Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area
Fishing
For good fishing cast your line into Laurance Lake, Drano Lake, Goose Lake, Lost Lake or the mouth of
Eagle Creek. River trout, salmon and steelhead will fight the rapids (and you) in Wind River, Hood
River, White Salmon, Deschutes or Klickitat rivers. The Sandy is one of the top ten steelhead rivers in
Oregon. Worms will attract the small mouth bass in ponds along the Columbia River or you can bank
fish for sturgeon near Bonneville Dam. Check current regulations by calling state departments of fish and
wildlife.
Some good fishing sites in the Washington section of the Gorge are:
Little White Salmon River - 5 miles west of Big Salmon, flows into Drano lake - Salmon and
Steelhead.
Upper Little White Salmon - Rainbow and Brook Trout.
Wind River - 4 miles east of Stevenson - Spring salmon, summer steelhead.
Klickitat River - 8 miles east of White Salmon - Summer steelhead, trout, spring and fall
chinook.
Spearfish Lake - East of the Dalles bridge - Rainbow trout.
Horsethief Lake - Adjacent to Horsethief State Park - Rainbow, bass and crappie.
Northwestern Lake - Reservoir behind Condit Dam on Lower White Salmon - Rainbow trout.
Swith Creek Reservoir - 4,590 acre site approximately 50 miles north of Columbia River -
Rainbow and bull trout.
Goose Lake - On the northern edge of Big Lava Bed - Brook and brown trout.
Some good fishing sites in the Oregon section of the Gorge are:
Lost Lake - Between Columbia and Mt. Hood Wilderness, SW of Hood River - Brown, rainbow and Brook Trout, Kokanee.
Laurance Lake - Southwest of Parkdale, near Cooper Spur - Rainbow, bull and cutthroat trout.
Benson Lake - 1.5 miles west of Multnomah Falls - Trout.
Wahtum Lake - Approximately 15 miles south of Columbia River in Wilderness Area.
Deschutes River - Excellent for Rainbow, brown trout, Steelhead and Spring Chinook.
Hood River - Good fishing for trout, steelhead, spring and fall chinook.
Mainstream Columbia - There are countless sites for fishing along the Gorge section of the
Columbia. Fish which can be caught include small and large mouth bass, panfish, walleye and shad.
Sturgeon Fishing - Sturgeon are commonly found above and below Bonneville Dam and
throughout the entire Columbia/Snake system. The fish like deep, cavernous areas and feed on the
bottoms of rivers. Year around sturgeon fishing is available below Bonneville Dam but is subject to
current licensing and catch limit regulations.
Return to
Top
RELATED GORP LINKS
GORP Oregon Resources
GORPtravel Adventure Vacations

|