Where's the strawberry patch hole? I fish the river quite a bit, but don't know the names of all the holes... please email me if you don't want this spread on the web (:

Yeah Carl,it was really surprising to me too. I thought they were ALL gone but i was wrong. That first fish gave me a heart attack it hit so fast and pumped the rod like a psychofish, very unlike the strong consistant rod pumps from chums. Thought for sure i had a steelhead.

The chum were stacked up fairly loosely but lots of them. Some real big ones were tailing at the top of the hole. The steelhead i hooked realy caught me off guard. I tossed out but it caught the current and came off the shore pretty fast out to about 10 feet in 6-8 feet of water and instantly the bobber took off and the fight was on. Strange thing was i was rigged for chum and only had a 1 foot leader. So much for them being on bottom. I think that other guys idea about using a float to keep the jig above the fish was a godsend for preventing snagfish. And i think having the jig above the fish is a little more tempting than below or even with them. Don't most fish strike from below anyhow? Just guessing but it worked awesome. But I'd hate to hook a fat cromie there. The current is right along your side of the shore so every fish has to be pulled through that fast water. Makes every fish a nailbiter. But so what. I'll be back there tomorrow. Free shots of adrenaline....sign here! PS. John read a biologists report on Chum and it said Chum only survive 6-10 days in fresh water, so if you do the math i'd say that was and still is one hell of a run.

Fishnbudee your email don't work. Go up past the dixie mansion and look for an aluminum gate next to a huge tree,on the edge of a corn field. you'll see it. Follow the road to the trees and jump on the trail. This is private property so treat it as such. We don't want the owners to get pissed off and close it up because of garbage. So pack out a little extra if you can. GL

FFF - thanks! Not sure why my email was not working...

I've seen cars lined up at a few spots along there, but I have not stopped because I did not want to cross private property (posted on signs). But it sounds like they don't mind responsible fisherman passing through. I'll have to check it out one of these times out.

Thanks again,
Chad

I guess lightning does strike twice. I fished the strwbry patches again and drifted jigs and eggs for steelhead for 45 minutes or so with no luck so i rigged for chum with a bobber jig and a 1 foot leader. Third cast the bobber exploded from the surface and down and my heart exploded a millisecond later. I Set the hook and landed a beautiful 9-11lb summer hen native. Is this normal? 99% of my steelhead have been off bottom in pretty deep water, but a foot from surface? come on. Maybe i have to break out the long rod and whip some flies out there cuz there's definately alot of fish in the green right now. I also hooked a 20+lb Chum on the same rig a few casts later but he took me way down stream and then the hook bent and he was history. Great day though and the river looked great.

C'mon FFF, a 20+ lb Chum???? They don't make them that BIG. I have caught a lot of chums this year and the biggest I have seen is 14lbs.

Question: Is the Palmer hatchery on the same side of the river as Kanaskat/Palmer state park? I've fished the park before, but I don't know where the hatchery is. Upstream? Downstream? Is it accessible via the park?

Thanks for any help.

Fine don't believe me LOL. I swear it was an easy 20. I saw johns 15 and this was much bigger. I had no chance landing him unless he came to me. The dorsal fin was an easy 5 inches tall. It was a fatty, right in the choppers too. Like i said earlier, i'd hate to hook a big fish in that hole because of the fast water infront of your feet. I'm pretty sure me and John will be there tomorrow if not then Kanaskat if ya wanna join us or meet us there. Call me if you wanna meet up. And H.....the hatchery is on the north side or oposite the park side and you can access either side easily. I think the upper holes of Kanaskat will be on fire about now.

FFF, I (we) are going to be heading to Zoo (Blue) Creek tomorrow. It is my buddy Barry's b-day. Barry, his friend Craig (his boat), and I will be floating the river. Mauri will be there too but with his dad and brother in his dad's boat. Ya know Mauri's dad has property just above Zoo Creek. Man, that would be tough to have property on the Cowlitz right above Zoo Creek.
Maybe we can "hook" up later in the weekend. I will be off Sun, Mon, and Tues.

Carl the State record for Chums is 27.97 lbs. caught in 1997.


state records

and that record has been there for 4 years...it probably will last longer too, a fish that big is very rare indeed

Eddie L, I am not questioning the state record. Wasn't the chum you are talking about caught in a coastal river not in the Green?? I thought so. Big difference between the fish in coastal rivers and inland rivers. I just don't think FFF hooked into a 20+lb Chum. Don't you think it would be pretty rare? I would have to see some pix to believe it.

[ 12-30-2001: Message edited by: Carl Costenbader ]

I've CnR A few Chum bucks in the Snoquamie close into the 20's,big mean(fangs)lookin dudes.
How's the Green doin on Steelhead right now?

What's with the non believers? I'd question how i caught my last to steelhead more than if i hooked into a 20b chum. I did't think anything of it. I thought there were numerous 20lb chum in the green the way everyone talks about how huge they are, so it didn't surprise me but if they are rare then i would have loved to have landed it. Braging im not, i just thought i'd mention it along with the steelhead i caught. So quit attacking me carl...LOL just kidding. I'll just have to show you how it's done. I'm looking forward to hearing how many cromies you guys got.

As for the green, and what i have seen and caught this week, i'd say the green is hot right now.

OK FFF, I understand what you mean.

Question about gear size....When I was on the Cowlitz yesterday seemed as though everyone was using really small hooks with really small corkies and it was producing fish. Is that the same for the Green? What size do you use? I may be missing the boat as far as tackle goes with stuff that is to big!?

Last year we caught a couple 20+ lb chummies and had several others break us off. They are not really that rare - most people just don't land them because they are freight trains. I have a pic of my buddy with his hog that I'll try to post if I can find it.
As for the state record - well, chum and pinks are usually C&R'd by a lot of anglers. I'd be willing to bet the record as been beat several times, but folks don't think twice about it, other maybe a quick photo and some sore arms...
As far at the Green, I've seen several carcasses of fish over 15lbs and some that had to be over 20.
So FFF - keep the dream alive!! (:

PP, did you catch those chums on the Green? I caught a 15lb chrome bright chum day after Thanksgiving last year on the Green and I do have witnesses. I am not saying it is impossible just pretty rare for a fish of that size for that species. And considering most of the chum populus was wiped out by flooding two weeks ago in the area that FFF fished I think the bulk of the chum run is over in the Green. I could be wrong.

On a side note, I did see a few chums in the Green today at Flaming Geyser, really surprised me.

I should have noted that the fish I was talking about catching were not from the Green, but from the Stilly - on flies! We had several double headers and even a triple header - and not one fish snagged the whole day. But you are right, chum over 20lbs are about as common as a steelie over 20lbs i'd say.

Carl,I've fished both the big and small maribous and the crystal bead jigs in big and small and by far i believe the smaller jigs work best. And the way this year is starting out id say jigs are first on my list. I've always thought eggs were the best but i'm not so sure now. I always toss eggs first but now it seems the fish that are active take the jig right away if they see it. With the eggs it seems like 20-40 minutes pass before i get something or change. But i've had alot of few first cast fish on eggs too so i guess it all depends where you are and when. This is my simple setup. Macks slip bob on 8lb, swivel, 1-8ft 6-12lb clear leader depending on depth and clarity, #5 pinch weight 1 foot away from your jig. What jig? I like the Jigalous in solid orange, or orange/anycolor with a little shrimp oil. Work it by twitching it every few feet. BUT my last steelhead bent the hook and as i was picking her up it fell out and she kicked away and i got no picture. So i think i am going to tie up some of my own or look for a stiffer shanked jig. I tie a mean sandshrimp jig if ya wanna buy one LOL. The jigalous are a little too soft but work very well. John's jigs aren't too bad either. They have a stiffer shank and barbell head. John landed that 15 on one in a swift current so there pretty strong.

So are you saying that you didn't catch any at the Cowlitz? If so, it could be something as simple as leader size, and may not be corkie size. The guy at Shof's Tackle in kent says he often has to drop his leader weight as low as 4lb to get them to take a look at it in the Stilli because the water gets so clear. But you never know. I guess you just have to "be the ball".....na na na na na na...

The green puts out a lot of large fish I have caught plenty of chums in the 20lb range on the green. I beleive that most people are not really interested in chums.Unless it is chrome I don't want a picture of it. Here is something to make you think I caught a 20lb chrome silver in downtown kent last month. Largest steelhead on the green was 16lbs.