Unless you have rain fish move and finally stage. Now why they pick a location is beyond me but the behavior is always present. For around 10 years it was the pump house and fishing you had fish jumping and rolling all around you. Those fishing waited for incoming tide for " fresh biters." When fish mob up they do not stay there until rain ( well some do ) but once the group builds in numbers new fish join the group as others move up. That pattern of behavior is always present minus rain and moderate rain will move them but never to dry spawning areas. I have seen years that above Schafer it is Coho everywhere but you will find few fish at Bingham hatchery just a few miles away.

A friend of mine always asks why the fish do this and I always reply fish will do what fish do. Many folks have this vision that Chehalis salmon just move upstream and that is just plain wrong. They move up for whatever the reason on their own timeline this year being an example with this years massive Coho movement in mid September and these fish were almost two months from spawning for heavens sake. They stopped at the upper end of tidewater and into the bottom of the tribs and now well down stream to South Monte. Will they stay there is the question and some do but the for the majority it is once the numbers increase and group them up new fish move in ( biters ) and others in the group move up. They do not storm up the river but move some and move again and again. They simply work their way upstream waiting for spawning conditions.

This behavior is really visible with Chum and on the Satsop they seem to like one place for a few years ( Cook area is one area easy to view from the road on the bluff ) sometimes down low on the river sometimes even above Schafer Park. I do not know for sure but water temperatures seem to have an cause and effect on the movement but in the end it is about the fishes comfort zone and time remaining to spawn. All that said they will continue to work there way upstream be it slowly and for the East Fork Satsop will stop mostly a mile two below Bingham down to Schafer Park.

This pattern of behavior is constant just as is the stampede when it rains enough water up spawning areas. This closure was ill-conceived, not well thought out, showed that lack of knowledge of the Chehalis Basin by senior staff, and is clearly discriminatory toward inriver fishers minus means to spend many thousands of dollars on a boat.

Conservation my ass this is about bias toward the inriver Rec that by its very nature is discriminatory toward bank fishers and folks of modest means. QIN & NT commercials are fishing as is tidewater and bay and as I said if the issue is Chinook the inriver Rec impacts for the year would not be what QIN sell in a day.

Almost forgot I sent the video to staff, Mr. Losee, the Director and the Commission.