Merwin Kokanee Still on the Bite

Spent a warm misty day at Lake Merwin yesterday. Reports have been spotty with some folks catching near or full limits while others were getting a few to no fish so I wanted to see what was going on. I launched at Speelyai and dropped my gear in as I trolled across to the south shore. I immediately pick up one fish about 100 yards off the south shore. Another 10 minutes passed and I got another. I bopped it on the head and pull its gills in the net but one of the hooks had become lodged in the net. While dealing with the hook the fish suddenly came to life and jumped overboard. With a cracked skull and no gills I figure it would come back up so I dropped my lines over the side and kept trolling in a circle. After another 5-6 minutes I hooked and landed another and just as I netted it the shiny belly a kokanee appeared off the bow of my boat and I quickly peddled over and netted it while a couple powerboaters watched (probably with some confusion).

I then trolled all the way down to the stump farm and back with no hits before returning to where I had hooked fish earlier. I found a very large and dense school of kokanee that consistently produced a fish on each pass. Only problem is I was having trouble converting hooked fish into landed fish and ended up going 3/8 until they dispersed when a powerboat went full till right through them.



I will be teaching a kayak kokanee seminar at Next Adventure paddle sports on March 6th (Friday) at 7 PM. Feel free to join us. There will be beer as well as some fresh smoked kokanee!!! This will be followed by the Lower Columbia Kayak Anglers kayak kokanee social at Lake Merwin on March 8th. If you are interested in joining us at Lake Merwin let me know and I give you the details and give you some suggestions for parking to avoid conflict with the powerboaters.

Spent a warm misty day at Lake Merwin yesterday.

Must be nice to be able to kayak fish all winter.  Out here in Montana we're ice fishing, and the ice won't be off many lakes for a month and a half to two months.  I caught a bucket of Kokanee on Georgetown Lake last Saturday (February 21), and on February 22 it was 23 below at Georgetown Lake.

Very nice Tyler.  I'm thinking about taking my son up there on Saturday morning.  Most of the trout options down here are either closed (Hagg Lake and North Fork Reservoir) or weeks away from stocking.  I was hoping to make your event next weekend, but my wife has alternative plans then and the weather looks promising for Saturday.

Sounds like parking can be an issue.   Any chance you can pm me some of those secret parking suggestions?  Or is the special parking just in the event too many kayak anglers show up on the 8th?  Thanks.

They have really buggered up the parking situation at Merwin. There is actually less parking now than before. They moved the non-trailer parking to the lakeside which if you actually used it like they want you to would make it impossible for boats to leave the ramp or at a minimum you are going to get clipped.

The best place to park for now is closer to the bathroom on the lakeside sites or if those are full try to tuck away in the far corner. Its a real mess on weekends there as they still have not painted the lines so it turns into a fustercluck in a hurry. Spillover parking is available by the rv pad on the drive in.



I am actually hoping for a rainy non-windy day for the kayak event just to keep the powerboat numbers down. Otherwise we are going to be scrapping for spots like everyone else.

Thanks.  I just found a Merwin thread on ifish and it sounds like a zoo there on weekends right now.

Thanks.  I just found a Merwin thread on ifish and it sounds like a zoo there on weekends right now.

Yes I've been tempted to jump up to Yale and give it a try.

Is there a reason you don't hear much about people fishing for kokanee at Yale recenlty? I'm guessing the 16 kokanee limit suggests smaller but maybe more abundant fish.  Then again, I also suspect that being further upstream, Yale might be a few degrees cooler than Merwin so maybe the bite starts later.

Anyway, I'll keep it in mind if I have parking issues at Merwin.

I concur, Mr.Piper....only been there once this year and am completely disappointed in the parking lot remodel. I don't think those single car spots next to the ramp (in red)were very well thought out ..gonna get creamed there for sure. That doesn't leave near as many singles as there was, and it doesn't look to have improved the trailer parking much. Launching pre-dawn is probably the best plan....first light bite has been good lately anyways.
Hope to be there this weekend.

The PacifiCorp website says the park opens this time of year at 7 am.   Any chance they actually open it earlier?

The PacifiCorp website says the park opens this time of year at 7 am.   Any chance they actually open it earlier?

It opens early most days I've been there as early as 6:30 AM and found the gate open.

The PacifiCorp website says the park opens this time of year at 7 am.   Any chance they actually open it earlier?

The lower lot was completely full and the upper grass lot half full by 7:15am last Saturday.

cresup bay an option?

cresup bay an option?

Doesn't open until April.

Always been kinda bummed by lack of access on Merwin and Swift. ...you have to drive to the east end of the lakes and are limited to that general area. Both lakes can get hot by the dams.
Not only is the parking worse at Speelyai, but they did some creative log work on the beach, forcing you to use the ramp...wish I would have bought that Campers Hideaway spot when it was cheap in the 80's.

Always been kinda bummed by lack of access on Merwin and Swift. ...you have to drive to the east end of the lakes and are limited to that general area. Both lakes can get hot by the dams.
Not only is the parking worse at Speelyai, but they did some creative log work on the beach, forcing you to use the ramp...wish I would have bought that Campers Hideaway spot when it was cheap in the 80's.

I wrote a letter to PacificCorp asking if they would be willing to install a 4-5' wide gravel kayak/canoe launch on the south side of the boat ramp. They seemed very amenable to the suggestion and I am waiting to hear confirmation back from them on their decision and timeline.