Good Places to Fish in Washington state

Since I was a boy, I have been fishing for almost 30 years here in Washington State. Having fished both in rivers and in lakes around this state, I have found quite a few spots that are my favorites to catch fish.

For my first favorite place, I personally like the Cowlitz River in Lewis County. It has two fish hatcheries and there's a lot of places to find if you are willing to do some exploring. If you have access to a boat, it is a large river system to find good holes to fish. The Cowlitz has great summer and winter Steelhead runs; as well as King and Coho runs in Fall and Spring.

Next is the Nisqually River and it is a decent river in Thurston county. The river doesn't have a lot of access but does produce some nice size salmon. It has King, Coho, and Chum runs of salmon; all of the steelhead that once ran in this river have been wiped out by nets (what a shame). This river is close by for me, but when fishing this river you should go on days that the nets are not in the river. The Native Americans place their nets in the river starting on Sunday at noon until Wednesday at noon according to the treaty in place. This river needs to be fished on the incoming or outgoing tide, refer to the tide reports when planning to fish this river.

The Skokomish River in Mason County is an excellent river and makes my 3rd pick. The downside to this river is it is small and is very crowded. A lot of the people that go to this river regularly like to snag the fish and seem proud of it; that is not fishing to me, that's cheating and should warrant a ticket or have their gear confiscated and lose their license forever. The river produces very nice fish and has runs of King, Coho, and Chum. This river also has nets that are placed regularly and has a "no barb" hook rule, so remember to always clip or remove the barb or simply buy some barbless hooks.

The Kalama River in Cowlitz County is a very small river system but produces some nice fish; Steelhead, King, and Coho species. For being such a small river, there is quite a bit of bank access, it is very slow moving, and influenced by the Columbia River.

Kennedy Creek in Mason County is excellent choice for Chums in early fall; this is a fun place to take the kids if they want to catch a salmon. The fishing here is influenced by the tide and there's a ton of fish. Be sure to bring your waders and/or rubber boots as you will need them, especially when the tide goes out, you can go on the tide flats and have an awesome day of fishing. My daughter caught her first salmon here and had many hook ups during the day on a Barbie pole. The best colors to use are green, pink, or purple for these fish. They aren't good for dinner or the BBQ due to the oil content they have but I still like to bring a few home and smoke them if they aren't too dark. They are loads of fun to catch and fight hard.

Offut Lake in Thurston County is a good place for rainbow trout. This lake is very good for a boat but not very much bank access. You can also pay $3.00 to $5.00 to fish off the dock at the campground; however, there is a warm spring about 30 yards off the end of the dock and fishermen usually do pretty well here when the fish are biting.

Mineral Lake in Lewis County is an awesome choice for huge rainbows up to 14.5 lbs. Everyone is not going to catch this big of a fish, but it is always possible when fishing here. The best way to catch one of these huge fish is by fishing with Berkley Power Bait. The biggest downfall to this lake is that is very crowded when the fishing is good. I wouldn't even attempt to fish here on opening day unless I arrived a day or two in advance with my RV (no tents allowed).

These are just some of the locations I have had good results with when fishing for salmon or trout. Give them a try and see what kind of luck you have.

TAKE THE KIDS FISHING

I have always believed in teaching young kids how to fish. It doesn't matter if you teach boys or girls. I have two girls 9 and 3; and I have always taken my 9 year old fishing with me and will teach my 3 year old to fish when she's a little older. There is no reason why girls shouldn't fish.

I personally learned to fish when I was around 6 years of age and to this day I love to fish. It doesn't matter if it is in rivers or lakes, but I prefer the river during the salmon season.

Fighting a big salmon is so much fun if you have never tried it; the power they have is amazing. Not only are you fighting the fish, but you also have to know how to fight the current and turn the fish so it doesn't run to far on you and possibly go into any brush nearby. I must say, last year, I had so much fun fishing and had a hard time keeping the salmon off my line. I caught so many in one day that I was resting for a few minutes after I caught each fish because they fought so hard; my forearms and biceps were screaming at me to stop beacuse they were fatigued so bad after landing them. What a rush it was and every time I caught one, the anticipation was so great of landing a huge monster!

While fishing the river you also have to be smart and not go treading into the water if you have no idea what the bottom is like. I have heard of many fishermen drowning just to catch a fish and they lose their life over a darn fish. Well to me, no fish is that important. I just say to my fellow anglers; please take care when fishing the rivers and make sure safety comes first.

I have also heard of a case where a father took his son river fishing and the father decided to "chase" the fish because it started to run on him and his son watched his dad drown. That will be with that little boy for the rest of his life. Very sad. So the moral to this story is you must learn to read the water and you must remember that rivers slope down also just like a lake or the ocean. Safety is always first, so be sure you teach them right.

Anglers need to clean up their trash

I HAVE FISHED THE INFAMOUS SKOKOMISH RIVER IN WASHINGTON STATE SEVERAL TIMES OVER THE FAST FEW YEARS AND I MUST SAY THIS IS THE WORST RIVER I HAVE BEEN TO AS FAR AS ANGLERS NOT CLEANING UP THIER TRASH; BEER BOTTLES, PLASTIC BAGS, FISHING LINE, FISHING GEAR PACKAGES, JUST TO NAME A FEW THINGS. THIS IS SAD TO SEE, I CANNOT UNDERSTAND WHY SOME PEOPLE HAVE TO BE SUCH SLOBS? I GUESS THEY THINK THE WIND WILL BLOW IT AWAY OR SOMEONE ELSE WILL CLEAN IT UP OR DO THEY DO IT BECAUSE ON THE OPPOSITE SIDE OF THE RIVER IS THE INDIAN RESERVATION AND THEY CAN FISH WITH TREBLE HOOKS AND SNAG THE FISH AND NOT BE SCOLDED OR GET IN TROUBLE FOR DOING THIS OR IS IT BECAUSE THE INDIANS SOMETIMES LIVE A VERY MESSY LIFE AND HAVE A JUNK YARD STARTED IN THEIR YARDS OR GARBAGE LAYING AROUND? I HAVE NO IDEA WHY ADULTS CANNOT BE RESPONSIBLE AND PICK UP AFTER THEMSELVES; I GUESS THEY TO DON'T CARE WHAT THEY LEAVE BEHIND AND DON'T TRULY CARE ABOUT THE GREAT OUTDOORS AND THEY HAVE NO VALUES WHAT SO EVER, THEY ARE SLOBS IN MY EYES AND NEED TO GROW UP!!

I WAS TAUGHT TO CLEAN UP AFTER MYSELF AND RESPECT NATURE AND I ALWAYS TELL MY OWN CHILDREN TO CLEAN UP AFTER THEMSELVES AND IF MY DAUGHTER GOES FISHING WITH ME AND THROWS SOMETHING ON THE GROUND I ALWAYS MAKE HER PICK IT UP AND PACK IT OUT WHEN WE LEAVE; I ALWAYS TRY TO TAKE A PLASTIC BAGE WITH MY FROM THE STORE TO PUT MY GARBAGE IN WHEN WE LEAVE AND I HAVE ALWAYS TAUGHT HER THAT NATURE IS VERY FRAGILE AND IF PEOPLE KEEP LIVING LIKE SLOBS AND NOT PICKING UP THEIR OWN MESS THEN IT WILL NOT ONLY HARM NATURE BUT ALSO HARM THE FISH AND IT MAKES HER LOOK BAD LIKE SHE DOESN'T CARE. I AM A PERFECTIONIST AND DO THINGS IN MY LIFE THE RIGHT WAY THE FIRST TIME SO I DON'T HAVE TO GO BACK AND DO IT OVER AGAIN AND I AM TRYING TO INSTILL THIS SAME VALUE ON MY CHILDREN. I HAVE A FEW WORDS FOR THE ANGLERS THAT CANNOT SEEM TO CLEAN UP THIER MESS...TAKE A FEW SECONDS AND CLEAN UP AFTER YOURSELF AND QUIT BEING SO LAZY!!