Drano Lake ... the place to be this spring?

I was looking at the fish counts over Bonneville last year.  Here's a table.  We might be a tad early on the 12th/13

Sort of hoping we are a little early... there are people already fishing Drano for Springers and by the time counts reach thousands a day its going to be nuts with all the powerboaters.  I prefer a little sanity in my fishing..

Rob.

Well, I'll be fishing with you guys in spirit.

My mission, if i choose to except it is to catch a springer down here in the Coos system the same day youz guys is catching 'em at Drano..

camping options:

closest spot I know of is just just east of the lake. go through the tunnel at the east of of the lake, then through the next. immediately after is a turnout to the left. it's right off the side of the road, but has shade trees & a tiny lake. it fills up fast once the fishing's on, but haven't seen anyone there recently.

other spots I know of are pay areas. In Home Valley, which is about 5 minutes west:

Wind Mountain Resort (great cafe)
http://www.windmountainresort.com

Timberlake Campground and RV Park (tell LeRoy that Rosie says hi)
http://timberlakecampgroundandrvpark.com/

Just east of Stevenson is Skamania Coves:
http://www.skamaniacoves.com/contact.htm
(edit - just noticed their website say they are not currently offering camping, RV only)


And of course, any of ya'll are welcome to space in my yard. I'm off next week, so hoping to be there with the kids Tues & Wed, as well as Sunday afternoon.

I'm definitely camping Sat evening.  Not sure where.  I was hoping someone down there would just decide on a place and make it so ... hint hint.

-Allen

There's also Home Valley park (Skamania County Parks), I stayed there on a bike tour last year and it has access to the Columbia, but is about 6 miles upriver to Drano so would need to drive to the launch in the morning.  I looked them up and it doesn't look like they take reservations, but it looked like lots of sites to choose from, and I don't think it would be too early in the season to fill up.

I don't have an RV myself and so I try to avoid RV campgrounds.

I'm thinking it might save me a couple hours drive in the morning from Portland.  If anybody else is into camping there let me know and I'll be there for sure on Saturday.

Anybody ever launch out of that park and know if there is any fishing from there?

The past 5 days had 26, 42, 62, 87, 71 fish coming over Bonneville.  Last year for these dates the count was 8, 3, 3, 2, 10.  Last year the counts went from 65 to 651 in 5 days from 4/9 to 4/13.  So let's see what the damn counts do in the next 5 days.

-Allen

So let's see what the damn counts do in the next 5 days.

Hey watch your language Allen.

I have to admit, having dam counts is kind of exciting.  I can't remember any other fishery I've participated in where you get this kind of feedback to approximately how many fish are out there on a daily basis. 

Brian

Ooops ... damn dams!!!

-Allen

DAM IT!!! Heh, couldn't help it.

Z

ok, have we figured out where we are staying  or camping yet?? for me, it  depends on the group decision whether or not i go to my storage and get my tent and what little camping gear i have. ....hmmm might require a trip to REI or one of the other outfitters around here this week. 

my plan right now, is this;  i've scheduled days off from 11th to and including the 15th. that gives me time to prep load and drive, find you guys late the afternoon or early the night before, rig up / set up...and a day recovery on the backside... i'm, probably looking at a 3 hour drive from graham, tho if i find a back way down off highway 7 instead of I-5 i might try that.

also, if there is anyone in the puyallup / tacoma / spanaway / oly, etc area that would like to share a ride, please contact me.  right now will be strapping my yak on the top of my truck [ F150 w/ bed covered by a low profile shell]. i think we can probly get 2 on there laid upside down..   

btw, right now, weather service is calling for rain all week into saturday [ using stevenson washington as the nearest forecast location ]

       

ok, on behalf of our group, i've emailed both wind river resort and timber lake regarding lodging availability. this includes the rooms they have, the rv sites and the tent sites.  should hear something back from them. and yeah, it's about 6-8 miles from the lake for each as i understand it.

so, do we have an actual head count on how many of us are going to attend?

 and, how many will need lodging??  the rates are reasonable at both places, even for tenting...will need that in case they ask me,    am hoping they would extend us a group rate. or we can all just continue to go for it on our own.

rich

ok, here's LeRoys [ timber lake] response ;

Hi Rich,
I have 3 full hook-up sites available and possible a 4th depending on the size of your rig.
I have plenty of dry camp sites and those are 24-43.
Yes the "T,s" are tent sites.
Call to make your reservation.
509-427-2267
Thanks,
LeRoy

still waiting on the other establishment to reply.

and, here's the reply from Wind River;

Hello Rich,
 
We have for sure one tent site available, possibly two.
The tent sites are $ 17.50 per night. If there is more than one tent per site, we charge $ 10.- per tent.
 
For Friday the 11th and Saturday the 12th I have available:
Room 1 : queen bed $ 75.-
Room 2 : 1 queen, 1 full, 1 single $ 89.-
Room 3 : 2 singles/twin beds $ 69.-
 
For Sunday the 13th  Room 3 is booked.
 
Our small resort is the closest facility to Drano Lake, about 6 miles.
And we are only one mile away from the Wind River.
 
Visit our website: www.windmountainresort.com.
 
Thanks for your interest.
 
Astrid
Wind Mountain Resort
(509) 427-5152
or (541) 490-7768 (cell)

Sounds like fun, I think I may head over. 

Is anybody camping the night before and if so where?  Thinking it might be fun to head over on Saturday the 12th to check it out, then hitting it in the morning if I could camp real close.  But a day trip work also.

I'm definitely camping Sat evening.  Not sure where.  I was hoping someone down there would just decide on a place and make it so ... hint hint.

-Allen

I was looking at the fish counts over Bonneville last year.  Here's a table.  We might be a tad early on the 12th/13th, but I'm hoping with the larger run this year that the numbers will be equivalently larger.  Here's what Phil had to say in the SteelheadUniversity.com article (http://www.steelheaduniversity.com/DranoLake_Springers.html).

So how does one determine when to go? Look for the amount of Chinook going over Bonneville dam  to be at one thousand fish a day for 5 days in a row if you see those numbers, get going! You can catch fish in the lake before the numbers over the dam reach the magic thousand mark but those numbers are a pretty good judge of how the fishing is going to be. We start fishing when numbers are in the hundreds a day and fishing can be very good at times.

If the numbers aren't there, then plan B ... sturgeon?

Also not that the Shad run is just starting at the end of April, another month before it starts peaking.  Anyone do any shad fishing?  I suppose that is a topic of another thread.

-Allen

Date	Chinook Adults		Chinook Jacks		Steelhead (total)		Steelhead (wild)		Shad		Sockeye		Lamprey		Coho Adults		Coho Jacks		Chum		Pink
4/1/2007	8		0		77		24		0		0		0		0		0		0		0
4/2/2007	3		0		40		14		0		0		0		0		0		0		0
4/3/2007	3		0		53		15		0		0		0		0		0		0		0
4/4/2007	2		0		54		16		0		0		0		0		0		0		0
4/5/2007	10		0		37		9		0		0		0		0		0		0		0
4/6/2007	36		1		52		21		0		0		0		0		0		0		0
4/7/2007	21		0		39		17		0		0		0		0		0		0		0
4/8/2007	36		0		38		14		0		0		0		0		0		0		0
4/9/2007	65		1		29		6		0		0		0		0		0		0		0
4/10/2007	128		1		35		4		0		0		0		0		0		0		0
4/11/2007	253		1		35		12		0		0		0		0		0		0		0
4/12/2007	183		2		19		4		0		0		0		0		0		0		0
4/13/2007	651		2		46		11		0		0		0		0		0		0		0
4/14/2007	368		-1		40		18		0		0		0		0		0		0		0
4/15/2007	429		0		32		9		0		0		0		0		0		0		0
4/16/2007	804		2		20		6		0		0		0		0		0		0		0
4/17/2007	1245		6		44		12		0		0		0		0		0		0		0
4/18/2007	1643		7		37		17		0		0		0		0		0		0		0
4/19/2007	1496		18		30		19		0		0		0		0		0		0		0
4/20/2007	1295		19		26		7		0		0		0		0		0		0		0
4/21/2007	616		10		15		7		0		0		0		0		0		0		0
4/22/2007	1358		27		24		13		0		0		0		0		0		0		0
4/23/2007	1723		37		23		5		0		0		0		0		0		0		0
4/24/2007	2550		81		16		8		0		0		0		0		0		0		0
4/25/2007	3428		78		25		8		1		0		0		0		0		0		0
4/26/2007	2615		156		30		9		2		0		0		0		0		0		0
4/27/2007	2470		154		30		5		1		0		0		0		0		0		0
4/28/2007	2371		151		16		5		11		0		0		0		0		0		0
4/29/2007	2976		341		33		9		18		0		0		0		0		0		0
4/30/2007	1829		210		25		6		23		0		0		0		0		0		0
Total	30615		1304		1020		330		56		0		0		0		0		0		0
Date	Chinook Adults		Chinook Jacks		Steelhead (total)		Steelhead (wild)		Shad		Sockeye		Lamprey		Coho Adults		Coho Jacks		Chum		Pink