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Drano Lake Fishing Report

Updated Fri, Oct 23, 2026 from live gauge and weather data

Drano Lake: the Little White Salmon River's backwater on the Columbia, where hatchery spring Chinook gather from late March through May and fall Chinook from August, under some of Washington's most detailed salmon rules.

3/5
Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
Water temp
~55 F est.
Air / High
59 / 61 F
Wind
W 14 mph

Sources: Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.

Satellite view
Friday
23
October 2026

Today's Fishing Report

Generated this morning from live readings: gauge, weather model, sun and moon. A fresh report is published here every morning.

3/5Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.

Drano Lake rewards those who follow the bait as the water cools. Today brings clear skies, wind W around 14 mph, steady pressure near 1023 hPa and a high of 61. Water sits around 55 F for the season (estimated). With the waxing gibbous, the solunar majors run 9:45 AM-11:45 AM and 10:16 PM-12:16 AM: the windows to build the day around.

The plan, species by species

SteelheadGood

Main tributary season: fish seams, pool heads and tails and structure with drifted eggs, beads, nymphs or streamers, and plan trips around rising or falling water.

Chinook salmonSlow

Runs enter the rivers: drift roe or sand shrimp through travel lanes, plunk a wrapped plug, or float eggs in eddies and tidewater.

Tomorrow: Warmer at 68 F. The solunar majors shift about 50 minutes later.Next report: Sat, Oct 24, 6:30 AMHow this report is made β†’

Before you go

Washington requires a fishing licence from age 16, from $39.95 for residents. What a Washington licence costs and where to buy it β†’

Chasing steelhead here? Check the size and bag limits with WDFW before you keep anything. The season dates for Washington, read off the agency, are on the Washington seasons page.

Water and weather

Live readings.

No live gauge on this water

Conditions here are modeled from weather, season and the nearest stations. Water readings appear when a USGS gauge is available.

304050607080JanMarMayJulSepNovOct, ~55 F now

Right now

Latest readings

Air temp59 F
High / Low61 / 48 F
WindW 14-22 mph
Pressure1022.9 hPa, steady
Sky / Rain0% cloud, 2%
Sunrise / Sunset07:34 / 18:06
MoonWaxing Gibbous, 91%
Water temp (seasonal)~55 F est.

Bite planner

Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today. Tap a bar to see why.

5 AM8 AM11 AM2 PM5 PM8 PMsunrisesunsetPRIMEPRIME

Which day to fish Drano Lake this week

The best day on Drano Lake this week looks like Wednesday Oct 28, at 4 out of 5, against 3 today.

Best day this week: Wednesday, Oct 28 β€” good at 4/5, falling pressure, usually the best window of a week.

Today, Oct 23 β€” Fair

A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.

Solunar majors
9:45 AM-11:45 AM and 10:16 PM-12:16 AM
Minor period
4:11 AM-5:11 AM
Sun
07:34 to 18:06
Moon
Waxing Gibbous, 91% lit
Sky and wind
Clear, 17 mph
Rain chance
2%

Forecast-based scores, less reliable further out: how the score is built.

Species guide

The species that matter on Drano Lake: seasons, structure and how to fish each one. Today's ratings live in the report above.

Steelhead illustration

Steelhead

Great Lakes tributaries from fall through spring; West Coast rivers have both summer and winter runs

Steelhead are rainbow trout that migrate to the Pacific or the Great Lakes to grow, then return up rivers to spawn; unlike most Pacific salmon they can survive spawning and spawn again. Main tributary season: fish seams, pool heads and tails and structure with drifted eggs, beads, nymphs or streamers, and plan trips around rising or falling water.

Chinook salmon illustration

Chinook salmon

Seasons follow the runs: spring, summer and fall runs on the West Coast, and late summer into fall in Great Lakes rivers

The largest Pacific salmon, caught by trolling and mooching at sea and by drifting and plunking in rivers as adults return to spawn; also stocked in the Great Lakes. Runs enter the rivers: drift roe or sand shrimp through travel lanes, plunk a wrapped plug, or float eggs in eddies and tidewater.

When to come: the Drano Lake calendar

Activity by species and month, and how the water warms through the year. Tap any cell.

Species activity by month

1 = slow, 5 = peak. Current month highlighted.

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Steelhead
Chinook salmon
SlowPeak

Water temperature through the year

Typical surface temperature for this water type; today is around 55 F (estimated, not a reading).

304050607080JanMarMayJulSepNovOct, ~55 F now

Angler reports

Real reports from real anglers, reviewed before publishing. The water log below tracks each day automatically.

No angler reports yet this weekBe the first: your report helps every angler who checks Drano Lake today, and we feature the best catch of the week.

Water log, last days

Auto-logged from live data
Thu, Oct 22

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Steelhead led the card at good. High of 65 F, wind to 18 mph.

Wed, Oct 21

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Steelhead led the card at good. High of 72 F, wind to 10 mph.

Tue, Oct 20

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Steelhead led the card at good. High of 70 F, wind to 12 mph.

Where roughly, what depth, what bait. Skip anything you want to keep secret.
Only used if we need to ask you about your report. No mailing list, no spam.

Before you go

License

Washington requires a valid fishing license for adults. Buy online from the state agency; one-day options exist for visitors.

Regulations

Washington license plus Columbia River Salmon and Steelhead Endorsement (age 15+). WDFW rules (updated 2026-10-05): night closure Mar 16–Oct 31; Mar 16–Jun 30, 2 hatchery steelhead or 2 salmon (only hatchery Chinook), 12-inch minimum; Aug 1–Oct 31, 6 salmon with up to 1 adult, steelhead closed; Nov 1–Dec 31, up to 1 adult salmon or hatchery steelhead; all trout released; anti-snagging rule Aug 1–Dec 31; two-pole rules vary by season. Emergency rules may override.

Access

Skamania County boat launch off Highway 14; overflow parking at Home Valley Park and the Heritage Plaza Park and Ride. Accessible fishing ramp and platform (USFWS).

About this water

The backwater at the mouth of the Little White Salmon River on the Columbia River, Skamania County, Washington, below Little White Salmon National Fish Hatchery.

Fishing Drano Lake: the full guide

Below the hatchery

Drano Lake is the mouth of the Little White Salmon River on the Columbia in Skamania County, crossed by the Highway 14 bridge. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service says spring and upriver bright fall Chinook from its Little White Salmon National Fish Hatchery contribute significantly to the Columbia's sport harvest, particularly in Drano Lake. Upstream, the river from the orange boundary markers at Drano Lake to the hatchery's intake is closed to all fishing.

When the salmon are in

According to the hatchery, spring Chinook adults typically enter Drano Lake from late March through May. Fall Chinook can be found as early as August and stay until they push upstream to the hatchery in late October.

A busy launch

WDFW calls Drano Lake one of the busiest public access sites in the Columbia River Gorge. Skamania County manages the boat launch; anglers are asked never to stop or park along Highway 14, to use Home Valley Park and the Heritage Plaza Park and Ride for overflow parking, and to keep the head on every fish until they are ashore for the day. Fish waste goes in deep water, not near the launch. The hatchery lists a wheelchair-accessible fishing ramp and platform on the lake.

Rules that change by the week

Drano's rules shift through the year: the lake closes on Wednesdays from the second Wednesday in April through June 30, and from 6 p.m. Tuesday to 6 p.m. Wednesday in October; west of the Highway 14 bridge pillar line, only bank fishing is allowed from April 16 to June 30. WDFW can change seasons by emergency rule, so check its emergency rules before every trip.

Common questions

When are spring Chinook in Drano Lake?

Typically from late March through May, according to the Little White Salmon National Fish Hatchery. The season under WDFW's permanent rules runs from March 16, with Wednesday closures from the second Wednesday in April to June 30.

Can I keep a steelhead in fall?

Not before November. Under WDFW's rules, Drano Lake is closed to fishing for or keeping steelhead from July 1 through October 31; from November 1 one hatchery steelhead or adult salmon may be kept.

Where do I park?

Never along Highway 14. WDFW asks anglers to use the designated spaces at the county launch and, when full, Home Valley Park or the Heritage Plaza Park and Ride.

Is fishing good at Drano Lake right now?

Check the daily report at the top of this page: it is regenerated every morning from live data. Today's read: Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.

Nearby waters

Klickitat River23 miColumbia River24 miDeschutes River35 miSandy River35 miLake Merwin43 miLewis River56 mi

Where this page's numbers come from

Weather and pressure
Open-Meteo forecast model
Queried at 45.7140, -121.6330 in this water's own timezone. A model, not an observation.
Moon and solunar windows
Calculated on this site
Astronomical calculation from these coordinates and the date, not a third-party feed. How much weight it deserves.
Pages checked
The facts in the written guide were checked against these pages, from the agencies and operators that manage the water, on October 6, 2026. Anything we could not verify was taken out.
The written guide on this page
Pablo Ruiz Quintero
How this page was made. The daily report is computed by our scoring engine from live readings; nobody types it. The written text was drafted with AI assistance from the official pages listed above, and its facts were checked against those pages by automated verification on October 6, 2026; anything that could not be verified was taken out. Pablo Ruiz Quintero sets every guideline, the data-verification system and the minimum standards a page must meet to be published, reviews page structure and approves what goes live; the responsibility is his, and the AI carries out the work. We work this way because it is how one person can keep every page current with named sources. Errors are published in the verification log; the full policy is in the editorial policy.

Readings refresh on a 30-minute window. The full method, with every figure and its source, is on how our reports are made. Something wrong here? Tell us and it goes in the log with the date.