Best Trout Fishing in Oregon

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Oregon has many great types of fishing, but when it comes down to it, more anglers spend more days chasing trout than any other fish. Oregon is blessed with terrific fishing for native rainbow, cutthroat and bull trout. Introduced species such as brown, lake and brook trout thrive here.

What follows are links that take you to some of Oregon’s best trout fisheries, many of which focus on trophy fisheries.

You also will find a ton of information by going back to the Oregon page and using our interactive map or region/county menu to find places to catch trout wherever you are.

Stocked Trout

The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife annually stocks hundreds of thousands of hatchery-raised rainbow trout into waters across the state.

The following table lists the waters that receive the most trout that are at least legal-sized (sometimes larger).

Some of the smaller waters are stocked in smaller doses but many times during the season, while big lakes and reservoirs may be stocked fewer times each year but with giant truckloads.

The seasons in colder rivers and lakes often run from spring into fall, while the main stocking season in low-land lakes often occurs during the cooler months.

Here’s a caveat: When we built this table, ODFW hadn’t yet listed more than a single planting at Detroit Lake, albeit with quite a few trophy-sized trout. This reservoir is typically among the most stocked spots in Oregon, so we won’t be surprised if they update their schedule. A few other spots may also add additional stocking lakes and reshuffle our list below.

Another caveat: Our table does not list waters that aren’t stocked with ready-to-catch trout. That means it doesn’t include some of Oregon’s top trout lakes, several of which are covered in our complete fishing guides linked tfurther down in this article.

All that said, see our list of exceptionally well-stocked lakes, rivers and other waterways (linked place names go to articles about those locations):

The Most-Stocked Trout Spots in 2024

LocationTotal
McKenzie River (below and above Leaburg Lake)84,350
Lost Creek Lake66,100
Henry Hagg Lake51,302
North Fork Reservoir47,268
Detroit Lake44,000
Rogue River (above Lost Creek Lake)40,000
Wallowa Lake37,200
Alton Baker Canal31,693
Foster Reservoir31,500
Walter Wirth Lake30,049
Cleawox Lake27,418
Applegate Lake26,300
St. Louis Ponds25,191
Green Peter Reservoir24,400
Junction City Pond24,300
Timber Linn Lake23,409
Source: Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife

Rainbow Trout

A good sized rainbow trout laid on the ground.

Stocked trout: Find the major stocked waters in all 36 Oregon counties by starting with this map.

Five Top Rainbow Trout Fishing Lakes in Oregon

Detailed information about rainbow trout fishing in select* waters:

*Find LOTS more trout fishing close to home here.

Brown Trout

An angler holding a large brown trout caught in eastern oregon.
Photo courtesy of Carter Reschke

Oregon’s Top Six Trophy Brown Trout Lakes and Reservoirs

Detailed information about brown trout fishing in select waters:

Lake Trout

An angler holding a mackinaw trout caught at cultus lake.
Photo courtesy of Cultus Lake Resort

Best Lake Trout (Mackinaw) Lakes in Oregon

Detailed information about lake trout (mackinaw) fishing in select waters:

Trout anglers may also be interested in:

Return to Best Fishing in Oregon page

For month-by-month ideas of when and where steelhead and other types of fishing are best, see our Oregon Fishing Calendar.

Oregon Resources

ODFW Weekly Fishing Report
ODFW Trout Stocking Schedule
Oregon Fishing Regulations
National Weather Service