LA GRANDE — With summer underway and the weather typically warm and dry, anglers have a variety of choices in Northeastern Oregon, including rainbow trout in streams, ponds and lakes, and crappie, bass, catfish and other warmwater species in reservoirs and sections of larger rivers.

The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife has stocked tens of thousands of rainbow trout in waterbodies around the region, and stocking continues in some higher elevation lakes, such as Anthony Lake.

Malheur Reservoir

Reservoir was drawn down to extremely low levels last year but filled up quite a bit this spring and was restocked with 2,500 catchable rainbow trout and 72,000 fingerling rainbow trout.

Owyhee Reservoir

Crappie are done spawning now and there was a noticeable fish die off of post spawn crappie this spring. There are still some decent crappie in the 10-inch range available and these are easier to find in the upper half of the reservoir. Fishing was productive for small catfish in June. More catfish can be found in areas with gently sloping shorelines. Fishing for channel catfish has been more productive early in the morning and in the evening. Bass fishing has been slow with the highest catch rates in the lower reservoir between the dam and Dry Creek. Anglers targeting bass may catch some with tags near the dorsal fin. ODFW is studying bass movement, condition and angler harvest of bass. The tags have a four-digit number and can be reported by phone or on MyODFW.com.

Owyhee River

Flows have increased to around 190 cubic feet per second, water clarity is excellent, and fishing has been good. Light PMD mayfly patterns smaller than size 16 have been working well during hatches, especially during the evening. Nymphing has been productive using small midge patterns and pheasant tails. The brown trout population is doing well right now. There are a lot of fish out there with the highest concentrations of fish from the dam downstream about six miles.

The highest concentrations of rainbow trout will be in the 3 miles of river just below the dam.

Phillips Reservoir

The reservoir filled to nearly three-quarters full this year before beginning to slowly drop again. Almost 20,000 trout have been stocked this year and should provide a good fishing opportunity. Remember that tiger musky and bull trout must be released unharmed.

Pilcher Creek Reservoir

Fishing has been slow, but the reservoir has been stocked with trout. There are also crappie available.

Thief Valley Reservoir

Reservoir is close to full, and has been stocked with rainbow trout.

Wolf Creek Reservoir

Trout and crappie are available. For crappie, try fishing in the willows that grow around the reservoir’s perimeter.

Grande Ronde River

Trout fishing has been fair to good especially during recent hatches of golden stoneflies. Trout fishing may slow during the summer as water temperatures warm, but bass will become available in the lower end of the Oregon section of the river. Anglers are reminded that steelhead, chinook salmon and bull trout cannot be harvested and must be released.

Imnaha River

Chinook salmon returns to date are far below what are needed to open fishing for salmon. Based on returns at this point in the season, it is very unlikely that any chinook salmon fishing opportunities will be available this year on the Imnaha. Trout and whitefish can be caught throughout the river, and as the weather warms bass can be caught in the lower river. Periods of rain have brought mud and debris from areas affected by last year’s Double Creek fire, which has affected water clarity. However, as the water continues to drop and clear, fishing for trout and whitefish should improve. The best public access is downstream of Horse Creek. Anglers fishing upstream of Horse Creek to the town of Imnaha need to make sure they are aware of land ownership boundaries and always ask for permission before fishing on private lands. Anglers should remember that chinook salmon and bull trout cannot be harvested and must be released.

Wallowa Lake

Has been stocked with trout this year, and anglers may find good success fishing for trout near the mouth of the Wallowa River on the south end of the lake. Boat anglers have reported catching some nice kokanee including one fish that was about 5 pounds. However, recently kokanee fishing has slowed. It appears that the lake may be starting to stratify (forming a layer of warm water about 20 to 40 feet thick that sits on top of the rest of the cooler lake water). Kokanee anglers may find success jigging 30 to 40 feet deep and may find aggregations of fish nearer the mouth of the Wallowa River at the south end of the lake as spawning season approaches in late summer and early fall.

Wallowa River

As flows drop and moderate, fishing for trout and mountain whitefish can be good. Drifting flies or casting spinners are effective ways to catch trout in this river. Chinook salmon returns to date are far below what are needed to open fishing. Based on returns at this point in the season, there will not be any chinook salmon fishing opportunities this year on the Wallowa River. Anglers are reminded that steelhead, chinook salmon and bull trout cannot be harvested and must be released.

Brownlee Reservoir

Reservoir was about 4 feet below full on Thursday, July 6, and all boat ramps are usable. Bass fishing has been fair in the Powder River arm. However, crappie fishing has been poor. Summer can be a good time of year to fish Brownlee Reservoir for a variety of warmwater fish, and fishing for catfish can be good throughout the summer months. Try fishing shallow areas (about 3 feet deep) for catfish with bait suspended under a bobber. This can be an especially good way to catch catfish on Brownlee Reservoir when using Mormon crickets for bait.

Trout stocking schedule Week of July 3-7

• Fish Lake (north of Halfway: 2,250 legals, 200 trophy
• Anthony Lake: 1,750 legals
• Twin Lakes (north of Halfway): 300 legals

Week of July 10-14

• Wallowa Lake: 6,000 legals, 300 trophy
• McGraw Pond: 700 legal, 50 trophy
• Salt Creek Summit pond: 700 legal, 50 trophy

Week of July 31-A

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Wallowa Lake: 5,400 legals, 180 trophy