by John Kruse, May 07, 2005

Cowlitz’s County’s Silver Lake is probably the best lake for big bass in Washington State right now, and Spring is prime time for them as they get ready to spawn. In addition to largemouth bass, this 3000-acre lake east of Castle Rock also holds healthy populations of trout, crappie, perch, bluegill and brown bullhead.


One look at Silver Lake and you’ll know why it’s a bass hotspot. The place is full of structure for these fish. Docks, pilings, weedlines, lilypads, brush, logs and trees are found throughout the lake. Five pound bass are common here; seven pounders get a nod of recognition, and very rarely, a ten-pound bass is caught in these shallow waters too. In fact, despite its surface area, you’ll be hard pressed to find any water deeper than 10 feet. This causes the bass fishing to come alive early in the year, and in a year as unseasonably warm as this one has been, the largemouths will likely be on their spawning beds in late April.


The lake gets heavy pressure from serious bass anglers for obvious reasons. One of the regulars here is Dave Newby, who calls himself an "addicted largemouth bass fisherman". Dave stands out on the lake. He flies the Jolly Roger flag off the stern of his bass boat and is often seen holding a big bass out of the water long enough to snap a picture of them. Dave supplied the photo for this article, holding up four and five plus pound largemouths he caught in mid-March this year.



Dave Newby with two nice bass from Silver lake in Cowlitz County. March 15, 2005

Dave uses jig and pig combos, plastics, crankbaits and spinnerbaits on Silver Lake. Newby is a big believer in using scent on his lures. Some of his favorite offerings are crawdad style plastics and Zorro Bait Company spinnerbaits.


April is one of the best times to catch fish here. Try using salted Senko plastic baits with no weight in pumpkinseed or watermelon for big bass. Another good bet is a Bandit brand shallow running crankbait in shad or blue and chartreuse patterns. Focus on the southern, eastern and northeastern ends of Silver Lake for bass.


Bass are not the only game in town. Crappie are prolific and grow up to one and a half pounds, though a bucket of seven-inchers is much more common. Night-fishermen do well jigging for them at night off the resort’s dock, especially in the fall. Perch and bluegill are also very common here. If you have a boat, try for panfish from spring through summer on the south and eastern ends of the lake. Rainbow trout are stocked every year, and some reach two to four pounds. Try trolling around the middle of the lake between Timber Point and Waldon Island. You can also catch trout at times trolling between Waldon and Goat Island. Finally, brown bullheads ply the bottom of the lake. Averaging ten to twelve inches, these hard fighting fish can be caught with nightcrawlers fished off of the bottom both day and night. Anglers fishing near lily pads or off of docks often find them using this method, and sometimes hook into one as large as 2 ½ pounds.


To get to Silver Lake, travel on I-5 north from Portland for an hour to Exit 49. Go east from there for six miles to reach Silver Lake. You can also stay at Seaquest State Park. There is a public boat launch off Spirit Lake highway. If you don’t want to fight the crowds, consider fishing this lake mid-week. And if you catch a big bass, consider carefully releasing it to grow even bigger. That will help keep Silver Lake a trophy fishery for years to come.

Editor's Note: This article was featured in the April 2005 edition of "Local Fisherman News".