In search of good bluegill water near Portland

[Fish_bot9000]

Hello OFF , fish_bot9000 here.

I was wondering ifanyone would be kind enough to point me towards any good bluegill water near Portland. I usually target trout but I would love to get into more warmwater fishing this summer and my girlfriend loves to eat bluegill.

Last year I would go to east salish pond if I wanted a few bluegill on the line but, while plentiful, the fish there tend to be quite small and there is a consumption advisory in effect for that area.

Any help would be very much appreciated

 

[Grant22]

Hang lake can be pretty good but it’s a lot easier if you have a kayak or something like that. I know you said Portland but a lot of coastal lakes have some pretty good size bluegill believe it or not. Most lakes have bigger ones, the smaller ones are just usually more eager to bite and are usually suspended closer to the surface while the larger ones are typically closer to the bottom so you have to get your bait or lure or whatever through the smaller ones to get to the big ones. To target the bigger ones a lot of the time if you use a small plastic lure like a trout magnet the smaller ones will tend to leave it alone. Also the bigger ones like to hangout around structure like docks and during the summer when they’re spawning you can sight fish them up shallow.

 

[troutdude]

Hang lake can be pretty good but it’s a lot easier if you have a kayak or something like that.

Did you mean Hagg Lake? And here's a thread from our archives that have a couple of suggestions.

https://www.oregonfishingforum.com/threads/bluegill-near-pdx.1191/

 

[troutdude]

Another archived thread:

https://www.oregonfishingforum.com/threads/panfish-on-the-fly.17827/

 

[troutdude]

From ODFW:

2. BENSON LAKE, Columbia River Gorge—30 mi., 34 min.
Trout, largemouth bass, crappie, sunfish, bullhead
Stocked lake in Benson Lake State Park. Good bank access, no boat ramp. Float tubes, rafts. Open year-round for fishing, park closes after Labor Day. Take I-84 E to Exit 30 just before Multnomah Falls. State park.

3. BETHANY POND, Bethany—12 mi., 16 min.
Trout, largemouth bass, crappie, bluegill, bullhead
Small, stocked pond in suburban Washington County. Trout in early spring, warmwater year-round. From Hwy 26 W, take Exit 64. Right on 185th, left at first traffic signal beyond Westview High School into graveled parking area.

4. BLUE LAKE PARK, Fairview—14 mi., 24 min.
Trout, largemouth bass, crappie, bluegill, catfish, sunfish
Stocked, 62-acre lake in Blue Lake Park. Bank fishing. ADA accessible dock. Boat rentals in summer. Size-limited private boats allowed only in winter. From I-84, take Exit 13, left at NE 181st, right at NE Sandy, left at NE 185th, right at NE Marine Dr. Metro park.

 

[troutdude]

5. CANBY POND, Canby—25 mi., 37 min.
Trout, largemouth bass, crappie, bluegill
Small, stocked pond in Canby Community Park. Trout available fall to spring. Year-round warmwater fishing. Pond is open only to youth 17 years old and under and persons who possess Disabled Hunting and Fishing Permits. I-5 south to Canby. The park is on the east side of Hwy. 99E off Berg Pkwy.

More can be found here:

https://myodfw.com/articles/50-places-go-fishing-within-60-minutes-portland

 

[Grant22]

Did you mean Hagg Lake? And here's a thread from our archives that have a couple of suggestions.

https://www.oregonfishingforum.com/threads/bluegill-near-pdx.1191/

Yeah my bad.