SW Washington fishing report
Columbia River spring Chinook gets one more day. Tributary winter steelhead over, summer steelhead coming in, Chinook improving. Trout stockings boost lowland lakes.
Best bets for weekend fishing
Columbia spring Chinook fishing open for another day-Saturday.
Tributary spring Chinook heating up in some systems, still slow in others.
Columbia River walleye bite still very good
Columbia tributary summer steelhead improving, winters dropping off.
Lowland trout lakes fishing rated good, heavy stockings boost the bite.
Weather
Weekend weather is expected to be in the lower 70’s with cloudy skies Saturday, and showers on Sunday. The week proper will see a cooling trend, with temps dropping into the 60’s but only showery rain. There are no forecasts for significant rain.
Columbia River
Spring Chinook
Springer fishing did pick up quite a bit during the extended fishery, giving hope for a good day on this coming Saturday, in what will probably be the last extension of the season until the official update in mid-May. The fishing picked up in the Bonneville area, and the Vancouver area was good as well. Lower Columbia areas, around Kalama to Cathlamet, held strong.
Walleye
The good folks at the Gorge Outfitters Supply in Rufus report that the walleye bite continues. However, high winds kept most anglers off the water this past week. The fish are actively spawning, but it has yet to slow the bite. All the walleye will not spawn at the same time, so the action might not slow too much as the spawn dissipates.
In the Camas area, a few walleye are being caught along the Washougal Reef. Bottom walkers are the most effective method for these schools.
Cowlitz River
The Cowlitz has finally dropped to a better level for fishing, and the conditions are good. Last week, Tacoma Power employees recovered 549 winter-run Steelhead, 70 spring Chinook adults, five spring Chinook jacks, one summer-run Steelhead and two Cutthroat adults over five days of operations at the Cowlitz Salmon Hatchery separator. River flows below Mayfield Dam were 5,740 cubic feet per second on Monday, April 13. Water visibility is 6 feet and water temperature is 45 (F). River flows could change at any time so boaters and anglers should remain alert for this possibility.
The steelheading has continued its slide, according to fishing Guide Dave Mallahan (360-201-9313). He reports that it is getting harder to find the winter fish, and the summers are as yet just trickling in. The spring Chinook action is slowly building, and in the latest creel survey below the I-5 Bridge, 65 bank anglers kept one Chinook, one steelhead and released one Chinook and one steelhead. Above the bridge, 60 bank anglers kept two Chinook, 11 steelhead and released three steelhead. 1 boat/2 rods had no catch.
Lewis River
The Lewis is running at about 10 feet at the gauge near Woodland, and is expected to rise to about 12 feet over the weekend. During the most recent creel survey, six bank anglers had no catch. 6 boats/9 rods had no catch. While the fishing has slowed, spring Chinook do continue to move into the river, and there are a few summer steelhead showing up. Bank anglers continue to fish mostly with bobbers, and with the Chinook in the river, most are fishing salmon eggs or other bait. A few springers are coming to hand for anglers trolling at the mouth, and some plunkers in the lower river have done okay.
You can check the river gauge near Woodland here.
Merwin Lake
Kokanee fishing continues to improve with the lake’s condition. The fish are taking trolled kokanee spinners tipped with kokanee corn and fished behind dodgers. The fish are still near the surface, and with the forecast cloud cover and showers this weekend, the schools should continue to stay in the upper reaches of the water column. The fish are beginning to grow a bit faster as the waters warm. Anglers might also try jigging. The lake is starting to see some crowding.
For a quieter experience, anglers can target Yale Lake. The fish are a bit smaller, but the competition is far less.
Kalama River
The river is starting to drop low, but conditions are good over all. The most recent creel survey showed a slowing bite for steelhead, with 10 bank anglers that had no catch. 6 boats/13 rods kept one steelhead. There have been sporadic reports of spring Chinook, mostly in the lower river sections, around the Modrow Bridge. Winter steelheading continues to slow, but a few summer steelhead are entering the river.
Rowland Lake
This lake in the Columbia River Gorge was stocked with 3,000 catchable rainbows at 2.5 per pound on April 13. Also, on April 8, the lake received 2,160 catchable rainbows at 2.6 per pound, and 840 catchable rainbows at 2.7 per pound.
Klineline Pond
This lake was heavily stocked on April 9, with 70 brood stock rainbows at 0.1 per pound, another 335 brood stock rainbows at 0.5 per pound, 10,000 catchable rainbows at 2 per pound, and 2,500 catchable rainbows at 2.5 per pound. This small lake in the Salmon creek Park in Vancouver should fish exceptionally well through the next 2 or 3 weeks. Powerbait on the bottom is a good method, but anglers also employ bobbers and worms or salad shrimp, and the occasional fly angler will try his luck.
Thsnks