Finally ready...

Okay hubby and I finally have collected all the pieces, we got the yaks, the pfds, paddles and a way to haul them to... that is where my question comes from. Where should we go? We are both relatively new to kayaking. We want to head to someplace easy to get a feel for our yaks. We live in Newberg, just west of Portland on hwy99w. I am not sure about the Willamette which would be closest because of all of the fast boat traffic.
Any suggestions??
Thanks,
Watergirl!!

Henry Hagg lake is a great start for fishing Smallmouth Bass and to get your feet wet, but there is a lot of boat traffic (get used to it). The Tualatin is another easy spot to try, good small mouth population (as of this morning). There is a nice trail and only paddle traffic. tualatinriverkeepers.org   Actually the Willamette in your neighborhood is pretty quite and another great spot for smb.

Finally, don't let the boat traffic scare you. Last Tuesday I was on the Columbia and two HUGE car carriers passed me at speed. I was in 20' of water and tossed my anchor line to avoid getting washed away. Result? Nothing happened. The kayak barely raised and lowered as the wake passed. But when it hit the shallow flat behind me (7'-1' deep) it made a surfable 3' breaker. Moral of the story is stay in deeper water and practice your bracing. Try not to take them right on the ear (broadside) but even then most wakes pretty much just roll under your boat. Just remember to balance from your bottom (NOT the top)  Its really only when the wake hits shallow water that makes problems. Especially when you're getting out.

The fishing is only so-so, but Sauvie Island has miles and miles of shallow lakes, wetlands, and connecting channels to explore, all within a wildlife refuge.  No power boats, and very little boat traffic of any kind. 

A couple of books I have found useful are:

"Oregon's Quiet Waters: A Guide to Lakes for Canoeists & Other Paddlers" by Cheryl Mclean

"Northwest Flatwater Paddling: a guide to lake and bay exploration in Washington and Oregon" by Toby Berry

Both of these will point you at some great paddling that usually has great fishing as lagniappe. I think Powell's has both of them.

Watergirl...I'm very new to kayaking - been out 3-4 times - and I spent about 5 hours today paddling on the Willamette, launched from Roger's Landing in Newberg. My wife and I moved up from McMinnville a month ago and are interested in fishing from kayaks. I don't know the name, but just upstream from the landing is a good sized island. The main channel follows to the left and has lots of boat traffic (even on a Monday). The right option is very peaceful, calm water with lots of little, hungry fish (mostly bass and cutthroat?). I did see a large, unidentifiable fish roll on the surface but was unable to tempt with any of my flys.

Which kayaks did you end up getting?

Jay

Welcome steelheadr!  What kind of yaks are you currently paddling?

-Allen

I've been meaning to get out and try paddling upstream of Oregon City.  The little trout-like fish you were catching are most likely salmon and steelhead smolts, not cutthroat (water temps are too high in the lower Willamette for cutthroat).

rentals....

Welcome steelheadr!  What kind of yaks are you currently paddling?

-Allen