saw a few bass boats blasting around the lake with the lime green band around the motor. They must have launched up the creek. I walked to my first spot and tossed a topwater for about 12 casts. The way all the fry have been acting the last week I thought the Sammy in the baby bass color would have worked but it didn't. So I tossed out my brown/green jig and within 3 casts got a good bite. There was a small tap and then my line started going tight. The fish fought hard and wrapped a few weeds around it head. It weighed 2 lbs., 10 oz. and was 18" long. Fished there for about 8 more casts and couldn't get a bite. Decided to cover some water. Went back to the car and drove to another spot I like. Again tossed the topwater for 7 or 8 casts with the same result. Went back to the jig and got a real hard bite. Set hard and fought the fish to the shore. It looked quite a bit bigger than the 1st one but only went 3 lb., 5 oz. on the scale. It was 19" long. I added them up and the last 15 bass total 46 lbs., 12 oz. for a 3 lb., 1 oz. average. I knew if they'd fill this beautiful lake up with water the fish would bite great. They sure seem to like those jigs I've been tossing them.
City: yoncalla, oregonTips: Go fishing as often as you can because the daylights already shrinking. The day will come when I don't have enough light to go fish before work. And what a sad day that is every year! Make the most of summer and don't forget that this fall should be some fantastic fishing. I like to toss topwaters, jerkbaits and maybe a little bit of that jig also. Be safe on the water!
Saturday, July 12th, 2008
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Water Temp: warm
Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)
Report: At Cottage Grove I got a 2 lb., 13 oz. on a senko. Tossed it out next to a small stick up and after letting it sink straight down I gave a tug and felt weight. I set the hook and that was it. Fished a couple other spots along the west shore with no luck. Oh yeah- lost another jig darnit!
City: yoncalla, oregonTips: Go now before all the 12-16" bass come out from wherever they are hiding.
Thursday, July 10th, 2008
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Water Temp: even warmer
Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)
Report: Went to Cottage Grove for about 45 minutes on the way to work today. I didn't get a bite at my first spot but at 6:10AM at my second spot I tossed my jig way, way out there. About 2 seconds after it hit bottom a bass nailed it. I could see my line rocketing to the surface and 3 or 4 seconds later the bass was dancing and thrashing on the surface. I let it tire itself out a bit and then netted it. It was another one of those lean, almost athletic looking bass. It was 19 1/2" and 3 lbs., 2oz.. If I did my math right that makes the last dozen bass 38 pounds. I knew they'd turn on big time sooner or later.
City: yoncalla, oregonTips: Sell all your gear except your best jig rod and your box of jigs, quit your job and fish all day every day!
Monday, July 7th, 2008
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Water Temp: pretty darn war
Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)
Report: Went to Cottage Grove today and got 2 bass but not from the hot spot of a few days ago. I tried there but they were not biting. Had a nice 4 lb. bass follow my 5" trout swimbait all the way up to my feet but that was it there. So I walked down the bank about 400 yards and tried another good spot. I got a 2 lb.,7 oz., 17" and then a 3 lb.,1 oz., 19" on the next cast. And then nothing else for the next 30 minutes. Both came on.....wait for it.....the jig and beaver! I really have to almost laugh out loud when I hear people say- "Oh it's so hard to feel a jig bite." Are you kidding- Maybe if it's 28 degrees and you're 45' deep- but these Cottage Grove bass in the summer are not shy at all. They flat out whack your jig. The sound of a 3 pointer going through the net, a thundering strike in bowling and my #1 favorite sound- my Power Pro line snapping taut on the hookset with a 3 pound or bigger bass!
City: yoncalla, oregonTips: Quit typing fishing reports and get the hell out to the lake! See ya!
Friday, July 4th, 2008
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Water Temp: high 70's?
Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)
Report: July did start with a bang!! I fished Cottage Grove on the 4th and the 5th. The 4th was fantastic and the 5th was even better. On the fourth I tossed a shallow crank around for about 10 minutes with no bites. I grabbed my jig/beaver combo and tossed it out to see if I could draw a bite or two. I felt the jig bump something- hesitated and felt that old thump/thump and...set the hook. Twenty seconds later I land a 17", 2 lb,12oz. largemouth. But the cool part was he was followed in by 5 or 6 bass as big or bigger. And the coolest part is I still had almost an hour to fish. Weighed and taped him, ran down the bank about 40' and tossed him back in. Threw the jig in and got bit almost as soon as it touched down- this bass was a little heftier and had 4 others follow it in. I went to lift it out of the water and the jig shook out. Darnit! I just laughed and said there's plenty more where she came from. Tossed back in and 2 casts later got bit and set the hook on an 18", 3 lb.,4 oz. largey. Weighed, taped and took a photo and then tossed her back. Next cast I set the hook and this one is really digging in- had to tighten up the drag twice. Didn't jump at all just pulled. Dragged her in and she went 3 lbs., 12 oz. and 19". Very strong fighter and if she had a load of eggs would have been 4 1/2 lbs. or better. This one had 1 follower that was at least as big as her come all the way to the bank. I let her go and tossed back in. I looked at my watch and it was only 20 minutes since the 1st bite! Feeding frenzy ain't the word. I stayed right up 'till 7AM and then had to haul butt to work. What a way to start my day! On the 5th I was gonna try to be there at the crack of dawn. Yeah right- shut off the alarm and went back to sleep for 45 more minutes. Finally got there and started fishing at about 6:15AM. My friend Harold was already there trout fishing. I tossed the jig out and it was on- again. First fish was 17", 2 lb., 7 oz. Next one was 18", 3 lb., 7 oz.. Next was a 19", 3 lb., 15 oz. that did the old dig, dig, dig routine. She was barely hooked and I was sure glad Harold had his long handled net with him. He was nice enough to help me land 2 of the fish. He took a photo of me with the fish and the lake in the background. I cast out the jig- I guess 'cause I only had 10 more minutes to fish- layed the rod across my arms and turned away from the spot to take a photo of Harold and before I could shoot the rod jumped. I gave Harold the camera, turned around, tightened up the slack and set the hook. And for a variety of pretty dumb reasons snapped off probably the best fish of the day. And of course I didn't have another jig on me so I got to stew for 5 minutes and then leave for work. What a cool couple of mornings though. Again thanks to Harold for helping me out. Oh yeah- as I'm grabbing my gear to go we look out and see a lone 4 pounder swim right up in front of us and give us a look. I couldn't see my jig in its mouth so we don't know what that was about.
City: yoncalla, oregonTips: A couple things. One- always have your gear in order so if you do run into a pack of fish you're ready to be succesful. I use Power Pro or Tuff Line braided line on a lot of my rods. This time I had about a third of a spool of 10 lb. Big Game mono for backing. This was tied with a uni knot to about a 1/2 spool of 30 lb. braid and then a 20 lb. Seaguar flourocarbon leader about 5' long. The casts were very long and the knot between the backing and the braid actually was out 5-8' from the rod tip. I would try to immediately pull a little line in so a wrap or 2 of braid was around the spool. The other contributing factor to snapping off a good fish was the fact that after fighting the 3-15 I never backed off the drag. That alone would have probably been enough. Needless to say on the way home from work I grabbed a new spool of Power Pro and fixed that problem.
And I'm about due for a new net. I may try one of the new extendable handle ones. Shore makes it nice- beats the heck out of dead lifting them out of the water. I'm gonna tie up a few new jigs too and make sure I always have a spare or 2 on me.
I had kind of weird feeling that I'd had a day like this before so I looked it up and sure enough- July 5th of 2006 I got a couple nice ones on swimbaits over at the dock. And missed a 3rd bite too. When the fish are really eatin' it seems to reverse the pattern. The fish just got bigger and bigger as time went on. Normally they get smaller and smaller. In my experience you usually will catch the bigger fish and then they taper off after you've been on spot for a while. Not always but usually. Have fun out there and be ready 'cause you never know when a pack of big ones will come knockin' on your door!! Candygram! See you out there.
Tuesday, July 1st, 2008
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Water Temp: mid 70's
Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)
Report: Took the dog with me to Cottage Grove today. We launched up the creek. Actually saw a few other bass boats out today- a bit unusual for a weekday. I used a 5" trout swimbait, a couple of Lucky Craft ripbaits, a brown jig w/watermelon sweet beaver trailer, a crawdad Frenzy crankbait and a Shad colored Zara Spook. At 7:15AM I caught a 1 lb.,11 oz., 15" largemouth on a Lucky Craft ripbait along a transition from steep riprap to grassy flat. It hit real hard and had both trebles hooked up. It was in about 6-8 feet of water. The next bass came from one of my spots I catch 'em on every year with my favorite lure- a jig! I made a very long cast and about 2-3 seconds after it hit bottom in about 4-6 feet of water a 3 lb.,12 oz., 20" bass creamed it! Thanks to braid and a 6' 20 lb. flouro leader I was able to snap back the rod and stick the fish. I had to tighten the drag real fast to get him moving toward the boat though. I'm a little embarrased to say that had I had the drag locked down tight I probably would have snapped this fish off- it's happened before. Anyway even though I had almost 3 hours more to fish I got greedy and spent most of it tossing the swimbait along channel edges hoping for a bigger bite. Didn't see any followers or get any more bites but did find a couple of cool lookin' spots for next trip. One of them is a spot with big rocks close to a fairly steep shoreline- may even be able to fish it in the mornings from shore.
City: yoncalla, oregonTips: I love my dog but she was bugging the crap out of me. Really hard to concentrate on your lure when your 75 pound lab/pointer keeps tryin' to climb in your lap. An absolute miracle I caught a fish!
Thursday, June 26th, 2008
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Water Temp: 69-72???
Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)
Report: What I thought would be a dynomite month of June has turned out to be a big dud! Went to California for 11 days of vacation. Went to a small pond that I always get fish at with my 5 year old girl and her 3 1/2 year old friend and only got 1 bite and no fish. They still had a good time but I felt like a "bad" guide. My friends 10 year old boy hooked a 12" bass on a squarebilled firetiger crank but it shook off before he could land it. One bright point of the trip as far as fishing goes- a friend that runs the tackle store in my old town caught a 14 pound bass from Clear Lake. He caught a 12 pounder last year during a tourney and the 14 in early April of this year. I've still been fishing Cottage Grove every chance I get- I just havn't been catching 'em. I fished the 2nd, the 18-21st, the 23-25th with no fish. I did take my 2 year old boy out on the 23rd in the boat for the first time. We had a blast! He was totally loving it. After about 2 1/2 hours of rocking in the wind and waves he finally fell asleep. We were trolling across the creek end of the main body at the time. I went ahead and pulled in the line 'cause I couldn't reel in a fish anyway with only 1 hand available. I just idled around for a while with the kid in my lap reading the meter and looking for some new spots to try next trip out in the boat. I've still got a good outlook and I'm pretty sure July is gonna start with a great big bang (Say about 6 or 7 pounds worth!!). And I'm planning on taking the boat out Monday the last day of June and the dog's going with me this trip- maybe she'll be my good luck charm. She moped around all day after she saw me and the little guy head to the lake without her. Someday soon we'll all go together but not 'till he stops trying to ride her like a broncing bull!
City: yoncalla, oregonTips: Drive around in your boat and find drop offs, creek channels and humps and fish them slowly and carefully. I'm sure the fact that I get to the lake about 1 1/2 to 2 hours after daylight can't seem to help. The normally reliable shore bite just ain't happening for me. But....that next cast with the swimbait could be that 7 pounder so I'll keep tossin'. See ya out there.
Monday, June 16th, 2008
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Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)
Report: Fished for three days on North and South Tenmile Lakes. Fish were few and far between but the fish were mostly 3 lbs with two over 5 lbs. Caught several in the lily pads, none off docks (unusal). Weather was high of 59 each day but sunny. Locals said the fish were on their beds which was late. Still had fun.
City: Tigard, ORTips: Mostly used watermelon senkos and some white spinnerbaits, nothing else worked. Caught 6 the first day and then 3 the second and four the last day.
Saturday, May 31st, 2008
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Water Temp: great
Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)
Report: Fished Cottage Grove 3 mornings in a row this week. Fished the west shore only. On the 29th I got a 3 lb., 3 oz. 18" largemouth on a 5" trout swimbait. Lucky to have landed her- just a sliver of skin keeping her on the hook. Weighed her, measured her, took her picture and let her go finish making some babies. She seemed pretty annoyed about being caught. Moved down the bank to a rockier spot and walked up on at least 3 bass. Looked like a 2, a 3 and a 5 pounder all swimming together. They ignored the swimbait and the Storm bluegill crankbait that I dragged by them. The 2 smaller ones lost interest and swam off. I didn't actually see the 5 swim off. Ten or 12 casts later with the swimbait I see her come out from behind a large rock right in front of me. Wish I had a soft plastic of some sort rigged up on one of my rods. She may have been catchable- if that's actually a word.
City: yoncalla, oregonTips: The swimbait thing is kind of a trade off. I could toss a 4" worm on dropshot rig and probably catch a few more (smaller) bass but I'd rather catch one good one with the swimbait instead. It's fun seeing how far you can toss 'em too. Plus some of the followers are awesome to look at- just remember your polarized glasses. Have fun and Go, now, please. You'll be glad you did. Tried tossing a 9" Castaic sinking swimbait for about 10 casts but couldn't hit any bass in the head (And knock 'em out!) so went back to bluegill crank and 5" swimbait.
Sunday, May 25th, 2008
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Water Temp: 63?
Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)
Report: Fished the west shore of Cottage Grove yesterday morning before work. Got a 17 1/2", 2 lb., 11 oz. largemouth on a Lucky Craft Pointer 100. I was rippin' it with the standard rip-rip-pause retrieve and not getting bit so I really started rippin' it hard and that's when the bass hit it. I also tossed my 5" trout swimbait and a tube for a while but no bites on those. It's gonna be a long great summer- can't wait until they start slamming the 8" baits!!
City: yoncalla, oregonTips: I'm lookin' so forward to showing my 5 yr. old daughter how fun tossing buzzbaits and frogs up in the weedy areas of the creek. She will love it when they almost rip the rod out of her hands. I'm gonna try a few of the other Lucky Craft baits like 78's and 128 Pointers and some of the staysees. They run a hair deeper and may get me a few more bites. I'm like anybody else- I'd hate to lose one on a snag but why have them if you're not gona use them! I only have maybe 8 or 9. I guess if I'm really worried I could toss a rogue- they're a bit easier on the wallet if you do lose one.
Tuesday, May 20th, 2008
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Water Temp: 60's
Water Clarity: Muddy (0-2 foot visibility)
Report: Went out the 17th and 20th. Two different farm ponds. One pond the spawn was on big time. I got 6 bass in about 25 minutes. All on a variety of senko's. Mainly 4in green pumpkin. All were got bank fishing, casting parallel to the bank. Fish were really active hanging around their nests. Saw a monster bass amongst a pack of spawning blue gill. I tried everything, it wouldn't even look at my bait, I believe it was going after a nice juicy sunfish. Biggest fish weighed about 3lbs. Caught it in about 2 feet of water. Fished today in a farm pond outside of lebanon, water was really muddy. I caught 7 fish. None were very big, some fish just starting spawn. Did catch two on a suspending rapala. Rest on senko, fishing the senko weightless on braided line with huge 3/0 hooks.
City: dallasTips: Have fun out there!
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Water Temp: 64-66.5 maybe?
Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)
Report: Fished Cottage Grove on the 14th,16th,17th and 19th. Didn't catch a fish but still had an exciting week. On the 17th I fished the west shore and had 2 5 pound fish follow my 5" swimbait right up to my feet in 2 foot of clear water. Had to leave for work 15 minutes afterward- that's always tough. Had a tube and a fluke rigged on my other 2 rods but they wouldn't hit those baits. I actually started the day with a senko wacky rigged but never got a bite. So I hooked up the tube instead.
On the 19th I went back to the same area and tossed 2 different swimbaits and a Pointer 100. There was a bit of chop on the water and I was there from 10:40-11:40AM. The water was clear enough to see any followers but I didn't see any. So I moved down the bank and found a spot where I could fan cast the swimbaits. I pulled one across the end of a shoreline log and a 2 pounder came out and flashed at the bait. I tossed it back again and this time I saw a 4 pounder with it. I rigged up a sweet beaver weightless and tossed back in. They'd watch it but not hit it. So I tossed it over the log and on the way down one of the 2 jumped it. I set and got the fish up to the other side of the log, could hear and see water splashing but only saw part of its lip. Then my hook was stuck in the log and the fish was gone. I'm just glad that it didn't get pinned to the log. Amazingly enough it was the only bigger hook I had in the fanny pack- time to reload. I didn't get any but the spawn is definitely on. I've got to get the boat out again and soon!
City: yoncalla, oregonTips: Standard sight fishing stuff should come into play now and I hope I can catch some post spawn mamas as they head out to their summer spots. The water is so darn clear it is unbelievable. See ya out there.
Tuesday, May 13th, 2008
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Water Temp: 60 plus in spot
Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)
Report: Told my 5 year old daughter we would go to Cottage Grove in the boat Monday afternoon if the weather was nice. Tried to talk her out of it 'cause it was fairly windy and she's not a huge fan of rough water. She'd have none of it! Loaded the boat with a few rods and a ton of her "STUFF". She had mommy help her pack a cooler full of goodies. And away we went.
Launched up the creek with not another boat on the whole lake. It was pretty windy and it was blowing down the lake into the creek. I had a t shirt on almost all afternoon. She wore every piece of clothing she had with us and of course her life jacket. We idled across the creek and started fishing. As usual she got bored after about 15 minutes. She sat down to try some beef jerky. I had her turn on the fishfinder on the dash and had her watch it closely for fish. As we crossed from a flat into the creek channel (Dropped from 3-4' down to 10-12') she saw a couple fish on the meter. I had a 5" trout swimbait tied on so I tossed it ahead of us at what I hoped was the edge of the channel. Three casts later I got a hard bite and yelled come here girl. She grabbed the rod and I kept one hand on it too. Then we started winching the bass in. From the bite and the bobbing of the rod it seemed like it should have been bigger. To my 5 year old it was a giant! When we saw the bait doubled over in its mouth we decided to swing it aboard. While I tried to get the bait out I had her get out and fire up the camera. She took a half dozen photos and even one of the release. I usually weigh and measure every fish but since we took the pictures and the boat was blowing up the creek into 3' of water......I'll guess that this bass was 2 3/4 to 3 pounds and about 17 to 17 1/2" long. While we celebrated and high fived I got the boat back to roughly the same spot. She had noticed one little piece of wood sticking up so we used it as a marker bouy. Within 2-3 casts we got another one! She had the camera ready to go by the time I landed it. This was an absolute clone of the other fish and had the bait sideways also. Tossed the spot 50' up and down the channel and couldn't draw another swimbait bite.
We moved over to the other side of the creek channel and I tried to get her to toss a crankbait. She said you go ahead Daddy and started working on a cheese stick. Five casts later I got a nice bite, set the hook, light action rod loads up, fish surfaces and tosses my lure on the first headshake! That was it for catching.
We piled on all her clothes and even gloves and headed slowly out to the stick up tree on the main body. Tossed a jig and the crankbait for about 30 minutes with no bass. She was tired of drifting around and wanted to sit in one spot so we tied off to a branch and fished all around.
City: yoncalla, oregonTips: Bring lots of snacks 'cause you can lead a kid to water......but you can't make 'em fish. She learned today though. She learned how to watch the meter and notice a good drop off, learned how to get the camera fired up and ready so the bass doesn't stay out too long, she learned how to keep the nose into the wind so you don't blow onto shore, learned you can't have too many clothes in the boat even on a sunny day, she learned bass really like swimbaits and she taught Daddy it's true- you just gotta relax and let kids be kids! See ya.
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