Palouse River Cats

[HammerinHonkers]

Hey Guys
I know that there is a Channel Cat discussion up already and it has some info on the Palouse system from last year, but I wanted to post some questions regarding that area. I am looking to plan a trip there this spring and it will be our groups first trip there. The only time that we can get all the guys together is in the second weekend of May, is this too early for the cats to be up there? Seems like everyone says mid June. I have the number to the marina down there but no one answers, probably too early. Any help would be great thansk, would like to hear from some of the guys that did it last year, sounded good.
HH

[smokum]

Marina and KOA are hibernating!

Mid May thru all of June can be good there. Be VERY careful of the channel going into the Palouse, the sand bar can grab your boat at 30 mph and not let go!!

Anything that will excrete amino acids will attract these tasty buggers.

the owners of the KOA are really helpful and there is alway a guide or two hanging around to ask questions of.

PM me and I can give you more info. I'll be going there for a week in Mid June, anyone wanting a fish-fry is invited!!!!!

P.S. take along some walleye gear and fish the "wall" on the West side of Sulphur Lake (mouth of the Palouse) Also, there can be some really good smallmouth fishing around the bridges upriver and downriver, dropshotting can be lethal!

[Kfisherman]

I will be there June 20 to the 23rd. Will be our first time out there.

[smokum]

Kfish, that could be the same time as when we go, let me know-----------

[justin.garner2]

This thread is a little over a month old, but I have to ask: Are there channel cats in Washington? From all that I've been told there aren't. I just moved up to Olympia from Kansas and that's pretty much all the wife and I used to fish for (Channel Cats).

[HammerinHonkers]

Channel Cats are all over in eastern washington. The snake and columbia river have them all over. Many lakes do as well.

[Steelie L]

Howdy. Does anyone know if there are any bank-fishing opportunities for catfish on the Palouse near Lyon's Ferry -- or it exclusively a boat show? Has anyone ever tried walking up the canyon from there?

Thanks for any and all info!

[sellis_414]

Ive only fished by boat... If you were to hike in you will most likely walk through some farmers fields. But again I don't have a definate answer for you. You could probably fish the mouth on the "old state park" land.

[jbball50]

Kfish, that could be the same time as when we go, let me know-----------

Resurrecting this from the dead, not sure if you're already over there but are you going to be there from the 25th-27th? Guess I'm going to be fishing it next weekend for some catfish and crappie from the boat, maybe some walleye if they're there. Or if anyone else is going at that time give a heads up.

[zen leecher aka Bill W]

How about posting your results after you get back. I fished it last year around Memorial Day. A fisher from this board was over a month ago and said the fishing was slow because of the cool weather this Spring.

I fish vicariously thru reports as we're fixing up our house to sell and retire and I don't get to buy a license until after the house sells. We will end up in Moses Lake.

[jbball50]

Yeah I bet they weren't really on the bite since the weather was still cool and then the water that was being let out from the dams. I'm guessing it'll be decent by now, I'll give a report on how it goes though. Seems like the weather is going to be nice.

[returnofthefish]

Does anybody know if channel cats can be caught in the Columbia at the Vantage boat ramp? Thats a long drive that I can do instead of driving down to the Snake or Palouse. Any information would be appreciated.

[BentRod]

Does anybody know if channel cats can be caught in the Columbia at the Vantage boat ramp? Thats a long drive that I can do instead of driving down to the Snake or Palouse. Any information would be appreciated.

Yes, they're in there. Don't know if the boat ramp is the best place to try for them, but they're in that water.

[returnofthefish]

Thanks Bentrod.

[gpc]

Does anybody know if channel cats can be caught in the Columbia at the Vantage boat ramp? Thats a long drive that I can do instead of driving down to the Snake or Palouse. Any information would be appreciated.

Like mentioned they are in there but I wouldnt expect a whole lot. Most of the fish in that stretch are suckers, carp and northern pikeminnow. There is just about everything in there though, from smallys - chinook salmon. If you happen to be in the area, I would go for it. But I wouldnt go out of my way to fish it.

[zen leecher aka Bill W]

Does anybody know if channel cats can be caught in the Columbia at the Vantage boat ramp? Thats a long drive that I can do instead of driving down to the Snake or Palouse. Any information would be appreciated.

I don't think cats gather up there like they do at the mouth of the Palouse or the other two areas down there.

[BentRod]

Although I'm sure the cats are in the water above Wanapum, the guys have a point. From my experience, the channel cats seem to prefer moving water, and that section of water just doesn't seem to move that fast. If you cross to the east side of the Columbia and head south a little ways, you will come to an area where the river narrows below Wanapum/Beverly. Crab creek dumps in right before the gap. I've never fished it, but have driven by more times than I can count and have always thought it looked like a great hole. Or if you could find any tributary that dumps into the Columbia and fish the convergence. My family used to fish for sturgeon just above the Vernita bridge also, so that might be an option as well, but once again, I've never fished that spot myself. There is a ton of water to cover in that area, so lots of options. I'm sure you can pull some nice fish out if you toss some chicken livers and have some patience. You might do a google search for a bathymetric map of the area and see if there are any holes that you can go target. Good luck.

[returnofthefish]

Really great information guys. I tired channel catfishing at the Gissberg Ponds in Snohomish county last year. I caught lots of weeds with a sliding bottom rig. Harts Lake was also on my list too, until I got Pink fever. Eastern Wa seems like the best bet.

[jbball50]

How about posting your results after you get back. I fished it last year around Memorial Day. A fisher from this board was over a month ago and said the fishing was slow because of the cool weather this Spring.

I fish vicariously thru reports as we're fixing up our house to sell and retire and I don't get to buy a license until after the house sells. We will end up in Moses Lake.

The fishing went alright today. We ended up catching 3 walleye, 2 channel cats, a smallmouth, a bluegill, a sunfish for the day at the Mouth of Palouse. Probably could've caught more catfish if we fished more for them. Wish I could get out there tomorrow but the dad's going back tomorrow to the westside in the morning.

[zen leecher aka Bill W]

The fish should be up on the shallow mud flats. First time there I thought it was carp rolling all over. It was cats.