[2Metric]

Tues June 20, 2006 I hiked from the Hatchery outlet channel down along the calm, shallow channels on the West side of the main river. It hooks up with the main river after about a 25 minute hike. You have to have waders or be willing to get wet if it's a hot day. I've been warned the water levels can change unexpectedly, so be careful. At this point there's a huge deep pool in the main river. From 5:30pm to 6:30pm I caught/released three cutthroat trout. They were all 10 inches long. I was using small spinners with pieces of dew worm on the hook.

The water is clear in the shallows and dark green/blue in the deeper pools. I read that there might be some summer run Steelhead and Chinook in the lower Chehalis. I did not see anyone else fishing. Bears with cubs are around, so carry a canister of bear spray.

Staff at the Hatchery warned me not to leave anything valuable in my car, because there have been many break-ins. They also said it's better to park just to the side of their parking lot entrance gate, because thieves will think you're working late in the Hatchery. The Hatchery parking lot entrance gate closes at 3:30pm. There are many windows from the main building that face the entrance and main road, so it's too risky for thieves. Parking in the gravel lots near the one-way bridge is not a good idea. Try to park along the road, because there is plenty of local traffic to scare away thieves.

 

[Royal_Coachman]

Thanks for the report and good advice about the parking :idea:

Cheers

-RC

 

[roscoe-pco]

kinda sounds like we need to set up a "bait" truck with a couple thugs nearby. I figure a busted nose should fix that problem.

 

[HOOK]

ha ha ha Rosco

ya that might help but they might just come back later just to smash in windows instead

it is probably some kids. they seem to get younger each year dont they?

good thing i have the alarm on mine they pas her on by

HOOK

 

[Steelie Trav]

How large is the run of springs in the chehalis, I've never targeted them out of here. When do they start to show in numbers?

 

[Rib]

Some years it can be quite good...I've hooked fish in early july quite consistently...but I'd imagine there is still good fishing in august when the summer runs start to build up in there...bring polaroids, you can sight fish them quite well in the lower water...
Not sure how the new path that the river has taken will affect that though, with all the cover in the forest down there the fish could hold in the lower river for longer so some exploring might be worthwhile...

 

[Spoonman]

Coho Jul 01-Mar 31 4 hatchery fish per day.
Chinook Jan 01-May 31 No fishing for chinook.
Jun 01-Aug 10 4 per day, only 1 can be over 50cm.
Aug 11-Sep 15 No fishing for chinook.
Sep 16-Dec 31 4 per day, only 1 can be over 62cm.
Chum Nov 01-Nov 30 2 per day ........................................Just a heads up.

 

[2Metric]

A trick!

Awesome info Ribwart! Cheers and thanks!

Just a final note on the vehicle break-in shite...I've removed and sold fancy shmancy CD deck from my Volkswagen and left a gaping hole with some cut wire leads dangling a few inches out. It looks like the audio system has already been stolen or the vehicle doesn't have one. My amplifier and speakers are all mounted in the trunk. I've layed an acoustical black screen over the rear dash, so the speaker holes are hidden. For a while I mounted the CD deck in the glove compartment, but now that's even gone and I just carry a 79$ mp3 player around. All I did was run the stereo RCA input line from just behind the gaping hole to the amplifier in the trunk. I gave myself a few feet to play with at the front connector so my friends in the back seat can use the mp3 player and change material/volume. This Scandisk mp3 player runs 10hrs on one single rechargeable NiMH battery. I have two rechargeable batteries and keep rotating them out of the charger. It's great because I can dump new music to the mp3 player from home or friends' places whenever I have the chance and then play it instantly in my car. My vehicle hasn't been broken into since. Just an idea...

 

[roscoe-pco]

I did kinda the same thing metric I've got 2 10's in my little ranger, betcha you can't find em!!!

 

[2Metric]

Good on ya man!

Two 10" in a Ford Ranger XLT? Loud is always better isn't it? I mean not to blow your friends ear drums out, but stock car audio stuff sucks. Now back to fishing.

 

[robonator51]

hey how about the upper river? were heading up there this week tooc amp and fish...