Hi Jeremy and Welcome to the form.

You are in some of the best Bass fishing in the state with you living in the Wenatchee area. I have not fished that area for years but have fond memories from growing up on that side of the state. I have never fished the Columbia in your area for Bass. However, I have fished for Bass a bunch in Moses Lake, The Potholes, Scooteney Reservoir, Winchester Wasteway, and the many of the small lakes in your area. I am sure that someone will chime in with more current and up to date knowledge of the area.

Good Luck,

Jim Bradbury

Thanks for the suggestions, I will definitely stop by a few places on our way home. I have a new rod that I have not used yet and am looking forward to fishing with it.

Maniac,

I am 63 years old and very round. My knees and back are torn up from working harder than I should of when Iwas in my younger years. I used to bank fish the Puyallup and Green 30 years ago. I/we purchased a new Alumaweld last summer. I have yet to put a fish in it. I have been fishing the Columbia at the mouth of the Cowlitz mostly. I did bank fish on another SW Washington River last spring. My hunting/fishing partner and myself are headed down for the Sportsmans show in Portland next Wednesday. We plan to get a motel room somewhere down there and then bank fish a few spots one our way back. We are just not sure where to go down there, and neither one of us has bank fished down that way. I have been using a Mustad fixed float set up. I need to get the stuff and try a sliding Bobber set up like that.

Great fish,

Jim Bradbury

You could go up to Scooteney Reservoir, it is about ten miles north of the town of Mesa which is north of Pasco headed to Othello. Used to be good for Bass, Perch, and Crappie too. There is also the little pond on the west side of the Freeway by the Grain Elevator, I used to catch a bunch of fish here when I was younger. But that was a long, long time ago.

Download the "Fish Washington" app on your phone or tablet. It is very helpful and easy to use. You can pick you river zoom in on it, then tap on it and the regulations and different boundaries come up. Then as you scroll down the first thing you will see are the "Emergency" regulations which supersede the regulation in the printer pamphlet. Probably the closest for you from Olympia would be to head to the Cowlitz, Lewis, Kalama and other rivers in SW Washington.

I sure hope so, it will never be the fishery that it once was. Gill nets pretty much destroyed the Puyallup.

simply typed in Camera Cowlitz river and found it.

Jim B

Darin,

I will take you up on that offer the next time I am headed back down there. I usually go fishing about once a month down there.

Thank you,

Jim

I fished the lower part of the Cowlitz last Saturday the 7th. It was high and dirty then. I have no clue what it is like since then. I wish that I had a contact in the area that I could get updates from. It sucks to drive two and a half hours, launch in the dark, cross the Columbia and go up the Cowlitz to see it is high and dirty once there is enough light.

CBW,
I am interested in this too, as I just got back into fishing in July. I am not sure about bank fishing and not really too positive about fishing from a boat like I have been doing. I am trying to learn as much as possible.

If and when I do find a pair of Waders that will fit me. I figure it is going to cost a minimum of $400.00 and maybe as much as $800.00. For now, I have been fishing out of my boat, which I do not have a pump on so have to be very careful where I go. I have mostly been fishing the lower mile and half or so of the Cowlitz. I do want to get out and bank fish some of the spots that I cannot go with my boat. Hence, I am looking for some chest waders.

I have been wanting to get a pair of Chest waders my problem is my size. I am 63 years old and due to working harder than I should of when I was younger. I do not move very well in my older age. I am 5'-9" and tip the scales at 350 pounds with a size 11 extra wide foot, which means I will have to settle on a size 12 boot to get the width I need. When I find waders that fit my girth (aka Fatness), they are for a person who is 6'-6 tall. I also need a pair of booted waders as once I put on a pair of waders then I cannot bend over to tie my damn shoes. If anyone knows of someone who makes chest waders for someone my size, I would certainly like to know who that is so that I can get a pair.

Looking at the "Fish Washington" app, the Duwamish closed to Steelhead fishing January 1st. I have been away from fishing for 25 years and am just getting back into it. Used to Steelhead fish the Puyallup all the time. Now as near as I can tell the Puyallup is only open the last two weeks in August for Steelhead. Back in the dark ages the Puyallup was one of the top Steelhead producing rivers in the state.

I was on the Cowlitz Saturday the 7th of January. I launched at Rainier, crossed the Columbia and fished the lower mile or so of the Cowlitz. River was high and dirty. Only Steelhead that I/we saw caught was caught by a Bald Eagle. I was marking a few fish on the fish finder for what it is worth. We could not get them to bite anything. I will fish there again in a few weeks. I will let you know if we do any good.

Thanks for all the advice,

Somehow, in looking for spinning rods I ended up finding out about Edge rods. After much research and watching several videos, I ended up ordering a 9'-0" rod for casting Spinners plus an 11'-3" rod for casting Bobbers.