Cowlitz River Fishing Report: Updated 01/08/24 We received a couple more good reports on Coho this past week. Winter steelhead will be good by the first of February. Let us help you get ready for it.
Fly and Gear ordering and delivery: We can get flies to you within two to three business days from the time you place your order via Priority Mail. If you provide a budget for flies, we will select them to match the budget and get them to you on time for your trip. Please see the bottom of this column for ordering options.
We also have custom Perfect Fly selections in 3 different price ranges for this stream that come with or without fly boxes. They make excellent gifts. Click Here To Order or Call us at 800 594 4726 or email us at sales@perfectflystore.com.
Type of Stream
Freestone
Species
Cutthroat (Sea Run, wild and
hatchery)
Steelhead (wild and hatchery)
Chinook Salmon (wild and hatchery)
Coho Salmon (wild and hatchery)
Chum Salmon (wild)
Size
Large
Location
Southwest Washington
Nearest Towns
Kelso
Longview
Season
Varies with species
Access:
Good
Non-Resident License
State of Washington
Weather
National Weather Service Link
USGS Real-time Stream Data:
Cowlitz River below Mayfield Dam
Seasons:
Spring:
Spring is great for the big Chinook salmon.
Summer:
Summer is the time for steelhead and sea-run cutthroat trout.
Fall:
Fall is a good time for cutthroat, summer steehead and coho salmon.
Winter:
Wintertime is steelhead time.
Recommended Tackle & Gear
For Steelhead and Salmon
Fly Line:
7, 8 , 9 or 10 weight for appropriate typerod, sinking, sinking tip and floating
Leaders:
10#, 12# in 9 to 15 feet lengths
Tippets:
10# and 12#
Best Fly Rods:
Perfect Fly 7, 8, 9 and 10 ft. single hand rods
Fly Reels:
For 7 to 10 weight lines
Fly Floatants and Misc Items:
KISS Strike Indicators, Lanyards, etc.
Tools & Accessories:
Nippers, forceps, retractors, etc.
Recommended Tackle & Gear
Fly Line:
4, 5 or 6 weight
Leaders:
Dry fly: 9 to 12 ft., 5 or 6X Nymphing:
71/2 ft., 3 or 4X, Streamers 0-2X
Tippets:
Dry fly: 5 or 6X, Nymphing: 3 or 4X,
Streamer 0-2X
Best Fly Rods:
Perfect Fly Supreme Four, Superb Five
or Ultimate Six
Fly Reels:
For 4/5/6 fly line
Fly Floatants and Misc Items:
Floatants, KISS Strike Indicators
Tools & Accessories:
Nippers, forceps, retractors, etc.
Fly and Gear ordering and delivery:
Email us at (sales@perfectflystore.com) with the dates you will be fishing and we will send you a list of our fly recommendations. We can get flies and gear to you within two to three business days from the time you place your order via Priority Mail. If you provide a budget for flies, we will select them to match the budget and get them to you on time for your trip. Your can also call us at 800-594-4726 and we will help you decide what flies and gear to use. All orders are shipped free in the U.S. If under a $100 order requiring Priority mail is a charge of only $8.10. Orders over a $100 are shipped free via Priority Mail.
Copyright 2013 James Marsh
Fly Fishing The Cowlitz River Washington
This river is full of migrating fish just about every month of the year. Its a true year-round fishery. Some months provide anglers an opportunity to catch a grand slam. It has large, Chinook salmon that will challenge anyone; sea-run cutthroat trout; summer steelhead, winter steelhead, and Coho salmon.
The river flows from glacial streams on Mount Rainier. The Cowlitz River is within a couple of hours of Seattle Washington and Portland Oregon. Although the river can get crowded in some places, it also has plenty of areas where pristine conditions exist.
Although it is know for its fine steelhead fishing, its sea-run cutthroat may be just as well liked by the local anglers. These fish average about 15 inches and large numbers can be caught at times.
Summer steelhead start coming into the river in late May. These fish average about 7 pounds. Most of the fish arrive in mid June. The fish will remain in the Cowlitz into October.
Winter steelhead start arriving in the Cowlitz River in the later part of November and the first of December. These fish can run from about 8 pound to 15 pounds. In the last part of December and January, hatchery run fish averaging about 8 pounds make their appearance.
Chinook salmon run during the Spring and again during the Fall. The Spring run starts in the middle of March and peaks in April. The average fish will weight about 20 pounds. The fish remain in the Cowlitz River until after the spawn in September.
You need a driftboat or pontoon boat to fish this river. The banks are covered with bushes and trees and there is little access. In addition to the main channel, there are smaller channels and feeder streams. There are two hatcheries on the Cowlitz River, one each for salmon and trout. The purpose it to replace those fish lost by the hydroelectric dams. Efforts are being made to reduce the population of hatchery fish while the wild fish increase.
Cowlitz River Fishing Report:
09/18/20 The river has turned out some
sea-run cutts lately. It is time for Coho to
start moving into the river. Now is the time
to get your gear and flies ready.
11/29/20 The river is still turning out some
good salmon catches. Flows are in good
shape.
12/28/20 We are getting good reports
from customer catching Coho, a few
streelhead and sea run cutts.
04/26/21 Big Chinook salmon are entering the river.
05/17/21 Summer run steelhead will start coming in at the end of this month and peak in June, so now is the time to get prepared. Check out or steelhead flies and gear.
06/02/21 The summer runs are in the river and we are getting reports some are being caught. Check out our flies. https://perfectflystore.com/product-category/flies/perfect-generic-steelhead-salmon-flies/pacific-steelhead/
07/28/21 The river is turning out good catches of summer run steelhead for our customers. It is a good time to take a shot at them.
08/05/21 The river is low and clear. There are still some summer runs being caught.
08/29/21 The stream levels are up high in good shape bringing more fish into the river. Sea run cutts are being caught and salmon should start coming in any time now.
10/14/21 Sea run cutthroat trout are still being caught. Some salmon have come into the river but we don’t have any catch reports yet. Now is the time to get your flies and tackle ready.
10/27/21 Lots of coho salmon are being caught by our customers.
11/11/21 More good reports from customers catching Coho came in this past ten days.
11/29/21 Lots of coho were being caught prior to the high water levels. Fish the stream as soon as it drops low enough and you should do good. Our customers were before the high water.
01/08/22 We received three good reports from customers catching coho. The river is in okay shape.
01/16/22 We received another good report from a customer catching coho.
02/22/22 Steelhead are starting to show up. Reports of some being caught are coming out. We haven’t received any yet directly but the river will continue to get better and peak in mid March.
05/29/22 Sorry for all the missed reports. We have new and better source of information. Winter steelhead are still being caught but it is about done for the season.
06/22/22 The river is turning out good catches of summer run steelhead for our customers. It is a good time to take a shot at them. Call or send us an email for a recommended fly list. sales@james
07/06/22 We received another good report of summer steelhead being caught. Good hatches continue to take place.
07/21/22 The stream is still turning out some good summer run steelhead. Hatches continue to come off and sculpin streamers are also working.
09/10/22 The river is turning out some sea-run cutts and it is time for Coho to start moving into the river. Now is the time to get your gear and flies ready.
11/01/22 The stream is on the way up with more Coho salmon coming in the the rain. We have been getting good reports from customers.
01/03/23 Stream levels are running below normal. There is a lot of rain for the next week, but this should increase water volume and bring in a lot of fish.
11/17/22 We have been getting good reports of Coho being caught.
02/12/23 Sorry for the missed reports. We are setup to provide them on a regular basis again. The stream is a little below normal level and some good steelhead are being caught swinging our steelhead streamers and on Estaz eggs.
02/30/23 Good Coho fishing continues with some steelhead being caught.