Tuesday evening from Willamette Park

Hey all, Wali (FFTW) and I have been talking about an afterwork trip tomorrow from Willamette Park. Paddle up around Rock Island and see what's biting...

Anyone interested? Launch at 6pm

Jay

75% chance I'll be there (got to leave room for work emergencies).

Let us know how it goes

Kayak on roof of Jeep, fishing gear inside, heading to the river after work.

Excellent, let's hope Wali makes it back from the coast....

Well?!?!?  Inquiring minds want to know.  How was it?

Well, when I arrived at the launch at 6:00 sharp, I was the last one to arrive.  There was a stiff 10-15 mph wind coming from the south, and the Willy was pretty choppy.  We got our gear together and launched by 6:20 or so, and quickly decided to cross the river and try to find some shelter from the wind. 

We had two OK Big Games and Wali's Hobie Adventure... was a little like two Sprinter work vans trying to keep up with a Porsche. 

Once we got a cross, we fished our way up river.  Highway 99 runs along the east shore of the river here, and the road noise was pretty constant.  East bank was initially pretty industrial, with decaying docks, cranes, old tug boats, etc...  But as we headed up river, things got a little nicer.  We made it up to the base of the Rock Islands area before dark, and it was pretty up there... big douglas firs and cottonwoods, no development along the river bank.  We all commented that it was a pretty neat spot to have so close to Portland.

We did not really have time to do a lot of exploring of the island and rocks, as we spent too much time fishing on our way up there.  The wind was pushing down river up until about 1 hour from sunset, at which time a steady drizzle switched on.  I wore my dry top and shorts, so I was getting a little damp.  The drizzle and fog made for some beautiful scenery though, with the steep hills around the Willamette in this area looking a little like mountains.  If one paddled straight to the rocks, I'd guess it would be a 20-30 minute trip upriver from the West Linn boat ramp.
 
Fishing was mixed.  I caught a couple of small bass on a chartreuse grub, Steelheadr got one (on a spinner of some sort, I think).  Wali got a nicer fish on a tube jig.  Lots of nice structure up around the islands, as well as what looked like a possible sturgeon hole on my fish finder.  Not bad for an exploratory trip.  I think the Rock Island area is  likely more productive than the banks we fished on the way up.  We ended up paddling back after dark, and had a pretty nice trip.  Didn't leave the boat ramp till almost 10:00 PM.

Only saw one power boat all evening, but I think that was more weather related than anything else.  All in all, nice spot close to town.  For small mouth fishing, I'd certainly take the scenery there over Hagg Lake (though the fish would not be fit for eating).  I'll certainly be heading back.

Afterwards, Wali and I stopped at one of West Linn's few beer and food establishments that stays open after 10:00 (literally, I only saw 2 places out of 20 or 30 businesses on main street that were open).  He had his eyes on the sign that said "steak," I had mine on "burgers" and "beers on tap."   Unfortunately, after 10:00 they only serve stuff off their appetizer menu, so we had to make do with popcorn shrimp, fries, and onion rings.  Was decent food, and they had Fat Tire on tap, but clearly that town needs a brew pub to cater to the after-fishing-trip-dinner crowd.

Neat story and nice to know of the spot so close to PDX>...

What 3wt said. It was a lovely evening out in the neighborhood, but a little rough at the start.
 I arrived first (a first in and of itself) and it was blowing pretty good. Jay was 2nd, and it was a bit harder, and when 3wt got there, I saw whitecaps. When we launched I could hear strains of the Ride of the Valkyries.



We crossed and hugged the windward bank and fished up to the island. What 3wt saw as eyesores, I saw as fishy looking structure. Fat lot of good it did me as I could not buy a bite.  But even I have to admit that the island was much more pleasant than the abandoned looking dock and project boats that no one ever got around to.

This pic is up by the island. Note how much better you can see 3wt vs. Jay and it was not dark at all when I took this.  Also note how well reflective tape works.



3 wt caught a couple of small smallies and Steelheadr caught a pan fish he should have measured for AOTY. I got this nice little smallie who took drag and then shrunk when I put him on my homemade hawg trough.



It was a very pleasant evening close to home and I slept well.

Nice DIY hawg trough.. what's it made of?

Awesome report sounded like a good trip!  Thanks for the great report and pics!

Wali, If I had known you were sleeping while pedaling, I would have woke you up to catch some fish...

Jay

Anyone up for a repeat trip this week?  Maybe Wednesday after work?

Anyone up for a repeat trip this week?  Maybe Wednesday after work?

   

If I can arrange borrowing the ride (with rack), then I'll be there!

Sorry, This week is out for me. I've got too much work to catch up on.

Jay