Fishing at Rock Creek Reservoir (2024 Stocking)

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Rock Creek Reservoir offers excellent seasonal fishing for stocked rainbow trout and fair fishing for warm-water species.

The small reservoir, just a little over 100 acres at full pool, is located on the eastern edge of the Mt. Hood National Forest, west of Tygh Valley and south of Hood River and The Dalles.

Rock Creek is most appealing to anglers during the early to mid-spring when the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife stocks the reservoir with plenty of hatchery-raised rainbow trout.

The agency often plants 8,000 or more trout here. Most of those will be pan-sized legals running 8-10 inches in length, but a fair number will be ODFW’s significantly larger “trophy” rainbows.

At times ODFW also has planted a few dozen or so brood trout at Rock Creek Reservoir along with the other trout. These brutes can be 10 pounds or more and have line-busting strength during battle.

Stocking starts early here compared to many Central Oregon waters, perhaps as early as late March and continuing several times through April and possibly a little after.

At an elevation of 4,600 feet, it will still be quite cold up here in the spring, so come prepared for potentially frigid weather.

The early season is by far your best bet because the reservoir was built to impound water for irrigation and will be full or fairly close to it in the spring.

However, once the hotter weather of summer arrives the water is typically drawn down pretty severely.

If you find a Google aerial map taken late in the year, it will show a whole bunch of bare bank and only a little bit of water. But when it’s full, its shoreline is lined with forest and it’s a pretty spot to be.

Plus, most of the trout stocked in the spring will have been caught by the middle of summer.

There can be fair fishing for largemouth bass and bluegill here, in addition to the main trout fishery.

There is excellent bank access at Rock Creek Reservoir.

The boat launch is best suited for smaller boats, and once the water level drops enough only boats you can carry to water’s edge will be worth bringing here.

The U.S. Forest Service’s Rock Creek Campground offers overnight stays right on the reservoir.

It’s a little more than a two-hour drive from the Portland area, either via Highway 26 over Mount Hood or through the Columbia River Gorge and then southwest from The Dalles.

Pine Hollow Reservoir, a larger impoundment less than 20 minutes away, offers similar fishing opportunities for trout and warm-water fish but holds up longer and also has excellent fall fishing for trout.

2024 Rock Creek Reservoir Trout Stocking

Date RangeTotal
Mar 18-223,100*
Apr 1-53,225*
Apr 15-193,225*
Apr 22-263,225*
*These stocking dates include 200 trophy-sized rainbows and 25 very large brood trout.
Stocked fish are legal-sized rainbow trout unless otherwise noted. Stocking schedules are subject to change for a variety of reasons. The ODFW Weekly Fishing Report linked under Oregon Resources below may provide updated information.

Find more fishing spots in Wasco County

Oregon Resources

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

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