Northeast Zone

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Best bets for weekend fishing

• Willow Creek Reservoir is a good bet for recently stocked trout, and
• it’s not too early to think about bass and crappie, as well.
• Other good bets for trout fishing include Kinney and Wallowa lakes.
• Flows are good for fishing in the Wallowa River with some good hatches of mayflies and stoneflies.

Recently stocked

Scheduled to be stocked this week:

Honeymoon Pond, Aldrich Ponds, Wallowa Lake, Walla Walla Forest Ponds south, Twin Ponds, Teepee Pond, Umatilla Forest Ponds north and south, Luger Pond.

Recently stocked:

Roulet Pond, Wallowa Wildlife Pond, Trout Farm Pond, Marr Ponds, Willow Creek, Umapine Pond, Holliday Park Pond, Cavendar Pond, Victor Pond, Bull Prairies Reservoir, Cutsforth Pond, Huntley Pond, Anson Wright Pond, Penland Lake.

Check the 2022 trout stocking schedule.

Trout stocking maps

Check out the ODFW fishing and trout stocking maps to find nearby fishing locations, driving directions and descriptions of amenities.

Announcements

No announcements at this time.

Updates by waterbody

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

Access to the ponds is open and fishing for holdover trout should be good. Stocking will take place in late May depending on access road conditions.  Last updated 5/11/22.

CAVENDER POND (Monument, OR): trout, largemouth bass

A significant fish kill occurred at this site during the summer of 2021. Stocking will occur in mid-May, and fishing for trout should be good through the end of June. Assessments will be made later in the summer to see how the largemouth bass fared after the fish kill event.  Last updated 5/4/22.

GRANDE RONDE RIVER: trout, whitefish, bass

 Steelhead fishing is closed on the Grande Ronde River and will reopen on Sept.1, 2022. Variable flows may make fishing difficult during spring runoff. As the water warms, bass fishing will get better in the lower river. Recentl, anglers have been successful fly-fishing for trout in the Grande Ronde between the Wallowa River and Troy. Anglers are reminded that bull trout and Chinook salmon may be encountered in the Grande Ronde River and must be released unharmed. Last updated 5/25/22.

HAT ROCK POND: trout

The Hat Rock pond was stocked the week of April 15. With water temperatures starting to warm up and the forecast looking good all week, get out and enjoy some early trout fishing. Trout are likely to be the most active in the early morning and late evening hours. Anglers should catch fish using PowerBait, worms, or spinning lures. Last updated 4/20/22.

IMNAHA RIVER: trout, whitefish, bass

Steelhead fishing is closed on the Imnaha River and will re-open on Sept. 1, 2022. Trout fishing may be good when water conditions allow. When the water temperature increases, bass fishing may be good in the lower portions of the river.

Anglers are reminded that bull trout and Chinook salmon may be encountered in the Imnaha River and must be released unharmed. Last updated 5/4/22.

JOHN DAY RIVER:

Steelhead fishing remains closed in rivers and streams within the John Day Basin through May 31. Wild A steelhead over Bonneville dam are below the minimum 20,000 fish necessary to hold a fishery, in addition to a smolt-to-adult ratio currently anticipated to be below 1 percent. Bass and catfish fishing opened March 1 from the mainline railroad bridge upstream to the confluence of the North Fork near Kimberly, OR.

Conditions for bass and catfish fishing remain poor as we’ve had a very wet and cold spring thus far. Conditions should improve in the coming weeks. Last updated 5/11/22.

MAGONE LAKE: rainbow and brook trout

Magone Lake is accessible, and fishing should be good for holdover trout. Stocking will occur in May. Last updated on 5/4/22.

McNARY PONDS: walleye, bass and trout.

The McNary Ponds were stocked the week of April 15. With water temperatures starting to warm up and the forecast looking good all week, get out and enjoy some early trout fishing. Trout are likely to be the most active in the early morning and late evening hours. Anglers should find success using power bait, worms or spinning lures. All ponds were stocked evenly so there should be fish to catch in each. Last updated 4/20/22.

MORGAN LAKE: rainbow trout and bass

Morgan Lake opened for fishing on April 22, 2022. Follow this link for more information about recreation at Morgan Lake. Last updated 5/4/22.

UMATILLA RIVER: fall Chinook, bass and walleye

Summer steelhead fishing on the Umatilla River is now closed, will reopen September 1.

The spring Chinook season opened on April 15. There is a predicated run of approximately 3,000 spring Chinook returning to the Umatilla River. A total of 802 spring Chinook have been counted at TMFD so far this run year, with 530 over the past week. Fishing has been slow up to date, but there have been anglers out trying to take advantage of the early bright fish and the fish are starting to show up in the past week.

The flows in the Umatilla came up me up significantly in the past week from all the rain over the weekend, but flows should start to drop and this is when anglers should really concentrate their efforts as the increase in flows tends to move fish into the system. Anglers should start to find success as the clarity of the river improves and the river starts to drop. The Umatilla River is considered from the Hwy 730 bridge and upstream, the section below that is considered the Columbia River and is currently closed. Most anglers use egg set up with a slinky weigh bounced off the bottom or a some have found success with spinners with water temperatures being relatively cold.      

Trout fishing on the Umatilla River, and its tributaries, is closed currently and reopens May 22. Bass and other warmwater species remain open all year. Last updated 5/18/22.

WALLA WALLA RIVER:

Upstream of the Oregon/Washington state line, the river is closed to retention of steelhead Sept. 1 through April 30. Trout fishing on the Walla Walla, and its tributaries, is closed currently and reopens May 22. Last updated 3/30/21.  

WALLOWA COUNTY PONDS: rainbow trout

Fishing for trout has been very good recently. Kinney Lake and ponds throughout the county will continue to be stocked with rainbow trout over the next couple months.

ODFW will be hosting a free Fishing Event on June 4 from 8 a.m. to noon at Marr Pond. Staff will be on site to assist participants, and it should be a fun event. Last updated 5/25/22.

WALLOWA LAKE: rainbow trout, kokanee, lake trout

Fishing has been good for rainbow trout near the south end of the lake. Anglers have had success using both flies and lures. Anglers can have good success wading out from shore and casting lures or flies near where fish are rising. Boat anglers will have better access to more of the lake and may find fish near areas where the depth drops off.

There are some nice kokanee available this year with some fish around 16 – 18 inches. Jigging and trolling for kokanee can both be productive ways of fishing for them in Wallowa Lake. The docks were recently put in place for the season at the county boat ramp on the north end of Wallowa Lake. Last updated 5/18/22.

Here are some tips on how and where to fish for kokanee:  Kokanee fishing in Oregon: 9 tips for catching kokanee.

The Wallowa Lake Dam Restoration Project is a cooperative effort among ODFW, local tribes and irrigators. Funded by the Oregon Legislature in 2019, the project will provide water for irrigation, flows for fish and in the first step in restoring sockeye salmon to Wallow Lake. Watch this short video or visit this ODFW webpage to learn more.

WALLOWA RIVER: whitefish, trout

Steelhead fishing is closed on the Wallowa River and will re-open on Sept. 1, 2022. Recently, flows have been good on the Wallowa River, and anglers have had success fishing for trout. Good hatches of stoneflies and mayflies have occurred, and fishing conditions should be good when water levels are not excessively high. Anglers are reminded that bull trout and Chinook salmon may be encountered in the Wallowa River and must be released unharmed. Last updated 5/25/22.

WILLOW CREEK RESERVOIR: trout, crappie, bass

Willow Creek was stocked this week with legal trout so get out and enjoy catching some of those larger trout. Willow Creek provides a great early season opportunity for anglers and the boat ramp is accessible. With the recent warming trend this is great place for anglers looking to get out and catch trout, bass and crappie this time of year. There’s lots of bank access and also a fishing dock. Anglers should concentrate on the areas where there is structure early morning and late afternoon. Fish will start to become more active cruising for food as the water temperature warms. Last updated 5/18/22.