9/24/2024

Wynoochee River, Sterling Bar is now "gated off AND Locked to all members of the public."

If you don't know where Sterling Bar is, it is called by other names, Twin Bridges and Corner Hole. The road going in is 400-500 yards South of the WDFW Offices.

If you have drift boated, or inner tubed from Black Creek launch that was the take out you used to get your boat or tubes out. It was also a great place to winter or summer fish.

Now you can still drift boat and tube but you are going to have to go to Wynoochee River mouth and go up river to the South Montesano boat launch to take out.

Mr. Sterling is/was a person that purchsed the land so that members of the public would have access to river area. Since I've lived in Grays Harbor it is unbelievable to amount of access to river water, Satsop. Humptulips, Wynoochee, North River, and the list goes on.

Yes the gravel bar and area in general, was trashed, people did the "donuts in the big parking area", trees were cut down, fires built, people sleeping over night, drinking, etc. BUT some drive thru's by WDFW or Sheriff's personnel could have helped solve/or lessen the problem.

Well just know that a local caretaker could have also helped solve the problem but Port of Grays Harbor decided that the gate and other restrictions' was the better way to go..........grrrrrrrrrr

Without a caretaker it is impossible to maintain order. This not a new thing it is people and when left unchecked the undesirable element takes over.

We dont need a caretaker, We need to start enforcing the law and holding people accountable. Hard to believe that people are doing all this cutting trees down, donuts and partying with wdfw being only a few hundred yards away. The gamies seem to be down there quite a bit during fishing season. And its the soft on crime policy that hurts everybody. This is just another product of "you get what you vote for."

Are we still allowed to walk in, or is it closed to ALL access?

i hear no access at all

So the Port of Aberdeen and enforcement did nothing about keeping the troublemakers out of Sterling but would arrest or fine a fisherman walking in. Sad.

I will differ from your thoughts. Having managed several different properties I can tell you a caretaker is almost mandatory. From theft to vandalism it is almost impossible operate without one. Friends Landing down the road is an example. I will agree that is NOT the way it should be but it is what it is.

Wouldn't need a caretaker, if the law could do their job. But they cant, so most of our stores need security guards, product gets locked up and all our parks and dnr areas will eventually need a 'sitter. While the police get in trouble for kicking out homeless and druggies who leave trash. So they rather just shut er down and hurt the law abiding sportsmen. Less hassle that way.

Here is a crazy idea that took me forever to come up with. Because this is such a complicated issue, that one of my favorite spots is probably now gone. Move the damn gate to the road and whoever closed it in the first place ("the caretaker") can open it every morning. it would at least keep the garbage people and vehicles out overnight.

I agree with Spoon. Since the Regional Office is only a few hundred yards away from the Slerling Road someone from the Regional Office could open and lock the gate each morning and night. it would keep the troublemakers out overnight.

Assuming you used Regional staff, would opening at (say) 8:30 and closing at 4:30 M-F be acceptable and as non enfarcement staff aren't there on weekends work? I like near Squaxin Park in Oly and park staff generally open the gate by our place at dawn and dusk every day so it can be done if one wished to allow some drive-in use.

Spot on. This is statewide problem. And if you have ever had your truck broken into then you know the results of our lawless state we live in. And if crime loving Bob is elected things will only get worse.

Ive never been a 'it is what it is guy.' not when they're plenty of questions to ask, ill bring a solution to the table. 'It is what it is' type of attitude is why were at where we are today. So, sorry rvrguy, its all luv. Happy Friday fellas.

If Regional staff is not available to do it, I would think that The Port of Grays harbor could find a local resident in Montesano who could open the gate early and lock it at night for a small salary (retiree?). There are ways to do it but it seems that the Port is just not interested in having it open. Maybe open from Oct.1 (start of salmon season) to the end of winter (if there is a winter steelhead season) and then close the Landing in the summer months when most of the problems are most likely to happen.

09/27/2024

Bottom line, "Sterling Bar", in a perfect world would be just what Mr. Sterling thought it could be.....truth is "its not a perfect world" and there is a element of society that just doesn't understand "no", they don't like rules that restrict what they want to do.

I live about 4 miles from this area, down the old hiway, left into the river bar. More than 50 years I've live in my present home. I've driven into this area, to launch a small jet boat, park a drift boat trailer, to just winter steelhead, and yes after summer run steelhead got planted in the Wynoochee in the late 70's, I fish the lower river 1000's of days.

When the Port took over the property they put some general rules, "no camping overnight, stay on the main roads, no fires(certain times of the year), pick up your trash when you leave. The Port did what they could do, did grade the main road in, had someone pickup trash, even put a large garbage container in the area, big signs with the rules of use for the area........still, trees got cut, fires built, party, party, drinking, big wheeled trucks, went off road and ripped up the environment.

There was no charge to use this area.....just dollars going to fix problems....so we are where we are because too many problems.....shooting, person died, so hence "gated off"......river access lost!!!!!

Hi Bill,

As always, I appreciate your communication with me about Sterling Landing and the other public access sites we manage. I wanted to let you know that the leadership at the Port appreciates the relationship we have with you and the other recreational users. We just announced Sterling Landing will re-open on September 30th for fishing. The press release is attached and linked below. We plan to re-open the gate on Monday and it will remain open until we have another major issue. We have already started working with the County on some plans to improve management of this area, and we will continue that work over this fall and winter. If you or any other users would be interested in meeting with the Port directly to talk about ideas for this site please reach out to me directly.

Have a great weekend,

-Alissa Shay

Dave,
After sending The Port an email I got a very nice email from Alissa today thanking me for my input and saying that they will reopen the landing on Monday And will remain open through the winter season. She asked me to report if I see or observe any shenanigans that I see there. I told her that I would be more than happy to do so. All other anglers should do the same. I think most of the fishermen will do the same. I have never made a mess there and pick up any garbage I see there. This the last chance to keep the area safe and clean. Otherwise it might be closed for good. Please respect the property.

9/27/2024

The wrong, locked gate has been made right, 9/30/2024 the gate will be open "for fishing"..........

Yay!! We got one right!!!

If we see BS there, who should be called? We should have a phone number

Fish,
You can get a hold of Alissa Shay at ashay@portgrays.org to report directly to her if you observe an problems. I don't have her phone number at the moment.

Alissa is asking that the sport fishermen help in reporting any problems, land abuse etc. that they see at the Landing. The Port is making arrangements for future care of the property. But, at at least this fall and winter the Port would appreciate any help from the anglers. The sporties will only help themselves by doing so. So, lets work together on this.

Would be happy to report miscreants at the landing. Won't be there often, but I'm glad it's open, and I'll do what little I can to keep it that way.

Now, if we can just get an eye on what's happening at the WDFW boat launches, particularly on the Satsop....

Hadn’t heard about this. Trouble with break-ins?

drinking trash party place gunfire ..... the usual

Not necessarily trouble with break-ins, but there have been even more people than I'm used to seeing hanging out at the launches for non-recreational purposes (mostly drug use, judging by the junker cars they're usually sitting in and their suspicious behavior. They're probably just there to get high, but with drug addicts parked near your empty rig, you're always at risk of the ol' smash and grab. Now that the season is more or less underway and the launches will be more crowded with people fishing (and occasionally enforcement), they'll probably start looking for new places to hang out.

Like Rivrguy said, there's always the usual drinking, building fires, doing donuts, and general loitering going on, especially in the summer. Not much has changed, but it seems more and more common.

That area looked like it turned into a 4x4 meeting place the last time I was there. They were tearing it up just outside of the entrance to the gravel bar. Likely that was being done n the bar as well. The gravel bars there have been notorious for keggers and the like in the summer.

I went to college with Alissa, she's good people, also a grays harbor native. Glad to hear it's open again.

We got one on Saturday

10/02/2024

10/01/2024 Gate was open.......rigs parked inside.


1 boat had just been taken out, they had fish....

Saw two of those caught on the lower Satsop, of all places, yesterday evening. Looks like there's a decent late run going on.

A friend of mine went to check out Sterling landing on Friday. He said the gate was locked. Did the Port of Grays harbor close it again? Does anyone know?

11/11/2024

Drove down to Sterling Bar.......gate was open, some of the large holes had been filled in.

Rains like we had and will have, raise Heck on the road going in and the property inside the gate. Drive slow and the roads and property will be useable.

I have not been down to the actual "bar" so can't commit of that.

Enjoy the area.....

Drifter,
Thanks. Maybe someone forgot to open it on Friday. The last time I was there, which was a while ago. They had filled in the large hole by the gate.

I got a message from Alissa at the Port today. She said that Sterling was closed for three days last week because a contractor was spraying to kill Japanese Knotwood. The property opened back up last Saturday. There was a sign there saying that it would be closed. She also said that there have been some problems there since it opened this year. Trash and a burning vehicle. There used to be a garbage dumpster inside the gate in the big lot but there wasn't one this year. I suggested that maybe they should put a trash can in there again. But people would probably throw there garbage on the ground anyway out of laziness.

11/12/2024

I wondered if it was something like that......."Knotweed is like Scotchbloom", if you don't attack it, it seems to double every year.

Knotweed, in the patches I fish around, is kinda pretty this time of the year!!!!!

I remember the large dumpster....didn't take long to fill that up but you're right, it does need something in there.....

Knotweed, while pretty, is one those really ugly invasives. We had, and maybe still have them, around the Soos Creek Hatchery. They lined the stream banks. The roots were so thick and strong that they were an excellent bank protection from flood and erosion. But the crowded out everything and nothing local seems to eat them. Kind like green riprap. They make huge monoculture stands in wet areas driving all other plants, and probably animals, out. Very hard to kill and pieces broken off in flood go downstream and grow there.

I know some NGOs that have spent years of intensive handwork to eliminate knotweed along streams.

I did a drivebye. I miss talking to the plunkers there and down Elk's Bar. Water looked okay.
Guess mud and trees were flowing down the lower satsop.

Alissa said that they will be working on getting rid of the Knotwood in the coming years.