St. Louis Pond is a Great Fishing Experience

Fishing should remain good, and likely get better with the warmer temperatures, warmwater fish are also available here.

Photos of St. Louis Pond and a prize catch of the day, larger photos below, by Mitch Webb Salem-News.com

(GERVAIS, Ore.) - I recently volunteered at an ODFW Youth Angling event held at St. Louis Ponds in Gervais, Oregon. A search of Tesch Road in Gervais on Internet mappings sites will lead you to an interesting view, especially noticing the shapes of the man made numbered ponds from above.

I was quickly impressed with the grounds and the folks attending the event. It was a real outdoor experience, even though I-5 can be heard near the East end of this St Louis County Park (Marion).

Those attending the event ranged from the many young fishers eagerly borrowing poles, to trout experts with several of their own rods in hand. All received free cups of varied bait like worms, eggs and nuggets.

ODFW took a lesson learned from the recent Canby Pond fishing success; they're now using styrofoam weighted floats, long light leaders and small egg hooks.

Fishing was not red hot, but several young fishers caught large trout.

I always enjoy seeing 4-year olds celebrate the success of their first fish, I was not disappointed. More experienced fishers like myself were rewarded with a few nice Kamloops strain trout over a foot long.

Spinners thrown in the wider areas brought me action on the first cast. Well first cast for myself, I made hundreds of casts for younger fishers during the day.

I believe because a volunteer lives on site here, and the rules of the park are clearly posted on signs in different languages, rules are seemingly well respected.

I will be back soon, it is just a short drive from Salem, and I was pleased with the local fishers being kind and rule abiding for the most part. I have not heard any stories of the giant trout that was stocked here being caught yet.

It was similar in size to this one on display with many other very interesting animal specimens, including live tiny fish and a fish egg maturity display.

Fishing should remain good, and likely get better with the warmer temperatures, warmwater fish are also available here.

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Mitch Webb is a State Fish & Wildlife Volunteer who devotes large amounts of time to helping children discover fishing, getting American combat vets out for a day on the river, and educating people about the environmental stewardship that is necessary for fishing to continue as a sport. Mitch may be best known as the operator of a special driftboat named for his friend Kevin Davis who was killed in Iraq. The boat is dedicated to helping veterans; especially those who suffer Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, get a new perspective by spending a day on the river. "Kevin's Driftboat" is used on the Deschutes and Clackamas Rivers, taking combat veterans into a peaceful environment that allows them to focus on the sport of fishing, and get their minds off of other problems that life often holds for those who served in war.

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yes there is wheelchair access

I work at a skilled nursing facility and am interested in bringing some residents, are there areas that are wheelchair accessible?

How do you get to St. Louis Ponds from Hillsboro, Or

Nice article, Mitch, and thanks for your volunteerism.

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