Going the GR this weekend for a day of drifting and wondered if anyone had some words of wisdom. I have only fished the river one time so any info would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

RM

Riverman-

I have a friend in Lewiston that fishes the Ronde at least 4 days a week. His latest report to me was on Sat. and he said it has been hit and miss his last few trips. Last Thurs. him and a buddy hooked 9 and the next day they only hooked 1. He said you have to hit them in the nose with it right now. He suggested to fish the stretch from Boggans up to the hatchery and he uses nothing but corkies and yarn. Hope this info. helps.


Jsteel

Spent the last three days on the Ronde, and fishing was moderate to good. All I can tell you is to bring purple Mag Warts and have some corky set ups ready to go!

We had two boats, and the ONLY color plug that hit was purple. Water was somewhat stained, but pretty good clarity, maybe 3-4 feet. My buddy hit two with peach corkies as we boondogged, but otherwise a total of 12 fish over 2 days fishing. All but two fish were about 4 pounds, and the others were 8 and 9. Oh yeah, only three were hatchery.

Have a good one!!

Hey thanks JSteel, appreciate the info.!

Rola,

Mag Warts? Were you on the Grande Ronde or the Snake? I would think that the mags would be dredging bottom all day long. Were you perhaps thinking of the regular wiggle warts? Anyway, how were the crowds, lots of folks? Thanks!

RM

We were actually fishing Mag Warts, and we caught most of our fish at the head of rapids or in seams between a chute and the flat water right next to it. The reason our plugs weren't hitting is because we really focused on the slow water, so plugs were working very slowly and probably only 1-2 feet under water.

Crowds weren't too bad, but definitely better on Thursday than Friday and Saturday. About 4 guide boats and 3-5 other boats. Quite a few bankies. We talked to a lot of the guides and they touched less fish than us. Again, I think this was due to the purple plugs. Also, they fished the lower part towards Boggan's Crossing, whereas we went all the way up to the Oregon line and floated from there.

Hey thanks a bunch Rola, I sincerely appreciate it. We are planning on doing the same drift, right at the Oregon Washington border and pulling plugs, and some drift fishing. I'm disappointed that you guys didn't do a bit better, would have thought the plugs would knock em dead given all the fish that are "supposed" to be in the river. Your idea of fishing the mags in the slower water is a good one that I have used on occassion as well. I will most certainly pick up a couple of purple plugs, thanks again!

RM

No problem..Good luck!! Also, if time permits, I'd try throwing out some spoons into big pockets behind boulders, but again, only if you have time. Also, keep your eyes peeled, because two of the fish we caught we had spotted in advance as they swirled on the surface

My Buddy and I fished the Grande Ronde the last weekend of December and got into quite a few fish for two days. Hooked 9 hatchery and 6 wild drift fishing above Boggans. We hit fish in every single hole we fished. Saw several people fishing and all seemed to be catching fish. There are tons of fish in the system and they appear to be spread out throughout. Best of luck to you.

Sammy