River levels are dropping after the weekend’s rain, which should improve the fishing. The Green River remains the most consistent option for local anglers, but it’s also drawing big crowds.

Rivers

Columbia: Bank anglers just below Bonneville Dam averaged a keeper sturgeon per every 14 rods. Boat anglers in the Gorge also caught some legals, as did a few in the Longview area. Boat anglers at the mouth of the Klickitat averaged just under a coho per rod. A few chinook and steelhead were also caught.

Cowlitz: Including fish released, bank and boat anglers averaged slightly better than a fish per two rods. The catch was a mix of fall chinook, coho, steelhead and sea-run cutthroat trout. Most of the chinook were caught near the barrier dam while coho, steelhead and sea-run cutthroats were caught from there downstream.

Green: Anglers are still hooking a lot of pink salmon, as well as an increasing number of coho. The coho have been a mix of chrome and dark fish. There have not been a lot of reports of chum being caught yet.

Kalama: Anglers continue to catch a mix of coho and steelhead. Last week, the majority of the catch observed was steelhead, said a state report. Overall bank anglers averaged a fish per every two rods.

Kennedy: The chum run is gaining steam, with anglers averaging more than a fish per person on Sunday. A state creel check showed 66 anglers had landed 70 chum.

Klickitat: Bank and boat anglers on the lower river averaged nearly 11/2 coho each. Some of the fish have a little color and were released. Some fall chinook also were caught with the majority dark fish that were released.

Lewis: Bank anglers near the salmon hatchery averaged nearly a fish per two rods. The majority were adult coho, of which two-thirds of the fish caught were kept, said a state report.

Olympic Coast: After poor river conditions over the weekend, rivers are getting back to shape, said Jim Kerr of Rain Coast Guides. There are lots of coho in the rivers, but the numbers will likely taper in the next week or so. A few steelhead are being seen in the Bogachiel.

Puyallup: The action has been pretty slow in recent days. The river flows have slowly dropped since peaking above 4,000 cubic feet per second Saturday night.

Yakima: There has been a consistent blue wing olive hatch coming off each afternoon. If there are no rises, try a small Pat’s stonefly nymph or a mayfly soft hackle nymph, according to a report from Red’s Fly Shop.

Lakes

American: The lake seems to be filled with lots of tiny rainbow trout, no more than 4 inches long, said David Anderson at Bill’s Boathouse. While that’s not enough to grab the attention of anglers now, it’s good news for the future. Anderson suggested drifting a fly behind your boat in hopes of attracting larger trout.

Washington: Online reports show the perch fishing has been good to very good in recent days. Anglers are using perch meat to land some fish up to 13 inches long.

Saltwater

Hood Canal: The hatchery is the place to be. On Saturday, a state creel check tallied 67 chum caught by 81 anglers. Anything green, such as corkies and yarn, seems to be working.

North Sound: The salmon fishing was slowed by the bad weekend weather. Those anglers checked at the Camano Island boat ramp were bringing in some blackmouth, just not as many as the week before. The surf smelt fishing at Coronet Bay is picking up. Fourteen anglers who were checked at the ramp there had caught 1,143 smelt.

Tacoma: The fishing has been pretty slow in the last few days, in part because so few anglers were willing to hit the water. On Sunday, just two anglers were checked at Point Defiance, although one of them brought in a blackmouth.

Jeffrey P. Mayor: 253-597-8640

Jeff.mayor@thenewstribune.com

blog.thenewstribune.com/adventure