Rock Cove - Stevenson,WA

First and foremost - Thank you Threeweight!  In my last post for Lacamas Lake I inquired about other places along the Columbia River on the Washington side and you mentioned Rock Cove.  After some computer recon and research I headed up there today.  Very nice spot and lots to explore.

I hit the water at 0830 and on the second cast hooked up with a lively small mouth on a motor oil flaked grub with a white headed jig.  I thought for sure I was on a hotspot!  Three hours later and no more fish - then I wasn't so sure.  The Cove can be a bit noisey with SR14 running right next to it, but you can't beat all the structure in the water.  Lots of submerged rock structure that breaks into weed beds and old logs sticking up everywhere.  I'm not sure what I was doing wrong because the structure is awesome.  I will definitely be back to try again.

I saw a bunch of large carp rolling around right before I left but could not get them interested in anything.  What do people use to catch this mud pups anyway?  When I was growing up we would some strange mixed up bread balls.  Any ideas on something a little less messy?  I am not above catching carp.





Not sure if these pictures worked or not, but thought it was worth a try.

Glad it turned out to be a decent spot... I still have not gotten out to fish it   Drano Lake might be another good one to explore.

There's a growing community of folks who go after carp with fly tackle.  I've been thinking about giving it a try with my steelhead rod (I have a feeling my 5 wt trout rods would be turned into kindling.)  Couple links to check out:

http://www.msu.edu/~connert/carpfly.htm

http://carponthefly.blogspot.com/

The blog is the site of a local Portland-area guy who has become something of a carp fly fishing guru.  There are also a ton of these big bruisers in the sloughs around Sauvie Island... likely the same on the WA side of the Columbia.

Alright - I think I figured out the resizing and posting of pictures - Maybeee.....

I've been hanging out at my friend's house in North Bonneville, as I drive up and down the Gorge on both the Washington and Oregon sides between here and The Dalles, I can see lots of potential spots for kayak fishing. The weather has been super nice, but my back has been a little messed up so I haven't been able to get out there. As soon as I'm able, I'll be checking it out.
Having to buy two fishing licenses, one for Oregon and one for Washington, kind of stinks, they should have a "regional" license for the Gorge area.
While you're in Stevenson, check out the Walking Man Brewery, right across the road from the river. It's our favorite local food product.

Hey wanted to see if anyone has fished Rock Cove for Smallmouth lately?
Thinking of giving it a try when the weather breaks.

Thanks

SD

Rock Cove is not a real fishing hot spot. Any fish in there will be small. Better off paddling under the railroad bridge and trying for smallmouth along the rocky banks of the Columbia. With all the recent rain, the water is probably going to be pretty muddy.
There are carp in many of the small lakes next to SR 14. Never seen anybody catch one although you probably could if you used the right bait. With trout and bass around, most fishermen don't go after them.

We used to slay carp on white bread balled up on a hook, or thread as many pieces of corn that will fit on your hook, and sight cast them like you were stalking bonefish on a Caribbean flat. We used 6.5-7ft med heavy spinning tackle with 15# mono and maybe a couple pieces of split shot for the corn. We just free lined the bread balls. This gave us enough backbone, but still be able to make precision cast with that light stuff. Haven't tried this in WA, but in my late teen years we did this a lot in AL, and FL.

Creamed corn for carp.  Toss a handful into the water.  Put a few kernels on the hook.  Drop it in the water.  Be very still, for some reason carp are skittish.