I had just started into my first pass of the year in the stretch below Blue Creek on the Cowlitz River. Summer steelhead had begun in earnest to move into the Cowlitz and so I moved the operation up north. I had been looking forward to coming up to the Cowlitz for quite some time and I had a couple days before I started fishing with clients to enjoy some fishing on my own.

The 9' 6" Lamiglas Esprit felt comfortable compared to the sturgeon rods that I had been working with for the month previous. I was finally here, fishing for my favorite specie anywhere. The lead and nickel sized gob of eggs ticked gently down through the drift. I was just beginning to feather my free drifting sled when a rubbery feeling ripped through the rod. Within seconds the 10 pound chromer was doing cartwheels 50 feet above my boat. My boat was free drifting down the river and this fish decided he was going to head on up to the hatchery. I quickly juiced the kicker motor and every few seconds I would take a couple turns on the Shimano Stradic to take in some of the line that I had gained on the fish. In a matter of minutes I had a manageable length of line out and felt pretty good about the position I had the fish in.

I had moved out of the side drifting lane and had all the river in the world to work with. The fish of course, reminded me why I love fishing for steelhead when he realized that his plan of escape wasn't working very well and decided that he was going to sprint down river and give me a run for my money. The fish cart wheeled again and resumed his course for the deeper water down below. By this time I was laughing and realized that I would probably get another 2 or 300 of these same performances out of these fish over the course of the next five weeks. I trailed the fish down another quarter mile of river and after 10-15 minutes of great fun, the fish finally succumbed to my net. I pulled over to the side of the river, dropped my anchor and sat down for a few minutes to get my leader changed out, have something cold to drink and laugh a little more about the borderline clinical behavior that this fish had exhibited.

The Cowlitz River is the premier summer steelhead river in the Northwest and it's really no surprise. A very aggressive hatchery program and probably one of the best volunteer programs in the nation bring staggering numbers of steelhead into the river every year. 600,000 summer steelhead smolt are planted every year in the Cowlitz River. Steelhead returns are estimated at around 3 % on average making for returns unmatched by any other river in the Northwest.

Most of the summer steelhead fishing on the Cowlitz is concentrated between the Barrier Dam and Mission Bar. With the exception of the areas around the boat launches, bank access can be a little hit and miss. Guys that are looking to get away from the bank fishing crowds would be best served by talking to property owners and looking for solitude that way.

Bank fisherman will score using a variety of tackle depending on the area that they're fishing. Bobber and jig combinations are becoming more and more popular. Eighth ounce jigs in pink and white, red and black, purple and blue and white will all fish. Drift fishing is probably the most popular of all methods, with corky and yarn combinations in pink and white and bright red being most effective. Eggs and sand shrimp are also effective as long as you don't mind the cutthroat bights on the sand shrimp and your eggs are not full of chemicals like those used for Chinook fishing. Mild cures are the key if you're going to have consistent success casting eggs for steelhead.

Boaters will find both jet and drift boat access throughout. Prime steelhead drifts, runs and riffles await anglers around every bend. Sled operators will need to be careful as the river continues to drop to summer levels and particularly careful when navigating the rapid at Blue Creek.

Side drifting is the method of choice for 99% of boaters on the Cowlitz. The river itself is tailored to this type of fishing and one visit and you'll see why. Anglers can free drift for miles without wasting time fishing nonproductive water. Newcomers to this method of fishing will need a little practice to effectively control the boat, but the basic premise of free drifting is have your boat moving as close to the same speed as the current with your baits fishing at a 45 degree angle to the boat. If you're spending all of your time in forward, trying to control your boat every step of the way, you're not fishing very effectively and holding up everyone behind you that's trying to get down the drift.

Good eggs are very effective on the Cowlitz and a lot of guys will simply run corkies and yarn with various scents. My gear setups include a Lamiglas 4-8 pound Esprit rod, accompanied by a 2500 Shimano Stradic reel spooled with 10 pound Mustad UL Max. Fluorocarbons can be very helpful on the Cowlitz and I find Seaguar in an 8 pound weight to be as good as it gets. Mustad Ultrapoints have the most severe offsets of any of the hooks on the market and I find this particularly helpful when side drifting. 2's and 4's in either the black nickel, or red will do the trick.

If you're looking for up to date information on the run, tackle and even a place to camp while you're in the area, you can give the Barrier Dam Campground and Tackle Shop a call at (360) 985-2495. If you'd like to fish with a guide, you can give me a call.

Lance Fisher
Guide, Outdoor Writer and Host of the NW Outdoor Show
(503) 936-4774
www.columbia-river-fishing-guides.net