Crane Prairie Reservoir is a popular spot for anglers to fish for big rainbow trout.

For anglers this year in Central Oregon, a good pair of waders might be a better investment than a boat.

The ongoing drought and near-historic-low water levels will make launching a boat in certain popular reservoirs — including Wickiup, Ochoco, and Prineville reservoirs — difficult if not impossible, according to Jerry George, fish biologist for the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife’s Deschutes Watershed district.

The low water not only affects the ability for anglers to launch boats, but it also hurts the fish populations and prevents the ODFW from being able to stock fish.

“That’s going to be challenging for some of the fish populations to maintain in those water bodies, as well as a challenge for us to get stocking trucks to some of them to release fish,” George said. “A lot of the boat ramps will be inaccessible for anglers to launch their boats.”

The good news is that fishing is expected to be good on natural lakes in Central Oregon, though many remain covered in snow and ice after late-season snowfall and unseasonably cold weather.

“Overall, we’re anticipating some good fisheries in a lot of our natural lakes, but then some below-average fisheries on a lot of our reservoirs because of the ongoing drought and low water,” George said.

The plentiful April snowfall and cold temperatures should help, George added, but for the most part it’s “too little, too late.”

“We were so low in a lot of our drainages, especially in the Ochocos, that when we’re down in the 10% to 20% of filling those reservoirs that would normally be full this time of year, even the recent snowfall doesn’t get us where we would like to be,” George said. “We’re seeing the effects of the drought in spring-fed streams as well, even the Metolius. We’re seeing low water across the board.”

Most Central Oregon lakes are open to fishing year-round, when accessible, but a few lakes officially open to fishing on Friday, including Wickiup and Crane Prairie reservoirs, and Odell Lake.

While Wickiup will be a challenge for boat fishing, Crane Prairie should be somewhat accessible, according to George.

“The resort boat launch and that east side of Crane is looking accessible for the opener on Friday, but the other boat ramps off the Cascade Lakes Highway side are snowed in,” he said. “We expect Crane to have another good year. That’s really a popular fishery with nice-sized fish. You can catch them with a variety of methods.”

Many of the higher-elevation lakes, including Lava, Cultus, Elk and Hosmer lakes, will remain inaccessible until the Deschutes County Road Department plows the Cascade Lakes Highway and other roads that lead to them. For now, anglers who want to access Crane Prairie and Wickiup must travel through Sunriver and use South Century Drive. Paulina Lake Road (Road 21) into Paulina and East lakes also remains closed.

The road department aims to open both Cascade Lakes Highway and Paulina Lake Road prior to Memorial Day weekend. For more information on road closures and openings, visit deschutes.org/road.

George said some boats ramps on Odell Lake, a popular kokanee fishery in the early season, should be accessible by Friday.

Also on Friday, the Lower Deschutes from the northern boundary of the Warm Springs Reservation to the Pelton Regulating Reservoir opens to fishing. It’s a popular stretch for fly anglers to fish the annual salmonfly hatch, which will be coming in the next few weeks.

“That’s such a fun fishery to participate in,” George said. “It’s an opportunity to catch redbands with big dry flies. When those fish are keyed into the big bugs it’s an exciting time for anglers.”

George said that despite drought conditions and low water, wild trout populations in Central Oregon appear to be maintaining, based on ODFW spawning surveys.

“The last couple years we’ve been seeing strong spawning numbers in all the tributaries to Crane Prairie,” George said. “Thankfully we haven’t seen a big decline in the spawning population with the lower and warmer waters.”

George noted that anglers who plan to fish on area reservoirs with low water should know ahead of time which, if any, boat launches are accessible. They should also be wary of hazards they may not have encountered before, such as stumps or rock bars.

“We’re getting into some water levels that people haven’t really seen in the past, so just be aware of hazards when boating,” George said.

He added that anglers may want to consider float tubes, canoes, kayaks or simply fishing from the bank as alternatives to launching a bigger boat.

“There’s still fish in these water bodies,” George said, “people are just going to have to get more creative.”