Billy Chinook Reports 2000
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Redball July 10, 2000
We started our annual trip to Billy with partly cloudy skies, a partial moon, and West winds.  As usual we stopped in Sisters to top off the tank before making the 20 mile washboard dirt road finish to the trip over.  That was the moment I paid $2.00 for a gallon of gas for the first time.  Guess there's a first time for everything.  We turned at the Squaw Creek campground for the twenty mile dirt road trek.  For some reason the road didn't seem quite as washboard like on this trip.   We arrived at Perry South campground around 2:00.  To our surprise the campground host does not sell Tribal Fishing Permits anymore.  So after we got the tent set up and the boat launched the first place we went was the marina across from the island for the permits. We started fishing by the Island and were immediately rewarded with biting fish.  We had neglected to put the net in the boat when we launched so we lost quite a few fish.  But, the bite was on and the fishing very good.  We managed to boat 14 fish by 6:00 and lost at least that many.  They were between 45 and 55 feet down and seemed like they were everywhere.  We then decided to call it a day and get some hot dogs cooking.  To our surprise, the campground was almost empty!   I think those $2.00 gas prices are having an effect. We had site number 7 and not a camper could be seen from it.  Never before have we camped here without tolerating a drunken party till 3:00 AM by the water-skiers in the campsite next to us.  I wonder if one of them destroyed the water pump because it is inoperable.  You have to go to the boat ramp or the entrance to get water.  We brought a jug with us and were happy we did.

The next morning we were on the water at 6:00 AM ready the a ferocious bite and quick limits.  But that was not to be.  With net in hand the fish were few and far between.  It was like night and day.  We should have fished till dark the day before.  The fish just didn't seem to be there.  When we did finally mark significant numbers they were down over 100 feet deep.  We trolled through huge schools of fish at 122 feet with hardly anything to show for our efforts.   Finally around 9:00 we decided to hang it up and see if anything was happening at Rattlesnake Point.  The fish were there!  We could see them under the boat, lots and lots of Kokanee.  Unfortunately, they weren't biting.  I saw snagged fish after snagged fish caught and kept by other boaters ( notice I didn't say fisherman ).   Very few fish landed were of the legal variety.  We managed two legals out of approximately a dozen or so fish landed.  One of my snagged fish turned out to be a legally hooked Bull Trout of about 20 inches.  The limit is 24 inches so we didn't get much for pictures, it was quickly released.  Around 11:00 AM the fishing seemed to slow so we decided to call it a trip, have a picnic, and head home.  All in all a really good trip.  I was disappointed at the size of the fish.  They averaged between 11 and 12 inches, mostly 11 1/2.  Here are some links to a couple of pictures.  Image one  -  Image two  I'll leave them here for a week or two.
reply logo This report submitted by Robert

Redball July 8, 2000

We arrived at Billy Chinook on Saturday July 8. There were still camping spaces available, and plenty of room at the dock. We fished on Sunday, starting at 7:30, west of the island. We picked up 9 fish by 10, mostly nice, 10- 13 inches, then the boat broke, had to be towed in. The fish we caught were down about 15 feet, and were really scrappy.
reply logo This report submitted by  Daparthur@aol.com

Redball June 6, 2000
We haven't been able to keep up with anything resembling a fishing report like we did last year. I do have our hydroacoustic (sonar) estimates of kokanee numbers if you want them. They are preliminary. June 1 survey indicated 357,000 age 1 and older kokanee (catchable size) in the Metolius Arm, 179,000 in the Deschutes, and 143,000 in the Crooked. Most fish are in the lower reaches of the arms, very few in the upper arms at all.  Good Fishing. Chris Kern, ODFW
reply logo This report submitted by Chris Kern

NOTE:  I replied to Chris on this post.  I asked him if   357,000 Kokanee was normal based on past estimates.  Here is his reply:
"I could look it up probably, but basically about the highest number of age 1 and older fish we have had in the last 5 years was around 500-600 K, and the lowest around 50K, so I'd say we are on the high side of the mid range. Pretty good news because when there are more fish they get small, and when there are fewer, they are hard to catch."

Redball May 6, 2000

Took a trip to Billy Chinook 5-6-00. The weather was great, and was not very windy. Trolled out on the Deschutes Arm, and managed to catch four nice Kokes. Fish were jumping all over the place, but not biting. The prior week I fished the Metolious Arm and knocked them dead. Brought home 15 fish and had 32 on. According to the ODFW biologist up on the lake, they are doing very well on the Metolious Arm by Chinook Island. Remember you need a tribal permit to fish on the Metolious Arm. They are $6.25/day or $25.00/year. I will be heading up to Paulina Lake soon, and hopefully will fish Wickiup this weekend. I will let you know how it goes.
reply logo This report submitted by CSalsb1017@aol.com

Redball April 1, 2000

I went fishing at Billy Chinook this weekend and was it ever beautiful!!! A friend of mine was getting his boat tuned up, so we wanted to get it out and begin the spring, and what a great day it was.

We threw our poles in just in case we had some time to fish. We trolled for Kokes near the dam. Since we weren't too serious about fishing, I only threw a few items in my tackle box. I trolled a ford fender (little) with 1 and 1/2 ounces of weight and a red wedding ring rubber snubber of course. We did not have any white corn, but had some worms from the garden. (Don't ask...long story) Anyway, we had a lot of luck fishing around the dam. I purchased a reel last year that shows how much line goes out. It was a great thing to have! I would let out 128 and 1/2 feet and I was constantly catching fish. It was amazing! Like Doug, the previous writer about this lake, the fish we caught were on the small side 6" was the smallest 12" the biggest with most around the 10" length. BUT WHAT A WAY TO BEGIN THE SPRING!

I caught 22 fish total. My friend (who owned the boat) 3. The only difference between the two set ups was I knew exactly how deep I was fishing. The reel was a great investment and would advise other trollers to do the same or buy a downrigger. I plan to be back out there this weekend (with my boat) and try my luck again. From what I have heard, it is going to be in the 70's again! Spring in Central Oregon is here!!! (At least for another weekend!)
reply logo This report submitted by Dave

Redball March 18

We put in at the first CrookedRiver ramp. There were about 25 trailers in the lot at that ramp. I was surprised by the number of boats on the lake this early in the season. The weather was overcast, moderately windy and there were light to moderate sprinkles at times. Water temperature according to my fish finder was 48 near the rivers to 49 near the dam.

I just purchased a boat, and this was the first time I had it in the water, also my first time on this lake, so I was really more interested in checking everything out than fishing. Most boats were in the Metolius arm. That is also were we saw most of the fish jumping activity. In some spots on that arm I saw 5 or 6 fish out of the water at the same time. They must have been doing the parasite jig, because I didn't see a lot of insect activity on the water. Certainly, nothing to cause that much activity. We cruised up all 3 arms and there was jumping activity in all 3, but the Metolius definitely had the most.

We trolled down the Deschutes arm and caught a baby Koke (6") and we also trolled along the east wall near the Dam and landed an 8 incher, both were released. Both were caught on a flat troll with a red beaded wedding ring lure. Didn't ever troll the Metolius arm because we didn't have a tribal permit. All the Marinas were still closed for the season.

We saw good size schools on the fish finder at the confluence of the Deschutes and CrookedRiver and up the Crooked River arm just on the Lake side of the Bridge.

Your site has been great. I'm a beginner and have enjoyed reading about Kokanee fishing in Oregon. I plan to get all the experience I can this year.
reply logo This report submitted by Doug

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