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Fishing Cold Springs Reservoir: what the data says
1,437-acre reservoir near Hermiston. The lake tops out around 70 ft. The depth chart is built from real state fisheries GPS surveys, so the humps, channels and drop-offs you see are measured, not guessed. What follows comes from the same scoring engine that paints the spots above.
Largemouth Bass fishing at Cold Springs Reservoir
In spring, largemouth bass run shallow here, mostly 2 to 10 ft. Summer pushes them deeper, 8 to 20 ft, and winter fish settle into 15 to 35 ft. The spot to know is Shallow bay flat, a weed flat in about 10 ft of water that rates prime for largemouth bass in spring. Plan around early morning and the evening in the warm months. A texas-rigged 10" worm or a deep-diving crankbait covers the summer program.
| Season | Depth | Best window | Go-to baits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spring | 2 to 10 ft | dawn & dusk | Spinnerbait, Chatterbait |
| Summer | 8 to 20 ft | dawn & dusk | Texas-rigged 10" worm, Deep-diving crankbait |
| Fall | 4 to 15 ft | midday & dawn | Squarebill crankbait (shad), Spinnerbait |
| Winter | 15 to 35 ft | midday | Blade bait, Jigging spoon |
Crappie fishing at Cold Springs Reservoir
In spring, crappie run shallow here, mostly 2 to 8 ft. Summer pushes them deeper, 10 to 25 ft, and winter fish settle into 15 to 35 ft. If you only fish one area, make it Back-bay flat: a weed flat around 5 ft that scores prime in spring. In summer the feeding windows fall in early morning and the evening. Summer baits: a jig trolled/spider-rigged or a small crankbait (trolled) gets it done.
| Season | Depth | Best window | Go-to baits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spring | 2 to 8 ft | midday & dawn | 1/16 oz jig + tube, Curly-tail grub |
| Summer | 10 to 25 ft | dawn & dusk | Jig trolled/spider-rigged, Small crankbait (trolled) |
| Fall | 8 to 20 ft | dawn | Jig + minnow combo, Small swimbait (1.5-2") |
| Winter | 15 to 35 ft | midday | Tungsten jig + soft plastic, Tiny jigging spoon |
Smallmouth Bass fishing at Cold Springs Reservoir
In spring, smallmouth bass run shallow here, mostly 3 to 12 ft. They move out to 10 to 30 ft in summer and finish the year down in 20 to 45 ft. The spot to know is Main-lake point, a point in about 12 ft of water that rates prime for smallmouth bass in fall. In summer the feeding windows fall in early morning and the evening. A drop shot (goby/minnow) or a ned rig covers the summer program.
| Season | Depth | Best window | Go-to baits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spring | 3 to 12 ft | dawn & dusk | Ned rig, Tube jig |
| Summer | 10 to 30 ft | dawn & dusk | Drop shot (goby/minnow), Ned rig |
| Fall | 8 to 25 ft | midday & dawn | Jerkbait, Blade bait |
| Winter | 20 to 45 ft | midday | Blade bait, Hair jig |
Notable structure
- Deep basin: deep basin, around 70 ft
- Old creek channel: creek channel, around 41 ft
- Break off the point: drop-off, around 39 ft
- Secondary point: point, around 20 ft
- Shallow feeding flat: feeding flat, around 20 ft
- Shallow feeding flat: feeding flat, around 16 ft
- Main-lake point: point, around 12 ft
- Shallow bay flat: weed flat, around 10 ft
- Despain Gulch inflow: inflow / creek mouth, around 8 ft
- Back-bay flat: weed flat, around 5 ft
Common questions
How deep is Cold Springs Reservoir?
Cold Springs Reservoir is about 70 ft at its deepest point. The depth chart here comes from real state fisheries GPS surveys, so the contours reflect measured depths.
What fish are in Cold Springs Reservoir?
Anglers target largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, crappie on Cold Springs Reservoir.
Where is the best fishing spot on Cold Springs Reservoir?
Shallow bay flat is the top-rated area: a weed flat in about 10 ft of water that rates prime for largemouth bass in spring. Open the map above to see every rated spot for each species and season.
When is the best time to fish Cold Springs Reservoir?
For largemouth bass, the summer bite is best in early morning and the evening. Each species page section below lists the seasonal windows, and the map shows a live NOW badge when you're inside one.
Nearby waters
Olive Lake · Anthony Lakes · John Day River · Strawberry Lake · Malheur Reservoir · Beulah Reservoir
See how Cold Springs Reservoir stacks up: best largemouth bass lakes in Oregon · best smallmouth bass lakes in Oregon · best crappie lakes in Oregon
Browse all Oregon fishing maps or every water on DepthScout. Bathymetry credit: state fisheries survey programs. How we build these maps. For fishing guidance only, never navigation.