The day started off with high hopes, as we were walking in about 6:15 we see some guy walking out with six fish for him and his buddy. We jumped into their spot thinking it would be a good location, but in hindsight they had been fishing all night (so much for night closure!).
I was prepared for some crowds of people (actually some space to spread out), but it was the constant boat traffic motoring up and drifting back down that made things pretty much unpleasant. Most of the boaters had no regard for where they were casting continually snagging the lines of the bank fishers. A few were aware enough to get the lines pulled in and released, but a number were clueless and spooled my friend and took out a few hundred feet of my line, took me a while to get back in and untangled. I would try and wait for the opportunity to cast between the boaters and other bank fishers, but the boats just cast whenever and wherever they wanted. The one line we retrieved from "Get a Net Guides" had barbed hooks! All of the derelict equipment on the banks also had barbed hooks. Seems like WDFW could make some money there writing tickets with the night fishing and barbed hooks everyone seemed to be using.
We tried everything, floating and drifting, corkies, eggs, shrimp, dick night but we could not buy a bite. All three of us ended with a skunk.
Most of the fish we saw caught were by just a couple boats (and they did not seem to be guides), seemed like one boat had a hook up every time they drifted past.
I would not recommend this area to anyone as there is constant boat traffic disturbing all sense that you are actually in a beautiful area. Maybe further down the river would have been better, scouted the salmon hatchery and that looked like a better option as you would only have to deal with people, no boats.

PDawg

4/12/2016 2:15:00 PM

4n6, thanks for your report. Was this up near Blue Creek? I'm a new fisherperson (and a girl to boot!) and still trying to learn the etiquette of it all- not to mention how to catch a fish. I find it interesting how you can meet the nicest people, and then run into the scum of the earth all on the same bank. What you describe is not the sort of experience I'm looking for, so just asking where not to go!

4n6fisher

4/12/2016 2:22:00 PM

Yes it was near Blue creek, it looked like it may have been a better location to go all the way down past where Blue creek runs into the Cowlitz, less boats there (should have followed Nate's coordinates better). We were not up at Barrier dam until about 1 and it was relatively mellow, not sure if it was crazier during the morning but if you head that way, that would be the choice. There are other areas along the Cowlitz, but the hatcheries give you the best chance, even though I have been skunked my two times out. That is likely because I am just trying to figure out what I am doing. I did see one guy with a nice springer and he had been plunking by the launch at barrier dam.

riverhunter

4/12/2016 3:58:00 PM

For starters the cowlitz has no night closure in effect so night fishing is totally legal there.

4n6fisher

4/12/2016 4:31:00 PM

2) ALL SPECIES - Apr. 1-Nov. 30: night closure and anti-snagging rule.

Maybe not all the time, but this is straight from the WDFW book. So night fishing last weekend was totally poaching.

66kma

4/12/2016 8:29:00 PM

4n6fisher, please, open rules on page 57 and read it again paying attention to bold text: Additional rules for Mill Creek to Barrier Dam!
That part of the river is way above the trout hatchery.
There is nothing about night closure at hatchery or blue creek. And please do not blame people in "total poaching". Too many people were "poaching" that night and every other! But about hooks with barb you 've got that right in eye! Last time I've found about twenty of them, only one was without burb.

-Steelhead-

4/12/2016 8:40:00 PM

Blue creek has no night closure, the night closure is for mill creek and up, which only affects the barrier dam area

-Steelhead-

4/12/2016 8:43:00 PM

I was there Saturday, and we got six so that may have been us that you saw lol... But you saying "I would not reccomend because of all the boats" just let me tell ya that is the most boats that I have ever seen on the Cowlitz, most likely because of the Columbia springers closing

4n6fisher

4/13/2016 7:36:00 AM

I stand corrected on the night fishing, it did confuse me some that they said the area is open at 4 AM. So many little foot notes and I thought I had looked that over thoroughly.

Steelhead- Were you leaving about 6:15?
It did surprise me that there were so many boats as I had not seen that on any other post here, but the Columbia early closure must have pushed them up, especially the guides who already had paying customers. Still no excuse for them to be using barbed hooks as they are illegal on the Columbia as well.

-Steelhead-

4/13/2016 9:58:00 AM

No it wasn't us then, we didnt leave till 4pm... We got our limits and released/gave away a couple... I know, I know, mandatory retention... But sorry, I'm not gonna keep an old rotten one with snag and seal holes all over it

oakland84

4/23/2016 12:04:00 AM

me and my buddies went to barrier damn had a good day lots of hook ups brought two home.

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