Washington State Fishing Report
Updated 04/22/08
I'm now booking trips for late winter/spring and summer steelhead. I'll be guiding for these fish on the Cowlitz river, located in southwest Washington. If you're interested in booking a trip, please see my Guided Trips Page.
Happy Earth Day!
With it being Earth Day, I thought I'd post a couple of links that I find to be relevant. With the world's population of people now at approximately 6,667,537,939 (this was the number on 4/22/08), every little thing that you do has an impact - because it's multiplied by such a huge number of people. We have to be forward thinking in our approach as to how we use this planet, there is only so much carrying capacity and we're seeing the loss of many species as the numbers of humans continue to expand. Many scientists suggest that the human race would need appoximately 4 more earths given our consumptive nature.
A few quotes from Edward Abbey on the Environment
"The idea of wilderness needs no defense, it only needs defenders."
"Wilderness is not a luxury but a necessity of the human spirit."
"A journey into the wilderness is the freest, cheapest, most nonprivileged of pleasures. Anyone with two legs and the price of a pair of army surplus combat boots may enter."
"It is not enough to understand the natural world; the point is to defend and preserve it."
"God bless America. Let's save some of it."
"But love of the wilderness is more than a hunger for what is always beyond reach; it is also an expression of loyalty to the earth which bore us and sustains us, the only home we shall ever know, the only paradise we ever need - if only we had eyes to see."
"The love of wilderness is more than a hunger for what is always beyond reach; it is also an expression of loyalty to the earth, the earth which bore us and sustains us, the only paradise we shall ever know, the only paradise we ever need, if only we had the eyes to see. . . . No, wilderness is not a luxury but a necessity of the human spirit, as vital to our lives as water and good bread."
Winter Steelhead Season Overview
From March 1st through April 15th, I spent my time guiding on a few of the Olympic Peninsula rivers. Overall, we had a decent season and for the most part the fish and the rivers cooperated. I was happy to see a number of my guests hook and land their first steelhead on swung flies. To catch a steelhead on a swung fly requires a great deal of skill. The skills that lead to a successful outing require a great deal of patience, the ability to cast and control a fly line, and the ability to correctly play a large, energetic fish. In the end, a person's life can be changed by such an event!
Hoh River Closure
As many know, the Hoh river was closed early (April 3rd, 2008) this year because the river was not getting back it's required escapement. Sadly, this river has not met escapement in many years. That said, I was very happy to see the Washington Division of Wildlife Resources act responsibly this time and close the Hoh river early. The Hoh, like most other Olympic Peninsula rivers, have had declining numbers of fish for years. Much of this is due to habitat degradation, the fact that the WDFW has continued to allow sport anglers to kill one fish per year, and the continued netting by the native americans. The sum of this pressure has had a very detrimental affect.
As a result of the Hoh being closed, there were a number of guides who guided within the National Park without the required permits. If you are considering going on a guided trip within the National Park, you need to verify that your guide has permits to guide you, if he doesn't, you and your guide can and should be fined. It's no different than poaching. I am one of the few guides in the state that have a permit to guide within the Olympic National Park, and was sickened by the amount of "guides" who suddenly showed up within the park to secretly guide their clients.
This past '08 season will be the last year that I guide for native fish because I don't believe that native steelhead will be able to withstand the constant pressure, even from a catch and release perspective. In Washington state, 5 of the 7 "native" stocks have now been ESA listed (Endangered Species Act). Given that, it seems irresponsible to continue to promote this fishery until it is able to stabilize.
Please don't kill or eat Wild Steelhead
If you're traveling to Seattle, one thing you might see at Pike's Market and/or restaurants are wild steelhead on the menu. Unfortunately, these fish are dwindling. If you're concerned about preserving these magnificent fish, please avoid purchasing them and inform those restaurants that serve them that wild steelhead are too precious to be harvested.
Along the same line, please avoid using those guide services that are not strictly catch and release for all wild fish. Unfortunately, in Washington state, an angler is allowed to kill one fish per season. However, because of the mismanagement of this resource over the past century or so, 5 of the 7 native steelhead stocks have reached ESA listing. Unfortunately, even the new Steelhead Management plan put out in the spring of 2008 still allows anglers to harvest fish. Please write to Washington Division of Fish & Wildlife and let them know that you do not support the continued harvest of these fish.
Salmon Fishing Closure
In addition to the Steelhead having a hard time surviving, the salmon populations are also having a hard time. The collapse of salmon returning to coastal California rivers has forced the closure of salmon fishing along the California and Oregon coasts. Our anadromous fish are declining for a number of reasons, over harvest, loss of habitat, and dams, just to name a few. Here is a link for the full report from Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife.
3/12/2008 ACTION NOTICE: The National Marine Fisheries Service in consultation with the Pacific Fishery Management Council, the State of Oregon, and fishery interests has taken in-season management action to cancel the March 15 openings in the ocean Chinook salmon seasons off Oregon.
ACTION TAKEN (#1): The commercial ocean troll salmon fishery for all species except coho between Cape Falcon, Oregon and the Oregon/California Border that was scheduled to open for the period of March 15 through April 30 has been closed by in-season management action by the National Marine Fisheries Service.
ACTION TAKEN (#2): The recreational ocean salmon fishery for all species except coho between Cape Falcon, Oregon and Humbug Mt., Oregon that was scheduled to open for the period of March 15 through April 30 has been closed by in-season management action by the National Marine Fisheries Service.
RATIONALE: Chinook salmon forecasts for numerous runs that contribute to ocean salmon fisheries off Oregon are estimated to be at very low levels. Specific concerns over critically low numbers of fall Chinook within the Sacramento River, and a very low forecast for Klamath River three year old Chinook are at the head of the list of issues facing salmon managers this year. This closure will allow fishery managers to better develop a full range of fishing options for the 2008 ocean salmon seasons. The National Marine Fisheries Service and the Pacific Fishery Management Council are still considering options for fishing opportunity within this area that could start as early as April 15. A decision on any April seasons will be made at the Pacific Fishery Management Council meeting in Tacoma, Washington during the week of April 7-11.
For more information, here is a recent article - Salmon Article - San Francisco Chronicle
Cowlitz River, Washington
The Cowlitz is seeing a decent return of late winter/early spring steelhead. Keep in mind that with steelhead fishing, every day is different, and success is dependent upon a number of factors. For more information about fly fishing for steelhead, please see my article Fly Fishing for Steelhead. The clarity of the river is very good and flows have been perfect. The Cowlitz is one of the few rivers in the state that has a decent number of fish in it nearly year-round. We'll start to see early summer fish from late may through July, and continue to see summer steelhead come into the system through about mid/late October. The Cowlitz offers some of the best opportunities for success. This rivers is prime for those who like to make long casts and cover big water. There isn't anything like catching a big fish on a big piece of water where a fish can show what it can do.
Cowlitz River Shuttle
Trudy - 1-360-864-2277 Matt - 1-360-864-2388
Olympic Peninsula Rivers
The season is over on most of the Peninsula rivers. Most of the Olympic Peninsula rivers reopen on June 1st but fish will be scarce to non-existent during the summer months. The nature of these rivers is that they receive winter steelhead when there is enough rain/runnoff to allow fish to get upriver, spawn, and then swim back to the ocean. As the summer months continue, many of these rivers flow exceedingly low, and because of the acidic nature, don't have much insect life. As a result, we don't see resident trout in these rivers like one might expect.
Want to catch more fish?
We live in a geographic location where big rivers are the norm, and casting hours or days between large winter steelhead are a must. Those who do not have the necessary skills will usually wilt away before being successful. If you're not into fishing for large fish, the winter is an excellent opportunity to focus on your casting, make it a winter project! If you're interested in helping yourself become a better caster, check out my Casting Instruction page. You'll be glad you did!