Wickiup is renowned for its brown trout over 20 pounds and normal catches in the 5 to 8 pound range. Many large brown trout are brought into Twin Lakes Resort to be weighed and photographed, but most people never see the largest fish they hook. Long distance releases are routine. Wickiup also has a reputation for good numbers of kokanee and coho salmon and decent populations of rainbow trout, brook trout, whitefish, and the unwanted chub.
The largest trout each year are usually caught the first two weeks of fishing season when the big browns are ravenous after a long winter under the ice. There are some true giants in here; a former state record brown trout from Wickiup weighed 24 pounds, 14 ounces. A brown trout caught opening day of 1998 weighed over 26 pounds. Larry Marecek of Salem caught the monster brown using a rainbow-colored Rapala.
Crane Prairie: Home of the famous “cranebows”, Crane Prairie Reservoir is also one of the top producing rainbow trout fisheries in Central Oregon. Rainbow trout here average 2 inches of growth a month during the summer. The record rainbow to date weighed over 19 pounds, with abundant rainbows in the 4 to 10 pound range. Crane Prairie Reservoir is a Wildlife Management Area. Osprey, bald eagle and many waterfowl frequent the area.
South Twin Lake: (1/4mile from campground) 2015 trout stocking: May 11: 3000 legals, May 18: 700 trophy.