Fishing in Oregon?

DougH · Post by **DougH** » Sun Mar 23, 2008 7:33 am

I'm contemplating retirement and moving to Oregon. I've heard that smallies are the predominent fish. Does anyone have any thoughts of a good area to move to, that would combine a decent neighborhood to live with some decent lakes in the vicinity?
Thanks

BassManDan · Post by **BassManDan** » Sun Mar 23, 2008 9:50 am

I know there are some pretty good bass lakes in south-central Oregon, and the Umpua has some pretty good smallies...

There's got to be plenty of other stuff too...

BassManDan

Bill K · Post by **Bill K** » Sun Mar 23, 2008 10:14 am

I believe trout/salmon/steelhead are the main fish in Oregon, but over the years I have had some good s/m on central lakes and rivers also. Plenty of water to check out and have fun on. Bill K

DougH · Post by **DougH** » Sun Mar 23, 2008 10:22 am

I'm hoping for something like Lake Washington, full of giant smallies, but everyone fishes for trout...

Norv · Post by **Norv** » Sun Mar 23, 2008 1:38 pm

On the American Bass tournament web site there are two circuits in Oregon. Looks like they fish quite a few places. You might contact one of the tournament directors for information.

Marc · Post by **Marc** » Sun Mar 23, 2008 2:08 pm

Doug, give me a call and we can talk. I emailed my contact information.

The Lone Angler · Post by **The Lone Angler** » Sun Mar 23, 2008 6:31 pm

Ten mile lakes are full of nice sized large mouth. They are right on the coast near where the umpqua enters the ocean. Back east of I-5 is lost creek and it has decent quantities of largemouth and smallmouth. Crane Prarie ( check the reports page) supposedly has good size largemouth though I hear the speed limit is 5 or 10 mph. The only guy I knew up there was Rooster and he died a few years ago.

We even launched bassboats in the lower umpqua and caught smallmouth.

Phil

B Becker · Post by **B Becker** » Sun Mar 23, 2008 8:50 pm

I am by no means an expert on Oregon, but I have been there a few times and fished....Ten Mile is an awesome lake, and I too am thinking of retireing close by...I have a few years yet.....I did fish Crane Priarie (spelling?) but that is in central Oregon (by Bend)...yes it is 5 miles an hour..full of stumps, it is a flooded forest....the fishing there is weird, but there are some toads in there.....fished there in June and froze my a$$ off....can be 100 degrees or 50 when it rains and it will rain....other than that, I know there are a million other places to fish, and the smallies are pretty much the number one bass in Oregon.....I will keep my eyes on this post too, for I am interested in more......good luck Doug, I am very jealous.....

Dan Kuntz · Post by **Dan Kuntz** » Mon Mar 24, 2008 1:01 pm

yep lots of good lakes in south central Oregon as well as the rest of the state. most tourn. are won with l/m there is some great smallie fishing but I would say most lakes hold more large mouths rivers seem to go the other way

Dan Kuntz · Post by **Dan Kuntz** » Mon Mar 24, 2008 1:02 pm

yep lots of good lakes in south central Oregon as well as the rest of the state. most tourn. are won with l/m there is some great smallie fishing but I would say most lakes hold more large mouths rivers seem to go the other way

DougH · Post by **DougH** » Mon Mar 24, 2008 4:26 pm

Interesting...rivers for smallies eh?
Can you put your boat on the rivers? Or is it shore fishing?
Glad to hear the LM are up there.
I still have a couple of years to go, but am contemplating an early purchase...

kopper_bass · Post by **kopper_bass** » Mon Mar 24, 2008 4:50 pm

Doug,
You might consider contacting the Oregon Bass Federation.
You can reach their president Phil Strader @ jibbler151@aol.com

Also, there seems to be a Federation Nation chapter in ORegon as well. Here is their website. http://www.oregonbassfederation.org/

Good Luck,

Kopper_Bass

DougH · Post by **DougH** » Mon Mar 24, 2008 6:13 pm

Thanks Kopper, I appreciate that...

Kilroy · Post by **Kilroy** » Mon Mar 24, 2008 6:40 pm

Doug,

I was born and raised on Oregon. Southern Oregon to be exact. Bend is a central location that has some pretty good fisheries all around it within a couple of hours. However, that being said, Bend is also an expensive place to buy. It also see's the four seasons with a lot of the white stuff in the winter. The metro area around Portland is also a nice place to live. There is a downside to that too. The further North you go, the more rain you get anually. The Columbia River that divides Oregon and Washington (runs just outside of Portland) has a great diverse fishery. You can catch some BIG smallies as well as a wide variety of other fish like Kings, Steelhead, Halibut, Sturgeon etc... A great resource is the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife website http://www.dfw.state.or.us/

Good luck, I will be retiring in just under six years and I will be up there in a flash!

Brad

Dan Kuntz · Post by **Dan Kuntz** » Mon Mar 24, 2008 6:47 pm

columbia, willamette, and lower umpqua rivers you can run a bass boat other than that its pretty much a drift boat show.

long rifle · Post by **long rifle** » Tue Mar 25, 2008 10:03 am

I live in the Portland area, and yes we do have some awsome smallmouth fishing here(even in downtown Portland). However, we do not have a year round fishery like California. The winters here are long and farely cold. If you are an outdoorsmen you will stay busy all year long. We have good big game hunting, good upland hunting(pheasant, chucker, quail,ets.), and awsome waterfoul hunting. Plus in the off mouths you can chase "SlimeRockets"(salmon and stealhead).

Good Luck

Curly · Post by **Curly** » Tue Mar 25, 2008 5:51 pm

Doug,

I sent you a PM..........I didn't want to give too many people any ideas about moving to Oregon. I want to retire there someday too, so I don't want it to get too much more crowded than it is now.

Curly

Mikey · Post by **Mikey** » Wed Mar 26, 2008 7:47 am

I wont tell you about the large fish Ive discovered here in southernmost Oregon! We have a HUGE planter trout program here and the stocking schedule is available at ODFW for local lakes.

bpm2000 · Post by **bpm2000** » Wed Mar 26, 2008 10:11 am

long rifle wrote:However, we do not have a year round fishery like California.

Sure it is. Just better be prepared with coldweather gear and fishing deeep and slow.

phill strader · Post by **phill strader** » Wed Mar 26, 2008 3:43 pm

Doug, there is some great bass opportunities in Oregon.....Largemouth are the predominant species, but there is some tremendous smallmouth fisheries as well. Generally speaking, all the lakes and reservoirs are quite small compared to what you are used to in California, mostly between a few hundred acres up to 6000 acres. There are a few larger impoundments, but typically small bodies of water. Bass lakes are spread accross the state, but the majority of the better fishing is on the west side of the cascades. Crane prarie, prineville, and Wickiup are great fisheries in Central Oregon (Bend aera), Owyhee, Brownlee on the eastern border hold both smallies and largemouth. Western Oregon is dotted with great fisheries from the I-5 corridor west to the coast. Good fisheries are lakes capable of 22-25 lb limits, good numbers of fish in the 2.5-5 lb range, with a few 7-10 pound fish caught every year. Not the monsters available in southern waters, but great fisheris in their own right.....all Northern strain largemouth. Smallies in the rivers are equally as diversified. Soome rivers facilitate bass boats, others are only accessible via drift boats or rafts. The Umpqua, Willamette, Columbia, John Day, and Snake rivers are the main focus for river smallies. Umpqua rivers, and John day are drift rivers, and awesome fisheries.

Depends on what your interested in, what weather you can tolerate....you've got to put up with the NW winters, take your preference, wet and cold, or dry and colder!!

Let meknow if you have an interest in a specific area, or info. I live on the Umpqua River, and know most of the bodies of water in the state.

Phil strader