Fishing report: Below the falls, Willamette River

Ok..... So I decided to head out for some afternoon bass fishing yesterday following a morning of yard work with the wife. I have been trying to scout out some new rocks and structure as of lately and fishing some new areas where I haven't spent much time. Yesterday, I decided to target the willy right below the falls in Oregon City. I launched from the boat ramp directly under the I-205 bridge in OC and within about 5 min of bouncing a Zoom Fluke off some rocks that sit 8-10 feet under water, I was into a nice 15.75" SMB. I found so much structure yesterday, that it was pretty solid bass action most of the afternoon. There's a lot of underwater rock piles, shelves, docks, broken dock pieces near shore, numerous boats and yachts that look like they've been parked for 10 years. I also had a lot of success trolling the rocky shoreline using different plugs. The Model A Bomber was the best though. After a couple hours of catching and releasing a few 12-16" SMB, I switched over to a Crawdad colored "Rattle Trap". I love these Rattle Traps because they allow you to start your retrieve from the bottom and then fish to the surface. I located another underwater rock structure just upriver from the I-205 bridge and started working the bottom. Whammo.......another nice tug o'war ensued. After playing the fish, it was time to come up for another quick release. However, this time it was not the bass I thought it would be, but a Walleye. It measured just over 16" and had some nice big sharp teeth. The more I'm fishing the Willamette, the more I appreciate both the variety of species as well as the interesting habitat for fishing. 
Tight Lines! 

Nice work on the multi species trip.

Z

Good Job Jammer. Matched my SMB, good fighters at that size.

Great report.  I have been wanting to try that area, just haven't been able to get there yet.  I think I need to take a day off from work.
-Craig

I hit the willy again late in the evening yesterday. I had another productive evening with 5 SMB's to the yak. 4 of the 5 caught last night were picked up using the Grn/wht zoom fluke weighted w/ small split shot. SMB sizes ranged from 8" up to 14". Tight lines!

Nice bugeye! 

Thanks for the report!

-Spot-

there are no walleye in the willy by OC Move along these are not the droids you are looking for....

I have been doing a ton of diving in that stretch of the river in the last few weeks and have seen some real nice smallmouths, find current and structure and slightly deeper water and you will find fish

there are no walleye in the willy by OC Move along these are not the droids you are looking for....

I have been doing a ton of diving in that stretch of the river in the last few weeks and have seen some real nice smallmouths, find current and structure and slightly deeper water and you will find fish

Paddler, did you say there are no Walleye in the Willy near OC? I thought the same thing as I was only targeting SMB when I landed this fish. However, after taking a bunch of pictures and releasing, I crossed referenced the ODFW website when I got back to my house and sure enough, its a Walleye. I've heard there's a bunch of Walleye down further into the Multnomah channel, but most people I've spoke with have said its VERY rare to see them this far upriver. I have more pics if you would like to explore this further. Kinda crazy though! What are you doing diving in the river? I guess your finding a ton of fishing equipment, i.e. anchors, broken rigs etc.....

I hit the willy again late in the evening yesterday.

Oh, ? You did??   

Hey (WR) I'm not quite sure why you replied. I'm only posting my fishing report to share my experiences on the river. I'm hoping someone may benefit from each of our updates. As we all know, its all about timing, location, lure choice, size and color are all factors in catching fish.



Hey Deep Color...... I was cool running into you fishing the Willy last night. Did you catch anything worthy after I left?

Jammer.... notice the "wink"    in Paddler's post.  He was being sarcastic. 
You obviously found some walleye. 

Now, the question is....do ya throw it back or eat it, being a Willy fish?

there are no walleye in the willy by OC Move along these are not the droids you are looking for....

I have been doing a ton of diving in that stretch of the river in the last few weeks and have seen some real nice smallmouths, find current and structure and slightly deeper water and you will find fish

Paddler, did you say there are no Walleye in the Willy near OC? I thought the same thing as I was only targeting SMB when I landed this fish. However, after taking a bunch of pictures and releasing, I crossed referenced the ODFW website when I got back to my house and sure enough, its a Walleye. I've heard there's a bunch of Walleye down further into the Multnomah channel, but most people I've spoke with have said its VERY rare to see them this far upriver. I have more pics if you would like to explore this further. Kinda crazy though! What are you doing diving in the river? I guess your finding a ton of fishing equipment, i.e. anchors, broken rigs etc.....

I hit the willy again late in the evening yesterday.

Oh, ? You did??   

Hey (WR) I'm not quite sure why you replied. I'm only posting my fishing report to share my experiences on the river. I'm hoping someone may benefit from each of our updates. As we all know, its all about timing, location, lure choice, size and color are all factors in catching fish.



Hey Deep Color...... I was cool running into you fishing the Willy last night. Did you catch anything worthy after I left?

Congrats on your "RARE" catch..  I'll just say walleye are where you find them, and leave it at that (at least on the interweb anyways )  Face to face over a cold drink, I have some info/pics you might find surprising...

there are no walleye in the willy by OC Move along these are not the droids you are looking for....

I have been doing a ton of diving in that stretch of the river in the last few weeks and have seen some real nice smallmouths, find current and structure and slightly deeper water and you will find fish

Paddler, did you say there are no Walleye in the Willy near OC? I thought the same thing as I was only targeting SMB when I landed this fish. However, after taking a bunch of pictures and releasing, I crossed referenced the ODFW website when I got back to my house and sure enough, its a Walleye. I've heard there's a bunch of Walleye down further into the Multnomah channel, but most people I've spoke with have said its VERY rare to see them this far upriver. I have more pics if you would like to explore this further. Kinda crazy though! What are you doing diving in the river? I guess your finding a ton of fishing equipment, i.e. anchors, broken rigs etc.....

Congrats on your "RARE" catch..  I'll just say walleye are where you find them, and leave it at that (at least on the interweb anyways )  Face to face over a cold drink, I have some info/pics you might find surprising...

Where's you're favorite watering hole?