Dan Knoll (503) 947-6023
Ted Wise (541) 388-6363
Fax: (503) 947-6009

BEND, Ore — Warm weather and good fishing opportunities brought a large number of anglers to last weekend’s fishing opener on central Oregon’s cascade lakes. 

Anglers looking for a memorable fishing experience visited Big Lava Lake, Crane Prairie Reservoir, Odell Lake, South and North Twin, Wickiup Reservoir and Little Lava Lakes. On Odell Lake, kokanee fishing was very good with many anglers reaching the 25-fish bag limit.

To the north on Big Lava Lake, anglers were hooking rainbow trout ranging in length from 12 to 18 inches. Big Lava Lake is now stocked in part with the recently-developed Crane Prairie Redband Trout hatchery strain of fish.

“The redband trout is a beautiful fish—it grows pretty fast and  anglers love to catch it,” said assistant district fish biologist Ted Wise.

The Crane Prairie Reservoir trout fishery continues to improve despite the illegal introduction of exotic fish, such as the three-spined stickleback. Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife biologists have adapted the fisheries management to cope with the stickleback and the Crane Prairie trout population is staging a comeback.

“The Crane Prairie derived hatchery stocked redband trout numbers have been surviving through to spring in increasingly large numbers compared to the previous years,” said Wise. 

“This is good news because more fish will enhance the experience of the folks who come out to enjoy these beautiful lakes.”

Other lakes in the region provided some great catches also.  At South Twin Lake, many 12 to 14 inch rainbow trout were caught to include a number of larger rainbows that ranged from two and a half pounds to four and a half pounds.  Wickiup Reservoir anglers reported landing some nice brown trout and kokanee. One angler took home a couple of 20-inch kokanee.

“According to many of the people I talked to, the weekend weather helped provide a positive setting for the season opener and taking home a fish was icing on the cake,” said Wise. 

The mission of the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife is to protect and enhance Oregon's fish and wildlife and their habitats for use and enjoyment by present and future generations. The agency consists of the Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission, a commission-appointed director and a statewide staff of approximately 950 permanent employees. Headquartered in Salem, ODFW has regional offices in Clackamas, Roseburg, Bend, and La Grande with ten district offices located throughout the state. For additional information, please visit www.dfw.state.or.us.