Drano Lake Steelhead

[GutZ]

Having read of Drano Lake here and seeing the fishcounts/reports in the Seattle Times, I am considering driving the 5 hours or so down to Drano Lake.
I would appreciate any information you would be willing to share with me on this fishery. I have a couple of specific questions.

1) Is fishing from a drift boat reasonable?
2) Favorite/Best method for catching 'em?
3) Where is the launch / takeout or would you just row around in a circle? (not those tight little circles like when you only have one oar, but a big circle, kinda like a football field )
4) As all of my former fishing buddies have left town, been late or otherwise fouled up, does anyone care for a boat ride?

Please feel free to e-mail me candles@aa.net or reply hear.

Thanks in Advance.
Jeff "Fishguts"

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Fish Now,
Sleep Later.

I've only fished it for springers Jeff. But I've read and heard of some things that may be of value to you. The launch is about in the lower to mid area of the lake ( which is actually an inlet of the Col. R. with the Little White Salmon R. running into it). It's right in the Hwy 14. parking lot; can't miss it. It's not as windy there as it is at the mouth of the Wind R., but winds could make it difficult to row a boat, particularly a high sided driftboat, around in there for long. Use a trolling motor if you can to troll Wiggle Warts around the lake on a fairly long line (strong electric motors are good for the clear water). Trolling or casting spinners work well. Some do well by fishing sandshrimp or egg clusters with a float. Experiment with depths. It's legal to fish many places in Washington at night. Drano has been described as one of the more fun places to do this. You need front and rear lights by law to do that by boat. Try the glow in the dark Warts for that. Also try glow sticks tied onto spinners or baithooks. I would think that trolling a sandshrimp with a glow in the dark Spin N Glo, either with 2' lead dropper or a Hot N Tot diver should work great in there. Let us know how you do. Good luck. - RT

[TheRogue]

For the daytime, most people are anchoring up. Use a sliding bobber with a cured prawn (red), suspended just above the bottom. The strikes are often savage, with the bobber disappearing and line coming off your reel before you notice. Don't just lay your rod down for this...saw a kid dive in after his after it went flying over the stern. Generally, the best spot is right on the original river channel. It's easy to find with a depth finder. Also, the boats are normally strung out along it. For the night fishing, make sure you've got some sort of light on your bobber.

One thing about the prawns. Watching the people, the ones catching the most fish had red dye splashing up everytime the bait hit the water...home cured, or store bought with cure added.

There are definitely people trolling. Those that do the best are using downriggers...the bottom is extremely flat, and depth is constant around most of the lake, clear to the east end.

A drift boat is just fine for this fishery. Take two anchors...it's a sand/mud bottom, mostly, so be prepared for that. The wind can be a killer....the worst part might just be launching your boat. If you don't have a motor, you should probably plan on just anchoring...will probably be big wind this weekend. Be warned, in the night the north wind can come whipping down the canyon, and it's generally 10+ degrees colder than the west wind. BRRRRRRR!!

DO NOT park your rig in the parking lot if you plan on staying over night. There's a 1-4 am closure for that....they write tickets, too. Park along the road, plenty of room.

Good Luck!!!!

[GutZ]

Thanks alot for the very good information.

I have gone back and reread all the posts I could "search" out on Drano. If I decide to brave the weather and head down I would definetly be camping. Where would be a decent place to camp? And is there a fire ban in effect?

I ran into a fire ban at Blue Creek last weekend. No steak . No Beans . Had to settle for a Pizza in Toledo .

Two anchors? Two keep from swinging about I suspect? How do the shorebound fair?

Thanks Again;
Fishguts

[TheRogue]

Ah, one of the problems with the Gorge. Not many places to camp. And, if the wind is blowing, you can bet you'll have to fight the boardheads for the few places there are.

Established campgrounds will have firepits, you can have fires there. I suppose restrictions may lax a little on fires this weekend, if it really rains good (probably not).

Yep, two anchors to keep from swinging.

The last time I was there, the bankies did really well, between the "Social Security" beach and the big rock. Apparently there's another channel right against the bank there. Not a great place to kick back and relax; it's on the fill bank of the road.

T.R.

Also...if you continue upstream, you come to Underwood, across from Hood River, which is the mouth of the Big White Salmon river. There is pretty good bank access there. A bench has existed right under the trestle for years. This time of the year, it is packed with people at night, plunking Spin-N-Glows: then during the day, throwing spinners. It can be an excellent place, if you can put up with shoulder-to-shoulder, and can cast a 2oz lead where you want it to go. People there are generally friendly...ask if you can squeeze in, and be pleasant. I got a 12lb chrome bright chinook there on Sunday. Spinner with a size 5 brass blade, red glass beads, red tubing, and a single siwash hook.

[This message has been edited by TheRogue (edited 08-31-2000).]