Brownlee, Oxbow, Hells canyon

[Bassnbob]

Just got back on Tuesday from a week at Copperhead Campground. The fishing for bass was slow on Hells Canyon Res. Crappie was good but small. Brownlee was also slow for bass. Didn't fish for crappie at Brownlee so can't say how it was.

Oxbow had the best fishing all around. Bass fishing was good and crappie fishing was great. A lot of crappie and good size. Fish and Game needs to patrol Oxbow for a month and catch the anglers keeping bass. Maybe if the word got out that Fish and Game was ticketing people, they would quit taking the bass. We saw quite a few anglers keeping bass. I had no cell phone service so couldn't report anyone. I did talk to the Adams County sheriff and he admitted it was a problem but not enough personnel to patrol the area.

I talked to some anglers with limited english skills(eastern europe accent) and they supposedly didn't know the rules and regs for Oxbow. They had two huge coolers full of fish. Supposedly crappie but I seen them throw a couple of small bass in them. They were on shore and I was in my bass boat so didn't want to get too confrontational with them, just tried to explain the rules. Something definitely needs to be done. This is the first year that we didn't catch any big bass on Oxbow. 12 to 15 inchers, no 16 to 19 inchers like in the past.
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[windriver]

Thanks for the report. I will be at oxbow in July. I hope they do figure out how to catch those who break the law. It really is a remote place.

Windriver
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[Henries8]

The last few times we have been up there during the Memorial Weekend there has been a female deputy in the south end boat launch checking things out. Last year we were fishing by the Hells Canyon Dam on the north end of the lake when a boat came up to us with both a Idaho and Oregon fish cop and checked our licenses and boat out. I don't mind that a bit!! Tax dollars well spent.
I have seen in the past coolers full of Crappie come out of that lake. I watched a boat with four big coolers, I suspect full of Crappie with I am sure some bass last year come off a boat at the launch. There where five Asian folks from Washington in there. I mentioned that to the fish cops and they suspect they are fishing commercially for their community back home which obviously is against the law.
The bottom line is if they really want the lake to be a trophy pond they will have to get aggressive with their enforcement efforts. I for one have no problem with that!!!!
Hope the weather holds and the fishing picks up. We will be up there the 2nd through the 6th. Can't wait to get on the water. I was in Hawaii with the family two weeks ago and all I could think about was fishing Oxbow. I need help. [sly]
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[ripnlip]

could i ask where were you fishing on Hell's Canyon R.? my favorite spots are from the Island north, that's why i am asking.

on Oxbow, used to launch at the "wide spot in the road" ramp, we used to call it anyway, on the Oregon side. run over to the Idaho side and fish that shoreline north. awesome, awesome, awesome. Sad to hear if it really is on the decline.

we stayed at Woodhood last summer for a week or better. lots and lots of crappie. no size to them, and only one bass.
Talked to one of the wardens and he said he hadn't checked a boat with bass in like 2 weeks (remember this was May last year). has anyone heard if this summer is looking better?

Wife and I are trying to decide if we are doing our trip to Brownlee, or staying in Utah this year and fishing Powell or Starvation.

I have fished it for about 18 years, from Steck Park to Hells Canyon Dam (darn near every rock in between), so if anyone has a report, I'd probably know where they were talking about and would appreciate any info.
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[EZOP]

Hey Bassnbob, we hit Oxbow a month ago and picked up 5 smallmouth in about 2+ hours. Two 16"s, one 17" and two 18"s all on a drop shot in 40'. The picture shows exactly where all fish were caught.
There was another boat close to us and he picked up 3 or 4 that I seen and they were nice also. He was fishing the same as us. There also was another guy casting cranks along the edges and I seen him pick up several also. We didn't crappie fish there, but there was about 10 boats tied up to the bank in the background and yes they were catching tons of crappie.

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[windriver]

The last couple of years that area has been full of crappie in July.

Maybe I will have to try deeper for the smallmouth at that time of year. I always catch some near the shoreline early in the morning and late in the evening.

Windriver
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[Bassnbob]

Ripnlip, we fished the spillway first thing in the morning and caught a few 14 inchers. Then we went to the island and caught a lot of small ones. The wind came up and we headed back with a few rain drops pelting us on the way. Those things hurt at 50+ mph. [laugh]

At Oxbow, we launched at the ramp just south of the dam, I assume that's the one you are talking about. It's a dirt ramp. We also fished straight across and went north toward the dam. We caught a lot of 13 to 15 inchers on an Excaliber Xr50 ghost minnow rattletrap.

There was a club on Brownlee on Sat and the team that won had 5 fish weighing 6.20 lbs. Not a good weight for Brownlee. The whole area should improve once the weather quits its up and down swings.
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[Bassnbob]

Ezop, that's the area we fished and the current wasn't running like usual and that probably accounted for the smaller fish being there and not the bigger ones. That area is so dependent on the current.

I threw a Lucky Craft ghost minnow rattletrap and jerk bait. Also a Zoom watermelon seed fluke. We caught a lot of fish, just couldn't seem to find the big ones. Our friends in another boat did manage to catch one 16 and a 17 and a half incher on Lucky Craft jerk baits.

I'm not blaming my lack of success on the meat fishermen, even though it sounds like that as the current played the major part. I was just commenting on the fact that Fish and Game need to make an effort to patrol the area if they expect it to be a trophy bass fishery.
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