Recreation Report for April 11 - Area fishing reports are in

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Highlights From The Week's Recreation Report

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Time’s running out to report your 2018 hunt

There are just a few days left to report your 2018 hunt by the April15 deadline. You can report online or by phone at 866-947-6339.

Youth turkey season is this weekend

This early-season hunt gives young hunters 17 and younger a chance to get in the field and tag a tom before the general season begins on April 15.

Take the family fishing

ODFW makes it easy to take your family fishing – with free fishing events, recommended family-friendly fishing locations, and how-to text and videos on everything from buying your gear to cooking your catch. Find the events and opportunities near you.

Best bets for weekend fishing

Water is high and turbid in many fisheries due to recent spring rains, but here are some places where the fishing will be good this weekend:

  • Klamath Basin

    • Best bet for fishing in the Klamath Basin is Klamath Lake.

  • Southeast Region

    • Thief Valley Reservoir full, ice-free and stocked with 7,500 legal-size and 500 trophy-size rainbow trout.

    • Waterbodies to scheduled to be stocked this week include: Burns Gravel Pond, Haines Pond, North Powder Pond and Thief Valley Reservoir.

  • Statewide

  • The Nestucca and Wilson rivers on north coast should be in good shape for winter steelhead fishing.

  • Surfperch fishing has been “pretty darn good” according to our fish biologist in Gold Beach.

  • If your local rivers are running high and muddy, consider some trout fishing in one of the dozens of waterbodies that have been stocked recently.

  • Both North and South Twin lakes are ice-free and there are good opportunities for holdover trout.

  • Thief Valley Reservoir full, ice-free and stocked with 7,500 legal-size and 500 trophy-size rainbow trout.

Area Fishing Report

Gerber Reservoir
crappie, yellow perch, brown bullhead and largemouth bass

The reservoir is ice-free. The reservoir is open to fishing all year. Currently, best fishing is for yellow perch or brown bullhead catfish. Best fishing is still fishing with bait near the bottom. Most yellow perch are small but a few 14-inchers were caught last year. Most crappie are suspended in deeper water.

Bureau of Reclamation biologists sampled the reservoir last week. Decent sized crappie were captured by trammel net.

The reservoir is 104 percent full and spilling. With current and past reservoir levels, ODFW expects an excellent crappie fishery this year.

Gerber Reservoir is a turbid reservoir. Bank access is good. Several boat ramps exist on the reservoir. Large bass boats can be launched at the Ben Hall Creek ramp. Most of the reservoir is on BLM property. Facilities include a campground and fish cleaning station.

J.C. Boyle Reservoir (Topsy Reservoir)
Largemouth bass, yellow perch, brown bullhead, pumpkinseed, crappie, goldfish, Sacramento perch, tui chub and blue chub

Fishing is slow due to high flows through the reservoir. Fishing should improve for all warmwater fish as water temperatures increase. Brown bullhead catfish are your best bet.

Recent net sampling showed some large yellow perch in the reservoir above the bridge crossing. Fishing for crappie should be excellent later this year. Highest catch of fish was above Topsy Bridge.

Open and accessible all year. Water levels generally remain very similar and drop as the day progresses as water is released for power generation. There are numerous points of access on the reservoir as most property surrounding the reservoir is BLM or PacifiCorp property. There are three boat ramps on the reservoir. The BLM campground and boat ramp are open.

Upper Klamath & Agency Lakes
native redband trout, yellow perch, kokanee, pumpkinseed, brown bullhead, tui chub and blue chub

Catch rates remain very low despite significant fishing effort. The lake is very turbid. All boat docks  and boat ramps are open and accessible. Most anglers are bank fishing using dead minnows. The lake is 0.3 feet below full pool.

Please remember that once you retain your one redband/rainbow trout limit you must stop fishing for redband/rainbow trout. Also, all radio tagged redband trout must be released unharmed.

Lake of the Woods
hatchery rainbow trout, kokanee, hatchery brown trout, yellow perch, brown bullhead, smallmouth bass, largemouth bass, crappie, tui chub

Ice conditions on the lake are unknown. Call Lake of the Woods Resort at 866-201-4194 for recent reports and ice conditions.

Complete Report
For a complete report of area fishing locations visit https://myodfw.com/recreation-report/fishing-report/southeast-zone

Information provided by Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife.

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The Recreation Report is brought to you by the Klamath County Fair.

Midland, Jon Wolfe, and Lonestar all perform at the 2019 Klamath County Fair. TICKETS ON SALE NOW.