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Crappie are scrappy, hard-fighting fish, and with a two-rod validation you can double the excitement of reeling in these delicious panfish. Lucky for us, Oregon has lots of opportunity for crappie, and some of our waterbodies are considered premier crappie fishing destinations!

Razor clams and other bivalves are filter feeders that eat single celled plants called phytoplankton. Some species of phytoplankton manufacture biological toxins that, if ingested by bivalves, will be stored in their flesh. Though the biotoxins do not make the shellfish sick, they will make humans sick if a person consumes an affected animal.

Regulated Hunt Areas (RHAs) are cooperative programs between Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife and private landowners that offer regulated hunting on private lands. Each RHA has special regulations so be sure to check them before hunting. The Upland Cooperative Access Program (UCAP) is an incentive-based program designed to provide quality public hunting opportunities for upland game birds on private lands in Wasco, Sherman, Gilliam and Morrow counties in the Columbia Basin.

Long-leader gear is used to target midwater species like yellowtail rockfish, canary rockfish and widow rockfish, while avoiding bottom-dwelling species like yelloweye rockfish.

As temperatures heat up during spring and summer, be on the watch for harmful algae blooms when recreating in Oregon lakes, rivers and reservoirs. Here’s what anglers should know.

A beginner's guide to waterfowl hunting on Sauvie Island- Hunting in the Westside Unit. Part 3 of a 5 part series.

Rabbit hunting is the third most popular type of hunting activity in the U.S., behind wild turkey and deer hunting. Few people take advantage of it in Oregon, but they should—rabbits and hares are abundant and there is no closed season or bag limit. Plus, they taste good!

The John Day – Umatilla area includes the John Day River and Umatilla River basins, and Oregon’s upper reaches of the Columbia River. The John Day Pool and McNary Pool of the Columbia offer outstanding fishing for bass and walleye, and many fishing tournaments are held here. Anglers also will find good fishing for bullhead catfish, crappie and other panfish in McKay Reservoir near Pendleton and Willow Creek Reservoir just outside of Heppner. For those who enjoy fishing for smallmouth, the John Day River offers one of the finest bass fisheries in the country and a unique opportunity for an…

Starting in 2026, deer hunts in Eastern Oregon will be organized by Deer Hunt Areas instead of traditional Wildlife Management Units (WMUs). This transition is based on new research showing that deer move across multiple WMUs throughout the year, making old systems less effective for population monitoring and harvest management. Learn more below. Use this map to compare new Deer Herd Ranges vs Wildlife Management Units. Zoom in to see WMU boundaries which are in white. View the interactive map View Individual Hunt Areas 2026 Hunt Transition Guide

The south Willamette area covers the upper Willamette Basin south of Salem and includes the communities of Albany, Corvallis, Eugene, Springfield and Cottage Grove. Fishing for bass and panfish can be outstanding in the Willamette River and its many sloughs, but you'll need a boat for most locations because much of the banks are privately-owned. There also is good warmwater fishing in the area’s larger lakes such as Cottage Grove, Dorena, Foster, and Fern Ridge reservoirs, where crappie and large bass attract both seasoned and causal anglers. There are many smaller ponds inside and near the urban communities that offer…

Oregon's Klamath and Lake counties offer outstanding warmwater fishing in the region's lakes and reservoirs, and even in the lower reaches of some of the rivers and streams. The area covers the Upper Klamath Basin and extends east to include the Chewaucan and Warner Lakes Basins.

To most anglers, herring and anchovies are best known as bait. But they also can be fun to catch and delicious for dinner.

Most warmwater anglers traveling to the northeast area are probably heading to Brownlee Reservoir, a huge 15,000 acre waterbody located along the Oregon-Idaho Reservoir on the Snake River. Brownlee offers outstanding fishing for bass and catfish, but might be best known for its crappie fishery which attracts anglers from throughout the country. However, anglers shouldn't overlook the other fishing opportunities located further downstream below Brownlee in Oxbow and Hells Canyon Reservoirs, and in the Snake River itself. Even in the lower Grand Ronde, a river better known for trout and steelhead, anglers will find good smallmouth bass fishing during the…

Fishing Oregon’s high elevation lakes is not just for dedicated anglers. It also appeals to hikers and backpackers who head to the backcountry with a sense of adventure and a yearning for quietude.

The central area follows the Deschutes River Basin along the eastern slope of the Cascades, and includes the middle reaches of the Columbia River from Bonneville upstream to the mouth of the John Day River. The warm and dry summer months help to create productive warmwater fisheries in the area's larger reservoirs including Crane Prairie Reservoir, a consistent producer of sizeable largemouth bass, and Prineville Reservoir which is renowned for its crappie. In the Columbia River, outstanding fishing for bass and walleye can be found in Bonneville Pool and The Dalles Pool.

Successful steelhead fishing is more about developing a good strategy for finding fish than about fussing over gear, techniques and colors. (Although pink worms really do work!)

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Oregon supports diverse waterfowl populations, from sea ducks in coastal saltwater to puddle ducks in the alkali basins of southeast Oregon. You might think you need lots of gear (decoys, boats, a trained dog) to hunt ducks and geese, but you don’t. All of these things are nice but not necessary. All you really need is a hunting license/tag, shotgun, shells and some basic identification skills.

It's an iconic part of life in the Pacific Northwest—salmon returning to their natal rivers after years at sea to spawn and then die. ODFW fish biologists recommend the following locations to catch a glimpse of salmon spawning.

Oregon offers some of the best upland game bird hunting in the West. The state’s diverse habitats support nine species of upland game birds— pheasants, chukar, Hungarian partridge, valley (California) quail, mountain quail, ruffed grouse, blue grouse, sage-grouse and wild turkey. There are upland hunting opportunities in every corner of the state, and one upland bird season or another is open continuously from September 1 through January 31. Throw in a six-week spring turkey season and you can hunt upland game birds in Oregon for more than half of the year! Also, since many of the species share similar habitat…