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Guys,

I haven't caught a single stinkin fish since I moved here 5 months ago.

I've fished at hagg lake.

I've fished in the Wilson river.

I've fished from banks.

From overhangs.

Hell, I've even gone ahead and braved the frigid waters of the Wilson river and fished INSIDE the river!

I have fished calm spots.

I have fished faster water.

I have fished patiently.

And yet I haven't caught a single fish! What does it take to catch a fish here? I grew up fishing in the midwest and always was able to land fish. Bass, trout no problem. I ALWAYS used worms to great effect.

And out here I have also used worms, to no avail.

I float fish, so I put one of those lead weights at the end of my line near the hook, and use a bobber to set my depth.

Can someone please school me up? My wife is gonna think I'm a failure of a man if I keep this losing streak up
 
For Hagg Lake lunker largemouth bass.... :s0071:

Try these on the west end of the lake near the shallow creek inlets:
Banjo Minnows or other soft jerkbaits rigged weedless w/nail weights
Rebel Pop-Rs or some Zara Spook type walkin' baits (use 12 or 14lb mono)

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Be sure to give 'em some sugar lol

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The Willamette has some big smallmouth in it. I caught one from under the docks at Oaks Amusement Park with a 1/2oz crawdad pattern crankbait before work one day. It was atleast 9lbs and probably the record for Oregon. The record for Oregon is just under 9lbs if I remember right.
 
Last Edited:
Ok, I think I see the problem here....
.... you're trying to LAND a fish (everyone knows you land a plane);)

Hints;
- The live ones are hiding under the water.
- The breaded dead ones are hiding in the local freezer section.
- The cooked ones are hiding at Red Lobster.

Have you ever considered Crayfish?


(Truth be told... I'm in the same situation. Thank goodness I've come to prefer fishin' to catchin')
 
I grew up in Western Pennsylvania and I used to catch all kinds of warm water fish. It's mostly cold water species here so I too had to learn a lot. Obviously there are overlapping skills and presentation but the types of rigging and baits make a big difference. Catching hatchery or "planter" trout in still water is universal, like Power Bait and some weight on the bottom or bobber fishing. As for trout fishing in smaller rivers, I took up a great fly-fishing style called Tenkara...basically a long tapered rod with a leader and tippet with a very easy casting technique. It's super easy to learn unlike Western style fly fishing. Tenkara for me is great because you can really get close up to the spot you want to cast and keep the leader up off the water. It's a whole thing lol. Very basic and simple fly choices too. A great resource for this is www.tenkarausa.com and they are on youtube with some great videos. As for bass fishing around here that would be like the Midwest, The Willamette River banks areas are good for floating worms and lures like Mister Twisters and Rapallas work. Hagg is great if you have a boat or kayak to hit the right habitat. There are some really good Smallmouth fisheries around the state too, like the John Day and Umqua Rivers. The Colmbia has some world class Walleye fishing up around the John Day Dam and the Multnomah Channel but a guided trip is the best place to start for learning the way to catch them here.Others here might have better ideas but those are a few I have had luck at. As for cold water species like Salmon and Steelhead, there are different styles at different waterways and it's all dependent on when the runs are happening. Again, it's money well spent to go on a guided trip to learn the basics or get with some of the folks that banks fish for Salmon. A great resource around here too is ifish.net with some very knowledgeable folks. Good Luck!
 
Target a species, and get bait for that species.
The wilson doesnt always have fish in it.
Hagg has great bass fishing, and ok trout fishing..
 
Heck man, just book a charter out of Astoria. This is fishing season. Go over to ifish.net and ask for help. I'm sure someone over there will help you out.
On this site the guys would probably rather use a Dupont Spinner.
 
For lakes try green and yellow or crawdad pattern rooster tails, plain or glitter chartreuse or rainbow power bait, Mini craws, rooster tails, thomas lures (rainbow or gold/red) or yellow mini jigs. The rooster tails, mini craws and jigs work for bass on rivers as well.
For the river take a can of Copenhagen open it add some beer or anise oil close it wrap with electrical tape let sit for a day or so. when you get to the spot poke some holes in the bottom tape a rock to it and send it to the bottom start fishing with worms or jalapeno jack cheese you should catch something.
 
I am right between the McKenzie and Willamette rivers, I have fished both a couple times each and only managed to hook one rainbow while throwing a spinner for salmon. It doesn't matter, I prefer salt so I catch a boat out of Newport, combo trips are the best, I have yet to get skunked. In fact, I am doing a coho, rockfish, crab combo on monday, the forecast looks pretty sloppy, I hope they don't cancel on me.
 

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