As I only just discovered this site (am now thoroughly addicted) I figured I might as well give a run down of my summer on the Goons. I started my fishing season pretty late, mid-may is my best guess. My first week, I hiked a bit past the dam at Tower, found a little cut to the shore, lo and behold, there's a honkin' big LMB cruising the shore line all of 36 inches from my feet. I put some "photo-realistic" swim baits past his nose, then a couple mister twisters, but he ignored them all. Finally I broke out the crawlers, didn't even bother to cast, just plopped the worm in front of his face. He sucked that worm right up, and I didn't even set the hook, just lifted him right out. Took a couple pics, and let him go. He took off, and I haven't caught anything that size out of the lagoons since.
A couple more casts in the same spot, caught this little crappie on a 4" mister twister with a jog head. The lure was almost as big as the dang fish.
I've gotten maybe 10 to 12 LMBs split between the Tower dam and the Willow dam, all between 8 and 12 inches.
Got one tiny little striper at the Willow dam, casting from the west embankment across the stream under the willow road bridge.
The sunnies will steal your live bait every time, but they're suckers for a 0.5 to 1 inch long white worm or beetle on a white jig head.
And today, my first channel cat! An armada of kayaks came under the Tower bridge about 15 seconds after I cast (3" crawler on a gamakatsu octopus hook w/ bobber, set about 3 foot) so I started hauling in line so they didn't snag a paddle on my line. Right as the third yak passed my bobber, it plunged straight under, about 10 feet off shore. I set the hook, and started bringing it in and there was my first kitty. Maybe the best part was the cheers and applause from the yakkers.
As far as I can tell, there are 8 species in the lagoons, not counting all the variants of sunfish/bluegill or carp, because I hate carp. If we go with that, I'm 5 for 8 this summer. I would love to snag a northern, but as I've caught 'em elsewhere, I'm not super worried about it. My real desire is a walleye. Man, do I want a walleye. I've tried leeches, crawlers, and all manner of hard/soft/floating/sinking/diving artificial bait. I've had people catch them next to me, heard rumors of 20"+ coming out of all the spots I frequent, but I just can't get one. Obviously it'd be great to catch everything the goons have to offer, but all I really want is a nasty big wallie. SO... give me your advice, tell me your stories, and help me fulfill my dream before the summer comes to an end.
Also, I took a sweet fishing trip out to the Hells Canyon section of the Snake River, where it divides Oregon and Idaho. 10 guys, three dogs, 17000 beers, and 8 days. I've got pictures of our catches, and stories to go along with 'em. If anyone wants to know what it's like out there, I'm happy to share.
