Where to Fish - Trout Lake Creek

Part of our series on fishing locally in the Hood River/Columbia Gorge area. Species:  Brown, rainbow and brook trout.   Season: Late May-Oc...

Part of our series on fishing locally in the Hood River/Columbia Gorge area.

Species:  Brown, rainbow and brook trout.  

Season: Late May-October 31, however low water makes late summer fishing difficult.

Location:  North of Trout Lake, WA.  30-45 minutes North of Hood River

Links:  Trout Lake Creek Campground,  Sleeping Beauty

Loads of great structure for miles

Trout Lake Creek is a little tributary to the White Salmon River.  It meets the White in the town of Trout Lake.  Note that there is no lake in Trout Lake any longer.  It dried up after some irrigation projects diverted water out of the lake years ago.   The creek flows through the old lake bed and provides some excellent fishing opportunities, especially in the early summer.  

Unlike the White Salmon or the Little White Salmon, there is actually a decent amount of food for trout to eat in Trout Lake Creek.  It supports trout year round and can grow a trout to respectable size, although most of the trout are small.

Eager trout fill this creek

Access to the creek is nearly unlimited.  A forest service road follows the creek for its duration and has innumerable pull outs. There is some private land on the lower part of the creek, but most of the creek is in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest.

A nice Forest Service Campground sits right on the creek and also provides easy access to a popular hiking trail called Sleeping Beauty.  It is definitely worth the hike if you are in the area and have a couple of extra hours.  Gorgeous and full of mountain goats.

This river has mostly rainbow and brook trout, but an occasional brown trout is reported.  Brook trout are mostly found in the upper reaches, rainbows are found throughout the creek and brown trout are almost always found in the lowest part of the creek.

This little fishery is a ton of fun.  It is fairly busy in the early summer, so do not expect complete solitude during June and July, especially near town.  The creek can become too low and warm for top-notch fishing by August, so please plan accordingly.