When was the last time you looked at the concrete piers under the railroad bridge where the Methow meets the Columbia? For the next couple of weeks, the work going on there decides where Pateros puts its boats in the water. The City of Pateros posted on August 19 that the Methow Boat Launch would close for an expected two to four weeks starting October 19, so Douglas County PUD can finish a fish-detection system on that bridge. On that schedule, the ramp has been closed for about ten days as of this Thursday, October 29.
The project is about salmon and steelhead. This fall, though, the closure mostly reaches people who aren't fishing for either one.
What is going into the bridge piers
The PUD's environmental notice from April 2025 lays out the design. Fiberglass-reinforced plastic and stainless-steel frames are set into recesses on both sides of each of the three concrete piers holding up the railroad bridge. Detection antennas inside those frames put a sensing field into the water on both sides of every pier. Any fish that a researcher has implanted with a passive integrated transponder, or PIT tag, gets logged as it swims through.
The PUD's environmental checklist names three species the equipment is meant to monitor: Upper Columbia River spring Chinook, Upper Columbia River steelhead and bull trout. All three are listed as threatened or endangered. At the October 21, 2025 commission meeting, PUD commissioners approved a contractor right-of-entry agreement with Cascade and Columbia River Railroad. The stated goal was "systematic, year-round detection of PIT-tagged fish entering and exiting the Wells Reservoir."
Wells Reservoir is Lake Pateros, the water at the end of your street. Once the system is finished, the bridge at the mouth of the Methow becomes a permanent checkpoint, recording which tagged fish turn up the Methow and which keep going up the Columbia, every month of the year. The city's notice says the first phase was a success, and this closure is for completing the system.
The fish it watches are already closed to fishing here this fall
The current Washington fishing special rules for Columbia Basin rivers, last updated October 5, 2026, list the Methow River as closed to all species from its mouth up to the County Road 1535 Bridge, also called the Burma Road Bridge.
The rules for the Columbia from Wells Dam to the Highway 173 Bridge at Brewster cover the water right in front of town. Salmon season on that reach ran July 16 through August 31, with Chinook and coho retention closed even during that window, and steelhead is closed year-round. Other game fish fall under statewide rules all year, and anglers 15 and older who fish for salmon or steelhead need a Columbia River Salmon and Steelhead Endorsement. WDFW's emergency rules page has no current entry specific to the Methow or Pateros. Its September 24 Lower Columbia salmon and steelhead update applies only up to the Highway 395 Bridge at Pasco.
Emergency rules can change from week to week. Check that page again before any trip.
So the closure mostly affects bass boats, duck hunters and paddlers
With salmon and steelhead closed on the nearby water, the people who lose an in-town ramp this month are mostly launching for something else. The city's own description of Ives Landing shows who is still on Lake Pateros as the weather turns cold. It calls Ives a popular launch for salmon and bass fishing and for winter waterfowl hunting, and it offers free tent camping to "Peddlers & Paddlers."
Those are the users the city's notice is really written for. It sends people to three alternatives, and each one makes a different tradeoff:
| Launch | Where | What's there | Worth knowing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ives Landing | North end of Lakeshore Drive, 190 Lakeshore Drive, Pateros | Year-round launch, restrooms, free hot shower room, RV and tent camping, drive-through layout with overflow trailer parking | The closest stand-in for the Methow ramp, on the lower part of Lake Pateros |
| Starr Boat Launch | Right bank of Wells Reservoir near river mile 518, off Highway 97 south of town | Gravel parking area, concrete launch, vault toilet | Bare-bones; the details come from an undated PUD recreation brochure |
| Columbia Cove Park | Columbia Cove RV Park, 604 West Bruce Avenue, Brewster | Docks, picnic shelters, restrooms, beach, playground, lawn, parking | The city warns of a rock bar at the launch that gets worse at low water |
Douglas PUD's parks and recreation page says all of its boat launches are free. That covers Ives Landing and Starr. The City of Brewster's Columbia Cove page doesn't list a launch fee either way.
Ives Landing is the in-town launch for now
For anyone already in town, Ives is the practical choice. The city's Ives Landing page describes the launch as a main access point on the lower part of Lake Pateros, open year-round, with a drive-through layout and plenty of overflow parking for vehicles and trailers. On a closure week that last detail matters most, because every trailer that would have used the Methow ramp now needs a spot somewhere else.
The PUD's facility listing adds a boat dock and interpretive displays at Ives. The park also has RV sites with water and electric hookups that you can book at a self-service kiosk or reserve ahead, with the dump station included in the overnight price. Hunters who leave before daylight and want to be on the water early will find hot showers and a launch within walking distance of each other.
Starr is the pick when you're coming up Highway 97 from the south and would rather not drive through town. Columbia Cove gives Brewster boaters a launch with docks and a lawn, but when the water is low, the rock bar the City of Brewster flags on its Columbia Cove page is a reason to go slowly on your first approach.
When the Methow ramp comes back
The city has described the closure as an expected two to four weeks from October 19. On the calendar, that puts the earliest likely reopening around November 2 and the outer edge of the estimate around November 16. Neither is a confirmed date. The city's original notice is still the reference point, and the city's homepage news feed is where an update would most likely show up.
Until it does, a few habits will save a wasted trip:
- Check the Pateros news feed before towing to the Methow ramp, even after November 2.
- Plan on Ives Landing as the default launch for early-morning hunting trips until the reopening is posted.
- Recheck WDFW's emergency rules before any fishing trip on the Columbia between Wells Dam and Brewster.
- Expect the rock bar at Columbia Cove to be a bigger issue the lower the water gets.
The fishing rules in this post are general information, not legal advice. Confirm current regulations with WDFW before you go out.
Once the ramp reopens, the bridge will be counting fish whether or not anyone is fishing. By then the town will be shifting toward winter. Pateros lists Christmas in the City for December 4 at Riverview Pavilion, with Santa arriving on a fire truck, free hot chocolate, chili and cookies, and sledding if there's snow.
If you're looking at waterfront near Pateros and want to know which launches, parks and river rules come with a particular stretch of shoreline, Find Your Chelan can go through the details of the property you have in mind with you. Start Your Lake Chelan Search.
