Fishing With A Magnet

The resurrection of St. Louis Ponds the result of dreams and hard work

ST. LOUIS -- Bud Hartman  of Portland and Roy Elicker, director of the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife , share a dream.

And they shared a concrete, vandal-proof picnic table Wednesday at St. Louis Ponds as they laid bookends to their vision of a rich, vibrant public fishing and wildlife recreational area in the Willamette Valley.

St. Louis Ponds is a 260-acre state-owned parcel adjacent to Interstate 5, southwest of Woodburn and about halfway between Portland and Salem. Billed by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife as a warm-water fishing area, the maze-like labyrinth of ponds is rich with wildlife, a frequent destination for anglers, picnickers, dog trainers, hikers and bird watchers.

The ponds were dug between 1973 and 1975 to help widen I-5 (as were many others up and down the valley). "Back then this was all open land," Hartman said. "You could see the freeway."

His snapshots verify the lakes' genesis in miles of flat, open grassland. Busy traffic is mostly unseen now, barely heard through an insulating canopy of trees, snags and brush, a haven for birds, amphibians and other critters that "just happened by itself," Hartman said.

Well, sort of. Hartman, 74, and his equally active wife, Marsha, 72, and dozens of volunteers from the Oregon Bass and Panfish Club (among many others) donated countless hours of time and effort over the years to turn the area into a park-like setting.

They scrounged old concrete (blocks, pipes, etc.) and tires to create fish structure in each pond. They built a floating dock, cleaned, weeded and raked shorelines and patrolled for trash.

Despite all efforts, though, the area became such a magnet for thieves, vandals and drug users that not many years ago it was more of a dump.

Today, after renewed attention from the department (steel fenceposts and concrete tables don't burn), a full-time seasonal volunteer host from March to October and maintenance of the 21-acre core by Marion County Parks, St. Louis Ponds is slowly but surely enjoying a resurrection.

A half-mile asphalt path winds around six of the seven ponds and wheelchair-accessible docks and turnouts along the shoreline (one built as a Boy Scout Eagle project) help everyone get close to the fishing.

All of the ponds offer a variety of panfish, two have catfish up to nearly 30 pounds and three are stocked with trout in the spring.

EASTERN SIERRA FLY FISHING REPORT- » Blog ... - Sierra Trout Magnet

The Upper Owens has been fishing fair… Below the bridge you can fish a lot of stocked trout with a few wild ones mixed in. Above Benton bridge you can find more wild fish with some stocked ones mixed in. Water is slightly high with a reddish tea colored tinge at 140 cfs of flow at the time  of this report. But, large attractor nymphs will get you into fish if sunk deep in the larger turns and holes. San Juan Worms 12-14, Sparkle Trigger #16-18, Prince Nymphs #14-18, Large Soft Hackle Patterns and Streamers will also getfish here. Fish each hole patiently and move on to find willing fish here.

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