This week in SW Washington local rivers are on the rise with a large amount of rain falling over the previous few days, regardless steelhead fishing continues to be good, especially for plunkers on the local tributaries. The first spring chinook was caught weeks ago and we still have yet to see another one caught on any tributary or the Columbia, though not for a lack of effort. A few lakes have been fishing very well for stock rainbow trout, Merwin continues to disappoint.
REMINDER, please verify the regulations before fishing any body of water. AND wear a life jacket.
Lewis Report
The river rose to nearly 12,000 cfs on Wednesday 2/28/24 making it dangerous to fish from boats and difficult to find fishable bank access. Just before the river rose to 8,000 cfs on Tuesday Curtis Youngren drifted the upper section of the river getting one hatchery and two wilds with more than a few takedowns. The hatchery return is nearing its final weeks but there is a large run of wild winters to the river, which boasts an excellent catch and release fishery.
East Fork- Not much happening on the river this week there is only two weeks left in the winter season until it closes to protect the wild steelhead spawn. The river is on the rise this week due to rain but lower snow levels have kept the river in a fishable state and a good steelhead green color. The river closes March 15th so the season is nearing over.
Kalama Report
I wasn’t able to stop by this week, but Ben Mulcahey has continued to fish the Kalama and reported on Tuesday 2/27/24 “It hasn’t risen much but the flow is definitely quicker, we had maybe one takedown every angler we talked to had a fish we just couldn’t get it done”. There are fish around but with more and more rain coming high water tactics should go into effect.
Cowlitz Report
Last week, Tacoma Power employees recovered 119 winter-run steelhead adults over four days of operations at the Cowlitz Salmon Hatchery separator. During the past week, Tacoma Power employees released 13 winter-run steelhead adults at Franklin Bridge in Packwood, and they released 19 winter-run steelhead adults into the Tilton River at the Bremer Bridge release site near Morton. The river flow below Mayfield Dam is 6,000 cubic feet per second on Monday, 2/28/24.
Tons of guides outside Blue Creek and bank anglers are doing great, the water rose to 6,000 cfs today so be cautious as the river levels can rise any minute.
Washougal Report
Like most other systems the river is on the rise from 1,500 cfs to 2,500 which is a big change for the Washougal. Giffen Soule continues to plunk from the upper portions of the river and lower with no luck. The river closes March 15th until mid-May to protect the wild steelhead spawn.
Columbia River
Ian plunked for a few hours last Friday at the start of the outgoing tide, just him and a friend, no bites. I stopped by Martins Bar Sunday and a rainy afternoon was met with no anglers.
With the season set on spring chinook the excitement is in the air and anglers are trolling outside the mouth of the Multnomah Channel and in front of sand island, though most have had no luck. The water temp is sitting right around 42-43 degrees Fahrenheit.
Warm Water Lakes and Ponds
Klineline Lake
The lake was stocked with 1,500 cutthroat and 2,500 rainbows on 2/14/24 and since then it has been more like catching than fishing.
There is a kids fishing derby coming up April 1st held by WDFW, it is a 5-dollar entry fee and that covers all of your child’s gear, and in recent years the kids even got to keep their rod and reel. Find more information here!
Horseshoe Lake
The lake hasn’t been stocked with excess steelhead or trout for a few weeks, though there continues to always be multiple anglers along the banks of the lake while driving through woodland. Late winter to early spring has always been best for me here.
Battle Ground Lake
I stopped by Sunday morning 2/25/24 as I was in town and ran into several anglers fishing, there were probably eight or so rods out, I wasn’t standing there for maybe 30 seconds before the first rod started getting a tap. A large family was out taking their kids fishing for the first time. I saw the kids reel in around 10 fish and miss countless more in the half hour I was there. It was a little chilly, but the smiles and laughter was well worth watching what I remember my dad doing for me as a kid, I could have been there all day if I had the time.
Lacamas Lake
No plants this week but we should start seeing trout released starting in March and ending in May. They release a few trucks near the Lacamas Lake Lodge which creates a great fishery near the south end of the lake, but a few trucks will be released at the Gravel Pit & Parking lot ramp at the NE side of the lake where I have always had success early in the springtime.
Merwin Lake
The water continues to be murky, and the fishing continues to be slow, I talked with one angler recently who went out trolling on Saturday 2/24/24 for eight hours and landed six kokanee and missed a few others. Only one fish came from the downriggers, most of the bites were from a no weight dodger and hoochie long lined back 140 feet.
Ilwaco and Long Beach
There is a five-day opener scheduled though we are waiting on test results for marine toxins and domoic acid levels, final approval usually happens a few days before the scheduled opener so be on the lookout here early next week to find out final approvals.
Surf perch remains a viable option though this weekend looks to be cold, wet, and rainy out at the coast. High tide is the best time to fish for these as they are looking for bait being pulled off the sand from waves. They are usually holding in calm pockets of water in the surf called troughs, look for areas where the waves stop breaking for a few seconds and come back together creating a flatter spot in the surf, that is where the fish will be located.
March 7, Thursday, 4:15 p.m.; -0.5 feet; Long Beach, Twin Harbors, Copalis
March 8, Friday, 5:00 p.m.; -0.8 feet; Long Beach, Twin Harbors, Mocrocks
March 9, Saturday, 5:42 p.m.; -0.9 feet; Long Beach, Twin Harbors, Mocrocks
March 10, Sunday, 7:22 p.m.; -0.7 feet; Long Beach, Twin Harbors, Copalis
March 11, Monday, 8:00 p.m.; -0.2 feet; Long Beach, Twin Harbors, Copalis
Stay fishy,
Seth Kolshinski
There is A LOT more for SW Washington Members here. And SW Washington members can find our complete Columbia River reports here.
Read this week’s Oregon fishing report.