It also is one of the busiest summer camping destinations and is popular with the Jet Ski crowd. This large reservoir at the town of Detroit on the North Santiam River east of Salem typically receives more keeper-sized stocked trout than anywhere in Oregon. More: Fishing at Crane Prairie Reservoir Detroit Lake Nearby: Central Oregon, especially the Century Drive area around Crane Prairie, is almost embarrassingly rich with fishing options.Ĭrane Prairie isn’t a slam dunk, by any means, but there are excellent fishing lakes in every direction that include some of the state’s very best spots for brown trout, lake trout and kokanee.Īnd the upper Deschutes River is good for native redside rainbows, brook trout (mostly above the reservoir) and brown trout (below the reservoir). However, bait and lures also can be very effective here.Ĭrane Prairie has had its ups and downs, and invasive warmwater species have taken a toll, but in recent years the trout fishing has once again been superb.Īlthough Cranebows are king, Crane Prairie also has fisheries for brook trout, kokanee and largemouth bass. Locally, the fat trout are known as “Cranebows.”įly fishing is particularly popular on the reservoir, and fish move between the shallower water in the tree stands and the cooler channels. Now, years later, those wooden skeletons are the first link in a famously rich food chain.Ĭrane Prairie is stocked with rainbow trout, which grow quickly in the insect-rich waters and fill out like footballs.

When the upper Deschutes River was dammed to form Crane Prairie, the trees in the basin were left standing.

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