Just off the river

[Jennie@ifish]

Floated the upper Kilchis with RW and RT.
My guts ache from laughing! It was a blast, didn't see/catch anything. Well, we saw some old chinookies.
Anyway.... beautiful river here, well worth the time, and it was nice to breatheeeeeeeeee, inbetween bursts of laughter!
RW, you and I have to take these rivers on by ourselves and make all these bad boys jealous with all our fishes!
Jen

[Hookset]

How come RT gets all the fun?? Fishing and laughter while some of us have to work today. Hey RT, ever thought about getting a real job where you only get weekends off? Ok, I admit it, I'm a little envious.

no playing hookie for this guy,

hook

Hey JJ, I rowed you and Kim right over the best holding spots and you couldn't hook up with a fish; so how are you going to make the guys jealous? I've heard it said that really good fishers hook fish even when they aren't there. Aaah, not true. You and Kim are difinitely good fishers, but no fish in the upper park run thru the afternoon. A few fish were there yesterday but in gin clear water this afternoon we didn't spot a single steelhead, while fishing a 3 hour run from the park to Bill and Jen's place. NOT good! We did see a few spawning chinooks. ...

Actually what is going to make the guys jealous is me getting to fish in the same driftboat with 2 good looking babes. Eat your hearts out guys. OK, just kidding; they told me to shut up and watch the river while they 'girl talked'. Right girls? ...

Kim and I fished the Donaldson to Sollie stretch of the Wilson from 8:00 to 11:30 and I only had one on for a couple headshakes while Kim did a nice job of rowing. Most guides took out without any fish by noon; I don't know where they went looking for fish. There were reports of just a very few fished hooked, so I am genuinely concerned that the predicted good winter runs aren't going to occur now. I think we will now wait to see if some decent runs come in late or it's a bust like the 'Nook run was in Tillamook; except for some isolated good catches.

------------
No Fish and No Fish. - RT

[OneLastCast]

Bust like the Tillamook Chinook?

Where are the North Fork Nehalem Steelhead?

This should be prime time. The water is good.
I fished 4 hours on Christmas day and several lunch houuuuurs since and haven't had a fish. Talked with several boats and they weren't producing.

Again, where are the fish. I'm primed..but..

OneLastCast

[RW]

Jen; We have plenty of time to kick some butt, lets just wait until there are fish. What a time we will have on the river together!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! RW

[THE REEL HEY_YALL]

So far the winter runs have been pretty much a bust up here on the Cowlitz, and pretty much everywhere, except the Olympic Peninsula. I think the dams aren't opening up enough water, since we are giving California energy.

[Predator Dawg]

Makes you wonder how accurate the massive spring chinook run will be. With the States' prediction, they will be netting the heck out of it from the start. If they are off like they were with the steelhead, say goodnight to that fishery.....

Steve, last spring's Col. chinook run was well above predictions. Next year's big springer run has been predicted to be from 300K to over 500K using the same scientific data models that underpredicted last year's run. This has nothing to do with the data used for winter steelhead. The 'official' prediction jointly expressed by the WDFG & ODFW is for 364,000 springers to come up the Columbia next year. That should allow for plenty of hatchery spingers for us sportfishers, if the Indians and NMFS can be pursuaded to be fair about it by Fed. courts &/or key Congressmen. - RT