Dusty Klink was only 7 years old when he and his family moved to Williams Lake from Woodinville, Wash. His parents, Jerry and Sandy Klink, wanted a change of lifestyle, and through a lucky set of circumstances, in 1989, the family was able to purchase the old fishing resort (established in 1919).
With his dad’s construction expertise and his mom’s business savviness, the Klink family remade the resort into a premier vacation destination called Klink’s Resort on Williams Lake. The 12-acre, seasonal resort has a large fishing dock and marina, rental cabins, a large area for RV and tent camping, as well as kayak, fishing boat, and stand-up paddleboard rentals. Day-use visitors are welcome to enjoy the sandy beach and fishing dock for a $5 fee. The small general stores sells supplies, snacks, cold beverages, and ice cream treats, while the on-site chef-owned restaurant – The Bistro at Williams Lake – is renowned for its Northwest-inspired cuisine. According to Klink, there is a farmer who occasionally flies his float plane from an hour away just to enjoy dinner here.
The 319-acre, spring-fed waters of Williams Lake has a good fishing reputation as a “catching lake,” says Klink, who works as the resort’s general manager. It’s a father-son operation now, he says, since his mom retired. He credits the “incredible, long-time staff” for the resort’s success through the years. In addition to being stocked annually with trout courtesy of WDFW, Klink’s Resort has a special permit to stock the lake with additional rainbow trout that they purchase from fish hatcheries. “We plant up to 5,000 fish, depending on what the hatcheries have available,” he says. The average trout caught weighs 2-8 pounds, he says, and Williams Lake is known as one of the top trout lakes in Washington. “Stocking the lake gives us a way to give back,” he says. “We’re not just a business that pulls from the lake – it’s a public lake that everyone can enjoy.”
Another reason why the fishing is good here, he adds, is because the middle of the lake is 120-130 feet deep, which means the fish go lower as the lake water warms, keeping the fish nice and firm year-round. //
