Wynoochee

Is the Wynoochee nice and calm?  In other words, floatable in a SOT?  Also, the regulation is a little confusing, it says fishing from a floating device prohibited - Can I still float the river but just get out and fish from the bank?

I dunno, from what I've read, that thing can throw some III whitewater.  Even harrier when it's really flowing.  But I'm not sure which stretch you wanna float.....

I think some are doable in an SOT......

I wanted to respond here for future paddlers. We did the Nooch on Sunday and it is definitely doable in a SOT kayak from bridge 7400 down river. We did 7400 bridge to White Bridge which is about 12-14 miles. The river itself is narrow and when drift boats stack up on the holes it was kind of annoying in the sense that we couldn't fish some holes due to crowding. On a larger river, kayaks can find more eddies narrow slots. This river is class I from 7400 down river and is about as easy as it gets. Best of luck.

How'd you do, Ray? I've heard it's been on fire the past few weeks and a buddy and I were thinking of drifting it in the near future.

I wanted to respond here for future paddlers. We did the Nooch on Sunday and it is definitely doable in a SOT kayak from bridge 7400 down river. We did 7400 bridge to White Bridge which is about 12-14 miles. The river itself is narrow and when drift boats stack up on the holes it was kind of annoying in the sense that we couldn't fish some holes due to crowding. On a larger river, kayaks can find more eddies narrow slots. This river is class I from 7400 down river and is about as easy as it gets. Best of luck.

That's my beef with that place! It's a nice drift, but it's the river equivalent of walking Pike's Place Market! It's packed with people yelling (mostly Lee and guys in drift boats or bankies making nice [emoji12]) and a few fish being thrown around! Great drift, and pretty safe for the most part. Just don't do it alone, and if you've never done rivers go with someone that has a clue.

Skunked. I saw one fish caught all day and that was about 30 people or more fishing out of drift boats and on the bank. I'd consider returning but I prefer other rivers like the Bog, Cowlitz and Hoh. When considering the drive from where I live, that river probably is no better choice than the Cowlitz but it is a nice scenic river and I know when you get it in the right conditions, it will have potential...

Have you floated the lower satsop to the Chehalis before?

I've done the Chehalis down near Montesano and it's pretty much a bathtub with a slight flow. You can troll it, that's a sign of how easy it is. It's a good bet for salmon and steelhead if you live close enough. Not my cup of tea for the most part but it's there for the taking. Have not done the Satsop yet.

i floated that stretch (lower satsop) in a db about a two months ago, and pulled out on the chehalis a 1/4 upstream at the bridge. You're right, it's a bathtub. We got the skunk on the satsop, and when we pulled out with other boats on the chehalis they all had limits of coho, caught right there at the satsop/chehalis confluence. 8/

sorry to threadjack - your post got me thinking as the satsop is right next door, seems to be quiet in comparison to the nooch

The coordinates for the 7400 bridge are 47.210473,-123.630098 in case someone wants to do the float. There's parking alongside the road at that location. White Bridge access is listed here http://wdfw.wa.gov/lands/water_access/30226/

I always make friends on that river.  Mainly due to there being dumb asshats on it.   Most puerile you encounter on that river are decent and friendly though.

I'd add one more item to Rays info. You're going to pass drift boats all day on this river. It's not wide enough to get out of the way. So once you can be heard tell them you'll be passing behind them and not running over the hole or their lines. Even if you have to walk it around in 2" of water. Since most drift boats never see kayaks fishing they are defensive. Show some respect and River fishing skills and don't wreck it for the next time that boat sees a kayak fishing on his favorite River. If you don't then you probably earned that jig tossed at you head.

I like class 2/3 rivers that are challenging to fish and keep the average drift boaters out. This one almost any novice drift boater or river kayaker can run under moderate flows. It's a bunny hill. Not one I'll be back to very often.

Just to clarify myself.. When I said it was annoying, I didn't mean to imply any person on the river was annoying that day. Frustrated would have been a better description instead. I think the people in the drift boats were curious about kayaks and for the most part we did our best to stay out of their way. Above photos Todd attached are the 7400 bridge launch. It's primitive..

Yeah,  I went behind this asshole and he then accused me of trying to sneak around him to steal his fish.

Haha, yeah that was pretty funny. They were both rowing/paddling yelling obscenities at each other threatening to take it to the shore. The whole time Lee was losing the battle to the current so they both had to yell louder. To make it even better, the oar locks of the drift boat were crazy loud. So the more pissed he got the faster/louder the squeaking got!