Northwest Fishing Reports

We were interested in trying to fish Lake River in Clark county. We were just wondering what kind of species were available. Looking to fish for Bass, perch, crappie, etc. which area is the best? Is there a lot of current in there? Will a trolling motor be enough? Any info would be helpfull.
Thanks

Hey,

I have fished Lake River many times, both in Ridgefield and at Felida. I usually fish from the docks, but I have also taken my fish hunter raft and boated it once. There is a slight current, enough to make rowing against it difficult, but not impossible, and it seems the current direction changes throughout the day (tidal influence? I don't know.)

Lake River holds all kinds of different fish. I and my friends have caught bullhead catfish, channel catfish, yellow perch, suckers, northern pikeminnow, largemouth, bluegill, pumpkinseed sunfish, and carp in Lake River. There's reports of people catching sturgeon and salmon in the river as well, although I've never witnessed this myself.

The best boat launch is probably in Ridgefield (better developed). The one in Felida is a little harder to access and less well-made, but it is closer to Vancouver.

Before you go, pull up a Google Maps satellite view of the area and plan your trip accordingly. There is plenty of small creeks that feed into Lake River, offering great locations to fish.

Most of the fish I've caught in Lake River have been on bait, usually worms, but sometimes on bread or other dough baits. I really enjoy bass fishing, and Lake River supposedly has big largemouth, but they are hard to figure out. The water is usually pretty stained year-round (visibility maybe 1-2 ft at most) and the bottom is pretty silty. Some people have mentioend the mouth of Salmon Creek (where it enters Lake River) as a good bass spot, with lots of bassy cover in the area. Watch out for sandbars, you don't want to run aground out there. Please let me know how you do out there for bass or other species(post or pm me).

Let me know if you have any other questions!