Gary Lewis.

~APRIL~
Rainbows
Henry Hagg Lake, Ore.
In western Oregon, Henry Hagg Lake, southwest of Hillsboro, has been the place to be on opening morning. ODFW stocks 60,000 catchable rainbows a year. Rainbows average 10 inches, but can grow beyond 5 pounds in this food-rich water. Best action will be from March through June. Smallmouth bass and perch make it more interesting.

When fishing deep water, take the float off the line and use a sliding sinker to bring your bait down. Slide a bullet sinker on your main line, then tie on a leader about 30 inches long.

Berkley PowerBait or a marshmallow in front of a piece of worm keeps your bait suspended off the bottom.

If there’s anything better than a full stringer of rainbows on opening day, it’s helping kids catch their first trout. If you don’t have a child of your own, borrow somebody else’s. There’s more to fishing than catching fish.

Other Choices
Troll on long lines or cast to the shore with minnow imitations at Lake Billy Chinook for bull trout.

For a big walleye, drift a bottom-walking rig on the middle Columbia River the first two weeks of April.

~MAY~
Browns
East Lake and Paulina Lake, Ore.
Early season is a great time to target brown trout at East Lake and Paulina Lake, where the toothy predators cruise the shorelines. While there’s still snow on the road and most anglers are home by the fire, stand on the bank and cast spinners and minnow imitations, like the Fish Belly Twitch Bait. The trout can be as long as your arm, and after a long winter under the ice, they’re hungry.

Along Paulina’s eight miles of shoreline, the easiest bank-fishing is in the northeast corner of the lake by the black slide.

Weedbeds in both lakes often offer excellent fishing. Logs, stumps and boulders close to shore create good cover for timid trout.

Wading isn’t easy along Paulina, but East Lake has a lot of shoreline.

Rainbow trout are also on tap. While chasing browns at East Lake early in the year, you’ll probably catch an Atlantic salmon or two.

East Lake’s biggest fish may have a build-up of mercury in their bodies, so it’s best to let the big ones go.

For information, reservations and boat rentals call East Lake Resort at (541) 536-2230, or Paulina Lake Resort at (541) 536-2240.

Other Choices
Near Seattle, troll for cutthroats and rainbows up to 20 inches on Lake Washington.

Oregon’s Diamond Lake in the Cascades is back. Expect holdover trout and aggressive stocking from ODFW.

~JUNE~
Rainbows
Chewaucan, Ore.
The Chewaucan flows northwest out of the Fremont National Forest to the town of Paisley, and then southeast into the Chewaucan Marsh and Abert Lake. Managed for native redband rainbows, the fish average 6 to 10 inches, but there are a surprising number of 14- to 20-inchers.

The Chewaucan is a clear-running high-desert, forest stream with slow, shallow pools, swift runs and small waterfalls. Good streamside habitat protects trout and provides insect production. Anglers will find dead junipers cabled into the bank at strategic places to control erosion and provide consistent cover.

Watch for the March Brown hatch, and carry a few soft-hackled Gold-Ribbed Hare’s Ears, Prince Nymphs and March Brown Sparkle Duns. Be ready for a stonefly hatch.

Caddis flies are another important food source on this river. You may see hatches of caddis from June through October. Caddis larva and pupa patterns are important, as are No. 12 to 18 Tent Wing Caddis dries.

For more information, call Larry Duckworth at The Fisher King’s Fly Shop in Paisley at (541) 943-3360.

Other Choices
Want a big lake trout? Head to Odell Lake and drop the downriggers for mackinaw this month.

To stack your boat full of fish, hit the Columbia River