The day finally came. A limit for two at Odell. I think I mentioned the limit here on the last post, but in case you missed it we're looking for 25 fish per day per person. We got an early start at just after 5 and catching was pretty steady all day. We lost a bunch which prolonged the day a bit but that is the way kokanee fishing goes. We had our first limit…
Odell lake has to be one of the neatest lakes in Oregon. High atop Willamette Pass it is at the very top end of the Deschutes Watershed. Two hundred and fifty plus feet deep in places I have often wondered just how many kokanee could be in there. It has to be millions. But back to the koks in a minute.
We’ve made a few trips to Odell so far this summer. For developed camping it’s hard to beat Trapper Creek campground. Located right on the lake next to Trapper Creek where the kokanee spawn every fall there’s about 30 well spaced sites it a stand of tall spruce and huckleberries.
It’s a quick trip to the boat ramp which is right in the campground. And as much as I always think, maybe we’ll get to a hike or some other activities, lets face it, a trip to Odell is all about the fishing. You can keep 25 kokanee per day here, and if you get your timing right you can limit well before noon. Well, some people can. I’ve come close a few times but I’ve always fallen short of a limit. The bite is always good before the sun hits the water, sometimes it dies off shortly thereafter, sometimes it keeps going and it’s the wind that ends the day for you.
I guess if you are posting about June trips during the second week of July that means you are a bit behind. Such is life in the summer, days are long but they fill up with all kinds of things. We traveled to the west side of Oregon with a couple of objectives, and we actually over achieved.
We launched out of central Oregon on Friday afternoon with hopes of finding a spot to camp on the way to Opal Creek. Turns out we ended up passing our stopping point but were lucky enough to realize it was the best thing going and we turned around and claimed it after a bit of exploring and backtracking. This old logging landing on a ridge turned out to be one of the best camp spots ever. It was full of blooming bear grass, rhododendron, penstemon and several other wildflowers all in full bloom on a forest ridge with nobody around and as it turned out, nobody passed the entire time we were there.
