This week in SW Washington the rain and snow are going to give way and give anglers a dry weekend to chase steelhead in the local tributaries. Winter steelhead fishing on the earlier returning rivers like the Lewis and Washougal has been hit or miss. The later returning tributaries like the Kalama and the Cowlitz are slowly starting to get more fish every week. Merwin is still slow this week but providing a near limit to anglers willing to put the extra time in. WDFW approves a razor clam dig for this weekend!
REMINDER, please verify the regulations before fishing any body of water. AND wear a life jacket.
Lewis Report The Lewis is again flowing around 2,300 cfs this week which is pretty low for this time of year and while the old golf course intake pipe is no longer a hazard for boaters there is still plenty of the river that can get treacherous so be cautious. Fishing has been hit or miss as I talked with several anglers who all except two anglers went skunked on the day. Bailey Huston fished the river Sunday 2/2/25 and caught three above Cedar Creek towards the power lines. I talked with trusted reporter Hank Nodurft who went up that direction as well and landed one with that being his only fish of the day. Plunking has been slow due to the lower water as I stopped by the golf course where two anglers were plunking on Saturday and neither had a takedown all day.
Cowlitz Report Last week, Tacoma Power employees recovered 37 winter-run steelhead adults over five days of operations at the Cowlitz Salmon Hatchery separator. During the past week, Tacoma Power employees released one winter-run steelhead adult into Lake Scanewa and one winter-run steelhead adult into the Tilton River at Bremer Bridge. River flow below Mayfield Dam is 7,760 cubic feet per second on Monday, February 5, 2025.
Washougal River The Washougal is falling fast and becoming lower and lower. It is also another river that has been hit or miss this week. I fished it pretty hard on Sunday 1/2/25 and we ended up hooking and landing two fish but we had several other takedowns and bobber downs that we couldn’t get fish to commit on. I talked with two other drift boats on the water at the end of the drift with only one of them having at least a takedown but no fish between the two. The river looked desolate with almost no bank antlers and no plunkers in the lower river.
Merwin and Yale Lake Merwin is fishing okay again this week with anglers taking home near limits although most are not heading home with their ten fish. I received several reports this week and the majority left with around six fish a person. The fish have been scattered and no area or depth seems to be pulling in more biters. The boat launches have been very icey so be cautious of that if you are planning a trip in the next coming days before it warms back up. The water temp at the lake is 42 degrees this week.
Long Beach
Razor clamming is approved for this week! Tides aren’t fantastic this week but should still provide some clams for those that venture out to the coast.
Feb. 8, Saturday, 3:36 p.m.; 0.1 feet; Long Beach, Twin Harbors, Mocrocks
Feb. 9, Sunday, 4:29 p.m.; -0.3 feet; Long Beach, Twin Harbors, Copalis
Feb. 10, Monday, 5:15 p.m.; -0.5 feet; Long Beach, Twin Harbors, Copalis
Feb. 11, Tuesday, 5:54 p.m.; -0.5 feet; Long Beach, Twin Harbors, Mocrocks
Feb. 12, Wednesday, 6:29 p.m.; -0.4 feet; Long Beach, Twin Harbors, Mocrocks
Feb. 13, Thursday, 7:01 p.m.; -0.1 feet; Long Beach, Twin Harbors, Copalis
Feb. 14, Friday, 7:32 p.m.; 0.4 feet; Long Beach, Twin Harbors, Copalis
Stay fishy,
Seth Kolshinski
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