Ana River

Oregon·Eastern Oregon·42.95° N, 120.76° W

Flow

—

Water Temp

—

Condition

—

Weather

59°F

Areas Of Smoke

near Silver Lake

Insights

Wind

Wind 3 mph — calm

Easy casting and clean surface presentations.

The Ana is a seven-mile spring creek that has no business being where it is. It boils out of a cluster of artesian springs at the foot of Winter Ridge, fills the 60-acre Ana Reservoir, then runs southeast through sagebrush and alkali flats before dying into Summer Lake, a closed-basin desert lake with no outlet. The whole thing sits in the Summer Lake Wildlife Area, roughly 100 miles southeast of Bend and about as far from a fly shop as trout water gets in Oregon. What makes it worth the drive is the water itself: the springs push a nearly constant 55 to 90 cfs at a steady ~58F year-round, so while the surrounding high desert bakes in summer and freezes in winter, the Ana just keeps flowing clear and cold. It fishes all twelve months, and its wild redband rainbows rise to dry flies in February when almost nothing else in the state is happening.

Practically, this is a small, intimate, wade-and-walk stream — a few rod-lengths wide, tucked down in an alkali ravine that shelters it from wind and holds warmth. Most anglers walk the banks or use a float tube; the channel is too small for a drift boat, though there is a ~3.25-mile float down to the County Highway 4-17 crossing if you want it. Because the water is so clear, the fish are spooky and the game is match-the-hatch: long light leaders, small flies, careful presentations. Caddis are the dominant bug, but a size-18 Blue-Winged Olive is a reliable bet, with hatches typically coming off in the afternoon window from roughly noon to 3 p.m. Numbers can be silly — anglers report close to a hundred small fish in a mid-summer day — but most are 6- to 12-inch fingerlings and juveniles. The better fish, 14 to 19 inches, come to stripped beadhead Woolly Buggers and small leeches, and show up more in spring and winter than in the summer crush of little ones.

A couple of things set the Ana apart and are worth knowing before you go. Unlike almost every other stream in ODFW's Southeast Zone — most of which are restricted to artificial flies and lures — the Ana allows bait and carries a general 5-trout, 8-inch-minimum limit. It fishes wonderfully on flies but is not a catch-and-release fly-only water, and several online write-ups get this flat wrong (see Regulations). Ana Reservoir upstream is a separate warmwater story: ODFW stocks it with sterile hybrid striped bass ("wipers"), and it produced the Oregon state-record hybrid at 18 lb 9.5 oz in 2009. The river holds a few of those bass plus native Summer Lake tui chub, but the trout are the reason to fly fish it. Nearest services are the Lodge at Summer Lake and the Ana Reservoir RV Park; there is no fly shop or dedicated guide operation on the water.

Species

Great Basin Redband Trout
Primary · Year-round; spring & winter best for size · 6-12" typical, 14-19" possible
The fishery. A native desert redband strain that rises to dries even in mid-winter thanks to the ~58F spring flow. Enormous numbers of small fish; the better fish come on stripped beadhead Woolly Buggers and leeches, more in spring and winter than the summer crush of little ones.
Hybrid Striped Bass
Incidental · Warm months · Variable
Sterile "wipers" stocked by ODFW into Ana Reservoir upstream (state-record 18 lb 9.5 oz from the reservoir, 2009). A few drop into the river, but the reservoir is a separate warmwater fishery and this is not a classic fly target on the stream.
Tui Chub
Abundant · — · Small
Native Summer Lake tui chub. Forage, not a gamefish, but an abundant part of the closed-basin ecosystem.

Species	Abundance	Best Season	Size	Notes
Great Basin Redband Trout	Primary	Year-round; spring & winter best for size	6-12" typical, 14-19" possible	The fishery. A native desert redband strain that rises to dries even in mid-winter thanks to the ~58F spring flow. Enormous numbers of small fish; the better fish come on stripped beadhead Woolly Buggers and leeches, more in spring and winter than the summer crush of little ones.
Hybrid Striped Bass	Incidental	Warm months	Variable	Sterile "wipers" stocked by ODFW into Ana Reservoir upstream (state-record 18 lb 9.5 oz from the reservoir, 2009). A few drop into the river, but the reservoir is a separate warmwater fishery and this is not a classic fly target on the stream.
Tui Chub	Abundant	—	Small	Native Summer Lake tui chub. Forage, not a gamefish, but an abundant part of the closed-basin ecosystem.

Ideal wading flow40–90 CFS

Blow-out>150 CFS

Ideal water temp54–62°F

The spring source runs a stable ~55 to 90 cfs year-round with almost no high-vs-low game — being spring-fed with a reservoir buffer, the Ana doesn't blow out on rain or snowmelt the way freestone rivers do, so wind and clarity, not flow, are the limiting factors. Spring (especially May) offers the best mix of hatches and larger fish; winter (Dec-Feb) is a genuine highlight, with 9- to 19-inch rainbows still rising midday when the rest of Oregon is frozen, best on small beadheads. Summer brings huge numbers of small fish but slower action on quality. Overcast, light-rain days bring the best BWO activity and dampen the clear-water spookiness. Rank for size: Spring and Winter over Fall over Summer.

Sections

1 sections on this river

Ana River — Reservoir Outlet to Summer Lake

Wade & FloatRedband · Rainbow Trout · Wiper

The whole fishery. A small spring creek, a few rod-lengths wide, running clear and cold (~58F) year-round through an alkali ravine below Ana Reservoir down to Summer Lake, all within the Summer Lake Wildlife Area. Gentle gradient, undercut banks, weed beds, and subtle currents; sheltered from wind, so it stays fishable when the surrounding desert is blown out. Clear water means spooky fish and a match-the-hatch game with long, light leaders. Ana Reservoir itself is a separate warmwater (wiper) fishery and is not part of this trout water.

Best for: Wild redband rainbow trout on dry flies (caddis and size-18 BWO) and small subsurface patterns in the afternoon window, with the larger 14-19" fish coming on stripped beadhead Woolly Buggers and small leeches. Beginner-friendly for numbers of small fish; intermediate to fool the better fish in the clear water.

Regulations

Current fishing rules and restrictions

Set annually by ODFW under the Southeast Zone. The Ana is open all year for trout and, unusually for the zone, allows bait — it is a general-regulation, 5-trout stream, not a catch-and-release or fly-only water.

Open all year for trout
5 trout per day, 8-inch minimum length
Use of bait is allowed — a notable exception, as most Southeast Zone streams are restricted to artificial flies and lures
No fly-only, barbless-only, or mandatory catch-and-release rule on the river
Ana Reservoir (a separate water): hybrid bass 1 per day, 15-inch minimum; open all year
Oregon angling license required; ODFW parking permit needed for Summer Lake Wildlife Area campgrounds/access

Multiple third-party and AI-generated write-ups incorrectly state the Ana is "artificial flies and lures only, single barbless hooks, mandatory catch-and-release." That is wrong per ODFW — the Ana is a general-regulation, bait-legal, 5-fish stream. It fishes wonderfully on flies, but verify the current ODFW booklet annually rather than trusting aggregator pages.

Source: Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife — Southeast Zone. Regulations change annually — verify before fishing.

Access & Logistics

Getting there, fly shops, and lodging

Getting There

Summer Lake, OR

~2 hrs from Bend, ~1.5 hrs from Lakeview

Camping & Lodging

The Lodge at Summer Lake (lakeside rooms and cabins, promotes Ana River trout fishing minutes away) and the Ana Reservoir RV Park (24 sites with hookups, showers, walk-to-water on Ana Reservoir). Four primitive ODFW campgrounds in the Summer Lake Wildlife Area (tables, fire pits, vault toilets, no hookups) are free with an ODFW parking permit along the loop drive off Hwy 31.

All fishing is within the Summer Lake Wildlife Area off State Highway 31, roughly 100 miles southeast of Bend and 75 miles north of Lakeview. Bank walking and float-tube access from wildlife-area roads and the County Highway 4-17 crossing; the channel is too small for drift boats. Nearest full services are in Lakeview (~75 mi south) and Bend (~100 mi north, nearest regional airport RDM). No fly shop or dedicated guide operation on the water.

Conditions data is live from public monitoring networks. Regulations change annually — always verify current rules with your state fish & wildlife agency before fishing.

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