NWKA Derby '07 Planning

Ok folks, breakout your pens and cheap dive bar napklins;

Ok, then.  Here's my humble idea.  One, maybe two days, early June, Tilamook bay, camping on or near the waterline.  If we go for two days, it would be run in a "Tour De France fashion."  A best first day, a best second day, and a best over all.  Standard miscellaneous awards for best dressed, most likely to be flipped by a 9 year old in a tire tube, etc. 
Since this is all preliminary, I have no idea about prizes or sponsors.  If anyone has any hook ups, connections, juice, or black mail material to people in high places of cool companies, go for it.  If some one out there is a raging control freak and wants to take over the planning process, let me know.  I'm easy.  Otherwise, I will do what I can with what I have and anything else I can get along the way. 

Let me know what you think.

Will

So I assume this is to target spring kings in Tillamook Bay.  Or did you have something else in mind?  Can you tell us a little something about that fishery?  Is there a campground that we can launch from and have direct access to the fishing grounds.

Don't worry about sponsors, they have a way of appearing.     I can tackle this one in due time.

Can you do a bit of legwork with the OR Dept. of Fish and Wildlife to see what sort of permits might be required?

-Allen

Hey Allen; I put my answers right after your questions.  it was just easier for me.

So I assume this is to target spring kings in Tillamook Bay.  Or did you have something else in mind?. . .  When it comes to pool, I can call my shots and have a 40% chance of making the shot.  Not so with fishing.  With fishing up here, I am strictly a luck of the line (hope I find a stupid fish because the smart ones won't bite what I'm offering) kind of fisherman.  If you say there are spring kings in the bay around that time, that sounds good to me.   I would mess my waders (that I don't have yet) for one of those big halibut that I've heard about but near as I can tell, you have to go well off shore for those.

Can you tell us a little something about that fishery?   Ok, um. . . no.  I will look into this and get back to you, but I barely know anything about the Willamette River, even less about the Columbia River, and Tillamook Bay has been just a really cool idea rolling around in the back of my head for the past two years.

Is there a campground that we can launch from and have direct access to the fishing grounds. . .   I think so.  Did that not sound assured enough?  I feel like a movie star talking politics.  I think it would be really nice if we could end war, feed the hungry, employ and shelter the homeless, and fish Tillamook bay, but I don't have any ideas on how to accomplish any of those ideas.  I've heard there is a campground either right on the bay, or right at the mouth of the Columbia.  Let me do some research and I will get back to you.

Don't worry about sponsors, they have a way of appearing.     I can tackle this one in due time.   Ok.


Can you do a bit of legwork with the OR Dept. of Fish and Wildlife to see what sort of permits might be required? . . . I have a lot of leg work to do, I will add them to my list and let you know what I find out.

Allen,

I just moved up here from Long Beach, CA about a year and a few months ago.  In Long Beach, I caught fish with comforting regularity.  Up here, I haven't caught a fish.  Not a catfish, not a surf perch, not a mackeral for bait, Nada.  Obviously I'm not planning on winning the tournament, but all the rumors and hearsay about the bay make it sound like a great place for fishing. I picked June because it seemed like we might have an even shot at reasonable weather.  All of this Tournament planning stuff is being pulled out of my nether region.  If you have a better time frame and location, but need someone else to make the potato salad, cool.  Let me know.  Anyhow, enough confession.  It's time to do my pennance and find out what I'm getting into.

More later.

Let me throw something out on the table that is completely different.

I've been looking into float trips on the John Day river.  It's class I/II and doable from our SOT's.  June is during the time of the year that you have your best smallmouth bass bites.  From what I gather, you can expect 30-50 fish days.  What about a 2-3 day float on the John Day?  I know an outfit that could "guide" us ... set up camp and cook our meals.  Or we can go it ourselves.

Thoughts?  Not trying to steal your thunder, just proposing something that I already had in my mind around that time of year in your neck of the woods.

-Allen

I've never fished in the bay for springers- have no idea how good the action really is. (There's also some sturgies in there!)

I have fished the coast, just north of there on up to Cannon Beach, and done well, when it wasn't too windy to get out on the ocean. I HAVE caught halibut up to 40lbs only a mile, or so, off the beach. (From a cattle boat.) Also lots of rockfish and lings.

Oregon State Parks with camping, north to south, in the area: Fort Stevens, Oswald West, Nehalem Bay, and Cape Lookout. None are on Tillamook Bay. They do fill up fast, especially weekends. Mid-week is easier, later. I due remember that there is a county park on the north side of the inlet. Barview is the name, if I remember correctly. Launching there would be difficult, as the shore is armored by large jetty rocks. Not a place to launch on a big ebb tide- You'll get sucked out to sea!! 

Just found the Tillamook Cty Parks, online:

http://www.co.tillamook.or.us/gov/Parks/Barview%20Map.pdf  Large, didn't look as nice the state parks.
http://www.co.tillamook.or.us/gov/Parks/Whalen%20Island.pdf  South of Tillamook, towards Pacific City (Cape Kiwanda)
http://www.co.tillamook.or.us/gov/Parks/Webb.pdf  This one has me interested because of it's location next to Cape Kiwanda and Pacific City. There is a sheltered launch site just south of the Cape, in front of the Pelican Pub and Brewery. http://www.pelicanbrewery.com/pages/brewery.html How convenient!  Maybe a sponsor?!

Best time for my family is late June, after the kids are out of school. We've spent a week on the beach each of the last 4-5 years.

Hey Pisco;

Good to hear from you.

Ok, here's what I've gleaned from just one book.

John Day River; June, three species of fish, The afformentioned smallies, and two different types of summer steelhead, which strangely enough are nowhere to be found durring the summer months.  The Small mouth bite starts in may and is good by June.  I like the idea of the guide.  But how much would this gent (assuming) want to be paid for the pleasure of his company.  That might have come off a little sarcastic and doubting, but it wasn't meant to be.  There are two charted possible launch sites on the lower John Day and 6 on the upper section.  I haven't actually looked at the location on a map to guage where this is from everyone but it seems to be within reason.

Tillamook bay; June, The Spring Chinook start going in April and reaches it's peak in June.  The Sturgeon and Ling Cod are present but rated as slow.  There are three launch ramps in Garibaldi and a campground between the Kilchis River andthe Wilson River, on the south end of the bay.  I don't know if the campground would have access to either river, or what paddling into and back from the bay would be like.  I might take a drive out there to find out.

Here's another option.  I was discussing this with my wife.  She doesn't fish, but I love her anyway.  She mentioned doing both.  September doesn't change much on the John D., but September on the Tillamook brings good bites on the Fall Chinook and Coho and great bites on the Ocean Salmon.  The Sturgeon are still there but listed as slow.  So, here's what I'm thinking.  I'm up for the John Day in June, and if anyone wants to join me, I will be found on Tillamook Bay. 

All of this info was taken from the "Oregon River Maps & Fishing Guide."  I haven't had any personal experience to confirm or deny any of the information presented. 

Now I'm just rambling excitedly.  I need to get my line wet.  Back on topic, Allen, if you need anyhelp setting up the June trip, let me know.  Or, if you want me to continue researching the Tillamook stuff, that's fine too.

I need to get some sleep.

Will

John Day River,
 The last time I had trouble with a landowner was for fishing from his property, which was the river bank.
 After a heated discussion with this man, I went to the local Sheriff's office to see what was right. I was told that on two rivers in Or., the John Day and Winchuck, have rules that are unusual. The one that I am concerned about says you can't fish from floating device. And the landowners own the ground beneath the water. If land is owned on one side of river you own half way across the low water mark in the summer, if you own land on both sides of river you own all the ground beneath the water. If pushed these people can confine you to your boat and not allow to step on bank.
 Please look into this as it may be true still or an outdated law.If you find its OK thats cool!

OK, I just finished reading the '07 synopsis, and the John Day is cool from a boat. The winchuck is still a stand and fish only, and you better have permission from landowner!
 POLE, just what is a class 1 or 2 rapid?   

Class I: Small waves, passages clear, no serious obstacles.
Class II: Rapids of moderate difficulty with passages clear.
Class III: Waves numerous, high, irregular; rocks; eddies; rapids with passages clear though narrow, requiring expertise in maneuvering.

The guided trip I was talking about was through Arrowhead Adventures (http://www.arrowheadadventures.com/).  The price is not on their website, but it's in the neighborhood of $550 each for 3 days.  10% discount if you supply your own kayak.  Another 5% if there if there is more than 6.  Or something like that.  Call it $470-ish after discount.  Basically, they supply a support raft, setup camp, and cook meals.  At $150+ per day, that seems a bit on the high side to me.  I do believe it is very doable on a do-it-yourself basis.  I exchanged emails with someone who did it last year and he shared a lot of info.  I could hit him up for more if need be.

I was trying to get out to the Tillamook this past fall but couldn't pull it off.  I will fish some OR estuaries this year.  In the fall, we had talked about heading further south to join boxofrain in his neck of the woods.  Will, might you consider further south for a fall trip?  Or Box, might you consider further north?  Or somewhere in between?  Or both?

Wow!  I just checked.  Brookings,OR where boxofrain is from is closer to my home in San Jose, than it is to my home in Seattle.  Actually, it's almost exactly half way between the 2.

-Allen

Did a float trip on J.D. about 7 years ago with a friend from pasco, did really well on the smallies. Just for a day though from a drift boat. I can't really remember much other then catching fish and the river being nice.

Good evening Gents;

Mr. O'Frain, how far south are you?  where do you fish out of?  I have a real yen for Tillamook but I wouldn't rule anything out.  I could probably slide over to the coast for a day on my own without any heart burn.  There is one small obstacle I need to overcome though.  I don't have a roof rack on my car.  Going down to the river. 2.5 miles away, isn't a problem, but getting anywhere of greater distance becomes a concern.  I will have to remedy this before June.

As for the guide and prices;  Yes, that is a little steep.  I could wrangle a two and a half day trip, but a two and a half day trip that costs $470.00, well that's a different story.  If you think we can do it on our own, let's go.

As for the fall, I would like to hear from Box, see what he thinks and what would be involved.

My gear is in the garage,gathering dust, and calling to me like the ghost of long dead Marley, begging me to change my dry lined ways.

Have fun,

Will

Will,
 I'm as far south as you can go without crossing into Ca. Right on the coast in Pelican Bay which is 1/2 Ca and 1/2 Or. We have a fair stretch of crabbing  flats south of the Chetco, halibut venture here as well for a short time. Reefs are in every direction, most are within a few hundred yards of the beach so they are easy to paddle out to. I also fish the lower Chetco when I can. Southern Oregon coast is dotted with seastacks and reefs along the beaches so anywhere you go is a potential fishery!
 Pole had mentioned a "gathering" to start with instead of a full blown derby. My wife likes that idea, less legalities. At this time I am talking with area campgrounds and such (rv parks) for accessability for a group. Deciding a place on the calender and the target fishery of choice. So if any of you have a preferance for lings or salmon or just an all out good time with no guidelines or restrictions other than state law!
 The types of fishing are endless here, one guy I know has a hankering for wolf eel and uses a long pole with large hook and bait which he pokes around the holes in rocks till he feels one and then twists the eel onto the pole yo remove him from hole. Now you have a headfull of teeth to contend with and at up to 6' these eels are strong. Kinda fun to watch but I don't want one in the boat with me!
 Keep in touch and lets get it together for the summer coming up. 

Good evening All;

Hey Box, are you talking about going down south for the June gathering or for September?  I like the idea of doing J.D. for June.  That and I think I can do Small Mouths out of my tackle bag without having to buy anything.  As for September, Allen mentioned that he was going to try to get down to your area to hook up with you.  Honestly, I was hoping to get out to the bay for the weekend, but if I head south for a day or two, I might be able to pull off a one day trip to the bay.  Not sure about this though.  Anyhow, If you and Allen were already making plans to fish south, I wouldn't impose to change them.  If I can, I will be happy to fish down there.  Sixty miles to the fish is a lot easier to swing than 300 miles (+/-) to the fish.  Do you gents already have a date in mind or have the plans progressed that far?  Either way, speaking on my own behalf, if June is a one day trip, than a drive south would be easier to fanagel.  My wife likes me to be around for the weekends and I have a motorcycle I need to get to work rebuilding.


Happy Holidays to you and yours, everyone.

Will

Will,
 No real plans but thinking more along the lines of a "gathering" instead of derby. See how many are interested and show up the first year or two. Sometime before Labor Day would probably be best for weather and fishery as well. As Pole stated, it is a long way south for many of us here, and maybe further north is the ticket.
 Any body got any feelings about a "Far South Gathering"? I would like to hear all input, good or bad!
 Thanks 

Gents, One and All;

     I have been waiting for anyone else to reply but barring that, are you two still up for the John Day trip?  With Polepole living somewhere near Seattle and Box going about the same distance in the other direction?  I don't know if you two are still up for it.  there might be more interest as the spring and then summer draw near, but I couldn't say for certain.  I'm all for scrubbin' the "Derby" part and just making it a cook what you catch bbq kind of thing.  I'd even be willing to pack in extra fixin's incase my current line of fishing success continues.  Anyhow, let me know what you're thoughts are on this.

Happy New year and stay safe.

Will

Will,
 It's been pretty slow on the forum lately. I think a few of us are just trying to make it through the winter! I'm a stay at home kinda guy until the summer. Pole makes up for any traveling I don't do!
 Maybe responses will start up as the weather heads our way?
 It's been so bad on the water, I havent gotten out in the yak for weeks, the Ocean is huge and the river too swollen.

PS for everyone;  GO GET YOUR NEW '007 FISHING LICENSE AND TAGS!!!!