Lake Simtustus is named in honor of a Warm Springs warrior who served as a scout for the U.S. Army in the 1867-68 campaign against the Paiutes. He lived on the Warm Springs Reservation until his death in 1926. The lake is formed by the Pelton Dam on the north end and backs up to the tailrace of Round Butte Dam on the south end; the area is deep, cold, and narrow. Because of the high steep canyons the reservoir is relatively narrow varying in width from 300 feet to nearly 1000 feet. The lake has input streams that include Campbell Creek, Deschutes River, Seekseequa Creek, and Willow Creek while the Deschutes River is the only output of the lake. The overall character of the reservoir is eutrophic which makes for fast growing fish. Fishing is best early and late in the season with trolling and jigging from boats because of the steep shoreline. Legal-size rainbow and juvenile summer steelhead are stocked prior to opening weekend and summer steelhead in early May. Check the stocking schedule from the ODFW. A tribal angling permit is required in addition to a state-angling license to fish in the lake.

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