Fishing at Olalla Lake (2024 Stocking)

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This smallish reservoir tucked into the Coast Range hills above Newport is generously stocked with hatchery rainbow trout in the early season and has a decent warmwater fishery for resident bass and panfish.

It also is known as Olalla Creek Reservoir and is about 100 acres in size.

Trout Fishing

Expect the most angling attention during the trout-stocking season, which often begins here in the late winter and continues until around Memorial Day.

Good numbers of fish are planted here, usually once or twice a month during that time frame. Trout fishing is best in the days and a few weeks after planting, as these fish get caught quickly.

A good number of the trout stocked at Olalla are the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife’s so-called “trophy” trout, a significantly larger fish than the legal pan-sized trout also stocked in most locations, including here.

These bigger fish put up a great fight and are a generous size for eating.

Check the trout-stocking schedule below for both the timing of trout plants and the size of fish scheduled to be released. ODFW’s weekly recreation report will also give in-season updates; it’s linked below.

The usual bait-fishing methods will catch fish here, as will casting lures and flies.

Trolling from a small electricity- or human-powered craft is also a good bet.

For more detail, read Trout Fishing: Basic How-To Techniques and Tips.

Trout fishing will fade later into June, following spring’s final stocking and the reservoir’s warming.

Bass and Panfish

Late spring through summer and early fall is the time of year when largemouth bass and other warm water species are most active and tend to bite the best.

Overall, Olalla Lake is fair for bass and panfish.

Bass Fishing

Its coves and points, some with sunken timber, provide cover for decent numbers of largemouth bass, some to a reasonable size.

Try the usual lures, including soft plastics like Senkos and grubs, crankbaits imitating small fish and crayfish, and disruptive lures like spinnerbaits to provoke aggressive bass.

Check out our full guide to easy bass fishing techniques and tips.

Perch Fishing

The lake also has yellow perch, bullhead catfish and sunfish.

Perch are delicious-eating fish if you can catch them large enough to fillet. Try a piece of worm on a small hook fished near the bottom. Move until you get bites, because perch are a schooling fish. Where you catch one, you’ll likely find more.

Find more yellow perch fishing advice in this article.

Catfish Fishing

Bullheads also hold along the bottom of the reservoir, often in muddier areas or flats. A worm or other bait fished along the bottom is your best bet.

Find the best catfish fishing spots in Oregon and also read up on the top tactics and baits for catfishing.

Bluegill Fishing

Bluegill will often bite a natural bait like a redworm or mealworm on a small hook, fished under a bobber or near the bottom. They often will hold close to cover and fairly near shore, though larger specimens might be a bit deeper than the little guys.

Get the full scoop on bluegill and sunfish fishing in our easy fishing guide.

Location and Access

To reach Olalla Creek Reservoir from Newport, take Highway 20 east beyond Yaquina Bay. Just past Toledo, take Olalla Road about three miles north to the reservoir. It’s less than 20 minutes driving from Newport and half that from Toledo.

From the other direction, Olalla Lake is just under an hour’s drive west from Corvallis (home of Oregon State University).

Once at the reservoir, you’ll find bank access around the dam and boat launch areas.

The small boat ramp will allow you to launch small watercraft with electric motor or oars (no gasoline motors are allowed here).

A small boat gives you excellent access to the full lake, popular with kayakers and other quiet watercraft users and anglers.

There also are picnic tables, and it’s a pleasant place to spend a day.

Possible Closures

Georgia-Pacific owns the reservoir and has generously allowed public access, so ODFW stocks it for public use.

However, the company has occasionally closed the lake to public access, typically in the late summer or early fall during very dry years, when extremely low water conditions have resulted in dangerous conditions along its steep banks.

Access is usually not a problem in late winter through mid-summer, when fishing is better anyway, but check the weekly recreation link below to ensure there aren’t any unusual conditions that will affect your trip.

2024 Olalla Reservoir Trout Stocking

Oregon Resources

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