Shad Surge, Walleye Hot, and 37,000 Fresh Trout

SW Washington fishing report

Drano Lake, Wind River springers mostly over. Tributaries seeing more steelhead catches, springers still slow. Swift Reservoir trout stockings boost bite.

Best weekend bets
Drano Lake, Wind River springer bite ending
Tributary spring Chinook still fair to poor
Columbia River walleye bite remains very good
Tributary summer steelhead improving
Columbia River shad run picking up
Over 37,000 catchable rainbow trout stocked in Swift Reservoir
Goose Lake is getting strong trout plantings
The Trout Derby began the 25^th, prizes available.
Bass and panfish biting in local lakes

Weather
Thunderstorms are expected Saturday, and there will be cooler weather with showers early in the week, with highs in the 60’s, and with warmer, drier weather later on in the week. 

Columbia River
Salmon
During the final day of springer fishing on the lower mainstem Columbia, effort and catches were very low, and most areas did not record much at all in the way of landed fish.

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Walleye
Wendy Boyer at the Gorge Outfitters Supply in Rufus said the walleye bite is still very good, and she said some of the schools are looking for deeper water. However, most of the schools are in 12 to 25 feet of water over gravel and rocky reefs.

Shad
Shad fishing continues to heat up, and now over 260,000 shad have crossed Bonneville. Most of these are still in the Bonneville Pool, since none have crossed The Dalles Dam as yet. Daily counts are now close to 60,000 at Bonneville. The best bite is at the Bonneville Dam fishing deadline, where anglers are tossing shad darts, Dick Nite spoons, and small jigs for the fish. In a survey at Kalama, 3 boats/8 rods kept 10 shad and released one shad.

Cowlitz River
Last week, Tacoma Power employees recovered 19 Winter-run Steelhead, 843 Spring Chinook adults, 286 Spring Chinook jacks, one Spring Chinook mini jack, and 51 Summer-run Steelhead over five days of operations at the Cowlitz Salmon Hatchery separator. As of Friday, May 22, 2026, Tacoma Power has recycled 142 Summer-run Steelhead and four Spring Chinook adults this season to the I-5 boat launch in Toledo

Fishing for spring Chinook has picked up below the Barrier Dam, for bank anglers at least. During the latest state creel survey above the I-5 Bridge, 70 bank anglers kept 14 Chinook, four jacks, and released one jack. 3 boats/6 rods kept two steelhead. Bank anglers are mostly fishing bait below a bobber, but hardware and drifted gears have also been getting a few fish. Salmon eggs and coon shrimp have been the preferred bait.

Cowlitz River gauges
You can check the river gauge at Kelso here. You can check the river gauge at Castle rock here. You can check the river gauge at the Mayfield Dam here.

Merwin Reservoir
Kokanee fishing continues to be good, with the fish growing well now that the water is warming. Use your electronics to find the right depth. The fish are taking trolled hoochies or kokanee spinners tipped with kokanee corn and fished behind dodgers.

Kalama River
The outlook for spring Chinook remains fair, although spotty, with some days seeing good fishing, but other days the fish are finicky. In the latest creel survey, 32 bank anglers kept four Chinook. 13 boats/31 rods kept 13 Chinook and one jack. The fish are spread through the river, although there seem to be more in the upper drifts. The river is fairly low, but the bite has been decent on salmon eggs.

Wind River, Drano Lake
Spring Chinook fishing at both waters is slowing quite a bit, with both fisheries about over. In the latest creels, at Drano, one bank angler had no catch. 17 boats/54 rods kept seven Chinook. At the Wind, nine bank anglers released one Chinook. 2 boats/3 rods had no catch.

Trout stocking
You can check the WDFW trout stocking reports here.

Klineline Pond
Klineline Pond was stocked with 3, 258 catchable rainbows at 1.9 per pound on June 1. This lake fishes best with bait, and Powerbait is the preferred offering. However, if everyone fishes Powerbait, the trout will often switch to wanting natural baits, such as worms.

Goose Lake
Goose Lake was stocked with 3,000 catchable rainbows at 2.5 per pound on May 27, and was also stocked with 2,000 catchable rainbows at 1.86 per pound. Also, on May 26, 6,000 catchable rainbows at 2.4 per pound were stocked into the lake. These stockings boost what has become a favored high-elevation trout fishing hotspot. Anglers can take trout at Goose Lake by trolling dodgers and the plug-cut type plastic baits, tossing flies, fishing bait from the bank, or throwing spinners.

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