The ODFW youth fishing event scheduled for June 2 at Marr Pond has been canceled due to repairs at the pond. In addition, spring stocking will be delayed until repairs are completed.

“While this is disheartening for us and the public, these repairs are necessary to maintain quality fishing at Marr Pond,” said Kyle Bratcher, ODFW assistant fish biologist in Enterprise.  “We’re working to complete repairs as soon as possible and plan to resume stocking in June.”

During the summer of 2017 the Marr Pond outflow system began to fail which limited the amount of water available for stocked trout. ODFW received a grant from the Restoration & Enhancement Board to replace the system with work planned for May.

“Since we’ll have to drain the pond, and we’re unsure of the timeline for receiving parts and installation, the pond may not be ready for the kids fishing event,” said Bratcher.

However, June 2 -3 is still Free Fishing Weekend and other opportunities are available in Wallowa County. “Kinney Lake has been fishing very well and Wallowa Lake will have been stocked along with the rest of the valley and forest ponds,” Bratcher added.

ODFW plans to resume the youth fishing event in 2019 during the June Free Fishing Weekend. “The staff at Wallowa Hatchery does a great job organizing this event,” said Bratcher. “It’s become very popular with local families and we look forward to offering that opportunity in the future.