Northwest Fishing Reports

I am in the Marine Corps and just moved up from Southern California and am a Recruiter in the Vancouver Area. I have tried to do some bass fishing but found there is alot of weeds all over the little ponds I have been trying. Does anyone have any places I should try in clark or cowlitz county? Thanks

yes sir in cowlitz county theres silver lake right off i-5.i fish this lake all the time. it can be tough at times, but if you like i could show you a little about it.

Welcome to WA "Sarg" (I hope I'm not under-ranking you). Not too familiar with your area, sounds like some of the other guys are chiming in to help. I just wanted to say "Welcome" and THANK YOU for your dedicated service to our country. Without guys like you doing what you do, we couldn't do what we do. I haven't forgotten!!!

Keep up the fight, there are still a lot of us out here who support you guys and GET IT....I'll stop there, I'm starting to get on a "rant".

What was your question??? (LOL)

HOO-RAH!!!!

Vancouver lake is supposed to have some nice bass in it... It's a rather large lake though so you would need some kind of floatation device. This lake also has some nice catfish. Apparently they spawn during the warm summer months near the western shoreline where the big park is.

Lacamas Lake is reported to have some nice bass in it though I've never fished it myself.


and there are good bass populations in the Columbia River reservoirs behind Bonneville, Dalles, and John Day Dams.

Gotta be very careful on these reservoirs though. They are popular with wind surfers and for very good reason.

However most who fish them tend to target the salmon, steelhead, and sturgeon and the bass get overlooked.

One way to beat the wind is to work the abundant small lakes and reservoirs adjoining the river. I think the best ones and the closest ones are on the Oregon Side but once you get past Bonneville Dam you will start to see them on the WA side also. Some are shallow with muddy bottoms (that means weedy) but most are deep and have a lot of rock and gravel in their bottom structures..... Some of these small lakes even have names and seasons (.vs. the Columbia River and it's reservoirs which are open year round) so be sure to check the current regs before fishing them.

I second Silver lake also try Riffe lake, Riffe is in lewis county tho...
just a thought
Welcome to the state!

I am also new to this state so I don't have much advice to offer other than use this site it is great. Also I would like to extend a warm welcome to you as was extended to me when arriving on this site and making a post just like yours. So may you have a great time fishing in this beautiful state!

USMCFisherman wrote:
I am in the Marine Corps and just moved up from Southern California and am a Recruiter in the Vancouver Area. I have tried to do some bass fishing but found there is alot of weeds all over the little ponds I have been trying. Does anyone have any places I should try in clark or cowlitz county? Thanks

First of all I am going to thank you for protecting our country. Who knows where we would be without people like yourself. But...... I have some bad news for you, there isnt any bass up here like there is in So Cal. But there is still a lot of good bass spots in the state. These northern strain large mouth dont even come close to those Florida strain large mouth. Its funny because this weekend I am taking one of my buddys out fishing, hes in the marines and just got back from Iraq and will be here for a month before he goes back. But the best place for bass is grant county, and thats where we are going. Its not too close to cowlitz, but its well worth the trip. Thats where I do most of my fishing. I have way too much stuff to write, so if you interested PM me and give you the scoop