Slide Lake, Oregon: Fishing Spots and Seasons

• Overview

  The Grant County entry here is Slide Lake, in Oregon. The setting is mixed forest on every side. The water measures roughly 10 acres, so nothing here is far from anything else. It sits higher than most water we list in Oregon. John Day lies 17 miles from the water. Burns is 52 miles away, with Baker City at 53 miles. The county line is nowhere near, so one local authority covers the water.

• Where to Fish on Slide Lake

  There is no recorded depth, so work from what you can see. Still water like this holds fish on the edges rather than out in the open. On a natural lake the weed line and the shelf beyond it do the work. Grant County records list rainbow trout, bridgelip sucker, largescale sucker and smallmouth bass among the fish reported. County records show what lives in the area; the local agency holds the water-by-water list. Fish Slide Lake to its features, not to its size.

• Seasonal Patterns

  In an average year August sits at 55°F and December at 23°F. Expect a real winter and a strong spring after it. Count on hard cover from midwinter, and open water from mid May. Averages place the thaw at mid May and the freeze at late November. The weeks after the thaw and the ones before the freeze are the strongest. The season on Slide Lake follows the weather closely.

• Tackle & Baits

  Access is not recorded for this water. Nothing in the way of made access shows up nearby: no ramp, no car park, no path. For the bass here, soft plastics worked slow along cover and a spinnerbait for searching do most of the work. State or provincial rules still apply whatever the bank status. Close seasons apply to some species and not others. For a change of water, Little Slide Lake is 0.2 miles distant. Nothing here settles the position at Slide Lake for certain.