Fall is a wonderful time to be on the water. The water is cooling from the Summer heat and the fish are moving up from the deep. They have continued to grow in length and stature. You will especially notice their extra engery as they attack your lure or bait.

I was fishing at Northfork Reservoir, which is located approximately 7 miles East of Estacada Oregon, on Sunday 9/20/09. The weather was great with just a little wind. By the time I made a trolling run  down most of the lake, I already had 5 trout in the live wells. It was a fantastic time. I stopped counting after catching 12 trout. Most of the day was spent catching and releasing fish.

During these high fish count days, I like to try different techniques. I make a lure, which is much like a Wedding Ring. I normally fish it behind lake troll flashers, but I decided to use the lure alone with a few large split shot up the line for weight. It worked wonderfully! The lure is so light it fishes extremely well on an ultra-light rod. If you try the technique, make sure to tip the lure with some nightcrawler.

Northfork Reservoir will close for the season this Sunday, so don’t wait to go. Otherwise, you may want to check out Hagg Lake south of Forest Grove, Oregon. It will be open 6 more weeks and the water level is lowering for the winter.

See you at the dock.

Ken Bear Cole

Fishing with Bear LLC