This week in SW Washington the Columbia is set to reopen below warrior rock and extend the season above and with chinook numbers still holding consistent and TAC extending the run size by another 150,000 chinook the next week looks fantastic. Tributaries are packed to the brim full of fish though finding the biters in the bunch seem to be the main cause for concern. Merwin kokanee continue to show their spawning colors but not getting dark enough to think about releasing them. Bass have started to move deeper in the local lakes as the water temp falls.
REMINDER, please verify the regulations before fishing any body of water. AND wear a life jacket.
Lewis Report – Flows have stayed around 1,400 cfs this week after a steep drop from 4,200 cfs, flow changes are due to swift reservoir boat launch and dam having work being done to them, with no rain in the forecast I can’t see this changing anytime soon. The Lewis has been fishing great the last few days, I fished near Johnson Creek Sunday and Tuesday this week and limited on coho both days.
Kalama Report – The weir is still in place so fishing above it is almost non-existent. I stopped by the baseball fields after work on Monday and there was quite the crowd around but I only saw anglers “flossing” with only a fish or two being caught.
Cowlitz Report – Coho are really starting to push in right now although reports have been spotty, usually Cowlitz coho are much more on the bite as they don’t have the S run coho or “A” run as most people call it which tend to have a heavy lockjaw compared the N run or “B” run that the Cowlitz only receives.
Washougal River – The Washougal still continues to fish well and with the recent rain on Tuesday there is a lot of fresh fish in the river, although flows haven’t changed much from the rain.
Woodland – Fishing is still chaotic above Warrior Rock and the fishing has been hit or miss with some days almost every boat has a fish and other days the fish are nowhere to be found.
Drano Lake – Drano is still on fire again this week with most leaving with their limits. The fish have been piled up around the mouth and haven’t come into Drano as much as they have in years past, though that hasn’t slowed down the hover bite on the inside.
Merwin Lake – Merwin has had its ups and downs this week with limits to be had but they have not been caught nearly as quickly as the previous weeks with every few fish being released due to them getting their fall colors.
Stay fishy,
Seth Kolshinski
There is A LOT more for SW Washington Members here, including Ian Carter’s complete monthly updates. And SW Washington members can find our complete Columbia River reports here.
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Read this week’s Oregon fishing report.