Drano Lake, Wind River Chinook very good. Trout Derby began April 25, spring trout fishing taking off.
Best weekend bets
Drano Lake, Wind River springer bite is really heating up
Tributary spring Chinook heating up
Columbia River walleye bite still very good
Columbia tributary summer steelhead improving
Lowland trout lakes fishing rated good all around
The Trout Derby began the 25th, prizes available.
Bass and panfish getting active in local lakes
Weather
No rain is forecast for the coming week. Sunny to partly cloudy skies are expected this weekend and into next week. Temps should be mid-70’s until late next week and then it warms into the 80’s.
Columbia River
Spring Chinook
The springer season is over for now. Anglers must now wait for the two-state run update in mid-May to see if any additional days will be allowed.
Walleye
Fishing guide Marvin Henkel of Marvin’s Guide Service reports that walleye angling in The Dalles Pool has never slowed for the spawn, which is ending. The bite has continued to be good, and the action is now shifting to the post-spawn bite, as the schools feed heavily to recover from then spawn. The big, trophy females will be harder to find, but the schools of male walleyes will be going on a heavy bite. For this action, Henkel prefers to troll downstream with worm harnesses, smiley blades, and worms.
Cowlitz River
Last week, Tacoma Power employees recovered 149 Winter-run Steelhead, 610 Spring Chinook adults, 47 Spring Chinook jacks, 19 Summer-run Steelhead and one Cutthroat trout over five days of operations at the Cowlitz Salmon Hatchery separator. River flows below Mayfield Dam were 6,100 cubic feet per second on Monday, May 4, 2026. Water visibility is 6 feet and water temperature is 49.7 (F). The river is expected to remain at about the same level through the week, although river flows could change at any time so boaters and anglers should remain alert for this possibility.
Fishing for both summer steelhead and spring Chinook is slow, even though there are good numbers of Chinook returning to the hatchery. Even though over 600 spring Chinook checked in this past week, creel surveys do not show a good bite. During the lates creel surveys, downstream of the I-5 bridge, 134 bank anglers kept only three Chinook, one jack, two steelhead and released one Chinook. 4 boats/5 rods kept one Chinook.
In the upper river, above the bridge, 43 bank anglers kept three Chinook. No boat effort r Merwin Lake
Kokanee fishing continues to improve, although the warm, sunny weather has them moving a bit deeper. The fish are taking trolled kokanee spinners tipped with kokanee corn and fished behind dodgers. For now, flat-line trolling is best, but angler should be ready to use deeper methods since the schools are now moving deeper in the water column. Anglers might also try jigging. The fish are beginning to grow a bit faster as the waters warm. The lake is also getting more crowded.
For a much quieter experience, anglers can target Yale Lake. The fish are a bit smaller, but the competition is far less. The same methods take fish here as work in Merwin.
Kalama River
The spring Chinook action is picking up a bit in the Kalama. During the latest creel survey, 36 bank anglers kept two Chinook. 49 boats/126 rods kept 17 Chinook and released two steelhead. A few summer steelhead are also showing up. Fishing has been best for boat anglers from the Red Barn Launch down to the Modrow Bridge. Most of the fish are falling Drano Lake
The springer fishing is really good right now. Anglers in the Toilet Bowl troll are hammering the fish. Dave Mallahan of Daves Guide Service (360) 201-9313, reports that while the fishing is excellent, and he is limiting the boat most days, the crowds are worse than ever. The word about the good bite has gotten out. In the latest creels, 101 bank anglers kept 16 Chinook and one steelhead. 177 boats/584 rods kept 401. Yes, that is right- 400 springers caught in one day.
Wind River
The action has also really picked up in the Wind River this past week. Creel surveys found that while six bank anglers had no catch. 124 boats/352 rods kept 147 Chinook and released five Chinook. Anglers are mostly trolling the plastic cut-plug baits behind 360 flashers. The fish seem to be biting through most of the Wind River bubble that extends into the Columbia River.