A lone fisherman floats on Coldwater Lake in this 2016 Chronicle file photo.
The eruption of a volcano is most commonly associated with death, destruction and disaster.
Even after the smoke and ash clears, it is difficult to imagine a verdant tomorrow.
However, the exploding power of Earth’s innermost primordial forces have a particularly magical way of creating a new world out of the ashes of the former.
The eruption of Mount St. Helens in 1980 blew the top off the mountain and leveled a forest, leaving a desolate moonscape in its steaming stead. The blast also caused landslides and avalanches. To the northwest of the mountain, more or less directly in the blast path, that tumbling earth created a natural dam at the outlet of Coldwater Creek. With that outflow blocked, a new water feature was soon formed — Coldwater Lake.
Today, Coldwater Lake, located in both Cowlitz and Skamania counties at 2,494 feet of elevation, is 773.2 acres and flanked by angular Mount Margaret to the north and a decapitated Mount St. Helens to the south.
Prior to the eruption, native runs of winter steelhead and coho spawned in the creek and its tributaries, as well as resident cutthroat and rainbow trout. Today, the salmon and steelhead are gone but vestiges of those trout populations remain.
A concerted stocking effort by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife in 1989 helped to boost those numbers a bit as well. Over three different dates, some 30,412 rainbow fingerlings were deposited in the lake. Within two years, scientists had found evidence that the hatchery fish were reproducing within the confines of the volcanically spawned confines of the lake.
They’ve even popped up in nearby Castle Lake. The Coldwater Lake population has proven to be self-sustaining over the years, and so no additional stocking efforts have ever been made. Additionally, the presence of Twin Lakes genetics cutthroat trout indicates that at least some cutthroats were mixed in with the rainbows at the Mossyrock Hatchery back in 1989. On the other hand, the continued presence of coastal cutthroats is attributed to a population that predates, and survived, the 1980 eruption.
The lake is outfitted with a small boat launch and fishing is allowed on a limited basis. The WDFW refers to Coldwater Lake as a “quality trout fishery,” meaning that there is a one-fish harvest limit, with catch and release fishing allowed until that qualifying fish is reeled in.
In order to qualify, a Coldwater trout must be at least 16 inches long. Only artificial flies or lures and a single barbless hook may be employed by anglers. As the presence of the launch suggests, boats are allowed on the lake but may only be hand, wind or electric powered. No internal combustion engines or bait is allowed, and all anglers must possess a Washington fishing license.
Fishing was first allowed at Coldwater Lake on July 15, 1993. At first, daily permits were required for angling access but as pressure waned the permit program was discontinued. The boat launch and a paved parking lot were added in April 1994 and hiking trail 211 runs parallel to the lake’s western shore, providing access to three designated shoreline fishing access spots.
Peter Frenzen, a Mount St. Helens Volcanic Monument scientist and public affairs officer with the United States Forest Service, says that fishing at the lake is an enduring endeavor for locals and tourists alike.
“I’m not an angler by vocation but I understand that fishing in Coldwater Lake is quite popular. I am told by the people who regularly fish Coldwater Lake (mostly catch and release sportsman) and know what they are doing (what lures and at what depths to fish) that they quit when their arms are tired from reeling in big fish,” noted Frenzen in an email. “I have also heard less experienced anglers say they didn’t catch a thing.”
At the fishing counter at Bob’s Sporting Goods in Longview, reel talk specialist Cody Waters said that the lake is known to provide plenty of reward for patient anglers who don’t mind taking a scenic drive to reach their fishing hole.
Waters explained that the variety of lure, or fly, boils down to personal preference and whether you plan on fishing from the bank or a boat.
“Spinners and spoons are the big key because when you’re out in a boat you can troll them around,” explained Waters.
In either case, he suggested using darker colored setups that match the color of the resident trout since they have not been exposed to the flashy colors of feed that are doled out at hatcheries.
Waters said the fishing is most popular in the summer when the living is easy and the recovering volcano scenery is unmatched.
“I’ve always fished it in the start of summer when the water kind of warms up a little bit,” said Waters. “It’s not like it’s red hot. I don’t ever catch more than about six of them.”
Waters noted he gets more inquisitions from folks looking to try out their piscatorial prospects in pyroclastic flow spawned lake in the summer as well.
“They show up every so often, more in the summer when people want to hike and stuff. They’ll just grab their little trout pole and just go out there for fun,” explained Waters. “There are some people that like to fish those high lakes.”
Waters added, “It’s pretty quiet. You’ll see maybe half a dozen people on a weekend, but you can walk all around the lake.”
State Route 504 leads to the lake and is closed for the winter each year. More commonly known as Spirit Lake Highway, SR 504 was closed on Nov. 9 in 2015. The road is typically reopened in May each spring when the winter snow melts.
For more information, contact the National Volcanic Monument Headquarters at (360) 449-7800.
