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.