Fishing East Lake - Central Oregon
Before we get into East Lake I think you should know that to me anywhere I can get within three to four hours is in Southern Oregon. From Medford East Lake is about 125 - 150 miles. Towing the boat with the motorhome I can be there in just over three hours. To reach East Lake take Hwy. 62 north to Hwy. 230, Turn right on Hwy. 138 and follow it to the end. Hwy. 138 ends at Hwy. 97, turn north on Hwy. 97. Just a couple of miles after the town of La Pine is the turnoff to East Lake, it is well marked. After you turn it is apx. 15 uphill miles to East Lake.
East Lake has five different campgrounds. My wife and I stayed at the Cinder Hill Forest Camp the first night we stayed at East Lake. Cinder Hills Forest Camp has about 100 campsites and is close to the shore of the lake. The camp host was great and the campground was nice. The second and third nights we stayed at the resort campground where full hookups are available for those of us that like all the good stuff when we "camp". Note: We found the drinking water at East Lake to be some of the best around.
The resort on the SE shore has some fishing equipment, food, boat rentals, cabins, and a cafe that is open during the normal fishing season. The folks there can supply you with the latest information on what is working and have a good map of the lake. The popular lure here has been a minnow lure about 3 inches long in a green and gold type of color. The resort caries a chub minnow and perch minnow that work well for Browns. The restaurant closes after the Labor Day weekend so we did not get to try it.
There are five boat ramps at East Lake. Last September our motorhome was almost a permanent fixture of the Cinder Hills ramp. East Lake, according to the campground host has a leak in it. Since East Lake, located in a dormant volcano, gets a mild shake once in a while this is a good possibility. East Lake starts the season full of water from the snow melt, but when we went in September the lake was about 35 feet low. The only boat ramp that works well when the water is low is the boat ramp near the hot springs. I don't think there would be a problem with any of the ramps during normal water conditions.
O.K., you found East Lake, got a place to stay, your boats in the water, now what about the lake? East Lake is just over 1000 acres, with good shoal areas and a maximum depth of 175 feet. I have marked the still fishing spots on the map with small dots. The trolling areas are the boxed areas. The lake elevation is just over 6300 ft., make sure you bring some warm clothes for night. Speed limit on the lake is 10 mph. The lake opens to fishing on May 18th and closes Oct. 31.
East Lake has Rainbow, Brown and brook trout. There are some Atlantic Salmon and some trash fish. During our stay we caught some nice Rainbow, a few decent browns, a couple of Atlantic Salmon and the wife caught lots of trash fish. In September we found the Salmon along the East shoreline, the Brown's close to the cliffs and the Rainbows scattered. The trash fish seemed to like the south end of the lake, probably the warm water from the springs. The biggest fish for our short stay was a little over 18 inches and about 3 1/2 lb.
If you like fly fishing this is the lake Jim Teeny developed has now famous nymph pattern. Browns over 20 pounds have come from this lake! In the fall fly fishing seemed good early in the day along the east shoreline. Later in the day try the cove on the NW side of the lake, nice thing about this cove is it will keep you out of most of the wind.
In the spring, and again in the fall when the fish are closer to the surface try still fishing with a bobber. You might take note that on the north side of the lake later in the season some nice weed beds develop and the Browns will hold close to these weeds. Don't forget to try the areas marked on the map.
For those of us who prefer trolling East lake can be a lot of fun. While the other folks in the boat were staying with the standard lake troll for their tackle, I decided to go with my tried and true F5 flatfish. The nice thing about the F5 is small fish normally won't even try to nail it. I had my best luck with gold, or gold with black spots, and a red nose. The trick to fishing a flatfish is speed, or the lack of. Tie the Flatfish on and put in on a short line next to the boat. Check to make sure it has a slow wobble back and forth. If the Flatfish runs to one side you will need to adjust the nose piece till it runs true. The Flatfish will roll over and over during trolling if you are trolling too fast. To vary the depth use a split shot about 18 to 24 inches ahead of the Flatfish. Flatfish do well when the fish are in the top part of the water column.
To sum up, East Lake has some great fishing, super scenery, nice campgrounds and was just plain fun.