I've fished that wastway chad and yes, there are alot of fish in there, most are anly up to about 2 1/2 lbs. but at it's mouth and on the rock out in frount of it I've caught some good fish.  Brian (The Weedwalker)

sorry Smitty wasnt trying to imply that you hadnt caught anything just that hadnt spent a lot of time on the North side same as me.

Ted

as for the hawg hunters tournaments held there, the results are posted on there website. the weights weren't that great, but the tournys were in the fall. as far as the "old road bed", that actually used to be the original highway going accross the river, before all the dams went in. i place i allways wanted to fish, is were the wasteway dumps into the river, right by south sand hallow ( east side of the river just south of the bridge) I allways saw tons of fish there. anyways i know a lot about the river, so if anyone has any questions let me know. c&r chad

I had some pretty good fishing on the North side of the bridge Ted, I just didn't have the luxury of spending a lot of time there.

There's the old roadbed, maybe a mile above the bridge on the West shore. I recall launching there once as a teen, and it's angle is very shallow, but I don't think there was another launch at the time. I drove up and looked at it last July...don't bother. I'd be watching out for it while boating, it must go out quite a ways, probably with ditches or rip-rap on each side, plus the old bridge abutments, etc. It would be interesting to graph that, might be a good spot to fish. The East end of that road may be similar, don't know. That big hump south of the bridge must have prop blades and lower unit remains all over it. I've seen it above water, a few times, and heard some stories about boats running aground there. Definitely watch out for that. Last May, I left Potholes early AM, due to a hard wind from the East.  Got to Vantage, and it was dead calm. My OFB, Earl, was ahead of me, and I couldn't catch him to get him stopped. Rats!

C&R, Steve

There are a couple of really nice looking spots north, and there is a couple of islands down a ways. I was the same as Smitty, didnt catch anything north, but there a couple of good looking spots

Ted

I fished north all three times I've been there.  Even though there was a heck of a wind blowing one day, it wasn't too bad if you stayed to the west side of the river.   Some great looking places to fish, but I didn't have time on any of the trips there.  The Puyallup Hawghunters held a club "T" there about 3 years ago.  They had some fairly impressive weights.

Smitty

Also, how's the fishing on the whole northside of the bridge? The water looks like its easier to run, though the wind might be bad at times. It looks like you can run up a ways without hitting any shallow bars. Thats how it looked from the road heading towards Banks. Any thoughts?

Patrolling the Wanapum Pool?  Did the rig have a motor on the bow?  I would have requested to add to the annual budget.  There is a lot of "investigative" work to be done up shallow in the spring.  It is really a cool place to be.  I like it and will be back down there real soon.  Thanks for the info on the ramp near the dam.  I like the location of the County ramp near I-90.  It is shallow, but not unmanageable.  The ramp near the dam will work in a pinch under extreme conditions.  I think the fear of the wind is what keeps anglers from fishing this area.  We have all seen what it can do in this area.  I would like to be there today

i patrolled the wanapum pool for a year, and as I remember it, you have to pay to launch at the state park. however on the other side of the river (east side) 100 yards above the dam is a great launch that I know for a fact is free, because the PUD owns it. unfortunanty i did minimal fishing on the pool itself. i instead fished buckshot a lot, and some other local lakes. i must say however, of the 50+ times I was out in the river patrolliing, I saw bass boats fishing maybe 3 times at best, and I covered the entire pool.

Of the 3 times I've fished Vantage, that launch has been fairly shallow twice.  There is a good launch at the state park, about 3 miles downstream from the bridge.

Is that launch just on the Northside always that shallow? Was a pain getting in and out.

The BEST part?  Not another fishing boat in sight.  Just goes to show how underfished bass really are in Washington state.

Kirk

I hit the flat on Friday before Banks. It was just like you mentioned. I was only out there for 2 hours. I caught fish around rocks in a foot of water. Good sized too. Wish I only had to drive from E-burg.

All,
Spent 5 hours at Vantage on Sunday.  Water temps were in the high 60's.  Having only been on the water one other time, I directed attention to the flats.  Frankly, there were smallies everywhere.  Sight fished until my arms were tired.  All nice chunky smallmouth, with a 3.2 top weight.  It was a total blast and it is easy to see, given the water temps and slow warming that is experienced in the river, why most of the smallies have not spawned.  Stayed on the trolling motor up shallow, as most of the areas I was fishing had sizable chunk rock, shelves, etc.  Lots of weed growth as well.  Had to spend time clearing the trailer.  Visibility great to twelve feet.  Likely to hit'er again as a full moon is coming up. 

Kirk