Planning my ORC trip June 8th - 18th

Well I'm starting to get ready for my first ORC.  Since I'm such a long ways away from Depot Bay I'm going to make it a week long fishing trip.  Right now I'm planning on leaving Baker City on either the 8th or 9th of June and getting back on either the 17th or 18th.

What I need help with is planning my agenda for this trip.  I'll make a list below and edit as my plans get finalized.  I'll be looking for people to fish with during this trip so If your available let me know, I don't really have anything planned.  AOTY points would be a big bonus.

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June
8 - Leaving Baker!  John Day River Bass! Camping at LePage Park
9 - Columbia Sturgeon?
10 - Willie Sturgeon! GR Park most likely
11 -
12 -
13 -  Arrive at Depoe Bay  / Check in at Chinook Bend    
14 - Pre-fishing the Depot Bay Area 
15 - Pre-fishing the Depot Bay Area 
16 - ORC at Depoe Bay 
17 - Leave Depoe Bay........
18 - Back to Baker?
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Thanks in advance all and I can't wait to see you all on the water.

6 Days to get there?  Are you going to tow your yak behind a bicycle?

All kidding aside, sounds like a fun week ahead of you.  I'm planning on leaving the Thursday evening before so I can pre-fish on Friday, then the tournment on Saturday, and the then head home Sunday.  Maybe fish that Sunday morning too.

6 Days to get there?  Are you going to tow your yak behind a bicycle?

Drive and Fish, Drive and Fish.  That's the plan.  I'd like to hit several different bodies of water if possible.  I haven't spent much time fishing on that side and I'd like to change that.

Also, do I need to make a reservation to tent camp at Chinook Bend?

Hey Justin. Yes on the reservation.  I plan to fish Depoe on Friday for sure and possibly on Thursday also. I'll be camping at Chinook Thursday-Saturday night. I will either leave Portland early in the AM Thursday or head out Thursday after work, depending on the surf forecast and how work goes. I'd be happy to fish with you on Thursday and/or Friday.

We're heading down Wednesday the 13th and will most likely fish the afternoon after checking in at CB. We'll be fishing Thursday and Friday too. We should hook up.

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I've reserved a spot for Thursday night through Sunday.  I might drive up and fish Thursday morning depending on the weather. 
Dana

Game plan for us is to leave Wed am, possibly fish in pm. If not, pre-fish Thurs & Fri, fish
and party Sat, leave Sunday.

I'm hoping my son is flying in Wednesday night, plan to drive to DB early Thursday and fish Thursday evening, all day Friday then ORC and then Sunday head back. If my son doesn't make it I may add a few days before and/or after. So many options to consider.

I took Friday off from work and plan on being at DB nice and early to prefish all day that day. Gonna spend the night at Chinook Bend, fish the ORC then head home Sat night.


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Well it sounds like I need to show up on Thursday to get a couple fishing days in. 

I also need to spend about half a day in a gear shop.  I don't have any saltwater gear.  What will we be fishing with down there?  I was thinking about using a Salmon Rod or even a sturgeon rod.  Would this work?

I've got a few more days to figure out what to do.  If you have time on the first weekend, let me know.

Justin I don't have nearly the saltwater experience that some of these other guys do but I'm bringing a 7 foot Tiger ugly stick sturgeon rod, my salmon rod, and an extra heavy 7 foot bass rod. Also I'm rigging up with a minimum of 30lb braid.  Last time I was in the salt I hooked into either a monster salmon, a big halibut, or a decent sized shark. Problem was I was fishing a medium (6-12 lb) bass rod with 15lb braid on a low profile reel.
After 2 hours of being towed around and ever so delicately putting pressure on the fish, he snapped my one piece rod in half just feet away from the surface. Moral of the story for me was I was fishing entirely too light out there. Had I been using my tiger ugly stick and at least 30lb braid I would have landed that fish in 30 minutes max.
I won't make that mistake again. It's better to be over than under prepared.


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Well it sounds like I need to show up on Thursday to get a couple fishing days in. 

I also need to spend about half a day in a gear shop.  I don't have any saltwater gear.  What will we be fishing with down there?  I was thinking about using a Salmon Rod or even a sturgeon rod.  Would this work?

I've got a few more days to figure out what to do.  If you have time on the first weekend, let me know.

A salmon and sturgeon rod will both work well. I usually bring two rods, for the day I drop one, but also the salmon rod works well for the jigs in the 2-4 oz range and the sturgeon rod for the 6-8 oz range.  Lead headed jigs in 2-8 oz sizes with plastic bodies or Big Hammer swim baits work awesome. You can also add a shrimp fly set up to target the blacks. Like this,


Are you going to be driving through Portland?

I'm thinking about hitting the lower John Day river on Friday for some Bass action.

I'll be driving through Portland at some point.  Most likely the first weekend.  I was wanting to do some salmon/steelheading (if they are around) and maybe trying to hook a sturgeon.  Not sure if I'll head to GR Park or out on the Columbia for some AOTY points.

I'd really like to hook up with people so I'm not out fishing alone. (safety first)

I took Friday off from work and plan on being at DB nice and early to prefish all day that day. Gonna spend the night at Chinook Bend, fish the ORC then head home Sat night.


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After fishing all day and feeding on tacos you're going to drive home? Better stay and have some Ninkasi!

My personal favorite weights of jigheads is 2-4 oz.  I mostly use 3 oz. For the 10 inch grubs, I will occasionally break out a 6 oz.

 I have lots of soft plastics you can borrow.  The only catch is I get to keep any prizes you win. .  But seriously, they are my "crack".   Every time, I see them on clearance, I can't stop myself from buying them and Dick's always seems to have them on clearance. So, if you are not sure what you need, or can't find any, you're more than welcome to borrow some.  I have a drawer full in my garage.

These Kalin's Big N 10 inch grubs work well. I use glow in the dark and white.  Why? Because I can get a two pack at Dicks for $4 and they work.  I can get a 5(?) pack of the 6 inch Mogambo grubs for about the same price.  They always seem to have them on clearance.  I catch more fish on the six inch, I catch a  larger percentage of Lingod when I use the 10".
http://www.cabelas.com/grubs-kalins-10-big-n-grubs-2.shtml


Berkley also has a saltwater Gulp version for about $6 for two.

I prefer the Big Hammers, but they are hard to find around here.  I find myself melting my favorite Big Hammers back together with my soldering iron after every outing on the salt because they have major MoJo.

I also add a shrimp fly above, but I don't use a dropper loop.  I found really big fish would sometimes break me off at the dropper.  Instead I shorten my mono leader to about 4 feet and attach it to a swivel.  I clip a shrimp fly to the same swivel using a ball bearing swivel. This also makes it easier to swap out the fly for a small grub or small minnow soft plastic.