05_2025_REELLIFE_digital - Flipbook - Page 10
Monument with its twin
East Lake. This 1,300-acre
lake is 250 feet in some
places. Kokanee fishing is
the main attraction and
trolling flashers is the most
popular method. Trolling a
Wedding Ring with a kernel
of corn or a chunk of worm
on the end is very effective.
Other great kokanee lures
include the Cha Cha 1.5
Kokanee and the Kokanee
Killer.
Jigging is the other way
to catch them at Paulina,
especially till about midJune. Mack's Cripplure
and Sonic Baitfish are
productive, as are Nordic
lures. First locate schools
with a fish-finder and,
depending on the depth,
troll with a downrigger,
flashers, a kokanee spinner
and a kernel of corn on
the hook. Or drop down a
jig and try to put it in the
school.
DETROIT RESERVOIR
The Detroit Dam was
built in 1953, creating a
large water storage and
electric power generation
reservoir that has become
an important recreation
resource. This nine-mile
lake, with 32 miles of
shoreline is surrounded by
forest of Douglas fir and
hemlock and is fed by the
Breitenbush River, North
Fork Santiam and Blowout
and Kinney and several
smaller creeks.
ODFW stocks Detroit with
rainbows throughout the
season. This 3,580-acre
reservoir is also home to
kokanee. Angling success
picks up in May when the
water warms.
Try the Kokanee Kid Mysis
Bug or Promise Ring made
in Salem, Oregon. Other
good bets include the
Silver Skalez Koko Leaf or
Kokanee Creek Tackle 1.5
Micro Bite Squid. Popular
trolling areas include Piety
Island, west of Mongold
State Park, the north shore
near the dam and at the
mouths of inlets.
& FURTHERMORE
Some of our favorite
fisheries were destroyed in
2023 and another one may
be destroyed this fall. One
of the best kokanee days
of my life was on Green
Peter Reservoir. GPR had
a seemingly inexhaustible
supply of kokanee and if
you figured them out on
any given day, you could
not go wrong. What did
the Feds do? The US Army
Corps of Engineers decided
to drain Green Peter and
Foster and wiped out
some of the state's favorite
kokanee fisheries while
simultaneously silting over
and smothering salmon
and steelhead and trout
spawning beds in the
South Santiam for miles
downstream. Brilliant.
Think they are done? The
National Marine Fisheries
Service and the Corps of
Engineers have their fishkilling sights set on Detroit
Reservoir and the North
Fork Santiam now. So go
fish Detroit this year and
I hope you catch a bunch
of limits and have a good
time, but don't forget the
very agencies that purport
to be working for the
people are often working
against us and the fisheries
we love.
Gary Lewis Bio
Gary Lewis is an award-winning author, TV host, speaker and photographer. Recent books
include Fishing Central Oregon, 6th Edition, Fishing Mount Hood Country and Bob Nosler Born
Ballistic. Gary has hunted and fished in eight countries on three continents and in the islands
of the South Pacific. Born and raised in the Northwest, he has been walking forest trails and
running rivers for as long as he can remember. Lewis is twice past president of the Northwest
Outdoor Writers Association and a recipient of NOWA’s Enos Bradner Award.
FOR A SIGNED COPY OF FISHING
MOUNT HOOD COUNTRY, SEND
$29.99, INCLUDES SHIPPING TO:
Gary Lewis Outdoors
PO Box 1364, Bend, OR 97709
Contact Gary Lewis at
garylewisoutdoors.com
