Coastal River Fishing

Hey WA Guys...

Anyone fish the coastal rivers out of a kayak? I've been itching to try and land a Chinook or Coho. Where's good? What kind of gear/equipment is needed?

Anyone up for being a kayak fishing guide?

I saw a standing invite from a Mark Collette, he seems to know his stuff too, if I were closer I would take him up on it.

Hey islandson! Wish I woulda invited you to the snohomish yesterday. It's not a coastal river but I think offers the best chance of landing a coho anywhere in the region right now. I have to leave town for a while so I won't be able to go again, but if you want to try it, PM me and I'll give you some info. I am no expert on salmon but I have been doing very well there recently.

   All right ,I'll take the bait....

  In 24 hours I'll should be walking in my front door.Cause I've been working nights the last 3 weeks,it might take a couple of days before my internal clock turns around.Then look out fishes-------here I come.........

  islandson671---I have fished a lot of the rivers on the coast.But not at all in the last 7 years.I've been in  Alaska.
   There should be silvers in all the rivers from the Colombia to the Straight of Juan de Fuca,so that means there are many options.I will be starting out close to home...fishing the Willapa River and maybe a few creeks in Grays Harbor.By this coming weekend I should have a fair idea what's going on locally.If you want to get together,Pm me and we can make it happen.I make no claims to be a guide...just someone that fishes a lot and likes to share with others.And there are times when it just me and the fish...which is great too.
   So....give me a few days to get my feet wet and I can probably help you with your quest.

   And ohbryant-----thanks for the confidence boost there bud.Now I gotta man up and show the proof of the pudding.No problem......ya'll stay tuned

  I finally got out on the Willapa River Saturday afternoon for a few hours.Took the wife and son to Ward Creek launch about the middle of an out-going tide.
  It felt so good to be out on the water.......and the Willapa is such a pretty river with the fall colors on the trees.We tried fishing eggs under bobbers,figuring that might be the most effective technique.And I do believe we gave it a good shot,we did not catch any fish.Saw a couple of jacks jumping,but I was surprised that we didn't see a whole lot of activity.From fish or other fishermen.In fact,there was only one other boat that was trolling above us.Not to sure what's going on with that lack of effort.
  As we were pulling out a fellow on the bank said he had come down from Cosmopolis to fish the Willapa because the nets were in the Chehalis River.I will have to check out Fish&Games website for net schedualing to see if nets are working down here too.
   It would have been awesome to hook up my 1st trip out,plus get the wife and her son connected too,but it didn't happen this time.There will be a lot more times ahead....I still have 2 more weeks before I have to return to work.There are a lot of chores to get done in our new house---but its all coming together.After all ....a guy has to keep his priorities in order.

   An outing is in the works.............

  This Saturday (and maybe Sunday too) micahgee and I will be fishing a Grays Harbor stream or two.I've been checking out Fish & Games commercial netting scheduals and it looks like nets will be in the Willapa Bay from the 10th til the 14th so Grays Harbor might be a better bet (the nets will only be in from 7:00 am til 5:00 pm on the 12th and on the 18th in the Chehalis).So to increase our odds I believe the Grays Harbor creeks should have more fish available.
  That said..........a few details........
   We will be fishing tide water.We want to go up-river on the in-coming tide and come back down on the out-going flow.More user-friendly that way.Probably pulling plugs,tossing spinners,and maybe floating eggs under a bobber.Have to adapt to current situations on the water.......
   It appears that we won't be able to keep any kings,but are allowed 2 adult salmon of which 1 can be a native fish.Also no chums.And up to 4 jacks for a 6 fish limit.Sounds okay to me.And of course,single point barbless hooks are the rule.No problem there.
  Haven't decided which river we'll go to yet--there are several possibilities.I know several folks on here have asked about fishing coastal rivers so I thought I'd be a nice guy (I must be sick) and throw out an invitation.We'd want to be on the water at daylight to get them sleepy fish that haven't had any coffee yet.Gotta sneak up on em when we can....
  So if some of you guys are interested in making it a party---sound off.Should be a good time.

Roland and I might be game for Sunday, we've fished with Micah a bunch of times and It'd be nice to meet another member. I've only got drift fishing gear (corkies and yarn). If you could let me know specific brands, sizes and colors of lures, I'll load up my arsenal. Thanks for the invite.

By the way, will there be any issues with currents if I'm using a Prowler13? No Mirage Power...

Also, do you think we will need to bring our anchors?

Sunday looks much less windy than Saturday ATM.

I'll be bringing crippled herrings and various blue vibrax spinners.

   Okay==Let's make it a Sunday show.The low tide is around 10:00 am which means it'll be coming in til around 4:00pm.If we meet up at the Burger King in Aberdeen ,say at 8:00 am,that will give you guys from out of town a more leisurely start and time to get down there.We can put in at the old sea-port where the Lady Washington used to dock.From there it's real easy to either fish the main Chehalis or start up the Wishkah River.Both will have salmon.
  Don't worry about bringing  any anchors---it ain't gonna happen.Strickly a drift and troll show.You'll need to adjust your gear accordingly.Blue Fox,Flash-n-Glo,even Mepps spinners will all work.I'd stay at size 3 and up to size 6.What colors ???I'm partial to pink or blue bodies with silver  blades but if you have your own favorites,bring em.I'll be bringing a few K-14's and some mag-warts also.I might wrap em with herring,maybe not.Remember that it is "single point ,barbless hooks only,so make whatever addjustments to your gear before you get on the river.
  islandson671--if you've got drift-fishing gear (corkies and yarn kinda stuff) and you are good with it --bring it on.Eggs will add to the attraction factor,so bring them too.In fact,eggs under a bobber is one of the most effective ways to fish tidal water.And current--------not an issue.We'll let the current be our friend--using it to our advantage--not fighting it.Besides--it's only gonna be about a 5 foot tide change so the current won't be screaming anyway.And you will not be the only one using paddle power....Your Prowler will be great out there.
  If there are any other's that want to join this armada---come on down..........
  I hope this will help those that have any questions.I'll try to help if there are more.Bring em on......Should be a good time.Oh yeah.......one more thing.....bring camera's..............
                                                                                    Mark

Dang, sounds like a good time!  I wish I was a little close.

-Spot-

The forecast has improved for saturday, forecast down to 10-15kt NW wind.
Also its supposed to be partly cloudy at least on sat!!

This weekend is shaping up to be some good weather 

We're down for Sunday...just picked up a bunch of lures.

  micah,
  Do you wanta make it a 2 dayer ?  I'm game....A little pre-armada trip Give me a call tommorrow .......

   islandson671----I hope you got a few plugs,like warts and kwikfish.Something tells me that's what is gonna be the ticket.Back-trolling............
'

Dang...I fly in Sunday to Seattle but got to get back on a plane Monday afternoon.

I'll be back mid November.  Hopefully I can make a run to the coast. 

Good luck guys!!!!