Favorite trout lakes in Oregon

RB Drifter · 03-08-2010, 08:42 PM

Where are you favorite trout lakes in Oregon? I plan a trip every year to Diamond Lake. The place has some of the biggest trout in Oregon and there is a plethora of things to do over there.

My second favorite place to camp and fish is Ollalie Lake. They get huge trout planted in there, plus there are many hike in lakes that are fun to fish for smaller fish.

spottedhawk36 · 03-08-2010, 08:50 PM

Diamond lake is my favorite trout lake in oregon.

native steelie · 03-08-2010, 09:22 PM

id have to say lake billy chinook and simtustis. why? because they are both less then 10 minute drive

. haystack is ok but the fish taste like mud.

Halibutt · 03-09-2010, 08:55 AM

East Lake because i can catch browns steady. And lets not forget with the new regs (no retention of trout over 16") will turn this lake into a trophy lake.

codeman · 03-09-2010, 08:57 AM

several of the hike in lakes in the eagle cap wilderness. catching hundreds of brook trout a day (granted at those altitudes they are dinky) with no one else around is fantastic.

tatered · 03-09-2010, 09:04 AM

Barney res. love it up there!

Tred73 · 03-09-2010, 10:01 AM

Davis Lake before the bass intro and now I am enjoying Lava Lake, but remember the boils on 2 lb tippet with size 28 fly at Davis that turned into a battle of epic proportions. Man I miss them days. Have some great memories at Crane Prairie when I was little too.

Doc_Rhen · 03-09-2010, 10:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by native steelie

id have to say lake billy chinook and simtustis. why? because they are both less then 10 minute drive

. haystack is ok but the fish taste like mud.

Except that I am only 5 min from LBC and Haystack

and a little farther from Simtustus. I like haystack a little more than Native Steelie because of the Brooders. We have caught about 8 between 27 and 30" running 7-10 lbs out of haystack. That is a riot on ultralight gear. Makes a fun catch and release day. My previous favorite was Warm Springs Reservoir east of Burns, but it has not had enough water through the summer to sustain the fish for several years.

hotshotarcher19 · 03-09-2010, 02:52 PM

Little lake Tahoe! love to fish it and hunt around the area there too.

blksteelhead · 03-09-2010, 03:27 PM

Klamath Lake, there are trouts in that lake bigger than king salmon. Can't eat trouts from that lake those, it's taste horrible...

Jimmy · 03-09-2010, 04:02 PM

Crane Prairie is my favorite trout lake in Oregon. Rainbows to 10 pounds & Brookies the size of a football. Camping along the upper Deschutes at Cow camp.

Oh wait a minute. That was before the Bass. I guess it would be Crescent Lake now because of the opportunity of a 20 pound plus Mackinaw and a chance of a hookjaw over 10 pounds.

NW DuckHunter · 03-09-2010, 08:09 PM

I know its nothing special and just a bunch of stalkers but blue lake is mine I grew up as a kid with it as my back yard and year round access to it in a boat so I know how to catch fish there.lol. Second to that is Clear lake up on mt hood.

Tightspin · 03-10-2010, 05:39 AM

Craine Prairie, for sure until the bass problem, why ODFW condones the introduction of bass in these lakes by "managing them with limits, etc." is beyond me.

uhmw · 03-10-2010, 06:54 AM

I would vote for Marion lake on a late spring sunny day with a fly rod on my pack raft staring at 3 finger jack sipping a bottle of hooch. Oh and the fish get big and taste like the crystal clear streams from the melting of snow that keep the beer cool and lobster size craw dads tails fresh for dinner.

tsorrels · 03-10-2010, 07:10 AM

my two fav trout lakes are blue river and leaburg both up mckenzie hiway

No Wishin Just Fishin · 03-10-2010, 07:18 AM

Wallowa and Crescent hands down

Klamanite · 03-10-2010, 07:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by uhmw

I would vote for Marion lake on a late spring sunny day with a fly rod on my pack raft staring at 3 finger jack sipping a bottle of hooch. Oh and the fish get big and taste like the crystal clear streams from the melting of snow that keep the beer cool and lobster size craw dads tails fresh for dinner.

That's more like poetry than a description of a favorite lake

Myself, I'm kinda partial to East

With Crescent growing on me every day

fish-on-bend · 03-10-2010, 03:01 PM

I gotta cast my vote for Crescent.

........with Paulina and East as sentimental favorites.

SavageShooter · 03-10-2010, 05:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by codeman

several of the hike in lakes in the eagle cap wilderness. catching hundreds of brook trout a day (granted at those altitudes they are dinky) with no one else around is fantastic.

Eagle Cap Wilderness??I love the hike ins up in the Waldo Wilderness.Lots of lakes to choose from.Brook Trout,Rainbows and Cutthroat. Where is Eagle Cap?

Mannlake · 03-10-2010, 05:08 PM

Mann Lake. East side of the steens. Lahotan cut throat. Some years better than others.

Upper Klamath/Agency lake. Monster trout on a fly. Grew up there and got spoiled.

codeman · 03-10-2010, 06:35 PM

the eagle caps are in the north east corner of the state. joseph is nestled up agains them as is willowa lake. its pretty steep county though, so you definately earn those fish. most of the lakes are pretty high up, so all ive ever found are brookies. the deepest gorge in the world, (on land anyways), hells canyon runs between them and 7 devils in idaho forming a gorge over 8,000 feet deep. serious mt goat country. all ive ever taken up there with me is a cheap disposable camera, so sorry, no digital pics. maybe someone else out there could post a few pics??

skeetshtr · 03-10-2010, 06:59 PM

Klamanite, what a great pic of East! My favorite trout lake in Oregon,All of them. Never been to one I didnt like. Love Diamond , East, Paulina, Lava, among others.

Klamanite · 03-10-2010, 07:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by skeetshtr

Klamanite, what a great pic of East! My favorite trout lake in Oregon,All of them. Never been to one I didnt like. Love Diamond , East, Paulina, Lava, among others.

I wish I could say it was mine, but I snagged it off the web today

I was searching for any good shot of the lake and I think I found one of the best I've seen

I have lots of other great places I like to go but East has been very good to me

My wife and kids love it too, so we have made it our annual, week-long family camping trip

skeetshtr · 03-11-2010, 06:19 AM

Will be at East last part of June . Just reserved a cabin there. I have never stayed at the resort before so I am hoping it will work out good. I am taking two little grandkids age 4 and 5. We are going to fish both Paulina and East. Hoping to fill the coolers with Kokes at Paulina and release some Browns at either. Cant wait.

Klamanite · 03-11-2010, 06:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by skeetshtr

Will be at East last part of June . Just reserved a cabin there. I have never stayed at the resort before so I am hoping it will work out good. I am taking two little grandkids age 4 and 5. We are going to fish both Paulina and East. Hoping to fill the coolers with Kokes at Paulina and release some Browns at either. Cant wait.

PM me when it gets closer, I should have been there a time or three by then

SavageShooter · 03-11-2010, 09:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by codeman

the eagle caps are in the north east corner of the state. joseph is nestled up agains them as is willowa lake. its pretty steep county though, so you definately earn those fish. most of the lakes are pretty high up, so all ive ever found are brookies. the deepest gorge in the world, (on land anyways), hells canyon runs between them and 7 devils in idaho forming a gorge over 8,000 feet deep. serious mt goat country. all ive ever taken up there with me is a cheap disposable camera, so sorry, no digital pics. maybe someone else out there could post a few pics??

Thanks Codeman!! Thats a long way from home for me.Do love the hike ins though,so maybe some day.The Brookies in the Waldo Wilderness are pretty healthy.I bank fish and have caught 15 inchers.My buddy packs in an inflatable raft and has got bigger ones.Might be able to get in there early this year,can't wait!!

a12seccrx · 03-11-2010, 09:55 AM

Crescent has really grown on me over the last couple years!

fishcentral · 03-11-2010, 10:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tightspin

Craine Prairie, for sure until the bass problem, why ODFW condones the introduction of bass in these lakes by "managing them with limits, etc." is beyond me.

ive done some asking around on this subject and a little research ! there were only a few people at the last odfw meeting in bend about the native trout in crane , they have been improved lately but you can still keep native fish out of crane ! the bass issue should be addressed beings they have a limit and are managing for large mouth in a lake that has such a renown native trout population !

i mentioned this to a guilde in the area and he quickly said - if odfw manages for bass in that lake wouldnt that be supporting illegal spiecies introduction in our waters - which would be illegal ! and i would think odfw could be held accountable for illegal management ? there was a thread where a group was sueing cali. fish and wildlife for some of the same things , and were changing how cdfw was thinking about management of their waters !

im not all that against bass untill they destroy native trout waters - something needs to be done and i think it will in the near future ! just talking about it brings light to the subject ! although bass do generate money where there are good populations , guildes are making money fishing for them and anglers fishing say davis lake and crane for them do bring money to the economy . but with cali being sued its something that oregon fish and game will not be able to turn their heads on any more !

on the odfw website i found a native fish act that was voted on in like 1986 and passed - i wish i saved this and could post it because it was repassed again in the mid 90s , and again in the mid 2000s ! this law or act ? was for this states native fish and managing for them - not invasive fish stocks , and i believe the group out of cali would have no problem bringing a suite against oregon odfw - forcing them to do something about illegal introductions of fish ! diamond is a big success and should lead the way ! if it wasent we would have nothing to go by - but it proves things can be done and now should be done !

these are only my thoughts and speak for noone else !

fish-on-bend · 03-11-2010, 12:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fishcentral

ive done some asking around on this subject and a little research ! there were only a few people at the last odfw meeting in bend about the native trout in crane , they have been improved lately but you can still keep native fish out of crane ! the bass issue should be addressed beings they have a limit and are managing for large mouth in a lake that has such a renown native trout population !

i mentioned this to a guilde in the area and he quickly said - if odfw manages for bass in that lake wouldnt that be supporting illegal spiecies introduction in our waters - which would be illegal ! and i would think odfw could be held accountable for illegal management ? there was a thread where a group was sueing cali. fish and wildlife for some of the same things , and were changing how cdfw was thinking about management of their waters !

im not all that against bass untill they destroy native trout waters - something needs to be done and i think it will in the near future ! just talking about it brings light to the subject ! although bass do generate money where there are good populations , guildes are making money fishing for them and anglers fishing say davis lake and crane for them do bring money to the economy . but with cali being sued its something that oregon fish and game will not be able to turn their heads on any more !

on the odfw website i found a native fish act that was voted on in like 1986 and passed - i wish i saved this and could post it because it was repassed again in the mid 90s , and again in the mid 2000s ! this law or act ? was for this states native fish and managing for them - not invasive fish stocks , and i believe the group out of cali would have no problem bringing a suite against oregon odfw - forcing them to do something about illegal introductions of fish ! diamond is a big success and should lead the way ! if it wasent we would have nothing to go by - but it proves things can be done and now should be done !

these are only my thoughts and speak for noone else !

I understand the whole "native" species and "illegally introduced" concept, however since Crane is a man-made reservoir and cranebows are both a non-native and "manufactured" hybrid, its interesting to have this topic brought up. Its not as pure a discussion as native vs hatchery salmon or steelhead.

codeman · 03-11-2010, 12:13 PM

when talking about a non hatchery fish, you should use "wild" instead of "native". native means the fish were there originally, while wild means the fishes ancestors were stocked at one time by man, just not this particular fish.

Fisherman_Shane · 03-11-2010, 12:30 PM

My favorite is Applegate Lake. They dont grow big there like some places but its not too far from home and to me its like heaven

2nd as of now is Hyatt

Wreckless · 03-11-2010, 12:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mannlake

Mann Lake. East side of the steens. Lahotan cut throat. Some years better than others.

Upper Klamath/Agency lake. Monster trout on a fly. Grew up there and got spoiled.

I'm glad someone mentioned the best of the best. Klamath Redbands!!!!!

The lake is usually TOUGH, but MAN THEY FIGHT!!!!

<blatant brag warning> My best is 31" on gear, 26" on the fly........

Other than that, Crane Prairie in the late 90's during a MAJOR damsel hatch!!!!

Badgerj · 03-11-2010, 01:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fisherman_Shane

My favorite is Applegate Lake. They dont grow big there like some places but its not too far from home and to me its like heaven

2nd as of now is Hyatt

I haven't fished Applegate in years but we used to catch some VERY nice trout out of there. I'm sure there are still a few lunkers around.

fishcentral · 03-11-2010, 03:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fish-on-bend

I understand the whole "native" species and "illegally introduced" concept, however since Crane is a man-made reservoir and cranebows are both a non-native and "manufactured" hybrid, its interesting to have this topic brought up. Its not as pure a discussion as native vs hatchery salmon or steelhead.

odfw on redband native trout of crane prairie res. News and Highlights: 2006 - Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife

my understanding is that the dechutes was damned and the redbands grew big because of lake habitat ! still makes them a native fish in my mind ???

you mention native steelhead and salmon ? years ago in the kalama river study - they took all the returning steelhead and made a dna test of all the hatchery dna on the west coast of washington and compaired it with the dna of the returning steelhead ! they found only 1 fish that didnt match all the hatchery dna ! thats 1 fish out of the whole run that was a true native - but it seems like since then every steelhead with all its fins is a TRUE wild or native fish ????

not to hijack this thread my favorite lakes would be crane, klamath , and any where else they have taken a good species of trout and stocked them for hybrid trout fishing , mann , davis , wickiup browns , east ,diamond .

im tired of the 10 inch kill them all concept odfw has managed for so many years ! then the concrette brooders they put in to make it seem like we have some big trout in some fisherys ! diamond is a fish factory and they are using a good species of trout that grow big in natural water - this should be done in all our trout lakes ! spread the redbands around - bring in kamloops trout - theres a big difference in illegally introduced fished and fish planted legally to inhance our oregon trout waters !!!

fishcentral · 03-11-2010, 10:04 PM

Fish Division: Restoration and Enhancement Program - Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife

Cannon · 03-12-2010, 04:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fish-on-bend

I gotta cast my vote for Crescent.

........with Paulina and East as sentimental favorites.

I see you have your faithful companion with you. Life is definately too short to not share it with your canine friend! My dog will go to any length to get in the truck if he thinks I am going fishing no matter what the weather!

Cannon · 03-12-2010, 05:02 AM

My favorite lake is, well that is going to be a problem....I like so many of them. Wickiup has a warm spot, but so do Crescent, Odell, Lava, Paulina, Wallowa, Billy Chinook, Suttle, Diamond....dang, I love them all and more! There just are not enough good fishing days in a year to spend fishing the East side. And then there is the west side: Green Peter, Foster, Detroit, Timothy, Toketee (recently seen on Hawg Quest), and dont forget Siltcoos and Tahkenitch and quite a few more not mentioned. Each and every one of them hold memories of fish caught and time spent fishing with family and friends! We live in a great state for trout and kokanee and salmon and steelhead, dang do I hear my boat calling

bwild · 03-12-2010, 07:12 AM

I'm with Cannon, so many lakes!!!!!!!!

My first would be East Lake - Gorgeous Scenery, Great Fishing most times, just a fun place to go.

My next would be Crescent Lake - Gorgeous Scenery, and like Jimmy, FOB, and Klamanite have stated, you can catch a 20 lb laker or a 10 lb hookjaw at almost any moment. But ol' mother crescent will always be happy to slap the skunk on you at any time.

My next would be Paulina Lake - Like East being in the Calderra, gorgeous, unique scenery with MONSTER browns in it and can be great fishing, but turn off just as quick. I almost caught (2) browns near/at/over 10 lbs in the span of 3 hours last May ( 1 was 9.5 lbs, 29 inches (see below) and the other was the one that got away that I saw for almost 45 minutes...long story...that hen will haunt me forever...if you want the whole story, send me a pm and I'll send you the link....I wouldn't have believed it myself had it not happened to me).

But I also LOVE Wallowa Lake- In the middle of God's Country, away from everything and it has Monster Kokes and Monster Lake Trout. And it's just so beautiful out there, no place on Earth like Wallowa Lake.

But you can't forget LBC - One of the few places in the world where 3 rivers converge with shear rock cliffs that rise a few hundred feet above the water's surface, only to still have a depth of 300+ feet in some areas. And there is one of the more amazing bull trout fisheries in North America.

We are truly blessed here in Oregon! I haven't even touched Klamath (Klamanite's a stud on that lake), Crane Prairie (mostly because of what Jimmy and HJFreak have stated with the bass problem), Wickiup has just been a gnarly little sucker to me (it's been great to Coyote and HJFreak), and then there's Suttle, and Diamond, and Cultus, and Odell, and Hosmer and on and on and on and on.

Can't wait to go fishing again! God I love OREGON!!!

boatman · 03-12-2010, 07:52 AM

My favorite Oregon lake is the one I am on. We do have a great state,to bad some people keep trying to "inprove it". Wish they would go back and work on their state.

Ras · 03-12-2010, 09:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Klamanite

I wish I could say it was mine, but I snagged it off the web today

I was searching for any good shot of the lake and I think I found one of the best I've seen

I have lots of other great places I like to go but East has been very good to me

My wife and kids love it too, so we have made it our annual, week-long family camping trip

Boy; that sounds like a great time and place

Date set for this year yet????

Ras

Klamanite · 03-12-2010, 09:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ras

Boy; that sounds like a great time and place

Date set for this year yet????

Ras

We're shooting for the week of the 27th of July, nothing firm yet though.

rtg · 03-15-2010, 07:23 PM

Wallowa Lake Lots of things for the wife and kids to do and great fishing!!

Salmonheadsoup · 04-02-2010, 08:53 PM

davis lake

phamf · 04-03-2010, 12:24 PM

Lake Salish. It's the closest trout lake to Portland/Gresham.

Keta · 04-03-2010, 01:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by blksteelhead

Klamath Lake, there are trouts in that lake bigger than king salmon. Can't eat trouts from that lake those, it's taste horrible...

I grew up fishing for Klamath Lake redbands but I do not like fishing the lake, too thick and green for me. Agency is a bit better but I prefer clear lakes. If I don't spend all of my time on the ocean this year I'd like to relearn Crescent.

smalldog · 04-03-2010, 02:33 PM

The ones I have to hike 5 miles into the wilderness with my float tube to get to.
Always catch tons of fish and barely ever see people.

joef · 04-03-2010, 02:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by smalldog

The ones I have to hike 5 miles into the wilderness with my float tube to get to.
Always catch tons of fish and barely ever see people.

minus the float tube

newbergfishjunkie · 04-07-2010, 05:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by codeman

several of the hike in lakes in the eagle cap wilderness. catching hundreds of brook trout a day (granted at those altitudes they are dinky) with no one else around is fantastic.

I honestly don't think it's possible to starve in the Eagle Cap.

WorkinStiff · 04-10-2010, 10:04 AM

Fished a lake in the Eagle Cap in July 75...The Brookies were so famished that they were consistently hitting a bare gold salmon egg hook.......Really..

SandyEggs · 04-13-2010, 06:26 PM

Dark lake hands down.... almost unfair how many large brookies are in there... 'over populated' is how the bioligist explained it to me... and the couple hundred foot rock ring around one half and being completely alone is icing on the cake... nothing like fishing, swimming, nap, cook, swimming, then finish up with fishing to have a great day... snorkle is a great way to explore high lakes..

SavageShooter · 04-16-2010, 07:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by joef

minus the float tube

Quote:

Originally Posted by smalldog

The ones I have to hike 5 miles into the wilderness with my float tube to get to.
Always catch tons of fish and barely ever see people.

Totally!!!

Spike Man · 05-17-2010, 12:03 PM

They need to kill off crane to get rid of the bass. it is not at all like it use to be. I have been fishing there for over 25 years now I hardly ever go. This use to be a good trout lake but not any more.

Green Eyes · 05-17-2010, 12:28 PM

After looking at some of my old pictures, Mann lake was a big hit with us, till the introduction of goldfish

, lots of Lahonthan cuts in the 20" range.
Also was a big fan of Crane but now think of it as a bass lake. Now I would have to say our family seems to prefer Wallowa lake, lots of fish and plenty for the wife to do as well. Hope the recent batch of record Kokanee doesn't cause it to get to crowded, but it is a large lake so would take a lot of people to do that

Green Eyes · 05-17-2010, 12:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SandyEggs

Dark lake hands down.... almost unfair how many large brookies are in there... 'over populated' is how the bioligist explained it to me... and the couple hundred foot rock ring around one half and being completely alone is icing on the cake... nothing like fishing, swimming, nap, cook, swimming, then finish up with fishing to have a great day... snorkle is a great way to explore high lakes..

Is this the lake on the Warm Springs reservation? Do you need a Tribal Permit to fish dark lake? Looks so pretty and sounds like fun.

SandyEggs · 05-17-2010, 01:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Green Eyes

Is this the lake on the Warm Springs reservation? Do you need a Tribal Permit to fish dark lake? Looks so pretty and sounds like fun.

yes you do need a permit.. you can buy them online and print them out for the date you plan on going..

if you want directions PM me and I can get you there as we learned the hard way of hiking in burnouts.. hiking back was alot easier!

Green Eyes · 05-17-2010, 08:41 PM

Thanks SandyEggs, thought the Reservation line was in that area. Always best to check first. Also will PM you if we head in that direction, but not in the plans at this time.