Recreation Report for May 16 - Basin Fishing
/Highlights From The Week's Recreation Report
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Ladd Marsh Bird Festival May 17-19
Catch the height of spring migration and nesting in the Grande Ronde Valley
With an exceptionally diverse bird population, Ladd Marsh Wildlife Area is hosting the 14th annual Ladd Marsh Bird Festival May 17-19, 2019. The festival offers an uncrowded, family friendly birding opportunity for expert and novice birders. More information.
Introduction to Big Game Hunting
This first class in ODFW's new Learn to Hunt Big Game series will cover reasons for hunting, and the what, where and when of hunting for big game in Oregon. Evening classes are scheduled in Tualatin (May 22 and 23) and Albany (May 29). Learn more and register here.
Best bets for GREAT weekend fishing [statewide]
It will be cooler and wetter this weekend, but the fishing will still be hot. Here are some highlights:
Warmwater fisheries are improving in several lakes around the Florence area including: Siltcoos, Tahkenitch, Mercer and Munsel.
Hopefully this bit of rain and cooler temps will get more spring Chinook moving in the Nestucca River and Tillamook Bay.
Shad have been on the bite in the Umpqua River.
Now would be a good time to get out to the higher elevation lakes in the Umpqua district for some early season trout fishing.
Detroit Reservoir is scheduled to receive 5,000 trophy-size rainbows this week so that’s a destination definitely worth considering, if a beautiful backdrop and husky trout sound appealing.
Antelope Flat Reservoir and Walton Lake near Prineville are accessible and recent sampling indicates lotsof fish in the 8- to 18-inch range.
In the Southeast Zone, crappie fishing has been excellent on Gerber, Campbell and JC Boyle reservoirs.
Smallmouth bass anglers should hit the miles (and miles) of rocky shoreline along the Columbia River. Remember, the shallow bays warm first!
Wallowa County ponds on the forest and in the valley received a fresh batch of stocked trout this week and fishing should be good.
Find more details about all the weekend opportunities in the zone reports.
Weekend Fishing Opportunities
Flows on the Wood River, Sprague River and Upper Williamson River are dropping to very good, fishable levels.
Best bet for fishing in the Klamath Basin is Lake of the Woods for stocked rainbow trout, Klamath River below JC Boyle Dam for native redband trout, Wood River for brown trout and Gerber Reservoir for crappie.
Crappie anglers should consider Campbell Reservoir for some early season fish.
Cottonwood Meadows could be accessible by the weekend. If it is, fishing should be excellent.
After a few days of warm weather, warmwater fishing in the Owyhee Reservoir can be good.
Several waterbodies are scheduled to be stocked the week of May 13, including Hwy 203 Pond, Ana Reservoir, Lake of the Woods, Thief Valley Reservoir, Delintment Lake, Thompson Valley Reservoir and Phillips Reservoir.
Area Fishing Report
GERBER RESERVOIR
crappie, yellow perch, brown bullhead and largemouth bass
Fishing for crappie is excellent and should only get better. Most crappie are currently averaging around 10-inches. The reservoir is open to fishing all year. Yellow perch are also showing up in good numbers in the catch. Most yellow perch are small but a few 14-inchers were caught last year. Most crappie are suspended in deeper water. The crappie fishery typically peaks in early June.
Bureau of Reclamation biologists last sampled the reservoir two weeks ago. Crappie dominated the catch.
The reservoir is 98 percent full. 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.
CAMPBELL RESERVOIR
redband trout, largemouth bass, crappie
Access is available. Crappie fishing should be very good. Best fishing is from a small boat. Larger boats cannot be launched at the reservoir as there is no boat ramp. Best fishing is near the dam and near the overhanging willows. The southeastern part of the reservoir is on BLM property. The reservoir is also fed by water from Deming Creek.
Access is available off the FS 34 (Dairy Creek road) and 335 roads near Bly. Much of the reservoir is on private property so please respect this area.
J.C. BOYLE RESERVOIR (Topsy Reservoir)
Largemouth bass, yellow perch, brown bullhead, pumpkinseed, crappie, goldfish, Sacramento perch, tui chub and blue chub
Fishing is good for crappie and pumpkinseed sunfish. Best fishing for crappie is near the bridge crossing. Fishing bait off the bottom is also productive for brown bullhead catfish.
Past 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.
May 18 – a busy Saturday for Family Fishing Events
The Saturday there will be free Family Fishing Events in Waldport, Powers, Parkdale and Hermiston. At each event, ODFW staff and volunteers will show you everything you need to know to go fishing – from baiting the hook to landing your catch. We’ll even loan you the gear you need. No pre-registration is required. Find details for each event here.
Information provided by Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife.
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.