Hills Creek Lake Fishing Guides
A Cascade foothill reservoir on the Middle Fork Willamette above Oakridge, holding trout in the cold months and a surprisingly good warmwater fishery in summer.
Guides on the Hills Creek Lake
Claimed profiles take booking requests. Unclaimed profiles are built from public records so the river is never empty; the guide can claim or remove one any time.
No guides listed yet
Guide or outfit this water? Create your profile. Listing is free, the commission is 10% or 7% with a premium profile, and premium profiles list first on this water.
About the Hills Creek Lake
Hills Creek Lake is the first of the Middle Fork Willamette impoundments, sitting immediately south of Oakridge where the river comes down out of the western Cascades. It is a long, narrow reservoir following the old river canyon, hemmed in by the Douglas fir of the Willamette National Forest, and it has the two-season character that many Cascade foothill reservoirs share: a cold, clear, trout-dominated lake through spring and autumn, and a warmer, more productive mixed fishery through the height of summer. The forest road access along both arms is good, which makes it an easy lake to fish from a small boat or from the bank.
Rainbow trout are the primary fishery and are stocked as well as wild, holding near the inlets early in the year and settling to the thermocline once the surface warms. Cutthroat trout are native to the drainage and turn up throughout, brown trout are present in smaller numbers and account for the heaviest trout taken, and mountain whitefish hold in the deeper water and the river inlet. Through summer the warmwater species come into their own: largemouth bass in the brushy coves and the shallower upper arm, smallmouth bass along the rocky canyon walls, and black crappie and bluegill schooling around the submerged timber and standing snags left along the old river line.
The gauge reports reservoir elevation rather than a discharge trace, which is the right number for a still water of this type. Level matters a great deal on Hills Creek because the reservoir is drawn down substantially each autumn for flood storage. A full summer pool puts the shoreline timber and brush in good depth and spreads fish right up the arms; a low autumn pool exposes wide mud banks, pulls the fishery back toward the old channel, and takes some of the launches out of use entirely.
This water needs a real photo
The photo at the top of this page is not Hills Creek Lake.
It is a regional stand-in, honestly captioned but generic — we will not put a name to a river we cannot prove. Send us a photograph you took here and it replaces the stand-in, with your credit on it.
Add a photo of this water
Landscape, not fish — the water itself. Reviewed by hand before it appears. The first one published here earns the Pioneer badge.
Pool right now
- 24 hours-0.22 ft ↓ falling
Reading taken 25 min ago at USGS 14145100, HILLS CREEK LAKE NEAR OAKRIDGE, OR. Elevation is the surface of the lake above the survey datum, not depth. Source.
Fished this water? Add a photo
Reviewed by hand before it appears. Pick the water, not the spot — we never publish exact locations.
Access
Oakridge - the town immediately north of the lake, with lodging, food and tackle in the Middle Fork valley.
Packer Arm - the eastern arm of the reservoir, with forest road access and good bank fishing.
Hills Creek Dam - the deepest water in the basin and the most reliable summer trout holding.
Middle Fork Willamette inlet - the upper end, the coldest water and the strongest early-season trout fishing.
The standing timber - the submerged snags along the old river line, the main crappie and bass structure.
Lookout Point Lake - the next reservoir downstream in the same drainage, a straightforward alternative.
Middle Fork Willamette River - the river itself above and below the lake, a good option when the pool is low.
Seasons
Spring: strong trout fishing near the inlets as the reservoir fills, with the water at its coldest and clearest.
Summer: the trout go deep and the bass, crappie and bluegill fishing around the timber and the canyon walls takes over.
Fall: good trout fishing returns as the surface cools, though the drawdown progressively limits access and concentrates the fish.
Winter: a low pool and cold, wet weather make for limited fishing, with the river below the dam often the better choice.
From the water
No logged trips yet. Be the first to put this water on your map.
Log this water
Fished it or cleaned it? Log in or create a free account to log a trip with photos and earn the waterway badge.
Questions
What species can you catch on the Hills Creek Lake?
Anglers target Black Crappie, Bluegill, Brown Trout, Cutthroat Trout, Largemouth Bass, Mountain Whitefish, Rainbow Trout, Smallmouth Bass on the Hills Creek Lake in Oregon.
Where can you access the Hills Creek Lake?
Oakridge - the town immediately north of the lake, with lodging, food and tackle in the Middle Fork valley. Packer Arm - the eastern arm of the reservoir, with forest road access and good bank fishing. Hills Creek Dam - the deepest water in the basin and the most reliable summer trout holding. Middle Fork Willamette inlet - the upper end, the coldest water and the strongest early-season trout fishing. The standing timber - the submerged snags along the old river line, the main crappie and bass structure. Lookout Point Lake - the next reservoir downstream in the same drainage, a straightforward...
When is the best time to fish the Hills Creek Lake?
Spring: strong trout fishing near the inlets as the reservoir fills, with the water at its coldest and clearest. Summer: the trout go deep and the bass, crappie and bluegill fishing around the timber and the canyon walls takes over. Fall: good trout fishing returns as the surface cools, though the drawdown progressively limits access and concentrates the fish. Winter: a low pool and cold, wet weather make for limited fishing, with the river below the dam often the better choice.
Where are the fishing regulations for the Hills Creek Lake?
Regulations change by season and section. Read the current rules on the Oregon agency site: https://myodfw.com/fishing/regulations