Fishing at Pelton Regulating Reservoir, Jefferson County, Oregon

• Overview

  You will find Pelton Regulating Reservoir in Jefferson County, Oregon. The land about it is mixed woodland. With some 164 acres of water, there is room for a boat but no need of one. Around 4.2 miles of bank, which is a long day on foot. Size puts it in the front rank of our Jefferson County list. You are 3.6 miles from Warm Springs. The big place round here is Gresham, 80 miles distant. The county line is nowhere near, so one local authority covers the water.

• Where to Fish on Pelton Regulating Reservoir

  We hold no depth figure for this one. Inflow corners move water, and moving water gathers fish. Look for where the old bank line still shows under the surface. Public occurrence data for Jefferson County names rainbow trout, bull trout and smallmouth bass. Protected fish appear in the records for this area, so treat the list as information, not an invitation. Fish Pelton Regulating Reservoir to its features, not to its size.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Between January at about 33°F and August at about 68°F, the water has a wide range to work through. The year gives four workable seasons without severe ends. It should never be assumed safe, whatever the month says. The cooler months are the comfortable ones to fish here. The season on Pelton Regulating Reservoir rarely departs from it.

• Tackle & Baits

  Nothing in our records says who may fish here. No launch point is recorded nearby, so this is a bank water unless you carry a boat in. Largemouth respond to soft plastics tight to cover; go weedless where the growth is heavy. Parking is often the real limit rather than the bank itself. Some ground is open by custom rather than by right, so tread carefully. Lake Simtustus, 4 miles away, makes the obvious fallback. Confirm before you fish Pelton Regulating Reservoir.