After hearing about the fish being caught up at Lake Scanewa lately, we decided to take a trip up there to see what all the fuss was about. The fuss, as it turned out, is about salmon.
There were lots of boats and lots of fishing going on, and in virtually every boat someone had caught coho.
According to creel checks last Friday and Sunday, 105 people fishing in boats kept 108 coho adults and two coho jacks. Another 14 adult cohos and three coho jacks were caught and released.
Twenty-four bank anglers kept 23 coho adults. Many of the fish that we observed appeared to be in good condition, although there were a few dark fish and retreads in the mix.
The state Department of Fish and Wildlife biologist conducting the surveys said that there must be close to 20,000 cohos in the lake now, the result of many recent dumps by Tacoma Power and Lewis County Public Utility District personnel transporting salmon from the Cowlitz salmon hatchery near Salkum.
According to people we talked to, the bite has really picked up in the past couple of weeks, and fishing success has improved dramatically.
Lake Scanewa is a small impound on the Cowlitz and Cispus rivers behind the Cowlitz Falls Dam. The dam is located just below the confluence of the Cowlitz and Cispus rivers and is operated by Lewis County PUD. Basically, it forms a "run of the river" impound that seldom leaves the natural riverbanks.
From the shore, it appears the rivers are at flood stage, but without the current. The lake is pretty narrow in places, which makes for crowded conditions at times for boat fishing. This is especially true when there are a lot of boats on the water, as on recent weekends when the fishing is good.
The area directly in front of the boat launch was particularly crowded this week, but it didn't seem to be causing any problems as the boaters were behaving reasonably and many fish were being caught within sight of the launch.
Several boats we saw were being run by professional guides, perhaps taking a break from the earlier hot fishing further downstream on the Cowlitz to give their customers a taste of lake fishing.
The boat launch is located at Cowlitz Falls Park, which is about seven miles south of Highway 12, via Savio, Kiona and Falls roads. Signs along Highway 12 about three miles west of Randle and at junctions make the park easy to find.
There is also a small picnic area here, but no overnight camping is allowed. Overnight campers can stay at the other PUD park upriver on the Cowlitz arm during the summer, but it is closed in the winter.
Lake Scanewa is open to fishing from June 1 to Feb. 28. In addition to salmon, you could expect to catch rainbow trout. But right now, the salmon are getting all of the attention. They are biting various combinations and colors of lures being trolled with no particular color dominating.
The lake is much clearer now than it was a couple of months ago when the Cowlitz and Cispus were very milky from snowmelt and late summer rains.
If you have a boat and a yearning to catch a couple of silvers, take a trip up to Lake Scanewa. Fishing is simpler there than on the rivers, with little need for detailed knowledge of the holes, currents and water conditions to find where the fish hang out. It looks like a lot of fun, and you might have a nice fish to take home to boot.
