New to me fishery....Prineville Reservoir

So, we bought a new house and moved to Redmond this spring.  I'd never seriously fished Prineville Reservoir but being it's a lot closer now then, say, Crane Prairie...we tried it out a few times this past fall.  My little guy is pretty bass crazy now :0).  The fish aren't huge overall (there are some nice fish) but you can catch bunches of them.  Not John Day crazy numbers, but 10-20 fish in an evening was pretty standard.  Soft plastics skipped along the bottom or small crank baits kept the hook ups coming.  Looking forward to exploring it more this winter / spring.

Awesome! Love to see kids catching fish, that is the best.

I haven't gotten over there in years but I, too, used to enjoy the smallmouth at Prineville. As you said, numbers over size, but some nice fish here and there as well. I appreciate the write-up so that I know it's still productive over there.

Do you know if they still allow "dispersed campsites" (aka camping on the shore of the lake)? I was thinking that would make a pretty good place to do a still-water kayak overnight trip for my wife and I.

Thanks for the report!

I was wondering the same thing so I'll do some asking around.  From what I hear, the spring bass fishing can be epic. A NWKA kayak camping / fishing outing in the spring would be a fun event.  Wheels turning.....

That would be really fun! Count me in if you decide to do something. I'd love to put kids on some smallmouth. I've had a challenge getting them on any good fishing from the kayak so far (not ready for the ocean yet).

I have had some excellent crappie fishing there as well, but only at specific times. I assume that I just don't know how to find them the rest of the time. In early summer (spawn?) I have found schools of them hanging by submerged rocks in 5-10ft. of water. Really fun on appropriate gear.

 I live in Prineville and just got my kayak this October. I took it out and fished PR and caught some nice trout and 2 nice bass, before the weather got cold. I plan on kayak camping allot this spring/summer at PR (if it's permitted). I think a camping/fishing outing would be a great idea to. Count me in. Let me know if you ever want someone to go fishing with.

After living in central Oregon all my life,prinville res has great fishing all year.spring go to the upper for catfish.whole lake for smallmouth spring to fall. Spring to early summer and fall through winter the whole middle 2/3 of the lake is best for trout.troll f4 f5 flatfish flat lined or with a small egg sinker.Shasta flashers are great with a small spoon or spinner.troll along the rock walls or the big rock slides.at the upper end when water is high in the spring brown bullheads can be off the hook with a worm.

Checked with a buddy that works for Crook CO Sheriff's Office, it's legal to shore camp around the reservoir. Maybe we'll try for an informal kayak camp / fishing weekend sometime this spring for bass and crappie. I'll look into it and will post it up when it's closer.

I also have a house in Redmond. Haven't had a chance to really fish Prineville yet.  The upper end of the lake is open for duck hunting. I might give it a try in January.

Wobbler

Never hunted it but lots of geese and coots

Checked with a buddy that works for Crook CO Sheriff's Office, it's legal to shore camp around the reservoir. Maybe we'll try for an informal kayak camp / fishing weekend sometime this spring for bass and crappie. I'll look into it and will post it up when it's closer.

That's great; thanks for looking into it.