Discussed at September 22 monthly meeting was the recent email fishing report from Jim Deeds and Duane Scott of fishing the Wallowa River between Minam Junction and Wallowa - "Duane and I fished the Wallowa a week ago Thursday and did really well. I caught 2 fish over 20" and must have caught between 50 and 70 fish. We were fishing fast pocket water with weighted prince nymphs and copper johns. Duane also caught several fish 18 to 20".
Even though going with an experienced fisher diminishes the learning curve of fishing the Wallowa, the river is easy to read, and there are plenty of road turnoffs on Hwy. 82 to point the way to the next fishing hole. Tight lines.
 Elk Hair Caddis |
 Orange Stimulator |
 Gold Ribbed Hare's Ear |
Directions: The Wallowa River runs from Wallowa Lake near Joseph, to the Grande Ronde River about 16 miles below Elgin. The section we are looking at fishing is from Minam to Wallowa, along Oregon Hwy. 82.
To get there:
1) Take I-84 from Pendleton east to La Grande and exit the interstate at
Hwy 82 to Island City - Wallowa Lake. Follow Hwy. 82 through Island City,
and Elgin, continue going towards Wallowa. When you reach Minam Junction
(the junction of the Minam and Wallowa rivers) you can take a left hand
turn to follow the river to Minam State Park (camping facilities) or continue
to follow Hwy 82 on to Wallowa. Public fishing with many road turnout and
some rest areas are available all along the way from Minam to Wallowa.
2) Take Hwy11 from Pendleton to Weston and Hwy 204. Exit onto Hwy 204 follow it through Tollgate to Elgin and intersect with Hwy 82 and follow Hwy 82 towards Wallowa. When you reach Minam Junction (the junction of the Minam and Wallowa rivers) you can take a left hand turn to follow the river to Minam State Park (camping facilities) or continue to follow Hwy 82 on to Wallowa. Public fishing with many road turnout and some rest areas are available all along the way from Minam to Wallowa.
September and October has some of the years best fishing on the Wallowa River and as the October Caddis (#8 Orange Stimulator) become more evident the fishing become much more fun with each attack.
Fishing the Wallowa in September will show you many rainbow trout in the 8 to 14 inch class, with the possibility of catching large whitefish, and bull trout in the many pound class.
*See your DeLorme (1996) Oregon Atlas & Gazetteer - page 87
for map illustration.
*Refer to Fishing in Oregon 9th Edition author: Madelynne
Diness Sheehan - page 321-322
See Oregon Dept. of Fish and Wildlife Regulations for details.
This web site space has been donated to our club by Oregon Trail Internet.
Web site Designer/ web master: mckaincomputergraphics
Last Update: September 2004