Where to Fish in the Hood River area - White Salmon River

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

Species:  Rainbow trout, winter and summer steelhead, chinook and coho salmon.

Seasons:  Please check regulations.  Varying seasons have changed almost yearly.

Location.  Husum, WA.  10 minutes north of Hood River.

Summer and Winter Steelhead in the White

The White Salmon is a very unique river in the area.  Extremely cold, clear water are not actually as commonplace here as we wish.  The Hood and the Klickitat can become too muddy to fish during the summer, and the Deschutes can reach dangerously warm temperatures.  Having a little cold, clear stream is nice during the hot summer. 

The White Salmon flows from Mt. Adams south through the towns of Trout Lake, BZ Corner and Husum before meeting the Columbia almost directly across from the town of Hood River.   

Seasons:  Please check regulations.  Regulations have seriously changed every year, but in general:  Trout season is late May - October 31 for most of the river, but the lower mile of river is open year-round for trout fishing (again, please double check the regulations, they keep changing).  Salmon and steelhead seasons vary depending on predicted and observed run sizes.

So many waterfalls inhibit boating

The Condit Dam on the White Salmon was removed in 2011. Check out the video here.  This dam was only about a mile and a half upstream of the mouth, and it prevented upstream passage of salmon and steelhead for about a century.  Establishing a healthy run of salmon and steelhead will take a generation or more to fill in the upstream habitat, but the cold water still draws plenty of salmon and steelhead into the lowest mile of river.  The fish prefer the colder water of the White Salmon over the warmer water in the Columbia, so they will use the river mouth as a cold water refuge during the summer.  This provides decent fishing opportunities at the mouth of the river if open.  Again, please check the regulations.  When open, the deep hole under the HWY14 bridge is a good spot to catch a salmon 

Husum Falls is huuuuge

One note about this fragile river:  When the dam came out, all stocking of fish ceased.  The river is being allowed to repopulate naturally.  Please be very careful and release wild steelhead and trout.

Access at the mouth of the river is decent.  There are a couple of pullouts along the highway near the river in the lowest half mile or so. 

Looking upstream, there are several large rapids/waterfalls just past the flat water in the lower river.  There are a couple of class V+ floats that are run commercially by a couple of rafting companies, but guided fishing trips are not feasible or allowed under USFS rules. Even the rafting companies make the clients walk some of the waterfalls.

Trout from the White Salmon River

There is some access at Northwestern Lake Park, which once was a reservoir, but now is a flowing river.  Maybe a half mile of riverside access exists in the park area with some decent trout fishing opportunities.

Access to the upper river is very limited.  There are two bridges over the river at Husum, but the accessible water at the bridges is poor for fishing.  Worth a look if you are there, but I have not had any success in Husum.

BZ Corner offers the next access point upstream.  Past that, the river gets very skinny.  There are trout in the White Salmon near the town of Trout Lake and upstream, but we would recommend going on over to Trout Lake Creek if you are upstream that far.  Trout Lake Creek is a tributary of the White and it has much better trout fishing than the upper White Salmon. 

In conclusion, at least the lower part of the White Salmon is a fun place to fish in the summer.  There are some trout, salmon and steelhead in the lower river.  The river is extremely cold and usually stays pretty clear in the summer.  The access is easy at the mouth and it is easy to walk around in the river bottom.  Access above the lowest mile is nearly nonexistent and of poor quality where it exists.  The river mouth is a really fantastic area to spend some time fishing on a hot day.