Good rivers now aren't far away in Western Washington

By Bob Brown | For The Olympian • Published September 25, 2008

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Fishing has been good in most Western Washington rivers.

Steelhead, chinook, coho and sea-run cutthroat catches have been very good in the Cowlitz River from the mouth to the salmon hatchery.

Anglers also have found success catching coho in the Lewis, Toutle and Kalama rivers.

Fishing has been spotty in the Nisqually, slow in the Puyallup and Carbon rivers and slow in Olympic Peninsula rivers, where water is low and clear.

Salmon fishing has been good for boat anglers in the Columbia Gorge. Bank angling was fair. Sturgeon fishing has been good in the Gorge.

Tuna catches have been productive at Westport and Ilwaco. Sekiu waters have been producing decent catches of coho.

Fishing has been fair in South Sound for sea-run cutthroat but slow for coho and chinook. In waters around Tacoma, fishing for coho has not been good, and it's about the same in Hood Canal.

The pikeminnow catch continues to be good throughout the Columbia River. The fishery was scheduled to close Sunday but has been extended to Oct. 15. Lake fishing has been improving for trout and fair for crappie and perch.

Rivers

COWLITZ: Fishing has been good for coho, chinook and steelhead from the mouth to the trout hatchery. Blue Creek has been the place to go for steelhead, chinook and cutthroat. Barrier dam has been good for coho, jacks and chinook, said Karen Glazer of Barrier Dam Campground. The best baits have been shrimp and eggs, with the best bite during morning and evening.

Jarrod Ligh of 4 Corners Store in Castle Rock said anglers are having a field day catching coho using plugs, spinners, eggs and shrimp in the lower river.

The Cowlitz closes to chinook retention Oct. 1 from Blue Creek to Mill Creek. Last week, 839 adult fall chinook, 263 jacks, 1,391 adult coho, 169 jacks, 19 spring adult chinook, one jack, 34 summer steelhead, 13 cutthroat and one sockeye returned to the Cowlitz Salmon Hatchery. Flow was 5,700 cubic feet per second on Tuesday, with visibility of about 12 feet.

NISQUALLY: Fishing continues to be lukewarm throughout the river. A mixture of chinook (mostly dark) and some nice coho are being caught, but the fish have not been biting much. A variety of colored corkies/yarn, some spinners (which have not been very effective) and jig and bobbers are being used. A few anglers have been plunking at the handicap access area with only limited success.