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Chehalis River Salmon Fishing in Tidewater
This fishery will be for Chinook & Coho Salmon
& will usually be centered around the waters from Cosmopolis to Montesano. There
are 3 launches in this area.
Here is the spot to use your car-topper or small 12-14' boat & a 7 1/2hp
motor, as compared to your 22' ocean fishing machine. You are upriver enough
and protected by the surrounding land that even a mild wind does not effect the
water that much.
(1) Weyerhaeuser Boat Ramp - Chehalis River-- Cosmopolis
In Cosmopolis, east at 'F' Street, (the police station) go 2 blocks to
end of Street.
Single lane blacktop ramp, with an extra wide gravel side extension on
upstream side, ample parking. No
restrooms but no restrictions as to size of boat or tides.
(2) Friends Landing
From Montesano, Chehalis River,-- West 1 mi on US 12; L (south) on
Devonshire Rd,
go 1.1 mi; South on Katon Rd 1.4 mile to launch/recreation area
(3) South Montesano (WDFW) - Chehalis River
From Montesano, South on SR 107 .8 mi; Left at "Public Fishing" sign, go
past the lumber mill, thru their parking
lot & .2 mi to end of Rd. Triple lane concrete ramp, lots of gravel
parking, but the ramps can be a problem at
low tide.
When--
This fishery usually starts October 1st when the season opens & runs thru
November, depending on the rains, which govern the fish's migration. Also the
weather will dictate IF you can fish. You may not be as concerned with the
weather itself, but if we get RAIN enough that raises the rivers to the
point you are plowing mud. Or the water is high enough that it is near a mild
flood stage that logs & other debris are coming down the river.
Tides--
The tides here do not seem to be as critical to fishing as in the lower part of
the river, as the fish have moved into this area & are making their way upriver.
However most fishermen do try to fish the incoming tide.
Where--This
fishery is still in tidewater and the water
will have some turbidity, with more on the high tide & especially one that has a
high run-off. In this lower section of the Chehalis, the effects of tidewater
ends at just below the mouth of the Satsop River. Most of the
trolling will be in the section from the estuary up to the Montesano boat
launch. Above that, you should consider a jet sled as at low tide, rocky bars
tend chew up props for the newbie to the area. The casters from boats also tend
to fish this same area. While the bank fishermen will be found where ever they
can gain access. However you will catch the fish where the fish are, so if you
do not connect in one location, move to another.
A suggestion here is to use a depthfinder that has a sidefinder option. This
will allow you to "look" into an area of the water without spooking them in this
shallow water. Here is the ideal location to use that Bottomline Fishing Buddy
unit you got for Christmas. With it you can scan a likely looking area for fish,
if there is none, then move on to another.
The bend above the Montesano launch is about as
far upriver you will want to go at low tide with a prop boat at anything other
than high tide, as the river starts to get some shallow gravel bars & down trees
in the river. The water is murky enough that you can not see the gravel bars,
so you have to either run aground a few times or soon learn how to read the
water. Don't think that how the river was a year ago is what it will be today,
as winter floodwaters can change things
Here the bank fishermen use the rip-rap northwest
bank just above the sawmill. They park at the parking lot at the old log yard
next to the freeway & walk the 100 yards to this area or pull into the next
road & drive right to the rivers edge..
When you limit out on Salmon, or they are not in this area at
the time you try, you can always anchor up & Sturgeon fish, as this area is also
good in this respect.
Hooks--
The law says single barbless hooks, so if you are using some of your old
spinners or you just bought a spinner with triple hooks you are going to have to
replace them with a siwash hook in size 3 to 4. And remember to pinch the barb
down to make it a barbless to be in compliance.
2 different types of
fishing-- You will probably see more trollers
here than casters, but both can be effective. Many trollers will change to
casting as the tide passes high & starts to recede.
Trolling--
Early October right after the first rain.
The most productive areas will generally not be
in the center of the river. For one, it is where all the boat traffic is, this
can spook the fish. These fish will tend to stay close to anything that they
can feel secure near, as piling, logs, etc. This then equates to fishing near
the piling & or shore lines. The water depths hear in the main part of the
river will vary from 25' to 60', but you may encounter some underwater debris &
logs in some of this section.
Troll in shallower water, (deeper water dilutes your bait's saturation), in 16'
of water, your lure is covering more fishable water than if it was in 40'. This
is not to say that don't fish the deeper water, but if you do, have one person
fish deep & if another person is aboard, have them fish shallower. Here in this
section of the river, you will have to be ever observant of underwater possible
snags. If you are fishing near the bottom, it is best to NOT use rod holders, so
you can raise the rod tip to clear underwater snags as soon as they are felt by
your sinker dropper.
Use a lighter leader (12-15#) as a sinker dropper so WHEN it hangs up, this
lighter leader will break before you loose your other gear. Have many 18"
droppers pre-tied. Use lighter sinkers (4 to 6oz cannon balls) here as compared
to the John's River fishery. The water is not usually running as fast & the
lighter sinker allows you to fish slightly higher off the bottom, & at a longer
line angle therefore cutting down on possible snag-ups. You can change the
sinker weight as the current changes with the tide.
Many fishermen will concentrate below the Montesano ramp down to the first bend
above Friends Landing. It appears they are targeting a possible slight
concentration of fish off the mouth of the Wynoochee River, which is below the
launch about 300 yards. Also, other fishermen use the Friends Landing launch
downstream a couple of miles, so the river is pretty well covered.
If you see fish jumping or rolling & there appears to be a "bite" going on,
FOLLOW this school of migrating fish UPSTREAM. Do not simply troll back & forth
where they were a half hour before, as they have usually traveled upstream & out
of your location with the high tide.
You will see many different lures used here. Trolled Wriggle Warts are used a
lot, color mostly an orange or red. It has been tried to use a small sinker
about 4' above this lure, but it tends to reduce the action. Other gear you will
also see may be trolling a saltwater mooching rig with a cutplug herring.
Another setup could be using a rudder about 24" ahead of a sinker & then another
36" to a spinner.
You will see sardine wrapped Kwik-Fish being used, also Herring behind a Fish
Flash, even a Spin-N-Glo behind the Fish Flash. When using a Fish Flash, it is
best to add a section of mainline about 18' long ahead of it & attach your
dropper to the sinker at the end of the mainline, to separate the sinker & avoid
possible entanglement of the sinker in the Fish Flash. Colors of the Fish Flash
seem to not be that important. You will see light green or red, even blue used
mostly, but color is usually what appeals to the fisherman.
The trolling speed will usually be slow. If the
tide is running hard, you might want to search out a outside bend where the
current is not quite as fast.
Casting--This
method usually will entail tying up to a piling or anchoring near some piling &
casting toward and around these piling with a spinner or eggs.
The size & color of the lure is dependent on the turbidity of
the water. If the water is clearer, then a spinner in the #3 or #4 in gold or
copper or chartreuse, or a medium Wriggle Wart will suffice. Once the water
color comes up, then a #5 or #6 Vibrex (the best) in flame orange with the blade
a silver, or a magnum Wriggle Wart in the brighter colors of fire tiger or
red/chrome will be needed. These plugs may have to be tuned to get them to run
true & straight when retrieved. On the spinners replace all factory hooks with a
#3 Gamakatsu Siwash hook.
Biggest mistake probably is, fishing to FAST & to HIGH in the
water column.
Use a spinning rod & retrieve SLOW, THIS IS IMPORTANT, so that the blade
just flutters, not rotate fast. You cast, let it sink & then twitch it to
activate the blade. you may need to place a rubber twist sinker on the mainline
about 18" to 24" above a spinner to get more depth. Fish DEEP, just off
the bottom but above the snags. Don't be fooled in thinking that since the fish
are jumping or rolling that you need to fish the top water. It sometimes helps
if there is lots of snags to add a beadchain keel sinker about 18" ahead of the
spinner to allow you to feel the snag & then let the spinner to climb over it.
You don't need a long rod, a 8'6" will work, but a 7' rod is better. The rod
needs to have a sensitive tip, but a heavy butt section, so that you do not need
to use much effort to set the hook.
15# mainline is enough for this fishery.
Use butter type scent (Smelly Jelly) on lures.
A slack tide is easiest to fish as you can cast toward shore, but when the tide
starts coming in, & to keep the belly out of the line when retrieving, move to
near the shore & cast upstream. Keep the rod tip DOWN & keep retrieving
right up to the boat, as many hits will be within 8-10' of the boat, when the
lure starts to rise off the bottom.
As the incoming tide's current increases, especially when using a plug, cast
downstream & SLOWLY reel up into the fish zone. Continue to reel in thru
the likely looking fish zone.
Casting has been productive near the piling across the river
from the Cosmopolis launch & upriver to the first bend & Max slough to the left.
Weeds--
Weeds are not usually the problem here as compared to farther
downriver. However you will encounter floating sticks of all sizes more often
here.
Last updated 09-17-04
LeeRoy Wisner
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