I hate to think of myself as an old timer but I did get the privilege of fishing the Nisqually when it had some INCREDIBLE FISHING. The bad part about this is I’m still trying to find that kind of fishing but seldom can find it and when I do it is very short lived! I fished the Nisqually back in the early eighty’s and from late February till early April you never had a problem taking your two fish home. The limit started as one fish per day but I hounded the Game Department to allow a two fish limit and they finally raised it when they realized how many fish where actually in this river. I probably should have keep my mouth shut but I’m sure the word would have gotten out anyway. One thing that was really strange about this river is we seldom got any bucks, it was always lots of hens. I personally think the Indians weren’t the major problem on this river but it was the combination of the Indian fishery and the major sport fishing pressure that came in the late 1980’s thanks to the Game Department. Unfortunately this river went from a select few who fished it to almost like a Cowlitz River. When I first started fishing it I had the whole lower river to my self. From Muck Creek all the way down to Hill Side Creek which is where the Hatchery is located. You seldom saw any boats on the river except for the Indians. Once the Game Department figured out what they had I think they saw it as a great way to sell more licenses. They started a major campaign of getting the word out. It was written about in the Seattle, Tacoma and Olympia papers and Fishing and Hunting as the place to fish for native fish and the run was so “healthy” that they allowed a two fish limit right till the end of April. The fact that it was the only local river around that stayed open that late also added to all the pressure. It’s funny because at this point I was calling the Game Department saying they should have either a one fish limit or have it all C & R. Their answer at the time was “we’re not going to let anything hurt this run of fish and that it was a very health run”. I guess that’s really what it all boils down too, it WAS a very health run but just had way too much pressure on it. One memory I recall was when I fished this particular gravel bar. I made three consecutive casts and hooked and landed three Steelhead. One Chrome, one with a red strip and one spawned out fish. Those are the kind of memories I’ve got on the Nisqually!