Lake Cascade fishing: Northern Pike, Rainbow Trout, Smallmouth Bass

Target species: Northern Pike, Rainbow Trout, Smallmouth Bass, Yellow Perch, Pumpkinseed, Channel Catfish, Brown Trout

The reservoir

Lake Cascade covers 24,774 acres in Idaho, across Valley County. It is a reservoir: 92.4% of it is 50 feet deep or less; the deepest point measured is at least 66.6 feet (20.3 m). Our records hold 14 species for this water.

Depth and bottom

Deepest measured point: at least 66.6 ft (20.3 m). That is the deepest contour line: the bottom goes deeper. 92.4% of the water is 50 feet or shallower. We hold 130 depth contour lines for this water.

  • 0–5 ft: 8.3% of the water
  • 5–10 ft: 9.9% of the water
  • 10–15 ft: 10.5% of the water
  • 15–20 ft: 8.7% of the water
  • 20–25 ft: 9.1% of the water
  • 25–30 ft: 10.1% of the water
  • 30–35 ft: 10.7% of the water
  • 35–40 ft: 10.2% of the water
  • 40–45 ft: 7.6% of the water
  • 45–50 ft: 7.3% of the water
  • 50–55 ft: 5% of the water
  • 55–60 ft: 2.6% of the water
  • 60–62 ft: 0.2% of the water

7 target fish, led by Northern Pike

  • Northern Pike — Feeding water: 50–75°F.
  • Rainbow Trout — Feeding water: 50–65°F.
  • Smallmouth Bass — Feeding water: 60–75°F.
  • Yellow Perch — Feeding water: 45–75°F.
  • Pumpkinseed — Feeding water: 65–80°F.
  • Channel Catfish — Feeding water: 70–85°F.
  • Brown Trout — Feeding water: 50–65°F.

Also recorded here: Walleye, Atlantic Salmon, Cutthroat Trout, Brook Trout, Black Crappie, Bluegill, Brown Bullhead.

Stocking: 40,758,855 fish, 1997–2026

Idaho Department of Fish and Game records list 40,758,855 fish released into this water from 1997 to 2026.

  • Rainbow Trout: 13,140,205 in 2007–2026
  • Yellow Perch: 872,365 in 1999–2006
  • Brown Trout: 233,784 in 1981–1983
  • Channel Catfish: 5,675 in 1989–2011

6 more species on the stocking list.

Water and conditions

Water clarity runs 3.6–14.2 feet on our readings, averaging 8.2 feet, from 60 readings. Our water temperature readings average 59°F; they do not cover the whole year, so this is not a yearly average. pH averages 7.3. These readings span 2017–2024.

What is hard here

Wind is the limit, not the fish: 24,774 acres of open water build a short steep chop, and there is no shelter in the middle. Clarity swings from 3.6 to 14.2 feet between our readings — the water you meet is not the water someone photographed.

Where this data comes from

  • US Bureau of Reclamation — USBR reservoir sedimentation surveys: class A, a survey of the bottom, 1995.
  • U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (RISE) — USBR area-capacity tables (RISE): class B, a depth figure measured and published by an agency, without a bottom map.