FRANK ARMENDARIZ/PHOTO Bass fishing on the dune lake near Florence picked up over the Memorial Day weekend. Although no trophy fish were caught (at least not in our boat) it was a fun and productive weekend of fishing. Author’s note: I had the opportunity to join an angling trip in[Read More…]
Outdoors
Well-outfitted watercraft provide everything a fishing boater needs
FRANK ARMENDARIZ/PHOTO Westlake Park at Siltcoos Lake, above, is one of the two Lane County Parks that dot the shoreline. The second is at Ada Park on the east side of Siltcoos, where camping and boat moorage are offered at Darling’s and Nightingale’s fish camps. In my last report I[Read More…]
Bigmouth, smallmouth bass provide fun challenge for Oregon anglers
FRANK ARMENDARIZ/PHOTO We spent a couple of hours fishing but with water temperatures still in the 50s the bass were somewhat disinterested. So the day was more about getting the boat ready for a long season and marking potential future fishing spots on the GPS. Before about 1890 there were[Read More…]
Dry weather, low-water levels a concern
FRANK ARMENDARIZ Another one in the net for Tami Armendariz, who also tied the flies we used for our day of fly fishing for wild trout on the McKenzie. All the fish were released unharmed. It has been a wonderful spring, with mild sunny weather and little rain. In fact[Read More…]
Best all-around rod in Oregon? Hard to say, but keep it ‘balanced’
FRANK ARMENDARIZ/PHOTO Rods, reels and lines, the number of available options can be staggering. But if you follow the numbers printed on every rod and reel you can easily narrow it down and find a combination perfectly matched to what you want to fish for. A question I’m asked quite[Read More…]
Hatchery officials expecting plenty of pent-up demand among anglers
FRANK ARMENDARIZ/PHOTO “The tug is the drug to those eternally driven (or dammed) to catch the fish of a thousand casts.” Just to be sure, on this day I made 1,001 casts … without a single tug. On some days at Smith River Falls, above, steelhead and salmon can be[Read More…]
Offbeat Oregon History: Coos Bay shipwreck was scene of massive, drunken looting party
PHOTO: COOS HISTORY MUSEUM The steamship Santa Clara stands almost high and dry on the beach at the mouth of Coos Bay early in the day on Nov. 5, 1915, surrounded by onlookers and would-be looters. ON THE MORNING OF NOV. 5, 1915, at the back of the entrance to Coos[Read More…]
Anglers are packing parking lots; crabbing improving soon
As we head into September the fishing conditions that you will encounter in our region are generally consistent with the calendar. Which is prime for multiple angling opportunities across Lane County. Pushed east by a cold front that brought a little rain to western Lane County, last week’s sweltering heat[Read More…]
Great time for albacore tuna; McKenzie trout are flourishing
Tami Armendariz, a professional fly-tier, shows off one of 12-plus rainbow trout she “mostly” released on the McKenzie River this past Friday. As many anglers begin to cast an eye to the west and to the fisheries that are becoming increasingly productive, I’ll start this week by addressing general conditions[Read More…]
‘Dog days of summer’ drive fish to the depths
Wade Hanel of Eugene. Wade can usually be found guiding a whitewater raft or rowing drift boat with fishermen for me in my whitewater and McKenzie River fish guide service. But, in light of the pandemic, I chose to suspend my operations for at least this season, leaving all of[Read More…]