Best Smallmouth Bass Fishing in Southwest Oregon
Umpqua River Anglers Can Catch a Hundred Smallies a Day
Aug 20, 2009
Fishing guide Todd Harrington and clients once boated 621 smallmouth bass in a single day while fishing the Umpqua River.
With numbers like that, the Umpqua easily ranks among Oregon’s premier smallmouth fisheries. That’s a great league to be in, considering it also includes the John Day River in northeastern Oregon and Brownlee and other Snake River impoundments along the Idaho border. Harrington is starting to field inquiries from anglers on other continents who have heard of the Umpqua’s growing legend.
On the Umpqua, and on its South Fork, it’s not just the guides who catch plenty of bronzebacks.
“You can catch 50 to 100 smallmouth a day there,” said Fabian Carr, a Roseburg-based fisheries biologist with the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife. “You’re going to get a lot of smallmouth.”
When and Where to Catch Umpqua River Smallmouth Bass
For shear numbers of smallmouth bass, and water warm enough for a nice swim to soothe aching arms after a morning of reeling in fish after fish, go in the summer when the bite is red hot. A simple 4-inch rubber worm on a 1/16-inch jig head will draw a strike almost every cast. Many bass will be small, but the Umpqua also harbors plenty of big bass over 20 inches, particularly for anglers who learn how to target lunkers, Harrington said.
“It’s not just a summer fishery,” added Harrington, whose Living Waters Guide Service takes clients on bass trips from March through October. “I have figured out how to catch them in the cooler months. It is a different ballgame than in the summer. You won’t catch as many but they will be a lot bigger! My personal favorite month to fish smallmouth on the Umpqua is April.”
Access is good on the Umpqua, especially during prime smallmouth fishing months, when the river generally is well below the high-water mark and anglers are permitted walk along the bank. Numerous parks and bridge rights-of-way are among generous access points. Around Elkton is one good area to start.
On the South Fork, smallmouth fishing is generally best from Canyonville down to the forks. By summer, the South Fork can be too low to drift, so try bank fishing at Stephens St. Park and the county fairgrounds near Roseburg.
(The North Fork Umpqua, which joins the South Fork to create the mainstem, runs too cold for smallmouth but is excellent for steelhead and trout.)
How to Catch Umpqua River Smallmouth Bass
Harrington said many artificial lures will catch bass, and at times the fishing is so good it’s a challenge to find a lure that won’t catch fish. Harrington avoids nightcrawlers and other worms because bass tend to swallow natural baits deeply, leading to fatal hookups.
While the simple rubber worm will get the job done, Harrington prefers soft jerkbaits, including the popular Slug-Go and Bass Assassin. His personal favorite jerkbait lure is Jim Porter’s Perfect Fluke, which he fishes on a 2/0 or 3/0 offset shank hook and casts into shallow water.
For anglers who want to catch bass by fly fishing, Harrington recommends a Chernobyl Ant for a dry pattern and a rubber-legged Girdle Bug for a nymph.
Smallmouth Bass Populations Rising in Southern Oregon Reservoirs
Most of southern Oregon’s lakes and reservoirs are traditionally trout fisheries, and a few have produced state record-breaking largemouth bass. But these days illegally introduced smallmouth are taking over some of the stillwaters, especially ones with rocky habitats the aggressive smallies dominate, said David Haight, an ODFW fisheries biologist based in Central Point, near Medford.
“People do catch quite a few of them,” he said.
Maybe one day these reservoir smallmouths will rival the record-breaking fish in northwest Oregon's Henry Hagg Lake.
When targeting smallmouth in these reservoirs, focus on rocky structure such as dams, drop-offs and underwater humps. In the spring, intercept smallmouth in shallow-water spawning areas.
Try smallmouth angling at one of the following impoundments:
- Applegate Reservoir -- This reservoir is located southwest of Medford, near the California border. It has a variety of fishing options for both cold- and warmwater species in addition to smallmouth. Applegate is one of several Southern Oregon reservoirs with landlocked Pacific salmon.
- Emigrant Lake – This big impoundment is just southeast of Ashland and also holds a variety of warmwater species (including good largemouth fishing) in addition to trout and landlocked chinook salmon.
- Galesville Reservoir – A good-sized reservoir southeast of Canyonville, this lake is better-known among warmwater anglers for its big largemouth bass lurking in submerged timber. It also has plenty of trout as well as landlocked coho salmon and various warmwater species, including the minority smallmouth.
- Howard Prairie Lake – This is another large reservoir, east of Ashland, known for growing nice trout. This is one of the newer smallmouth fisheries in the area and also has a good population of largemouth bass and other warmwater species.
- Lost Creek Lake – A giant reservoir between Grants Pass and Crater Lake, Lost Creek once boasted record largemouth. But smallmouth are now the dominant bass and a favorite target during open fishing tournaments held here. The lake also has other warmwater species in addition to landlocked salmon and lots of trout.
(Note: Consult the annual Oregon Sport Fishing Regulations for mercury advisories regarding consuming fish fromt Emigrant and Galesville reservoirs.)
Southern Oregon Smallmouth are a Sure Bet for Action
Whether reeling them in by the scores in the Umpqua and South Umpqua rivers or fooling them among the rocks in one of the large reservoirs, southern Oregon is a smallmouth bass angler’s paradise.
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