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Oregon Lake Fishing Report

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Sunday, August 24th, 2025

  • Ferry County
    • By

      Report: Columbia River Fishing Report – August 24

      Current Bite & Conditions:
      The Columbia River at Boardman, Oregon, produced quality bags during the BAM Super 60 Pro Tour. Shallow grass, points with shad, and weedy flats held most of the winning fish. Fluctuating water levels didn’t affect the bite, with bass eating both shallow largemouth and deeper smallmouth presentations. Anglers who committed to specific zones and adjusted their presentations found the best success.

      Best Techniques & Baits:
      Shallow Largemouth (Winner’s Pattern): Green Pumpkin Yamamoto Senko, cast long into shallow weedy areas as skinny as 10 inches.
      Smallmouth “Magical Spot”: Strike King Zero Z-Too (Green Pumpkin/Dirty Shad) and Deps Sakamata Shad on a 3/8 Queen Tackle LS tungsten LiveScope jighead.
      Topwater: STORM Chug Bug 2.5” (Chartreuse/Red Head) for calm mornings; Saltwater Super Spook for windier conditions.

      Rod/Line Setups:
      Mace: 7’ rod with 10 lb PowerPro braid for long casts and cutting through weeds.
      Manterola: 7’11” U-Call Midnight spinning rod + Shimano Stradic 3000, 10 lb U-Call FFS braid with 10 lb Sunline FC Sniper leader.
      Madden: 7’1” fast action rod + 2500 Vanford, 10 lb PowerPro + 13 lb Sunline mono; 7’3” MH rod + Abu Garcia Zenon 8.3:1, 40 lb braid + 17 lb Sunline mono.

      Key Depths:
      Shallow grass in 10 inches to 2 ft (largemouth)
      Points and roaming bait schools in 5–15 ft (smallmouth)
      Topwater zone over shallow flats early and during wind shifts


      The Columbia River bite was diverse, with shallow largemouth on Senkos, big smallmouth on shad imitators, and quality fish responding to topwater. Line choice and long casts were critical in covering water and staying connected in heavy current and grass.

      Tournament Spotlight (BAM Super 60 Pro Tour – Columbia River):
      1st: Ronald Mace (Kennewick, WA) – 18.21 lbs (Day 3) – Green Pumpkin Yamamoto Senko in shallow grass
      2nd: Ty Manterola (Pasco, WA) – Strike King Zero Z-Too, Deps Sakamata Shad on tungsten jighead
      3rd: Tyler Madden (Brentwood, CA) – STORM Chug Bug, Saltwater Super Spook

      Tips: Tip of the Tournament:
      On the Columbia River, don’t overlook the super-shallow grass bite. Even when water levels fluctuate, a Green Pumpkin Yamamoto Senko on light braid can produce tournament-winning largemouth. For smallmouth, focus on points with shad and use a shad-style soft plastic on a tungsten jighead. If conditions get windy, keep a topwater option like a Super Spook ready to trigger reaction strikes.

Saturday, August 23rd, 2025

  • Ferry County
    • By

      Report: Columbia River Fishing Report – August 23

      Current Bite & Conditions:
      The Columbia River continues to produce both quality and numbers as anglers advanced to Championship Sunday. Weed lines, shallow flats, and deeper main-river structure all held fish. Anglers are finding success in both super-shallow grass (12–13 inches) and deep structure (18–40 ft), depending on whether they committed to largemouth or smallmouth.

      Best Techniques & Baits:
      Dropshot: Dry Creek Craw, Zoom Finesse Worm, and Jackall Flick Shake.
      Dropshot Deep: 4.25” Natural Shad Flatworm.
      Shallow Weeds: 4” Yamamoto Senko.

      Rod/Line Setups:
      Megabass Evolution dropshot rod + Daiwa Steez spinning reel, Seaguar Smackdown braid / P-Line braid with 8 lb leader, 5/16–3/8 oz dropshot weights, 1/0 straight shank hook.
      Alpha Angler DSR rod, 10 lb P-Line TCB braid with 6 lb P-Line 100% Fluorocarbon leader.
      PowerPro braid with 10–12 lb fluorocarbon leader for long casts into cover.

      Key Depths:
      12–13 inches in shallow grass (Mace)
      Weed lines / shade pockets in 5–15 ft (Polfer)
      18–40 ft main-river structure (Boomer)

      The Columbia River is showing off both extremes: anglers are catching limits of smallmouth in deep water and largemouth cruising bait in shallow grass. Shade pockets and weed edges held stragglers for dropshot rigs, while shallow weed flats gave up quality largemouth on Senkos.

      Tournament Spotlight (Day Two – Columbia River Super 60):
      1st: Josh Polfer – 35.75 lbs, 61 keepers – Dropshot with Dry Creek Craw, Zoom Finesse Worm, Jackall Flick Shake
      2nd: Jake Boomer – 30.44 lbs, 60 keepers – Dropshot with 4.25” Natural Shad Flatworm
      3rd: Ronald Mace – 35.15 lbs, 17 keepers – 4” Yamamoto Senko in shallow weeds

      Tips: Tip of the Tournament:
      When the Columbia River bass push into grass, a dropshot fished along weed lines and shade pockets will produce numbers, while a Senko in ultra-shallow weeds is key for quality largemouth. For deeper smallmouth, stick with a shad-colored flatworm dropshot in 18–40 ft and light fluorocarbon to generate consistent bites.

Friday, August 22nd, 2025

  • Ferry County
    • By

      Report: Columbia River Fishing Report – August 22

      Current Bite & Conditions:
      The Columbia River opened strong for the BAM Super 60 Pro Tour with anglers catching both quality and numbers in mixed structure. Fish were found in 15–25 ft of water, split between grass edges and rocky high spots. Holes in the grass and broken rock provided prime ambush areas. The bite was steady but spread out, requiring patience and the right cast.

      Best Techniques & Baits:
      Carolina Rig with soft plastics (lizard, Zoom Brush Hog, Zoom Super Fluke).
      Dropshot for following roaming schools.
      Colors: Green Pumpkin and Bahama Craw.

      Key Depths:
      15–25 ft schools around grass and broken rock
      Grass edges near main channel
      High spots with broken rock

      Anglers targeting a mix of grass and rocky structure found success, with schools moving throughout the day. A slow, methodical approach with confidence baits and rotation through creature-style plastics proved effective.

      Tournament Spotlight (Day One – Columbia River Super 60):
      1st: Josh Polfer – 20.36 lbs, 39 keepers – Carolina Rig & Dropshot with Zoom Brush Hog, Zoom Super Fluke, lizard
      2nd: Jake Boomer – 17.24 lbs, 31 keepers
      3rd: Tyler Madden – 18.87 lbs, 11 keepers

      Tips: Tip of the Tournament:
      On the Columbia River, stay patient when fish aren’t grouped up. Work grass edges and rocky high spots in 15–25 ft with confidence baits like a Carolina rig or dropshot with creature plastics. Make repeated casts to grass holes and rock breaks — when a fish shows up, it will usually bite.

Monday, May 13th, 2019

Tuesday, August 22nd, 2017

  • Coos County
    • By

      Water Temp: 70-72

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: Awesome Lake, First time fishing it. Thanks to Ringo, at Lakeside Marina for the in site on the lake. Took my son and on the second cast using a Chart/white spinner bait caught our first 2lb fish off a shallow lay down.2nd fish came off the end of a dock pilling using a Hematoma 420 sweat beaver just over 3lbs. Continued using spinner baits and Zoom green pumpkin brush hog to fill best 5 bag of 17lbs. Great lake.

      Tips: Fish shallow in the morning, go deeper when sun comes out. Find shady corners of docks later in the after noon for the better fish.

Saturday, October 1st, 2016

    • By

      Water Temp: 69

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: ** What happened to all the reports from this lake? They just stopped years ago before my time.

      New to Bass Fishing and learning as I go but have made over 10 trips to Tak over the past couple months. We have found it to be pretty productive on the evening bite fishing timber with senko's and crank baits. Nothing really successful on top water or jerk baits. Swim Jigs have also been really productive.

      Tips: Patience and variety, don't be afraid to pitch something out of the ordinary for a try. We've been productive each time we said that will never work but let's try it.

Sunday, September 18th, 2016

  • Grant County
    • By

      Water Temp: The river was in the 70's

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: Sept.12th thru Sept.16th. 2016, Fished the John day River again out of Spray Or. My son Cody, my best friend Hugh from L. A. and my brother Larry. We camped at the Spray city park. the water was low, but had enough flow for our pontoon boats. The small mouth fishing was fantastic as always, tubes, sencos, and lizards were the ticket. Every one had at lease 3 or 4 fish in the 4/5 lb range. It wasn't unusual to each catch 30/40- 2 pounders every day! We ate and drank like Kings. What a spot to reflect with family and friends.
      Until next year
      Randy

      Tips: Take your kids fishing when ever you can, the pay back is ten fold!

Wednesday, August 31st, 2016

  • Ferry County
    • By

      Report: by ttb31183 » Wed Aug 31, 2016 11:05 am

      The final Washington TBF qualifier was held on the Columbia River last weekend. This was the event that decided the Top 14 for the year that made the WA state team.

      It was the same story as the others as Dave Griffis won it again. He swept the three events with convincing fashion to walk away with angler of the year. He weighed in two solid 15lb bags and won this event by over three pounds.

      Second was Travis Archer with a two day weight of 27.49lbs. Third was John Ellison with 22.62lbs. As you can tell, the fishing was tough and that was partially due to the high winds on the first day and high air temps both days.

      Top finishers in this event and pix: http://www.westernbass.com/forum/post568312.html#p568312

Tuesday, September 15th, 2015

  • Grant County
    • By

      Water Temp: 70

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: Fished the John Day River, for three days. camped at the Spray city park. The water was low and slow. Fishing was the best I'd ever seen. Brother Larry his son Taylor and my son Cody made the trip one of the best times I have had with my son. Average smallie was over 2 lbs. My personal best, 4 smallies at or over 6lbs. 50 fish days for the each of us. Sencos and lizzards worked the best.
      Good fishing, great company ,beautiful scenery, thank you dear lord for family.
      Si Perkins

Thursday, March 14th, 2013

  • Coos County
    • By

      Water Temp: 55-58+

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: Took the kayak out for 3 1/2 hours at Cottage Grove Lake. Fished a craw crank (4-5'), a 7" Senko and a jig and beaver. Fished across the dam and graphed lots of fish but couldn't catch 'em. Went all the way down the west shore fishing and paddling- stopping in some of the usual good spots and still couldn't draw any bites. Beautiful day to be out but a couple fish would have made it nicer! Did have a few smaller bass chase the jig back to the kayak but wouldn't hit it. Could have tied on a drop shot but I was really hoping to find a few of the early spring fatties this lake is full of. Tried a spinnerbait also by the dam and even bumping it along the bottom didn't get anything. Should have tried tossing a jerkbait- had one with me and that's the lure that caught my biggest bass out of this lake. Wouldn't mind tossing a trout swimbait but my swimbait rod is 7'6" long and is a pain in the yak. Next trip I'll try taking the boat out but if you do be careful- there's still a bit of floating wood out there. I bumped one piece that was twice as long as my kayak and only had about 2' visible. The water temps were a bit higher than I expected so I fully expect to start hitting a few here especially in the early morning before work.
      City: yoncalla

      Tips: If we get another 3-5 days straight of nice weather anytime soon and it happens to coincide with the full moon- look out- it will be on! I'll be there.

Wednesday, March 6th, 2013

  • Coos County
    • By

      Water Temp: cool

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: Hit Cottage Grove a couple times in the last couple weeks. First time it was still way down- basically no water in Shortridge Cove. Next trip after a pretty solid week of rain it looked quite a bit better- Shortridge actually looked like a cove. I tossed a spinnerbait, a shallow crank, a senko and a jig and couldn't draw a bite. Had one small (9-10") bass chase the crank up to my feet but didn't bite it. Fished the whole shore from the south side of Shortridge around to the next cove south- both trips were early morning. I'm dying to get out in the kayak on one of those 60
      degree summer like days in the middle of the day and fish right up 'till sunset. My days off are almost always rainy lately. I'll post again soon!
      City: Yoncalla

Saturday, July 14th, 2012

  • Coos County
    • By

      Water Temp: 75 or so

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: Had a fun day at Cottage Grove Lake with my 9 year old Stephanie. We went early and hit my big bass spot but didn't get bit with the swimbait or jig. She tossed a trout magnet with a bobber but got kinda tired due to the slow bite. We moved over to Lakeside boat dock at about 8AM. The sun didn't come out until about 9:30. We saw a ton of bedding bluegills and caught a few. We used the trout magnets sometimes with a bobber, sometimes without. At about 9:15 we started using chunks of nightcrawler. We got a ton of bites but for some reason Steph couldn't stick a fish. I got lucky and was able to get a bluegill,a crappie and a little bass in a total of 5 or 6 casts. I don't ever remember that happening before at least here in Oregon. About a half hour before we left I got a bite and yanked a 9" bass that hit a drop shotted chunk of crawler. I took a couple photos from a few different angles because I was almost positive it was a spotted bass!! Sure wish Steph would have caught it instead. We saw several swimming around including a decent one about 15-16". I e-mailed my old tournament partner to see what he thought and he said it's for sure a spot. One look at the photos and he called me right back. Kinda makes me wonder- if the 3 or 4 small ones I caught over by the dam 3 years ago- and thought were spotted bass- have all grown up and spawned of course- who knows maybe in 6 or 7 years we'll give Pine Flat a run at the record. I do fear for the largemouth fry though. The only cool thing about spots is that they'll bite almost year round. And they are aggressive feeders.
      City: yoncalla,or

      Tips: I'm not sure how to keep a 9 year old from getting bored when they are not biting! She did have fun swimming a 4" baby bass swimbait around the dock. And before she was done she was actually casting it 35-40 feet with a baitcaster and a 7'6" flippin' stick. She likes the way the paddle tail thumps. I told her wait until next time we go out in the boat- she'll love the way the bass eat it! Get out and go- summer's a wastin'!!!

Saturday, July 7th, 2012

  • Coos County
    • By

      Water Temp: perfect

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: A trout guy was in my favorite spot yesterday when I drove by at about 5:45AM so I went up and fished the creek area- no bites. Came back around and tried a different spot and had a nice 4 plus follow my custom painted crankbait right up to the shore. Tried my jig and swimbait on consecutive casts but the bass wouldn't hit them. Went to work and came back this morning at 5:25AM and the spot was open. I saw a huge ball of bass fry about 6' long and 2-3' thick that kept passing by right up against the shore. Within 15 minutes the water was boiling 25' from shore and I thought "Here we go". But it apparently was a pack of 7-9" bass slashing thru the fry. A couple followed my quickly retrieved jig all the way to shore. I tossed my jig way out and checked the clock- 5:55AM. when I lifted the rod to check for a fish I felt a good hard tap-tap- waited 2 and set hard. It was on! After I tightened the drag a bit I really pulled hard to try to keep it out of a small bush along the shore. Despite my efforts it got tangled in it but I was able to keep it hooked up long enough to let it swim out and then into my long handled net. Twenty inches long and 1 ounce shy of 5 pounds and the jig only had a small piece of lip! No more action for 20 minutes so I decided to go try a 10" Powerworm on the 4 plus I saw yesterday. Second cast I got a hard bite-set the hook and.....missed. Let it drop and when I set this time it had stolen my worm right off the hook. I can't remember that happening in a long,long time. Could have been a really great morning instead of just a great one. See ya out there- lets hope this is the start of crazy week! Read last years reports- by the way this report was for Cottage Grove Lake.
      City: yoncalla

Tuesday, July 3rd, 2012

  • Coos County
    • By

      Water Temp: low 60's?

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: Took the kids to Disneyland last 2 weeks of June and while we were in Napa I took my 9 year old daughter striper fishing at the Napa River. She hooked and landed her first stiped bass- a whopping 10"! I hooked one a half hour later and handed her the pole- this one was 12" long. It was warm and windy but we had a 94 Qt. ice chest full of cool drinks so we were happy. Best part was no expensive out of state license 'cause it was a public dock! Now I've gotta figure out a way to get her a spotted bass. Tried Cottage Grove Lake yesterday and today and got nothing- not a darn bite. Shore fished 5 or 6 different spots with a jig and a swimbait. The lake is very clear.
      City: yoncalla

Thursday, June 21st, 2012

  • Grant County
    • By

      Water Temp: 68

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: Fished for 4 days out of spray Ore. lots of 1 1/2 lbs smallies. 2 fish over 4lbs. by my son Cody. service creek to tekinham bridge was the best float. lizards and sencos were the ticket. Great week of fishing, thanks Dr. Pat
      City: lakeview ore.

Monday, June 18th, 2012

  • Ferry County
    • By

      Water Temp: unknown

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: I unbeknownst to me was fishing at Wyeth It looked like a park and I didn't see the signs but ended up fishing on tribal land. The bass fishing was red hot there Small mouth Mostly but Good sized 3-5 lb class, was having a great time till a tribal member Informed where I was then I was happy to leave in a respectful way. NOTE? Be careful where you fish and look for signs .
      City: PDX

      Tips: If anyone knows where to catch Bass on Oregon USA land please contact me thank you

Wednesday, May 9th, 2012

  • Coos County
    • By

      Water Temp: warmer

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: So much for the super moon! Do me a favor and don't tell the bass- maybe they don't know it was LAST Saturday. OOOOOOOOOPS!! And my 9 year old daughter was so looking forward to staying up 'till 11:35!
      City: yoncalla

      Tips: MY tip of the week- Pay just a bit more attention to the moon phases- DUH!

    • By

      Water Temp: warm enough

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: Got to fish at Cottage Grove Lake for about an hour before work today but didn't get there until 8:15 AM! It's within 3-4' of being full and the water looks great. I tried a couple of my favorite spots but couldn't get bit. Used a jig and a white/silver spinnerbait. Had a craw crank tied on a 3rd rod but chose not to toss it. With the "Super Moon" this Saturday I'm figuring there should be some super fishin' going on too. If I can swing it I'll shore fish Thursday and Friday and try like crazy to get the boat or kayak out on Saturday! You don't want to miss out on what could be a wild weekend. Be safe and don't forget sunscreen like I usually do.
      City: yoncalla,or

      Tips: Look for a good batch of early bed fish to flood the shoreline this week and into next week with the moon and stable/warm temps. It should be great. I'll try to post every 2 days if I have time or perhaps daily if it's fantastic! See ya at the lake!

Monday, April 23rd, 2012

  • Coos County
    • By

      Water Temp: felt good

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: FINALLY got to Cottage Grove Lake for the first time this year. The water level is about what I expected- half way up the Lakeside boat ramp but the water was a bit stained. Also saw a lot of big floating chunks of wood out on the main body. Heard a couple boats flying around and it was a bit foggy so be careful out there. Fished a couple spots from the shore up the creek with no fish caught. One of my favorite spots up there doesn't even have water over it yet. May have to drag a few sticks of wood over to add a few hiding spots for the spawners that are sure to show up soon. I'll try again in a few days and post another report.
      City: yoncalla

      Tips: All I tossed was a jig and beaver and a shallow crankbait. Did see a couple fish jump while I was fishing. One looked to be a 12-13" trout and the last one looked to be a bass eating the 12-13" trout! Way,way bigger splash for that fish! May have a report for Tenmile Lake in the early part of May- we're gonna do a 2 day special as soon as I can get 2 days off in a row. P.S.-Work sucks!!

Tuesday, March 20th, 2012

  • Coos County
    • By

      Water Temp: no idea

      Water Clarity: Muddy (0-2 foot visibility)

      Report: Anyone fishing Cottage Grove Lake yet? Normally I'd have 3-4 good fish logged by now but too many other irons in the fire('56 Chevy, Hoop tourney, 6 day work week!). Would love to here about water clarity and/or temps if anyone's been out. I'm sure the first decent week of weather you won't be able to keep me away from the lake- see you out there soon!
      City: yoncalla,or

      Tips: Craw colored cranks and jig/beaver combos always seem to produce for me this time of the year- at pretty much any lake.