Lake Merwin fisherman, get in here...

[PouserKeith]

(Questions about lake area below.... sorry for the long length)

I am doing my research for Lake Merwin and need to gather information as I have never been there before. I have two weeks off in early March and want to spend some time down there in addition to wanting to also possibly spend some time fishing at other lakes that I have never been on such as Chelan and Moses Lake or Banks Lake. (I gotta get some fishing in...)

I have a 12 foot Smokercraft Alaska Lite boat (on a trailer) and use a good 8 HP 4 stroke and have an electric trolling motor that can be added to the boat also. I would primarily be targeting kokanee and trout in Merwin.

I see that there is a Speelyai launch at Merwin at the northeast end of the impoundment. What do they charge for launching/parking?

Are there any other public launches available on the lake? (if so, where are they located and what might they charge?)

Some reports show photos of a waterfall on the lake and there is talk about the "stump forest" or stump garden, where is this area on the lake in conjunction to the available launches?

I see the old river bed while looking at Google Earth Pro, but what areas are the primary locations that I would wish to start to look for the silver bullets?

I have a very wide assortment of kokanee trolling gear sorted out (lures, dodgers, baits) and will be using a couple of small manual Cannon lake troll downriggers, have some drift socks available to be used, have a "simple" Fishin Buddy depth finder and will use my GPS to keep track of trolling speeds. Just need some info to help me feel more comfortable heading into the unknown for the first time by myself.....


Lastly, what are options for any primitive type of tent camping in the area or not to frilly lodging that would allow me to spend more than a day down there to explore and make the trip from Renton more worth it? (would want something safer for me and my "stuff" from getting jacked while I sleep)

THANK YOU IN ADVANCE.

Keith in Renton

[Rocketvet]

PacificCorp has a website than runs 4 campsites in the area. Cresap Bay is on the west end of the lake and has the other available public launch other than Speelyai. Our favorite is Beaver Bay on Yale, only a short drive. Speelyai is a better launch with roomy docks and lots of parking. Just need your Discovery Pass. No launch fee.

Morning bite is better at Merwin then you can hit Yale in the afternoon for something different. Historically Yale seems to have larger numbers of smaller fish. Merwin can be challenging but they run larger.

Location and depth are key and that's not always easy on big reservoirs. If you find them pound the area. You can catch kokanee anywherre at that place. Some trout are there but don't waste time targeting rainbows on Merwin. This is a Kokanee fishery. Some have caught the random Tiger Muskie and there are days when you feed more Pikeminnow to eagles than you do catching Kokanee.

Your boat is a bit small for a windy day trip all the way to the dam but I've done it with my old 12 ft, 9.8 h.p. Might want to fish close to Speelyai, waterfall area. Google maps of the lake and you'll find some of the landmarks you asked about.

As far as tackle you'll find a million different opinions. Shoepeg corn scented goes on whatever you choose.

Make sure to hit Yale at some point, they view there is amazing.

Use the resources on this website and otherrs and you'll be fine. Merwin Kokanee can be challenging but it's one of our favorites!

[Larry3215]

Here you go.

[Rocketvet]

Edit: cresap bay is on the east end, sorry.

[Mike Carey]

Launching is primarily at Cresap Bay which I think is $3 to launch? There is also another smaller ramp at the far northeast end campground.

Don't forget to use this web site as a resource! Search the video section, we have several kokanee videos for Merwin.

Check the reports for Merwin. Use the filter at the top of the report page index to narrow your search to just kokanee.

Use the hotspots and heat map tools to see the areas most anglers report high success on.

Have fun, it's a great lake!

[salmonkiller]

** BUmp**

I'm heading down there this weekend!!

Any one been lately?

[Sideburns]

Ive heard lots of good reports from over the last week! Good luck. Many also fish yale back to back and say yale is better action, smaller fish. Might be a little late, but brads kcp's and hochies in pinks and oranges seem to be very popular.

[salmonkiller]

We fished Merwin for the 1st time…
Arrived at Cresap bay campground Saturday, set up camp, launched the boat and did a little scouting around the lake.
Sunday we got soaked and ended up with 9.
Monday we only fished until 10AM and ended up with 5.

I posted a report with pics

[Larry3215]

I dont see the report?

[Larry3215]

It finally showed up for me.

Any details you care to add - locations, depths, lures, bait etc?

[salmonkiller]

We focused our efforts at the woodland and waterfall area.

We got fish from 35-62, with 50-60 being the most productive zone for us.

They never seemed to key in on one specific scent of corn. We got just as many fish on gulp magots as corn. I also used little pieces of cured prawns.

We got fish on brads mini kokanee cut plugs stuffed with tuna and tipped with corn and also stuffed them with prawns and tipped them with prawns.

Orange rasticale and orange hoochie with smile blade produced the best.

We found a school of fish near the waterfall area one morning that produced a double, I marked the school on my gps but we never find them again… lol

We got lots of doubles but these fish are talented and we lost SO many fish.

The big fish would pop the clip and peel line.

I will definitely be back again.

[Sideburns]

Thanks for the report!

[Larry3215]

Thanks! We have been meaning to go to Merwin for ages but never got around to it. This may push us to give it a shot

[tbrinks]

Was just talking about this lake last week with the employees at the Lacey, Cabela's.

Going to have to check it out on my next trip. They said it is a pretty good fishery and were impressed with the Navionics map quality when I showed them the creek channel and community edits with good fishing spots.

[tmusky1]

On a scale of 1-10, how sketchy is the area around the launches?
Heading to Mayfield for a few days in August but want to try Merwin for a half day and all our supplies will be in the back of the truck. (couple ice chests/totes of food)
Anybody ever have their vehicle messed with there?

[salmonkiller]

On a scale of 1-10, how sketchy is the area around the launches?
Heading to Mayfield for a few days in August but want to try Merwin for a half day and all our supplies will be in the back of the truck. (couple ice chests/totes of food)
Anybody ever have their vehicle messed with there?

I would go to cresap bay.. you have to pay and there is a person working a gate at the entrance to the park.

[tmusky1]

On a scale of 1-10, how sketchy is the area around the launches?
Heading to Mayfield for a few days in August but want to try Merwin for a half day and all our supplies will be in the back of the truck. (couple ice chests/totes of food)
Anybody ever have their vehicle messed with there?

I would go to cresap bay.. you have to pay and there is a person working a gate at the entrance to the park.

Perfect, that's great information. Thank you!!

[tmusky1]

Thanks again to salmonkiller, advice on using Cresap launch was spot on. Very clean, nice facility. Seemed to be campground employees all over the place. Guy at the gate didn't charge us, just asked how many people were in the vehicle.