Wind River Salmon Fishing

Fishing the Little White Salmon River and Drano Lake: Much of the" river fishing" here occurs not in the river but in the big backwater at the river's mouth known as Drano Lake, and it has a long reputation for its outstanding steelhead and salmon fishing. One of the best fisheries here over the years has been the spring chinook action during April and May, when anglers have been known to catch hundreds of 10- to 30-pound springers per month. But measures to protect spring chinook runs throughout the Columbia River system prompted a closure of Drano Lake's productive springer fishery in 1995. With luck, anglers will again have an opportunity to troll big, sardinewrapped Kwikfish and Flatfish, large spinners, and other offerings around the Highway 14 bridge to intercept large spring chinooks at the mouth of the Little White Salmon.

In the meantime, the fall chinook season remains open, and anglers trolling plugs or spinners and bouncing metal jigs or roe clusters along the bottom stand to pick off a few dozen fall salmon every year. The fishery starts in August, but September is by far the best month to try your luck.

August and September are also prime months to fish for steelhead in the Little White Salmon and Drano Lake. In fact, this is one of Washington's most productive summer steelie spots, giving up 2,000 to 3,000 fish a year.

In 1992 anglers caught nearly 5,000 steelhead during the summer season. Fishing both day and night, anglers use everything from Hot Shots and other diving plugs to fresh ghost shrimp for their fish. The largest concentrations of anglers and the biggest catches come from the lake, but fishing the moving water of the river itself can also be productive.