Big Lake (Santiam Pass)
Sisters / Santiam Pass, OR · about 2 hours from Maupin (typical, off-peak)
The pass lake under Washington — not the Justesen ranch pond.
Salt River / stream Lake / pond Shop (desk) Guide only Parking Stay State access Private — ask first
- Season
- Legal on many waters. West-side streams drop and warm. Fish dawn. Confirm ODFW. Official rule
- License
- Oregon angling license (ODFW)
- Park
- USFS Big Lake Campground on FR 2690 south of Hwy 20 at Santiam Pass. Vault toilet, ramp. Forest / camp fee.
- Walk in
- Short from camp to the shore.
- Wading
- Campground bank or small boat.
- Usual window
- After the pass melts. Confirm ODFW.
- Saturday conditions
-
N 7 mph around dawn. Fine to go.
- Sky
- 🌧️ 72° rain
- Sun and moon
- Rise 9:17 · 🌔 Waxing gibbous · Set 11:03
- Wind at dawn
- N 7 mph · Slight Chance Rain Showers · 64°F
- Wind later
-
- dawn: N 7 mph
- 10am: NE 9 mph
- 2pm: NE 9 mph
- dusk: NE 6 mph
- Next dawn (Sunday)
- NE 2 mph around dawn. Fine to go. · NE 2 mph
- A setup that belongs here
- 5-wt.
- Notes
- Named USFS campground. Confirm ODFW.
Overnight plan: Saturday evening and Sunday dawn. Book two nights if you want the morning. Drive time is to the stay, then a few minutes to the water.
Log this trip
Stays on this phone only. Nobody else sees it.
Shops
The Fly Fisher's Place
151 W Main Ave, Sisters, OR 97759
Call — high-desert hours
Metolius, Crooked, Cascade Lakes. The Sisters desk.
The Patient Angler
50 SW Century Dr, Bend, OR 97702
Call
Bend trout desk. Cascade Lakes and the in-town Deschutes.
Fly and Field Outfitters
35 NW Hawthorne Ave, Bend, OR 97703
Call
Bend shop. Stillwater and river.
Stay
Hand-checked, not a hotel scrape. Check dates on their site. Default two nights.
Riverside Campground (Camp Sherman)
Campground · 2 min to the water · Summer — Recreation.gov
On the Metolius. Northwest Forest Pass / reservation in season.
Dogs: Yes, on leash — confirm USFS
Best Western Ponderosa Lodge
Motel · 20 min to the water · Year-round
Indoor bed in Sisters. Camp Sherman is a short dawn drive.
Dogs: Ask
Cabins and rentals (you leave Local Waters):
Guides
Shop desks, plus a few independents who fish public water. We do not take a cut. Call them.
No desk pinned yet. Ask the shop above who they trust here.