Straddling the Harney-Malheur county boundary and covering about 4,400 acres when full, Warm Springs is formed by a dam on the Malheur River. Usually gets drawn down quite a bit in the fall due to irrigation demands. The easiest way to reach the reservoir is by taking the Juntura-Riverside Road southwest from Juntura on Highway 20. In addition to some sizable rainbow trout, especially below the dam. Warm Springs Reservoir has offered varied warmwater fishing in the past, but recenty smallmouth bass and yellow perch have dominated the atch. In this rich reservoir, all species are capable of reaching good size. In 2001 and 2002, the reservoir virtually dried up and some fish will survive by swimming up into the Malheur River. This will undoubtedly affect fish populations when the reservoir refills since some fish (crappies, etc.) do not do well in small streams, while others such as smallmouth bass do. Between 2005 and 2009, this large reservoir shrunk in the fall to between three and 25 percent of its water volume when full. For those of you who have not yet figured it out, when a lake always shrinks drastically, it means poor fishing. When a lake shrinks drastically after several high-water years, it means excellent fishing. In addition to the smallmouths and perch, largemouth bass, bluegills, brown bullheads and channel catfish rarely enter the catch.
P Heley