winter steelhead

  Are any of the rivers that hold goodly numbers of  winter steelhead suitable for kayaks???   Thinking of SNoqualmie, Skagit, Skykomish, Cowlitz,Green, etc etc

I'd love to know the answer to this too! 

The Skykomish and Cowlitz are pretty good. I'd start with the Cowlitz as it's tough spots are a little easier to deal with. There's a few bends where it's fast w/ rapids and can shove you into trees or rocks but you can pull your yak and walk it down on the side. Making sure the flow isn't too high will help a lot with success. 5000 cfs and under is suitable for both. The first time you try these rivers going with someone who knows them will keep you safe. I'll be hitting both these rivers once they drop back into shape so if you guys want to give it a shot let me know.

Z

Many of these and other rivers have river trail guides that will help give an idea of what's around the bend, and what sections are safe to kayak.

The general rule of thumb with rivers is..."when in doubt.....scout"

if you're not sure what's around the bend, get out of your boat and check it out before you blaze into it.

also, it's best to avoid canyons and steep gorges where you can't get out to scout, or get out to walk away.

local knowledge is best, river trail guide books are good, google is ok.

Cool! I like the Cowlips, but I've only floated it in driftboats. I might want to get in on this. Its entirely doable under 6,000cfs. I also like it better around 5,000cfs or less.

Another decent float might be the Chehalis River from Porter to just above the mouth of the Satsop at Fuller Bridge. Both of those are WDFW ramps.

I'm floating an O.P. river with a friend tomorrow, in his driftboat. I'll check it out with a critical eye as how yakkable I think it is.
I have some other ideas that I don't wish to discuss in front of all my ten thousand WA fishing buddies here on the interwebz, but if we can arrange a float on the Chehalis (I've always wanted to do the Porter to Fuller run), I'll share my other hairbrained ideas face to face.

All the chehalis basin rivers as well as those along the I-5 corridor are doable from a yak at the right flow/level.  Always go with someone who knows the river and don't ever let your guard down to potential hazards ahead. The Cowlitz is nice because it's so big, allowing for plenty of room to maneuver and fish.  Some of the other smaller rivers get plugged up with drift boats and sleds reducing the maneuverability and fishable water from a yak

Scott

How does one know what the flow level is?

Levels for every river in the state

Enjoy 

Catching nice silvery steelhead here.
See you out there....

Ron...WHERE IS "HERE"?? 

WR, "Here" is wherever you are!
Steelhead report:
I saw a guide put his clients into two nice steelhead yesterday. Only two fish we saw. Later on, they said they bagged a third, but we didn't see that one.
They claimed to have lost a fourth fish, as well. The guide they were with really knows the river well.   The first one was hooked in water we just fished over. They were fishing bait. Both roe and sandshrimp. Also backtrolling bait-wrapped plugs.
This was the "upper float" on the Wynoochie, from the 7400 line bridge down to Whitebridge. I'd never before floated that section (just walked in to a few places from the 7400 line). My buddy hadn't drifted it this year yet, so it was all "new water" to us.   Its around 13 or 14 river miles of water to cover.
We were using plain jigs under floats... no scent or bait. I had one certain takedown...a hard yank jerked my float down in slow water, but I missed it. I had my bail open and was freespooling line to let my bobber float down slowly in front of our anchored driftboat. I was too slow to react (close the bail, reel in slack, set the hook) and missed it. My buddy claimed two certain bites, but he missed 'em too.
The water was milky green, with visibility nor more than 2 feet, and flowing slightly higher than I prefer (over 2,500cfs). I like it to be under 2,000cfs. Even more so under 1,000cfs, during the Summer, for good wade fishing.
It was an awesome day to float the river, though. We only had one half-hour squall hit us about mid-day. No rain gear was necessary the rest of the day.
Whooops! I lost all my jigs and most of my floats to underwater snags.
The Wynoochie can be paddled in a yak, but I would not choose to fish it that way in the Winter with the higher flows. You would have to skip some of the good water we were able to fish from in the driftboat (bad or impossible spots to anchor, but the guy in the bow is fishing while the oarsman controls the boat). But there were a decent amount of gravel bars one could pull up on, and then get out and wade fish.

I think the "Nooch" is too swift in most places to try to anchor a yak. I suppose one could anchor up in the slacker water in a deep hole or run and still be able to fish some productive water from one's yak while anchored.

 I might try to yak that stretch in the summer, at flows around 1,000cfs or less, when the water is clear. Then maybe I could see bottom and learn the runs/drifts/holes. Mainly, I would be out of my yak, wading and casting. Yesterday, it was a conundrum to me! (I'd rather float the river in my 10' Don Hill mini-drifter, though! Its a much more suitable boat for the job).
Forget about anchoring and fishing this river from your yak. Sure, there are a couple of places where you might be able to do that near some good holding water, but mainly, you would use your yak to paddle down the river to the next gravel bar or any place you could park it and then get out and fish. Or maybe park it or pin it up against some structure out of the strong current, and then fish from your yak.
I'm using bait next time!