smallmouth bass

By Gary Lewis

If the days spent fishing do not count against our allotted time on this earth, as we have been told, then we should fish more often. Because we spend a lot of our time in towns, we should be fishing in towns. It's more efficient.

When the family wanted to go to Disneyworld, I fished. When we went to Hawaii, I dabbled a line in a king's bathing pool. I have fished off hotel balconies and out the windows of cars all over the country. 

There are a lot of great fishing towns in Oregon; Shady Cove, Maupin, and Grass Pants, to name a few. If a river runs through it, it's a fishing town. 

Portland is, of course, the ultimate fishing town, with the Willamette running right through it and salmon, sturgeon, shad, and smallmouth on tap. One of the best smallmouth of my life came from under the Sellwood Bridge.  

What I like is going to a town and catching fish right out from under the noses of the local anglers. Here are some great fishing opportunities coming up in May and June. 

SHAD FISHING AT OREGON CITY

One of the best fisheries in May and June is for shad - on the Umpqua, the Columbia, and the Willamette. American shad were introduced to the American west in 1871 when fish were released in major rivers up and down the Pacific coast. Today, millions of shad return to spawn in the spring. Plankton eaters, our American shad is the biggest of the herring species and averages three to five pounds. They bite and fight with abandon. 

One great place to catch them is below the falls on the Willamette at Oregon City. 

They take small spoons like Dick Nites and Mack's Lure Sonic Baitfish, and red, yellow, or chartreuse jigs. Fly-rodders can get them on small shad flies and darts. They are a blast to catch. 

The action starts in May, right about the time the pink dogwood blooms. A fisherman can have 50-plus fish days in June, and contrary to popular opinion, shad are good to eat. Hint: learn how to debone them. Shad roe is good to eat too. Fast fishing continues through mid-July. 

SMALLMOUTH BASS FISHING AT THE DALLES

Smallmouth bass will probably spawn a bit later this year, as the waters are running cold with snow melt, but June is always great for smallies. When the water is running fast, they are likely to be in the eddies along the rip-rapped banks of the Columbia, from Mosier up to Boardman and beyond. 

There is a lot of bank access in this section of the river. Some of it requires parking off the highway. Backwater fisheries are an overlooked resource with bass and panfish. 

When towing a boat to the Columbia for the first time, keep in mind this is big, tricky water with heavy currents. That said, the river is accessible and the best fishing is along the banks next to the riprap and around jetties in softer water.

If the wind is blowing, there are always backwaters, side channels, and turns in the river where an angler can get out of the wind. 

Another option is trout fishing. Taylor Lake, right on the edge of city limits of The Dalles, has been stocked three times already this spring. 

TROUT FISHING AT JUNCTION CITY

A few miles north of Eugene on old Highway 99, the angler has to start slowing down at the edge of city limits at Junction City. This town with a population of 6,700 people has its own eponymous body of water, the 8-acre Junction City Pond. Stocked and fishable year-round, this pond gets legals, trophies, brood stock, and sometimes surprise surplus steelhead that will rock your world. By the time this issue went to press, JC Pond, as the locals know it, had been blessed with a reported 13,450 legals. That's a lot of fish, folks. It's worth a stop along the highway to soak some bait or cast a fly or spinner this spring. 

PIKEMINNOW AT PDX

I caught my first pikeminnow across from the Portland airport. We caught a lot of them in those days, toothy critters that averaged 11 inches and ran up to 17 inches or so. 

Northern pikeminnow thrive in the tailwaters below the dams and eat tons of baby salmon and steelhead. And for this, they have a bounty on their heads. 

For a true city fishing experience, register at the check-in station early in the morning at M. James Gleason Boat Ramp on Marine Drive, then prowl upriver and downriver for northern pikeminnow - nightcrawlers are a good bait - and take your fish to the check-out station at the end of the day. Click on http://www.pikeminnow.org/ for more information. A fisherman can make $6 a fish these days. 

Think about making this one a last stop on a spring fishing swing through western Oregon. It's not a bad way to cover some fuel expenses and do something for salmon and steelhead at the same time. 

The days spent fishing don't count against your life, but the miles on the truck do go against my wallet. 

For me, PDX is a 360-mile round trip. According to my calculations, I'll need to catch 11 pikeminnow to break even on the fuel. Once I catch fish number 12, I'm making a profit!  

Fishing season is officially in full swing! With so many lakes, rivers, and marine areas to choose from, it can be hard to pick your next adventure. If you’re never fished Riffe Lake before, or if it’s been a while, you should put it at the top of your list. It’s one of my favorite fishing destinations, and I make it a point to fish it as much as I can every year. Not only is the fishing top notch, but the scenery is beautiful and the surrounding towns are well worth visiting. I can’t think of many other lakes that offer such a wide variety of fish, let alone with such a good opportunity.

You can catch brown trout, cutthroat trout, smallmouth bass, chinook salmon, coho salmon, crappie, and brown bullhead. The lake is simply packed with fish, and they’re willing biters. You can take the boat out or shore fish, and finish out the day with a Dam Burger from Pioneer Bar & Grill in Mossyrock before heading home to grill your catch. It’s a bit of a drive, but it’s a great way to spend a day!

Located in Lewis County, Tacoma Power created RIffe Lake by constructing Mossyrock Dam on the Cowlitz River in 1968, flooding the communities of Riffe, Nesika, and Kosmos. It has a maximum depth of 360 feet and is about 23.5 miles long. Not only does the lake boast good populations of land-locked coho salmon, but you can also catch triploid trout! Back in 2020, Tacoma Power bought about 400,000 Rufus Woods strain triploid trout and released them into the lake for anglers to catch. The fish have had plenty of time to grow and they are a ton of fun to catch. If you’re lucky, you may even hook into a steelhead or a chinook salmon on the same day! Tacoma Power releases these fish into the lake as well, once they’ve met their stocking quotas. With such a plethora of fish to catch, you can see why Riffe Lake is a favorite of many northwesterners.

Trolling Techniques

Riffe Lake has plenty of room for boats of all shapes and sizes. It is almost 24 miles long and up to 360 feet deep, which can sound intimidating. Not to worry, there are thousands of fish in the lake, and most days they are willing biters. There have been many days when we can’t even put the planer boards out because the two downrigger poles or lead lines are constantly going off! Early in the season, lead lines, divers, and dropper weights work just fine. The fish are still feeding on the surface and haven’t been driven down to the depths by the hot sun. As the season progresses, however, a good fish finder is a must, particularly for the land-locked coho. Troll until you find a school, mark where you get bites, and don’t be afraid to put a little scent on your lure.

I find that the land-locked coho are particularly attracted to pink lures and dodgers. You can use corn or maggots to bait your hooks. Spinners, plugs, spoons- they all catch fish at this lake. I tend to use whatever I already have rigged up for kokanee fishing at other lakes. As for locations, you really can’t go wrong on Riffe Lake- you can start trolling almost as soon as you launch at Mossyrock Park and will usually start catching fish right away. If the fish are being stubborn, try targeting points and coves. Keep an eye on your fish finder if you’re using downriggers, the lake can shallow up surprisingly quickly.

In recent years, it’s been difficult to keep the triploid trout off your hooks if you want to target the land-locked coho salmon in the reservoir. The salmon and trout tend to bite on the same lures and hang out at the same depths in the early season, so you can expect to catch a mixed bag. In general, the coho hang out deeper than the trout in the later season, making downriggers and a good fish finder almost a necessity for targeting them. The salmon tend to like a faster troll, so don’t be afraid to bump it up to 1.9 or 2.2 MPH. However, the trout taste great on the grill and put up a great fight, so most anglers don’t mind catching them.

As a word of caution to boaters, check the water levels at Tacoma Power’s website or give them a call before heading out. The lake’s level fluctuates throughout the year and launching can be difficult when water levels are low. The launch at Mossyrock Park is usually your best bet year-round. It has a large dock with 2 lanes to launch at, which is nice when the ramp is busy. Don’t sweat the crowds too much though, the lake is massive and there is plenty of room for everyone. The other boat launches, Taidnapam and Kosmos, are unsuitable for low water conditions. Check the wind forecast before hitching up the boat- the afternoon winds at Riffe Lake can kick up and create nasty white caps, catching unprepared boaters off guard.

Still Fishing Techniques

Don’t have a boat? No worries, Riffe Lake has plenty of shore access! You can fish at the dam in Mossyrock or at the fishing bridge at Taidnapam Park. These spots can get crowded on nice weekends though. Most shore anglers cast out shrimp or worms under a bobber with a sliding weight. Experiment with setting your bobber stopper anywhere from 3ft to 15 ft until you figure out where the fish are at. 

If you can’t get a spot at the dam or fishing bridge, fishing at nearby Lake Mayfield or Swofford Pond is a good alternative. Lake Mayfield is stocked with tiger muskies, which are difficult but extremely rewarding to catch. WDFW also stocks decent numbers of rainbow trout there every year. Swofford Pond has good populations of panfish, stocked rainbow trout, and brown bullhead. There is a boat launch at both lakes, and good shore access. Many folks fish Swofford Pond with inflatables and kayaks, as there is an internal combustion motor ban. 

Before you grab those poles and hook up the boat, keep in mind that Riffe Lake has a 5 fish limit. They can be any combination of landlocked salmon and trout, so you cannot legally keep 5 coho and 5 trout. The land locked coho don’t tend to survive catch and release very well, particularly in the summer heat. The lake is large and deep, and those afternoon winds can kick up unexpectedly, so make sure that everyone on your boat has a life jacket. Keep these rules in mind, hook up the boat, and have fun!