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Trout fishing opportunities abound in this zone, known for its high desert climate, sage-covered canyons, glacial peaks and mountain lakes. Anglers will find year-round trout fishing in the Deschutes, Metolius, Fall and Crooked rivers, while several central Oregon lakes and reservoirs are renowned for their trout and kokanee fishing – and their beauty. The Hood and lower Deschutes – both tributaries of the Columbia River – offer high desert fishing for Chinook salmon and summer steelhead.

Abundant rainfall feeds the massive Willamette River watershed, tamed by a system of reservoirs that are stocked annually with hundreds of thousands of rainbow trout. Some of these reservoirs also grow trophy-size largemouth and smallmouth bass, as well as bluegill, brown bullhead and crappies. Smaller lakes and ponds nearer the valley floor provide springtime trout fishing close to home. Salmon and steelhead navigate the Willamette River and its tributaries, many of which are also home to rainbow and cutthroat trout.

Wide open spaces, wild windy places, and extreme temperatures characterize Oregon’s largest, most remote fishing zone. Redband trout are native to its rivers and streams, including the Williamson, Malheur and Chewaucan. Brown and hatchery rainbow trout can grow to trophy-size in many of its lakes and reservoirs, many of which also feature crappie, yellow perch and bass.

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The Klamath Fish Hatchery was originally constructed in 1929. Many improvements have been made since original construction. The hatchery produces legal and trophy sized rainbow trout, fingerling rainbow trout, brown trout, and cutthroat trout for release throughout the Klamath Basin, Deschutes Basin, Umpqua Basin and the southeast part of the state. The hatchery assist with remote egg takes for wild rainbow and brown trout at Crane Prairie and Wickiup Reservoirs.

A dozen great rivers pour out of the Coast Range Mountains into tidal bays that welcome runs of salmon and steelhead. Bays are the year-round home to marine perch, rock fish, crabs and clams, while other species come and go with the seasons and tides. A handful of ponds dot the forested slopes, and there are dozens of dune lakes— many stocked with rainbow trout, and some harboring largemouth bass, perch, crappie and brown bullhead.

Teach, restore, study, host, build, communicate When you sign up to be an ODFW volunteer, you are helping to protect Oregon's fish and wildlife, manage ODFW properties and spark a passion in others to hunt, fish and appreciate the outdoors building and enhancing fish, wildlife and their habitats for current and future generations. Donating even one day a year is all it takes to be helpful. We can be as flexible as possible to find the right opportunity to fit your schedule. Join thousands of volunteers by sharing your time and talents with ODFW.

There is year-round salmon, steelhead, trout and smallmouth bass in the Southwest Zone. Rainbow trout are stocked in the upper Rogue River and in lakes nestled among fir forests and wind-swept dunes. Big reservoirs provide fishing for trout and for thriving populations of largemouth bass, catfish, perch and crappie. Coastal bays serve as gateways to rich offshore reef fisheries, and miles of public beach allow anglers to fish for surfperch against a backdrop of rugged capes.

Oregon's recreational fisheries for Pacific halibut and bottomfish are constrained by bycatch of yelloweye rockfish, an overfished species. Many of the regulations on these fisheries exist to keep bycatch of yelloweye rockfish within sustainable limits, in order to help the stock recover (for example, depth restrictions in the bottomfish fishery, and no lingcod during offshore long-leader trips). ODFW encourages anglers to reduce impacts by using descending devices to release yelloweye rockfish, and better yet, to avoid areas where they might be caught.