Staats Reservoir Fishing in Polk County, Oregon

• Overview

  Within Polk County, Oregon, you have Staats Reservoir. The water sits 630 feet up. The whole thing is a single swim; walk it in a minute. Our Polk County list holds plenty of bigger water. You are 4 miles from Salem. The big place round here is Salem, 3.7 miles distant. This one sits near enough to a boundary to be worth checking.

• Where to Fish on Staats Reservoir

  We hold no depth figure for this one. A natural lake fishes on cover, and cover here means weed and timber. Still water like this holds fish on the edges rather than out in the open. Open biodiversity records for Polk County list bluegill, largemouth bass, smallmouth bass and largescale sucker. The list covers the county rather than this water alone, so treat it as a guide. Staats Reservoir fishes better once you know its edges.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Temperature averages peak at 66°F in August and bottom out at 40°F in December. Fish stay active all year, but they move with the heat. The cooler months are the comfortable ones to be out. November and March are the quiet, comfortable months to be out. Staats Reservoir runs to that rhythm year in and year out.

• Tackle & Baits

  No public source sets out the position on this bank. Public data shows nothing built here, so treat the whole approach as informal. A small crankbait along the drop and a worm in the thick stuff cover the bass. Parking space is the usual limit rather than the bank itself. Close seasons apply to some species and not others. For a change of water, Croft Reservoir is 0.3 miles distant. Where Staats Reservoir is concerned, a local answer beats a written one.