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bass or catfish near clark county ,wa?

16K views 7 replies 5 participants last post by  warmwater 
#1 ·
if u know of any spots or places to fish for either of these species let me know.
 
#2 ·
Try Lake River at Felida or in Ridgefield for cats. Vancouver Lake has 'em as well, but access is horrible.

Bass fishing in Clark County is rough. Lacamas, Round Lake, Klineline, Vancouver, Battleground-pretty much all of the lakes and ponds here have some bass, but not in great numbers. Smallies on the Columbia are a better bet, especially when the water levels drop (for shore fishing).

There is loads of sloughs and ponds associated with Lake Vancouver, Lake River, and the Ridgefield Wildlife area. I've heard of bass coming out of there too, very little pressure, and very little info on the fishing. Keep us posted on how you do!
 
#4 ·
Just joined and am on small fry status with you guys. Salutations! Just wondering the same thing.

Went out to Vancouver Lake and dogs jumping in the water, crowded with people, honestly there must be away to get away from all the loud radios and jumping in the water. Also does not seem to be open to night fishing.

On the other hand, have you guys read what that Sgt. Slaughter says? Says big channel cat fish in there? Must be hiding from thefishninja in the day, and then coming out at night time when the loud people have fled.

Dear fishing brethren, lets band together and post the fish intelligence reports for close to clark county spots. So far here are the names I have discovered of potential places to visit:

1. Lacamas Lake (possibly awesome?)
2. Horseshoe Lake (possibly awesome?)
3. Silver Lake ( definitely awesome but probably far away too)
4. Vancouver Lake (blah? no night fishing? crowded? few fish?)
5. Klein pond ( supposedly small crowded overfished?)
6. Felida, by the Moorage/Boats, ( they charge three dollars? creepy? idk)
7. Battleground -- do not know anything yet
8. Round Lake-- do not know anything yet
9. Lake River -- do not know anything about it yet
10. Ridgefield Area...... looks promising and pretty too, but have no idea11.
11. Kress Lake-- sound like a tiny pond but might check that out
12. Lewis River-- (definitely awesome, yet kind of far, need good spot info)
13. Do not know anything about the Washington side of the Columbia yet... ( just moved here from Oly )

So far only been to Vancouver Lake and saw this shallow swampy spot and then a crowded boating place on the other side with not much cover. Scary. Loud people, radios, dogs, lots of weird foreign sounds, not fun. Thefishninja must learn to adapt, night fishing would be wise.

So basically did find this awesome pdf download of a map at this website

http://www.cowlumbia.com/fish/

And then I found this second website with map links

http://mrriver.com/washington.html

These two websites combined with ishfish.net is what thefishninja is attempting to use to navigate reality. Any help? Saw some your guys posts, that Sgt Slaughter guy looks helpful and awesome too.

Nice to be swimming along on small fry status with you guys.
 
#5 ·
Kress used to have a good bass pop, but it has fallen in recent years.

Lake River is killer for yellow perch (Ridgefield area), bullheads, pikeminnow, and carp. There's other fish in there too, basically every species in the Pacific Northwest can be found in it. Sit at the Ridgefield docks long enough and people will tell you about sturgeon being caught there.

Lacamas and Round have great bass and bluegill populations.

Vancouver Lake is absolutely huge, you'll do better with a kayak or something else to explore the myriad of waterways making up the lake. Look into Buckmire slough nearby....I've never fished it, but it looks promising. Bring plenty of bug spray for any of these areas, especially if you are fishing in the evening.
 
#6 ·
Felida Moorage is a geat place to launch and fish Vanc. lake and lake river. Yeah, it's $3 to launch but there's always someone around watching people going in and out. I have yet to have a problem there. I've fished all night out of there numerous times. You're only a couple hundred yards from the lake if you want to explore it or you can go down river for miles and miles....... lots of wildlife too(besides mosquitos!)

You can also fish off the docks at the moorage(all night if you want) for a buck or two I think.

Catfishing for me has been very hit and miss- mostly miss- but when you catch one you know it- they can be big!

Jim
 
#7 ·
Vancouver Lake and Lake River will both require a significant amount of hiking if you want to get to away from the masses.

Lake River:
The best and shortest access for Lake River is to go in from Lower River road. Just head out to Vancouver Lake Park, drive past the park another mile until the road ends.
  • DO NOT PARK AT THE END OF THE ROAD! There are many people who go out there and shoot guns so you want to park away from the end of the road where they set up to shoot.
  • Do not attempt to walk to your car from the north trails leading back to the road if you hear gunfire, you may be walking into someone's target shooring area. It is better to move out a hundred yards to the west into the Shilapoo Wildlife area to walk back to your car if you hear gunshots.
  • Once you park you can head north to Lake River and then move north for quite a while until you get to the end of the Shilapoo Wildlife area. You probably have access to over a half mile of the river here.
  • There is a lot of drag racing or cars and motorcycles at this location so you need to be very careful and keep your kids and dogs close to you and on a leash (dogs not kids).:D
Alternate access to Lake River
  • If you do not want to park at the end of the road where they shoot you can drive all the way around Shilapoo and park near a large sand lot north of Frenchmans Bar park. The lot is owned by Fazio Brothers. Drive past the sand lot a few hundred yards until you come to the end of a dike the runs out into the field to your right (east). Park at the head of the dike, but don't block the gate. You can walk all the way to Lake River along the dike. Once you get to the river you can only move south back down toward the lake, all of the land to the north is privately owned.
Vancouver Lake:

Access to Vancouver Lake is spotty because there are not many places that seem very good for fishing. However, I think the north shore looks very interesting. You can access it from Felida Moorage. Yes you have to pay a little bit to park but it is very reasonable, especially since you won't be launching a boat.
  • Park at Felida Moorage, pay your fee down at the office at the bottom of the pier ramp. This even applies if you are there at night.
  • Walk to the boat launch and then head east along lake river and start fishing.
  • I think the best bet is to go way out and fish along the shore a long way from the moorage where there has been less pressure.
  • The lake has a lot of carp.
 
#8 ·
Vancouver Lake and Lake River will both require a significant amount of hiking if you want to get to away from the masses.

Lake River:
The best and shortest access for Lake River is to go in from Lower River road. Just head out to Vancouver Lake Park, drive past the park another mile until the road ends.
  • DO NOT PARK AT THE END OF THE ROAD! There are many people who go out there and shoot guns so you want to park away from the end of the road where they set up to shoot.
  • Do not attempt to walk to your car from the north trails leading back to the road if you hear gunfire, you may be walking into someone's target shooring area. It is better to move out a hundred yards to the west into the Shilapoo Wildlife area to walk back to your car if you hear gunshots.
  • Once you park you can head north to Lake River and then move north for quite a while until you get to the end of the Shilapoo Wildlife area. You probably have access to over a half mile of the river here.
  • There is a lot of drag racing or cars and motorcycles at this location so you need to be very careful and keep your kids and dogs close to you and on a leash (dogs not kids).:D
Alternate access to Lake River
  • If you do not want to park at the end of the road where they shoot you can drive all the way around Shilapoo and park near a large sand lot north of Frenchmans Bar park. The lot is owned by Fazio Brothers. Drive past the sand lot a few hundred yards until you come to the end of a dike the runs out into the field to your right (east). Park at the head of the dike, but don't block the gate. You can walk all the way to Lake River along the dike. Once you get to the river you can only move south back down toward the lake, all of the land to the north is privately owned.
Vancouver Lake:

Access to Vancouver Lake is spotty because there are not many places that seem very good for fishing. However, I think the north shore looks very interesting. You can access it from Felida Moorage. Yes you have to pay a little bit to park but it is very reasonable, especially since you won't be launching a boat.
  • Park at Felida Moorage, pay your fee down at the office at the bottom of the pier ramp. This even applies if you are there at night.
  • Walk to the boat launch and then head east along lake river and start fishing.
  • I think the best bet is to go way out and fish along the shore a long way from the moorage where there has been less pressure.
  • The lake has a lot of carp.
Thank you for this super helpful post! I have never accessed Lake River from that side, I did not know it was possible. Great post!:excited::excited::excited::excited:
 
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