Lake Umatilla fishing: Walleye, Smallmouth Bass, Channel Catfish

Target species: Walleye, Smallmouth Bass, Channel Catfish, White Crappie, Bluegill, Pumpkinseed, American Shad
Best months: May, Jun, Sep, Oct for Walleye
Second window: Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep for Smallmouth Bass
Boat: 11 ramps and launches on file for this water.
Start here: Launch at Umatilla Marina, 4 lanes.

The lake

Lake Umatilla covers 49,795 acres in Washington, across 2 counties: Benton and Klickitat. It is a lake: the deepest point measured is 191 feet (58.2 m). Our records hold 18 species for this water. 44% of the water lies in Oregon.

Depth: down to 191 ft at the deepest measured point

Deepest measured point: 191 ft (58.2 m). We hold 2,672 depth contours for this water, drawn from 49,252 soundings.

Lake Umatilla....JPG
PGHolbrook · CC BY-SA 3.0
  • 0–10 ft: 21.8% of the surveyed bottom
  • 10–20 ft: 16% of the surveyed bottom
  • 20–30 ft: 10.8% of the surveyed bottom
  • 30–40 ft: 8.1% of the surveyed bottom
  • 40–50 ft: 8.5% of the surveyed bottom
  • 50–60 ft: 7.3% of the surveyed bottom
  • 60–70 ft: 6.1% of the surveyed bottom
  • 70–80 ft: 5.5% of the surveyed bottom
  • 80–90 ft: 5.1% of the surveyed bottom
  • 90–100 ft: 3.7% of the surveyed bottom
  • 100–110 ft: 3.4% of the surveyed bottom
  • 110–120 ft: 2.3% of the surveyed bottom
  • 120–130 ft: 1% of the surveyed bottom
  • 130–140 ft: 0.3% of the surveyed bottom
  • 140–150 ft: 0.1% of the surveyed bottom

7 target fish, led by Walleye

  • Walleye — Best months: May, Jun, Sep, Oct.
  • Smallmouth Bass — Best months: Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep.
  • Channel Catfish — Best months: Jul, Aug.
  • White Crappie — Best months: Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep.
  • Bluegill — Best months: Jul, Aug.
  • Pumpkinseed — Best months: Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep.
  • American Shad — Best months: May, Jun, Oct, Nov.

Also recorded here: Largemouth Bass, Black Crappie, Northern Pikeminnow, Black Bullhead, Yellow Perch, Brown Bullhead, Yellow Bullhead, Common Carp, Grass Carp, Goldfish, Western Mosquitofish.

11 ramps and launches on this water

On this water we hold 9 trailer ramps, 1 boat ramp and 1 hand launch.

John Day Dam (11955928563).jpg
Bonneville Power · Public domain
  • Umatilla Marina — 4 lanes, restrooms. City of Umatilla. phone 541-922-3226 · website umatilla-city.org
  • Boardman Marina Park — 2 lanes, restrooms. Boardman Parks District. phone 541-481-7217 · website boardmanmarinapark.com
  • Irrigon Marina Ramp — 2 lanes, restrooms. Irrigon Parks District. phone 541-922-3225 · website ci.irrigon.or.us/marina-park
  • 1st Street Irrigon Launch — 1 lane. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. phone 541-296-1181 · website nwp.usace.army.mil/Missions/Recreation
  • Earl Snell Memorial Park Paddle Launch — 1 lane, restrooms. phone 541-626-3426 · website cityofarlingtonoregon.com
  • Patterson Park — 1 lane. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. phone 541-296-1181 · website nwp.usace.army.mil/Missions/Recreation
  • Port of Arlington Hand Launch — 1 lane, restrooms. Port of Arlington. phone 541-454-2868 · website portofarlington.com
  • Port of Arlington Ramp — 1 lane, restrooms. Port of Arlington. phone 541-454-2868 · website portofarlington.com
  • Threemile Canyon Park — 1 lane, restrooms. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. phone 541-296-1181 · website nwp.usace.army.mil/Missions/Recreation
  • Blalock Canyon — U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. phone 541-296-1181 · website nwp.usace.army.mil/Missions/Recreation

Car-top and kayak launches — no trailer

  • Port of Arlington Marina — restrooms. Port of Arlington. phone 541-454-2868 · website portofarlington.com/marina.html

Fee and opening hours are blank for all 11 places in this list: a blank means we hold no such field, not that it is free or always open, and this list may not be complete.

John Day Dam 2 (11955932233).jpg
Bonneville Power · CC BY 2.0

Water and conditions

Water temperature averages 59°F across the year. The coldest single reading we hold is 37°F and the warmest is 79°F; the warmest monthly average is 72°F. pH averages 7.8. These readings span 2018–2021. The latest reading is from 2021, more than three years ago: read these numbers as history, not as the water today.

Monthly average water temperature: Jan 42°F · Feb 39°F · Mar 44°F · Apr 51°F · May 58°F · Jun 65°F · Jul 70°F · Aug 72°F · Sep 69°F · Oct 62°F · Nov 53°F · Dec 46°F

Season by season

  • Winter (Jan, Feb, Mar, 39–44°F) — Steady but no peak: Walleye, American Shad.
  • Spring (Apr, May, Jun, 51–65°F) — Biting: Walleye, Smallmouth Bass, White Crappie, Pumpkinseed, American Shad.
  • Summer (Jul, Aug, Sep, 69–72°F) — Biting: Walleye, Smallmouth Bass, Channel Catfish, White Crappie, Bluegill, Pumpkinseed.
  • Fall (Oct, Nov, Dec, 46–62°F) — Biting: Walleye, American Shad.

What is hard here

Wind is the limit, not the fish: 49,795 acres of open water build a short steep chop, and there is no shelter in the middle. Winter water drops to 39°F, and the warm-water species stop feeding well before you do.

Where this data comes from

  • USACE eHydro — USACE eHydro channel surveys: class A, a survey of the bottom.
  • NOAA ENC — NOAA Electronic Navigational Charts: soundings: class A, a survey of the bottom.
  • NOAA ENC — NOAA Electronic Navigational Charts: depth contours: class A, a survey of the bottom.