Shadow Lake in Yakima County: How and When to Fish It

• Overview

  Shadow Lake is a Yakima County water, Washington side. The ground around here is open valley. This is a pocket water of some 2 acres, and every part of it is reachable from the bank. On size it sits at the modest end of our Yakima County list. You are 29 miles from White Salmon. The nearest city of size is Gresham, 66 miles away. One jurisdiction covers this water end to end.

• Where to Fish on Shadow Lake

  There is no recorded depth, so work from what you can see. Weed, then depth: that is the order to fish a water of this kind. Bays and points beat straight shoreline every time on water like this. Open biodiversity records for Yakima County list rainbow trout, pumpkinseed and mountain whitefish. County records show the wider picture rather than this one place. Fish Shadow Lake to its features, not to its size.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Average temperature peaks around 58°F in August and bottoms out near 27°F in January. The freeze here is occasional rather than annual. In milder years the edges alone go, and the middle never sets. April and May are the settled weeks, with October close behind. That shapes the year on Shadow Lake.

• Tackle & Baits

  Who may fish here is not settled in anything we hold. Mapping records no facilities at all near this water. Bass water: a Texas-rigged worm near cover, a spinnerbait when you need to cover ground. Sort the permit out before you load the car. Some ground is open by custom rather than by right, so tread carefully. Mirror Lake sits 0.7 miles off and takes the overflow. The position on Shadow Lake is worth confirming on the day.