Rivers
Cowlitz: Anglers are catching some steelhead, mainly around the trout hatchery. Last week, 49 coho adults, six jacks and one fall chinook adult were released into the upper river at Packwood.
Lewis: Bank anglers on the North Fork are catching mostly steelhead, while boat anglers are still catching some fall chinook. As of Dec. 10, 113 hatchery winter-run steelhead had returned to the Lewis traps. Last year, 294 fish had returned through Dec. 14.
Nisqually: High water has slowed the fishing quite a bit. Just a handful of chum are being caught, including an occasional bright hen.
Olympic Coast: Steelhead action has been hot and cold from day to day. The rivers in the Forks area are on the high side but falling, which should improve the fishing.
Satsop: People are catching a few coho, even though the river is on the high side. Corkies and yarn or pink or orange plugs have been working best. The story is similar on the Wynoochee and Humptulips.
Skagit: Anglers are catching some steelhead in the upper river, the Marblemount-Rockport stretch. Undoubtedly, these fish are headed for the Cascade. When fish are found in a hole, work it thoroughly because there are generally more fish in the same hole. People fishing the slower water and eddies are hooking a good number of Dolly Varden in the 14- to 18-inch range.
Skykomish: The Reiter Ponds area has been good for steelhead, but not as good as it typically is. Floats and jigs have been the favorite setup.
Tilton: Last week, 52 coho adults, eight jacks and two winter-run steelhead were released into the river at Gust Backstrom Park in Morton. The river closes to salmon fishing on Dec. 31.
Yakima: Trout fishing was fair to good over the weekend. People are nymphing or swinging and retrieving their flies. Among the productive patterns lately have been a size 4 Woolhead Sculpin, size 6 Sculpzilla, Halo Prince in sizes 14-18 and Lightning Bugs and WD-40s in sizes 18-20.
Lakes
Sammamish: Anglers are catching some trout and kokanee by trolling chartreuse Wedding Rings and Sling Blades tipped with night crawlers.
Washington: The cutthroat trout action has been fair. People are catching some fish, about 18 inches long, trolling in water 50-60 feet deep. Try using a pink or purple Apex trolling lure behind a silver flasher.
Salt water
Fly-fishing: The action for resident coho has been good to very good from area beaches. People are having success with a chartreuse-over-white Clouser minnow.
South Sound: Fishing has been slow. Trolling with flashers and a hoochie near the bottom in water 120-150 feet deep has produced a few blackmouth. Trolling is the best method right now because you have to cover a lot of water. Crab fishing south of the Tacoma Narrows Bridges has been fair. The squid action remains very good off docks, including Les Davis and Dash Point.
Jeffrey P. Mayor: 253-597-8640 jeff.mayor@thenewstribune.com blog.thenewstribune.com/adventure Contributing to this report: State Department of Fish and Wildlife, Mike Chamberlain at Ted’s Sports Center, The Evening Hatch, washingtonlakes.com, Art Tachell at Point Defiance Boathouse, washingtonfly fishing.com, Jim Kerr of Rain Coast Guides, and Walt Harvey at Verle’s Sports Center.
JOIN THE DISCUSSION | Register here
We welcome comments. Please keep them civil, short and to the point. ALL CAPS, spam, obscene, profane, abusive and off topic comments will be deleted. Repeat offenders will be blocked. Thanks for taking part — and abiding by these simple rules. A thorough explanation of rules of conduct can be found in our Terms of Service. If you have any questions, including why your comment may not be showing immediately after you submit it, be sure to visit the commenting FAQ.