River fishing for pinks and coho has been very good in the Nisqually and Green rivers and other waters. Lake anglers should see the action improve as water temperatures start to drop.
RIVERS
Buoy 10: Catch rates for hatchery coho approached a fish per rod at times last week. A few chinook were caught over the weekend.
Cispus: During the past week Tacoma Power employees released 265 fall chinook adults, four jacks, six spring chinook adults, one jack and seven coho adults into the river above the mouth of Yellow Jacket Creek.
Columbia: Last week the state sampled 1,864 anglers who had caught 520 adult and 28 jack fall chinook, 35 adult and one jack coho, and 16 steelhead. Fishery managers have added three days to the Oct. 8-Dec. 31 white sturgeon retention fishery above Wauna.
Cowlitz: The fishing has been fair to good. More and more fall chinook are being caught now, said Marshall Borsom at Fish Country. While some wild fish have topped 40 pounds, many of the keepers are weighing 15-24 pounds. Bank anglers are using eggs and sand shrimp together fishing the pool and the island up at Barrier Dam. The boaters are back bouncing, running divers and side-drifting eggs. The steelhead fishing is starting to slow.
In the last week, Tacoma Power employees released 379 fall chinook adults, 18 jacks, 13 spring chinook adults, 24 coho adults and one jack into the upper river at the Skate Creek Bridge in Packwood.
Green: Anglers are using jigs or 50/50 Dick Nite spoons to catch pinks and some coho. Many people are reporting catching their limits.
Lewis: Anglers on the North Fork around the salmon hatchery did well for fall chinook, coho and summer run steelhead when the flows more than doubled last week, said a state report. Flows dropped from just over 4,300 cfs to 1,241 cfs (about half the long-term mean) Monday, and angling success has slowed.
Nisqually: Anglers are reporting catching lots of pinks and some chinook. Online reports say there are lots of fish in the river.
Puyallup: There are still plenty of fish in the river, with some folks bringing home limits. Pinks still dominate the catch, but there are a good number of coho and some chinook on stringers as well.
Yakima: The fishing has been good. During the summer stonefly hatch, use a tan parachute hopper or a Hopperstone in the low light, and don’t be afraid to twitch it a bit, said a report from Red’s Fly Shop. The October caddis hatches have been strong in the evening.
LAKES
Bradley: This small lake in Puyallup was stocked with 500 rainbow trout last week.
Chelan: Fish the early mornings up at the Narrows for some quality lake trout, said Anton Jones of Darrell and Dad’s Family Guide Service. Fishing the lower lake, around the monument, has produced lots of small fish.
Mayfield: Trout fishing has been fair. Anglers in boats are running pop gear and Wedding Rings 20-30 feet deep.
Mineral: The lake was recently stocked with 1,680 rainbow trout. Fishing here shuts down Sept. 30.
Rufus Woods: The fishing for triploid rainbows up by the net pens has been good to excellent. Jones recommends trolling flies with action disks, spinners or plugs. Casting Super Roostertails along the points also is producing fish.
SALTWATER
Sekiu: While the overall numbers are down, some of the best salmon fishing is taking place here. The latest state report shows anglers catching more coho than pinks last week.
Tacoma: The salmon fishing has slowed, but anglers are catching a few coho and pinks.
Jeffrey P. Mayor, staff writer blog.thenewstribune.com/adventure
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