Bates Pond in Grant County: How and When to Fish It

• Overview

  The Grant County entry here is Bates Pond, in Oregon. It lies 4,078 feet above sea level. The water measures roughly 9 acres, so nothing here is far from anything else. The nearest place of any size is John Day, 25 miles away. Then Baker City, 36 miles, and Union, 53 miles. The nearest boundary is well away, so one set of rules covers the water.

• Where to Fish on Bates Pond

  No published figure covers depth, so learn it as you fish. Inflow corners move water, and moving water gathers fish. Built water gives depth close in, which suits a bank angler. Across Grant County, recorded fish include rainbow trout, bridgelip sucker, largescale sucker, smallmouth bass and cutthroat trout. These are county-wide records, so not all of them will be in this water. On Bates Pond that means starting tight and working out.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Climate normals give 60°F for August and 25°F for January. Winter puts a hard lid on this one. The lid arrives early and lasts until roughly early April. Averages place the thaw at early April and the freeze at early December. May into June fishes hardest, and September gives a second good stretch before the lid returns. Bates Pond fishes to that pattern most years.

• Tackle & Baits

  Public sources are silent on who controls the bank. It is tagged for fishing in public mapping. A car park lies half a mile away, so the walk in is short. Overnight stays are possible about half a mile out, where camping is mapped. Toilets show in mapping about half a mile away. Sort the permit out before you load the car. A polite question at the farm gate opens more banks than anything else. Olive Lake, 14 miles away, makes the obvious fallback. Check the position on Bates Pond before loading the car.