Fished the Cowlitz on 5/10. Started at Barrier Dam, didn't see anything caught for the three hours I fished. Heard rumors of fish being caught last week in this area. Anyway moved down to the Blue Cr. area and talked to many drift boats as they floated by my fishing spot and none of them had touched a fish all day! What ever happened to the days where any trip to the Cowlitz always meant a bright steelhead on the dinner table? I would skip this one and fish the Kalama.
Oh, by the way after getting skunked on the Cowlitz, took the long drive up to the Green River (trib. to the N.F. Toutle) for spring chinnook. The area in front of the hatchery is open for salmon. This little river is out in the middle of nowhere, anyways got to the hatchery after 3 miles of logging roads and it was a ghost town. Fished for a little while and quit after an hour. If anybody decides to give this one a try you want to target the South bank of the hatchery stretch, the hatchery side has limited access.
Oh well, June 1st. the Sky will be open, no need to go south for a long while.
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Bobber Down
"It makes no sense to regulate salmon habitat on land while allowing thousands of yards of gill nets to be stretched across salmon habitat in the water"
John Carlson, Gubernatorial Contender, Sept. 2000 speech at the Ballard Locks