Northeast Zone

ALDRICH PONDS (Roosevelt and Stewart Lakes): Trout (2 fish limit)

Fishing for large holdover trout in early spring has been excellent, and fish were recently stocked for the year in late May. It's a 4-mile round-trip hike to get to the ponds, but the fishing has been very good the last few weeks and worth the trip.

GRANDE RONDE RIVER: Trout, whitefish

Spring can be a great time of year to catch trout and whitefish on the Grande Ronde River when flows are not too high. Anglers should target areas near shore with slower moving water. Fly fishing with nymphs or streamers may work well as could casting spinners near likely holding areas.

The last day of steelhead fishing was April 30 and steelhead fishing will remain closed on the Grande Ronde River until September 1. Last updated 6/3/25.

Links to the following river gauges:

Grande Ronde River Below Clear Creek, Near Starkey

Grande Ronde River, Near Perry

Grande Ronde River at Troy

HAT ROCK POND: Trout

Hat Rock Pond was stocked with rainbow trout the week of May 28. Anglers should find success using PowerBait, worms or spinners, and focusing their efforts in the mornings or evenings. Last updated 6/16/25.

IMNAHA RIVER: Trout, whitefish

Anglers can catch trout and whitefish in the Imnaha River throughout the spring. Like other locations, fishing near shore and in areas of slower flow will be best during periods of high flow. Steelhead fishing closed on April 30 and will reopen on September 1.

Relatively few Imnaha River spring Chinook have been observed migrating up the Columbia River. Because of these low returns, it's unlikely that enough fish will return to open a Chinook salmon season on the Imnaha River.

Anglers should remember they might encounter bull trout in the Imnaha River. They cannot be harvested and must be released. Last updated 6/3/25.

JOHN DAY RIVER: bass, trout

The USGS gage at Service Creek is currently reading 1200 CFS. Drift boats are usually fine until the river drops below 1,000 CFS, at which point it becomes a very bumpy ride in a drift boat. Rafts, kayaks, SUPs, and smaller craft work well until the river drops to around 600-700 CFS. This is a great time of year for smallmouth bass fishing, with 100 fish days a common occurrence. Most bass tend to average 10-12" with some larger fish in the 18-20" range. .

Streams in the John Day Basin opened for fishing May 22^nd, and this is also a great time to fish for native redband and westslope cutthroat trout.

JUBILEE LAKE[BO1] : Rainbow trout

Jubilee Lake is scheduled to be stocked with rainbow trout on July 1^st. While Jubilee Lake is open for fishing year-round, vehicle access to the lake is open from July-Oct 15.

Last updated 6/16/25.

LOOKINGGLASS CREEK: Trout, mountain whitefish

Fishing for trout and whitefish is open on Lookingglass Creek. Anglers can catch trout on flies or lures while whitefish can be caught most effectively with submerged flies like bead head nymphs. Bull trout may be encountered, and any bull trout caught must be released.

Unfortunately, the number of Chinook salmon returning to Lookingglass Creek is too small to allow for a sport fishing season in 2025. Juvenile mortality associated with dams on the Snake and Columbia Rivers along with poor ocean conditions driven by climate change have resulted in poor returns of salmon to many tributaries in the Snake River basin. For more information, please see the press release on the decision to not have a Chinook salmon sport fishing season on Lookingglass Creek. Last updated 6/3/2025

MAGONE LAKE: Rainbow and brook trout

Magone lake is accessible and has been stocked for the year. Fishing is often excellent in the spring through mid-summer, and the fishing has been good recently, with some reporting better luck fishing a little deeper.

McNARY PONDS: Walleye, bass and trout.

The McNary ponds were stocked with rainbow trout the week of May 28. Trout are likely to be the most active in the morning and late evening hours. Anglers should find success using PowerBait, worms or spinning lures. Last updated 6/16/25

McKAY RESERVOIR: Bass, perch, rainbow trout.

McKay Reservoir is about 80 percent full. Water temps are heating up and so if fishing. Anglers can expect to find bass and crappie in shallow waters.

On June 6^th, district staff sampled McKay Reservoir. Our catch was composed of primarily yellow perch, followed by carp and crappie. The yellow perch that we collected had an average length of 7 inches and a max length of 9 inches. The crappie that we collected had an average length of 6 inches and a max length of 10 inches. While we did not catch high numbers of bass, we did find largemouth and smallmouth bass with lengths exceeding 20 inches.

Last updated 6/16/25

MORGAN LAKE: Rainbow trout and bass

Morgan Lake opened for fishing on April 22. It will be stocked throughout the year and should provide some good trout fishing afterward. Follow this link for more information about recreation at Morgan Lake. Last updated 6/3/25.

UMATILLA RIVER: Fall Chinook, coho, summer steelhead, trout, bass, walleye

Spring Chinook fishing on the Umatilla River is starting to wind down. To date, around 2,300 Spring Chinook have reached Three Mile Falls damn. As a reminder, hatchery steelhead retention Closed May 1 and spring Chinook retention closes June 30^th.

There is now a new regulation in place with a hook gap size that may not exceed 3/8 inch in the section of the Umatilla River above the CTUIR reservation. This new regulation is to protect bull trout and decrease the chance of hooking mortality. As a reminder, if you catch a bull trout, recognized by its white spots, please keep it in the water and release it as quickly as possible. Targeting bull trout is NOT allowed in the Umatilla River.

Last updated 6/16/25.

WALLOWA COUNTY PONDS: Rainbow trout

Stocked trout are available at local ponds including Marr Pond and Kinney Lake. Kinney Lake may be one of the best local trout fishing spots as it gets a healthy stocking of fish in the fall that grow all winter. Fishing will be good at local Wallowa County ponds throughout the spring with several locations being stocked multiple times.

Last updated 5/27/25.

WALLOWA LAKE: Rainbow trout, kokanee, lake trout

We are in the prime time of the year for kokanee angling on Wallowa Lake. Water temperatures have started to rise, and some anglers are catching kokanee. Trolling and jigging are both popular techniques for kokanee fishing in Wallowa Lake. Catch rates haven't been super high, but people are catching some large kokanee, some of which have been over 16 inches. Rainbow trout can be caught near the river mouth, and lake trout are dispersed throughout the lake. Last updated 6/3/25.

WALLOWA RIVER: Whitefish, trout, steelhead

Fishing the Wallowa River for trout and whitefish can be good in the spring especially when flows are moderate and water clarity is good. Trout and whitefish can be caught on a variety of baits, lures, and flies. Casting flies like wooly buggers and nymphs to pockets of slower moving water near shore can be good ways to catch trout and whitefish on the Wallowa River in the spring.

Like the Imnaha, relatively few Wallowa River spring Chinook have been observed migrating up the Columbia River. Because of these low returns, it's unlikely that enough fish will return to open a Chinook salmon season on the Wallowa River.

Steelhead fishing closed on April 30 and will reopen on September 1, 2024. Last updated 6/3/25.

WILLOW CREEK RESERVOIR: Trout, crappie, bass

Fishing on Willow Creek Reservoir is currently fair with rainbow trout and crappie being caught. This spring, district staff installed 10 artificial habitat structures. These structures were put in place to provide fish habitat when the reservoir is drawn down.

On June 3^rd, district staff sampled Willow Creek Reservoir. Our catch was composed of primarily brown bullhead, bluegill, crappie, and smallmouth bass. The bluegill that we collected had an average length of 6 inches and a max length of 9 inches. The crappie that we collected had an average length of 7.5 inches and a max length of 10 inches. The smallmouth bass that we collected had an average length of 9 inches and a max length of 15.5 inches.

Last updated 6/16/25