SW Washington Fishing Update

SW Washington - Smelt dippers did well on last Saturday's opener with numerous limits hitting the bank. The river will open again this Saturday but it's likely that catches will be down from the previous weekends high.

Steelheaders will be glad to see river levels jump with the recent rainfall but some of the districts favorites will likely remain cloudy due to mudslides upstream.

The Kalama will likely be the best bet when flows stabilize with the East Fork of the Lewis a possibility for fresh wild fish too.

SW Washington Fishing Update

SW Washington – The North Fork of the Lewis is producing a few steelhead although they are small in size. District rivers have stayed within their banks due to cold weather maintaining snow packs in the upper watersheds.

The warming trend should stimulate action on the Cowlitz and Washougal Rivers as well. This can be a great week for hatchery steelhead on these area streams and anglers may find some fish already beginning to turn dark.

Washington Fishing

SW Washington – Like many other NW rivers, area streams have experienced little effort in the recent weather. The Cowlitz remains one of the better options but still remains fair at best.

The Washougal River has an impassable ice blockage that may remain in place until the weekend.

Some Washington steelhead jack counts are quite impressive; another signal that better fishing is likely in the coming years.

Washington Fishing

Forecasting for the fishing week of October 24th – October 30th, 2008

SW Washington – Fishery managers recently upgraded the late run coho run from 68,000 fish to 200,000. This bodes well for district anglers and daily limits have been increased on many river systems.

The Cowlitz, Kalama, Lewis and Elochoman are the best options but the Klickitat River near the mouth is also producing nicely for spinner fishermen. These fisheries are just now beginning to peak and should remain a strong option into November.

Washington Fishing

SW Washington – The Toutle River is producing good results for coho salmon anglers. The Cowlitz and Lewis Rivers also have fishable numbers. Later returning coho should stimulate catches on these river systems into November.

Although coho are beginning to show on the Klickitat River, chinook are making up the bulk of the catch. The bulk of the effort is taking place at the rivers mouth.

Washington Fishing

SW Washington – Coho are beginning to show on many district streams. The Lewis and Cowlitz are two good options but the Toutle is also producing some catches.

Beginning October 1st, many area streams close to the retention of chinook. Check regulations before heading out to fish.

The Klickitat is producing some catches of chinook but coho will show in greater numbers beginning in late October through November.

Washington Fishing

SW Washington – Coho are starting to show on some SW Washington tributaries. These systems typically get a stronger component of coho in October and early November and with the mainstem gillnet fishery targeting coho likely in jeopardy, late returning fish could flood district rivers. The Kalama, Cowlitz, Toutle and Lewis Rivers are all possibilities over the next 6 weeks.

Anglers still wanting chinook and steelhead should concentrate efforts on the Klickitat River and Drano Lake. The Klickitat will be peaking for chinook for just another few days and success for steelhead is beginning to drop on Drano Lake although still a viable fishery.