Fishing Mud Lake in Grant County, Oregon

• Overview

  Set in Grant County, Mud Lake is an Oregon water. It sits in pine and birch country. This is a pocket water of some 3 acres, and every part of it is reachable from the bank. It is one of the smaller waters we list in Grant County. John Day lies 17 miles from the water. Boise sits 130 miles out, and it is the nearest city worth the name. No border sits close enough to matter.

• Where to Fish on Mud Lake

  We hold no survey for this water; read the slope of the shoreline instead. Read the surface for the wind lane, then fish the edge of it. A natural lake fishes on cover, and cover here means weed and timber. Survey and observation records for Grant County include rainbow trout, bridgelip sucker, largescale sucker, smallmouth bass and cutthroat trout. County data is a starting point rather than a guarantee. On Mud Lake the quiet end is the one worth the extra effort.

• Seasonal Patterns

  The seasonal spread runs 23°F to 55°F. Hard water is a season in its own right here. Hard cover is dependable here; it goes around mid May. Climate averages put the opening at about mid May and the closing near late November. June through September is the settled part of the year, with the shoulders busier for fish. It holds true on Mud Lake more years than not.

• Tackle & Baits

  Who may fish here is not settled in anything we hold. Nothing is mapped in the way of a ramp or car park within a short radius. For the bass here, soft plastics worked slow along cover and a spinnerbait for searching do most of the work. Sort the permit out before you load the car. Fishing rules and camping rules are set separately here. Little Slide Lake sits 0.8 miles off and takes the overflow. What applies at Mud Lake may have changed since it was mapped.