Deadwood report

[Physion]

I fished Deadwood on Wednesday, July 11. My wife and I got fish almost everywhere we trolled. Lots of small fish. We kept 20 that were between 10 and 12 inches with most going about 11. The road in from Cascade and Landmark was very rough. We were told the roads in from Stanley or from Clear Creek have been graded and are pretty nice, but that's a long ways around from Cascade.

Tight lines!

[Battleship Oakes]

Sick of the crowds at AR & LP. Headed to deadwood this weekend for the first time fishing. Will be fishing for kokes with two poles and really planning on targeting black mouth. Any one willing to share some info on gear and tactics can pm me or whatever. I won't stop until I have it figured out, but I wouldn't mind a step in the right direction. I have some ideas, but I'm not to proud to ask. I'll return the favor on anything I learn along the way.

If you see a 24' Whitewater Oakes jet boat with a red window don't be afraid to introduce yourself. My name is Wil.

[Lunddude]

I'm also interested in fishing Deadwood this year for black mouth. I tandem tow a 28' 5th wheel & a 19' Lund not sure about getting in there with my rig. I live in Hailey so I would be coming over from the Bear Valley side. I've only been to the Deadwood Lodge by snowmobile in the winter, anyone know if getting into Deadwood with a set up like mine is do able? Let us know how your trip goes & if launching a 24' boat is any problem @ Deadwood, I would be interested for sure.

Mike

[BlueBack79]

wil,
did you just buy that oakes recently, or were you trying to sell it? there was a red topped one for sale not too long ago. my buddy just sold his 24' oakes a couple months ago. big block/3 stage/stick. it was a sweet boat. oakes built tanks!!good luck and be sure to post how you did.

[Battleship Oakes]

wil,
did you just buy that oakes recently, or were you trying to sell it? there was a red topped one for sale not too long ago. my buddy just sold his 24' oakes a couple months ago. big block/3 stage/stick. it was a sweet boat. oakes built tanks!!good luck and be sure to post how you did.

Had mine for about a year now. Red window with gray soft top.

[Battleship Oakes]

I'm also interested in fishing Deadwood this year for black mouth. I tandem tow a 28' 5th wheel & a 19' Lund not sure about getting in there with my rig. I live in Hailey so I would be coming over from the Bear Valley side. I've only been to the Deadwood Lodge by snowmobile in the winter, anyone know if getting into Deadwood with a set up like mine is do able? Let us know how your trip goes & if launching a 24' boat is any problem @ Deadwood, I would be interested for sure.
Mike


So here goes. I went in over Scott Mountain and barely made it. My fenders are currently secured with duct tape...probably would have happened now matter which road I came in on. Went out throurg bear valley. Better road, but an extra 10 miles. Two hours on a gravel road regardless.

As for your rig pulling tandem, I wouldn't recommend it (this coming from someone who pulled a 24' jet boat over Scott mtn). Take it for what it's worth. If you were to go, bear valley through bruce meadows is the only way to go. Take a chain saw and watch for the "low" trees that hang over the road. I didn't have any problems but I'm only about 10' tall. Couple tight switch backs so be careful. 34 miles of gravel road so I would figur 2.5 hrs with your rig.

Here is your biggest problem. They didn't design a single road or camp ground for trailers. ALL tent camping. You might find room for a small camper somewhere. Even the campground with the "boat ramp" gave me trouble squeezing around the corners. There are no places to turn around. Roads are narrow and camping is limited. Only been up there twice now and my boat was the biggest trailer I've seen up there and that includes Memorial Day.

There are one or two spots before you get to the reservoir and maybe one when you first hit the reservoir that you could possibly camp or at least drop the trailers so you can go scout. Maybe check the north side of the reservoir. There isn't anything big enough on the east and south side. When you first hit the reservoir you could launch the boat there and maybe camp. Not sure because I didn't pull in.

I wouldn't just pull into the camp grounds. I would walk in and scout because there may not be room to turn around.

Good luck...fishing report coming up next.

[Battleship Oakes]

Good news and bad news. The good news is that there was very few boats...as expected. The bad news is that the Kokanee fish was sub par and we got encroached on by other campers. I didn't really drive 4 hours to camp 30 yards from strangers.

A few too many people in the campground with us. There was probably 5 groups in the 16 space campground but 2 groups decided that the needed to camp right next too us. Could barely get my rig out of the way by squeezing through some trees. Was disappointed with their proximity, but I couldn't move because it was the only camp site I could find with room to park. It was perfect until the riff raff and 15 kids suddenly surrounded us.

The fish were plentiful, but surprisingly picky. Didn't catch as many as I had hoped/expected and they were tiney. Biggest one was maybe 10 inches. They were all on the surface, and we didn't pick any up on the downriggers. Just long lined them with 1 oz weights. They were rising in the surface film most of the time. All small fish.

Saw some larger fish on the fish finder. Targeted them all day on the downriggers. We finally got one. It was a big trout that hit when I poped it loose to check it and was reeling it in. Nice little surprise. Probably 19"+. That was the only big trout or Kokanee in two days of fishing. We were on the was around 6 or 7 am both days.

Had a great weekend, but fishing was a little disappointing. I think we would have done better just fishing from the bank for trout. Our camping neighbor did really well doing that. Tough to drive 4 hrs for small Kokanee when I can catch relatively huge ones at AR or even LP less than 20 min from my house. Lots of other options a lot closer to home with better fishing, but it was nice to only see a half dozen other boats on the water and NO skiers. I guess it is all about what you are looking for...tight lines.

[Lunddude]

So here goes. I went in over Scott Mountain and barely made it. My fenders are currently secured with duct tape...probably would have happened now matter which road I came in on. Went out throurg bear valley. Better road, but an extra 10 miles. Two hours on a gravel road regardless.

As for your rig pulling tandem, I wouldn't recommend it (this coming from someone who pulled a 24' jet boat over Scott mtn). Take it for what it's worth. If you were to go, bear valley through bruce meadows is the only way to go. Take a chain saw and watch for the "low" trees that hang over the road. I didn't have any problems but I'm only about 10' tall. Couple tight switch backs so be careful. 34 miles of gravel road so I would figur 2.5 hrs with your rig.

Here is your biggest problem. They didn't design a single road or camp ground for trailers. ALL tent camping. You might find room for a small camper somewhere. Even the campground with the "boat ramp" gave me trouble squeezing around the corners. There are no places to turn around. Roads are narrow and camping is limited. Only been up there twice now and my boat was the biggest trailer I've seen up there and that includes Memorial Day.

There are one or two spots before you get to the reservoir and maybe one when you first hit the reservoir that you could possibly camp or at least drop the trailers so you can go scout. Maybe check the north side of the reservoir. There isn't anything big enough on the east and south side. When you first hit the reservoir you could launch the boat there and maybe camp. Not sure because I didn't pull in.

I wouldn't just pull into the camp grounds. I would walk in and scout because there may not be room to turn around.

Good luck...fishing report coming up next.

Thanks for the report. I kind of figured my rig would be a tuff one to get in there + 2.5 hours on a gravel road does not excite me @ all.

[Lunddude]

Good news and bad news. The good news is that there was very few boats...as expected. The bad news is that the Kokanee fish was sub par and we got encroached on by other campers. I didn't really drive 4 hours to camp 30 yards from strangers.

A few too many people in the campground with us. There was probably 5 groups in the 16 space campground but 2 groups decided that the needed to camp right next too us. Could barely get my rig out of the way by squeezing through some trees. Was disappointed with their proximity, but I couldn't move because it was the only camp site I could find with room to park. It was perfect until the riff raff and 15 kids suddenly surrounded us.

The fish were plentiful, but surprisingly picky. Didn't catch as many as I had hoped/expected and they were tiney. Biggest one was maybe 10 inches. They were all on the surface, and we didn't pick any up on the downriggers. Just long lined them with 1 oz weights. They were rising in the surface film most of the time. All small fish.

Saw some larger fish on the fish finder. Targeted them all day on the downriggers. We finally got one. It was a big trout that hit when I poped it loose to check it and was reeling it in. Nice little surprise. Probably 19"+. That was the only big trout or Kokanee in two days of fishing. We were on the was around 6 or 7 am both days.

Had a great weekend, but fishing was a little disappointing. I think we would have done better just fishing from the bank for trout. Our camping neighbor did really well doing that. Tough to drive 4 hrs for small Kokanee when I can catch relatively huge ones at AR or even LP less than 20 min from my house. Lots of other options a lot closer to home with better fishing, but it was nice to only see a half dozen other boats on the water and NO skiers. I guess it is all about what you are looking for...tight lines.

I feel your pain on the camping situation. We've had the same thing happen to us @ Anderson. We camp on the beach with our 5th wheel and there can be a 1000 yards of open beach on either side of us & some clown will come in & set up camp practically right on top of us. I've never figured out why some people insist on camping right next to you when there are plenty of other places to camp. Sorry to hear about the small fish, all I can suggest is go to Anderson next time & you can catch all the 9 inchers you want.

[alaska]

Has anyone put any time in trying to catch the chinook up there? Apparently not worth dragging a boat up for the small kokanee, but 5+ pound chinook might be a different story... Was planning on going up next Sat/Sun, but am curious if anyone has any experience with chinook up there? -Thanks!

[ValleyCounty]

I have been twice for Chinook, Went Memorial Day weekend and caught 7. 18 to 19 inch fish one at 25inch. and last weekend the 9th and caught one. a cold front moved through Sunday evening and the fish were not even thinking about biting. The one fish was 27 inches. Real big. Just a side not my boats fenders now have duct tape holding them on.

[clearwaterb]

do you fish for the Chinook any differnetly than the koks?

[SuperD]

do you fish for the Chinook any differnetly than the koks?

Lure selections are pretty close but more often than not, guys like to roll bait like shad behind the dodger.

[alaska]

I have been twice for Chinook, Went Memorial Day weekend and caught 7. 18 to 19 inch fish one at 25inch. and last weekend the 9th and caught one. a cold front moved through Sunday evening and the fish were not even thinking about biting. The one fish was 27 inches. Real big. Just a side not my boats fenders now have duct tape holding them on.

Thanks. I've just got a light 12' Hewescraft on an EZ-loader, hopefully it won't get bounced to shreds. Chinook at 25-27" sound like a good time. I imagine they eat a fair amount of the kokanee, so I was thinking about pulling small kokanee-colored (silver/blue) J-plugs. Fished for them quite a bit back in the salt in SE Alaska, but haven't targeted the landlocked versions down here. We used to just pull dodgers/flashers with herring or hoochies. Have you found any lures that are more productive than the next?

Given the travel distance/road quality I imagine this will be a one time venture. I can let folks know how we do though.

Thanks again!

[Mojo]

Lure selections are pretty close but more often than not, guys like to roll bait like shad behind the dodger.

Super D, we are talking land locked Chinook in Deadwood. Rolling shad is something I have never heard of here, though common in California. Usually dragging flatfish, kwiks, or other lures, or dragging hoochies behind a dodger, spoons, or flies behind a dodger or a set of pop gear works best from what I know.

[SuperD]

As I said, lure choices are pretty similar to kokes. And your right, in CA rolling some kind of bait is as popular as using a lure. Wonder why no one there uses real bait. Chinooks are meat eaters by nature.

[alaska]

Kokanee flesh tied to the underside of a Flatfish may be worth trying.

[sturgeon8r]

Kokanee flesh tied to the underside of a Flatfish may be worth trying.

cut plug herring

[Stripes]

Heading up for the 4th, we'll be in the white Custom Weld with the blue and orange top, swing by and say hello. We'll trade beverages for advice any day.

Camping question for you, are the islands off limits? If the campgrounds (we reserved) are crazy can I jump on the boat and camp tied off out at the island?

Cheers,

Nate