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No reservations needed, but you need a park pass ($3 per
adult and $1 per 4-15 yr. olds, as I recall) that you can get at the visitor
center up the hill. If you come before the center opens, just leave a note
on your dash about arriving before it opened, and try to make sure to take a
break in the middle of the day and go up and pay for the pass. It's
actually a wristband that you place around the stanchion of your rearview
mirror. The visitor's center is open from 10AM to 6PM.
Not sure where else you can get the pass, or if you can
get it ahead of time for a particular day. Haven't tried that. While
you probably can get away with leaving the note, and then slipping out after it
closes (all without paying), it's one of those fees that, IMHO, is worth
it.
Just remember, no internal combustion motors on the boat
(whether you use it or not). Electric and human power only. If you
use an electric motor, and plan on going down to the East end of the lake, make
sure you have 2 WELL CHARGED batteries, as the wind invariably comes up from the
west and can be pretty vicious (hard lesson learned, personally!)
It's a fun lake, with big trout in it. Challenging,
but breathtaking.
As for directions, take I-5 south to SR 504 and go
east. It's about a 3-1/2 to 4 hour trip (mostly because you end up behind
some slow camper on SR-504). You'll see the signs for Coldwater Lake and
Coldwater Ridge Visitor Center. That's the place to
get the pass. You actually can cut off some time if you take SR 505 to
SR-504, through Toledo. The easiest way is 504, though. If you
have time, go on up to Johnstone Ridge and sit through the video
presentation. The finale is spectacularly worth the extra 7 miles past
Coldwater...
Here's a good link to their
website:
Sean
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Monday, July 21, 2003 5:29 PM
Subject: Re: Coldwater repeat
Do you have to have reservations to fish Coldwater. Isn't it in the Mt St
Helens National Monument. Can you drive right to the shore? Questions,
questions, questions. Oh, and by the way, how do you get there from the
Seattle area?
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Monday, July 21, 2003 5:25
PM
Subject: Coldwater repeat
I went back to Coldwater Lake on Saturday, this time with a
buddy, instead of
my son. It was hot, and we would have welcomed an
afternoon breeze, but it
never materialized. You could feel the doldrums
lurking but they haven't
completely arrived.
We fished from
about 9:30AM to 4:00PM with a break for lunch (where I was
reminded that
you should never wrap a sandwich in foil for a fishing trip...).
Fishing
was slow but steady throughout the day punctuated by one hot period and
a couple long lulls. Most of the fish we caught this trip were the
smaller
variety 10-15", with only a couple of the 18"+ in the mix. We
mostly fished
sinking lines in 20-35 feet of water. Successful patterns
for me were
sealbuggers and damsel nymphs in olive and brown. My go-to
pattern in the past,
a Carey Special, was ignored. My buddy caught a
couple right away on a black
leech with red flash in the tail, just when
I thought he was onto something he
went cold. Most of his luck came
on the same colors combinations I was using.
We both found that we had
more luck when we slowed down our retrieve or kicked
slower when
trolling.
I also tried an adult damsel for about 15 minutes in the
afternoon as there
were lots of them hovering, and there were some
smaller fish splashing in the
shallows. They were small, but apparently
not dumb. I had one miss and no other
action, so switched back to my
sinking rig.
The fishing was a little slower than I would have
liked, but this lake is a
gem. Beautiful scenery, very few other
fishermen, and well conditioned fish.
Apparently the management strategy
is working, but I don't completely
understand it. I was reminded of what
I perceive as a flaw when a father son
team pulled out with two 18"+
fish on their stringer. They were totally legal,
and very aware of the
regulations, as they commented about the dilemna of
keeping the second
fish and having to quit fishing. I don't question their
right to
consume fish within the law. But, it would seem to me that, in a lake
that relies 100% on natural reproduction, removing the breeding
population
(16"+ fish) should not be encouraged by law. Wouldn't a slot
limit, like one
fish between 10-14", be a better management practice
while still allowing for
some consumption? Does anyone who has studied
these things have any input?
Anyway, it was great to be on the water
for the day.
Ross
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