[Anadromous]

With a trip planned to start this weekend through Thursday next week, I have been watching the fish counts, weather, and flows daily for about 2 or 3 weeks (yeah, I know, little over kill). The weather forcast says that there should be rain for the entire trip, not a problem for me, but my worry is that that kind of precip will make the fishing...different.

My question for you all in the area is, we had settled to do the N. Santiam 1 or 2 days, the Siletz one day, and fill in the time on the N. Umpqua. Given the fish counts on the N. Sanitam and the potential high water on the coast, does anyone have suggestions for the trip that might alter my plans or should the above be good?

New info for us is that we (novice rowers) will have a boat and are looking for easy beginners drifts on said waters.

New suggestions?

With the higher water, would these rivers be better fished in specific areas (higher up, lower, only on the 43rd parralel, etc)?

Thanks in advance guys, if you find yourself with a little time to kill, shoot a PM and join us.

 

[rphelps]

N Santiam

You might try the Green's Bridge to Jefferson take out. It is not a difficult float but check with Fish and Game to see if there are any fallen trees in the river prior to doing it. According to the latest reports, there are some winter fish still in this area of the river and on up to Stayton.

Rphelps:smokin:

 

[Anadromous]

We were thinking of that area, just a little worried about stumps and trees, so we'll see. Is that section of teh river conducive to the fly?

Is there a site or specific department/office to call for that info in that area?

 

[rphelps]

Great runs for winter fishing

That section of the North Santiam has good runs for fishing for winter fish (sink tips). I don't have a number for you to call, but I'm sure if you call Oregon Fish and Game out of Salem Oregon they either have latest info or can tell you who to call.

Rphelps:smokin:

 

[santiamspey]

Another section to consider is Stayton to Shelburn {about 5 miles), I like the water in this section better than the Green's to Jeff run since you don't have the last mile of water after the South fork joins, which is not good to fish with flies in my opinion. There are no difficult sections as far as rapids but there may be some trees here too. Do NOT try the section from Shelburn to Greens as it nearly aways has new trees every winter and I haven't been thru yet this spring. One other piece of info is that Bob Lusk 503-880-3139 does shuttles on the river (around 20 bucks). He might have some info regarding any new obstacles in the river, river conditions etc. He is a great character to talk to if nothing else. The Siletz should have good color if 6 feet or lower. I really like the water from Moonshine Park to Twin Bridges (upper-most navigable spot for your purposes-about 6 miles of water). There are some mildly challenging spots in this run, some islands, small drops and sharp corners but it is fished by a lot of drift boats every day. The rest of the river is quite easy to row. If the Moonshine drift, spooks you, the "Town drift" or Mill site to Morgan Park (long drift ??8 miles and lots of frog water) will have some sexy water. It is very easy to read water, unlike some of the Santiam. The gas station by the boat ramp in the town of Siletz and the Logsden store are both open early and have the shuttle lady's envelopes (about 15 bucks for a shuttle). On the North Umpqua you can call Joe Howell at his Blue Heron flyshop in Glide (541-496-0448) for all of the info you'll need-great guy. Hope this helps. SS

 

[Riveraddict]

North Santiam...

...may not be the best river for novice boaters - it has a fair amount of sweepers on corners. I've only fished it a couple of times, by sled, and only the lower from just a few miles above Green's on down to its mouth. It's the only place where I saw a boating accident involving fatalities ( its a spooky feeling seeing a "debris field" of coffee mugs, steely yarn boxes, leader spools, etc., when running upstream in sled - you instantly know what just took place a few minutes before just upriver).Two drift boats downed that particular day. The portions I fished looked to be no problem (no rapids, falls, or boulder gardens) as long as one has the experience to look well ahead and recognize blind corners preceded by shallow riffles. What killed the boaters I mentioned earlier, and also what kills more river boaters than things like rapids and falls, was a sweeper. Both sweepers and logjams are deadly when preceded by fast riffles that are too shallow to get a good bite into with the oars. When that circumstance is encountered, the current drives the boat into the jam/sweeper regardless of the most Herculean effort on the oars. If you can't read the water, or see around a corner, it's best to beach the boat and walk down for a look-see before committing to doing it in the boat.

I talked with a Highway Patrol Officer the following weekend that was checking in on another drift boat sinking. He said that the North Santiam was a "bad one" for claiming boats because it is close to Portland - lots of newbies with their first boats choose to float it because it looks so benign compared to the Sandy or Clack.

Good luck on your trip and good fishing!

 

[Anadromous]

Well, thanks for the info guys...

We are far from adventure seeking newbies, so we'll stay with the bunnie hill until it is realistic to hit bigger water. That begs the question, is there schools out there to help newbies read water? Guess that I need to hit up Google.

As for fishing, Really REALLY appreciate all the PM's and willingness to help a guy out. I can usually swing 2 OR/WA trips a year and I really have had bad luck, but with the help and confidence of some of you, I think it should change. I know I'm gonna pin a fish and that is better than landing one in my eyes!

Might even throw a bivvy sack and just sleep on the trail if the water has fish...

I tell you what, my wife is about at her limit with my geek out period (usually 2-4 weeks prior to the actual trip) and being unemployed it has been worse than normal.

Wish you all could be there and I'll have a full report when I get back!