Olive Lake in Grant County: How and When to Fish It

• Overview

  Out in Grant County, Oregon, sits Olive Lake. The bank is 6,004 feet above sea level. With some 146 acres of water, there is room for a boat but no need of one. Around 2.5 miles of margin, front to back. Of the waters listed here in Grant County, this is the largest. The nearest town is John Day, 31 miles away. Baker City lies 38 miles off, La Grande another 45 miles. One jurisdiction covers this water end to end.

• Where to Fish on Olive Lake

  No chart reached our records; the first cast is your sounding. A soft bed grows weed late into autumn, which keeps fish shallow. Weed, then depth: that is the order to fish a water of this kind. Across Grant County, recorded fish include rainbow trout, bridgelip sucker and largescale sucker. Read it as a county summary, not a water-by-water list. Read Olive Lake for ten minutes before the first cast goes out.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Averages here run 54°F at the top of summer and 23°F at the bottom of winter. The season turns properly here, and fish follow it closely. After early May the shallows warm and the fish move up. Ice clears near early May and comes back about late November in a typical year. From the thaw to midsummer the fishing improves week by week. Olive Lake runs to that rhythm year in and year out.

• Tackle & Baits

  Nothing on record says whether the bank is open or closed. This is a natural basin, not a dammed one. There is a campsite half a mile from the water. Largemouth respond to soft plastics tight to cover; go weedless where the growth is heavy. Rules for this water may differ from the county norm. Where the way in crosses private ground, ask first. Lost Lake at 2.6 miles is the sensible second choice. Check the position at Olive Lake before loading the car.