Sometimes the best fishing trips aren't about trophy fish. A warm July afternoon at Henry Hagg Lake reminded me why I fell in love with fishing in the first place.
Henry Hagg Lake sits in the Tualatin Valley about 30 miles southwest of Portland, tucked into the Coast Range foothills. It's not the most glamorous fishery in the PNW — no wild steelhead, no trophy salmon — but on a warm summer afternoon with a light rod and a box of topwater lures, it's as good as fishing gets.
The Lake
Hagg is a reservoir, about 1,100 acres when full. The shoreline is irregular and interesting, with numerous coves, submerged timber, and rocky points that hold bass. Largemouth are the primary target, though the lake also holds bluegill, crappie, and stocked rainbow trout.
I've been coming here since my first summer in Portland, when I didn't yet know the rivers well enough to chase salmon and steelhead. Hagg taught me to read water, to think about structure and cover, to slow down and observe before I started casting.
Topwater Magic
There's a particular magic to topwater bass fishing that I never tire of. The strike is visual — you see the explosion before you feel it — and that combination of anticipation and surprise never gets old.
My go-to setup for Hagg bass: a 7-foot medium-action spinning rod, 10-pound fluorocarbon, and a Heddon Zara Spook in chrome. The walk-the-dog retrieve is the key — a rhythmic side-to-side action that mimics a wounded baitfish on the surface.
The best topwater bite at Hagg is early morning and evening, when bass push baitfish to the surface in the shallower coves. I like to work the edges of submerged timber, casting parallel to the bank and walking the Spook back through the shadows.
A Good Afternoon
This past July, I arrived at the lake around 5 PM with a few hours of light left. The water was warm and slightly off-color from recent runoff — not ideal, but workable. I focused on the shaded coves on the north shore, where the bass would be seeking cooler water.
In two hours of fishing, I landed seven largemouth between 12 and 16 inches, missed a few more strikes, and watched the sun drop behind the Coast Range hills. Not a single trophy fish, but every cast felt alive with possibility.
Getting There
Hagg Lake is about 30 minutes from Portland via US-26 West and OR-47 South. There's a day-use fee for the park. Boat rentals are available at the main boat ramp if you don't have your own.
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Born in Portland and raised in McMinnville, Oregon, Allan has been fishing for most of his life — from the rivers of the Willamette Valley to the Oregon coast, Cabo San Lucas, and the California Pacific. His oldest brother Steven runs a sports fishing business in Oregon. This blog is his way of sharing what he's learned.
