"THE HAT FISH"

by  Scott Staats

Sometimes the most memorable fishing experiences are not about the fish we bring home, but the ones that got away. Over the years it seems that missing big fish has become a part of my outdoor life. I’m tempted to write a book titled “The Biggest Fish I’ve Ever Lost.” I know I definitely lost more lunker fish than I’ve ever caught. I’ve even helped others with me lose fish (sometimes even accidentally).

I recall missing three monster salmon on the Umpqua River one day before landing my first. It took me a handful of years to finally land a bull trout over 24 inches at Lake Billy Chinook, after missing at least six or eight trophies. And then of course, there’s the many steelhead that have jumped, waved and spit the hook.

One of my goals the last eight years since moving to Oregon has been to land a smallmouth bass over 20 inches on the John Day River. On my first outing with Steve and Linda Fleming of Mah-Hah Outfitters, my wife landed a smallie measuring 20-1/4 inches and got her hat.

Anyone landing a fish 20 inches or over gets a “Master Angler” hat. My wife almost always catches bigger fish than I do. All I can say is it’s a good thing she’s not a hunter.

In the fall of 2004, I joined John Taranto, associate editor of Outdoor Life and Stacey Dunn, sales manager for Maui Jim Sunglasses as we floated a section of the John Day River near Spray with Fleming. This trip turned out to be my best ever on the river.

We caught a total of 142 bass with many between 12 and 18 inches. It was Dunn’s first time fishing for smallmouth and she got the hang of it quickly, landing some 15- and 16-inchers. Taranto hooked into a brute that measured 18-3/4 inches. Both were very impressed with the fishery.

Just after one of Fleming’s famous Dutch oven lunches, I felt the tug, tug on the line, lowered the rod and set the hook. When the fish started taking line, I knew it was a big one. When it jumped, we all knew it was big. Fleming said it was at least 20 inches and all I thought was “don’t lose it.” When it jumped the second time, it threw the hook and swam back to the bottom, taking with it any chance of me landing a 20-incher. Oh well, it’s fun to have a big fish on the line – at least that what people say who never land a lunker.

Late afternoon, only a mile or so from the takeout, I had another good strike on an Outlaw Baits 5-inch Ripple Worm. Seconds later the fish jumped about 30 feet away from the boat. My heartbeat proceeded to increase precipitously when I saw the bass.

“This is your hat fish, don’t lose it,” Fleming said. Of course the pressure was on to finally land a 20-incher. To make things worse, two guys in one-person pontoon boats came floating by. I’ve never seen any other people on this stretch of river this time of year and they had to pick today to watch me lose the biggest smallmouth bass I’ve ever hooked. Stage fright was building to a crescendo.

The fish jumped a second time then decided to head under the boat. I jammed the rod tip into the water to prevent further jumps. Then the fish started swimming to the surface again and I reeled like crazy to prevent slack.

I could finally breathe a sigh of relief when Fleming had the net under the fish. As he laid the net in the boat, the hook simply fell out of the fish’s mouth. The smallie measured 21 3 / 4 inches, my biggest I’ve ever landed. Now I know what it feels like to stand atop Mount Everest - well, sort of. Anyway, my bad luck streak was over.

Scott Staats 21 3 / 4 inches Smallmouth Bass John Day River using Outlaw Baits 5-inch Ripple Worm

Fleming uses a few new methods to improve his fishing success. Outlaw Baits are his top choice on the river now. Most of our fish came on 5-inch black Ripple Worms. He also uses Ultra Bite from Mustad, a pheromone that induces feeding. By mixing a dash of Ultra Bite in Smelly Jelly scent, Fleming has found that he can now catch about 10 fish from holes where he usually catches five fish a day.

He attributes several factors for catching more large fish. “First off, the new slot limit didn’t hurt,” he said. Bass between 12 and 16 inches must be released. The limit is five fish per day with only one of those being over 16 inches. He also said that the last four years of low water have kept many anglers off the river, giving the bass a chance to grow.

Irrigation keeps river levels low until the beginning of October and smallmouth fishing on the river will be good until the surface temperature drops to 40 degrees, which is usually around the middle of November. “From then on, there’s no sense in getting up at 4 a.m. to go fishing,” Fleming said. The best bite will be from about 11a.m. to 3 p.m.

Thanks to Steve Fleming and Outlaw Baits, I finally boated a smallie over 20 inches. I’m now in search of some of the other biggest fish I’ve never caught.

Steelhead - According Fleming, anglers catch steelhead fairly consistently at the Cottonwood Bridge toward the end of October, which means that fish should be in the entire river system by mid-November. Usually by Veteran’s Day, steelhead are up as far as Clarno. About 90 percent of the fish are wild with most of the hatchery fish being caught below Cottonwood. Many of the large B-run fish will make it to Cottonwood before realizing they made a wrong turn and head back down the river.

Fleming has had good luck casting ½-ounce Stee-Lees. Since the spoons are dish-shaped, he likes to add some Smelly Jelly, namely Craw-Anise to help entice the fish. On one 4-hour float, we netted seven fish using this method.

KwikFish and Hot Shots are also good techniques, Fleming said. Bobbers and Maribou jigs are becoming more popular as well. Outlaw Baits also has a variety of steelhead baits. Four- to six-pound fish are the average catch. Anything over a 30-inch fish is considered big. The entire river up to the North Fork is open year round for fin-clipped steelhead.

And don’t forget about chukar and quail. There are good populations of these birds along the John Day River and up its side canyons.

Added Bonus: Cast and Blast

Mah-Hah Outfitters has teamed up with Skip Geer, owner of Mayville Flat Shooting Preserve to offer a unique two-day Cast and Blast experience, which includes one day of fishing and one day of hunting. The preserve is located between Fossil and Condon on a 6,000-acre ranch and has two 1,280 plots of great bird habitat, including three canyons and great views of the Cascades. There is also a lodge available for hunters.

Contacts: Mah-Hah Outfitters at 888-624-9424: Mayville Flat Shooting Preserve at 541-384-4705.

AT A GLANCE

What: John Day Smallmouths

Where: Spray, Service Creek, Twickenham, Clarno and Cottonwood.

How: Bounce Outlaw Baits along bottom. Hit the bigger holes in low flows.

When: Late season bass from now until mid-November. Then target steelhead.

Bonus: Chukar and quail hunting along river. Cast and Blast opportunity available.

 

 

copyright 2005 Outlaw Baits  Florence, Oregon    EMAIL