Lakes
Offut: The trout fishing has been best in the cool of the morning. Try Power Bait and nightcrawlers. The bass and perch fishing is picking up. Crappie jigs and nightcrawlers are effective for the perch.
Silver: The largemouth bass action has been good to very good. Some of the fish are weighing 3-6 pounds. The crappie action also has been very good, especially at sunset. Trolling Wedding Rings with a worm right above the grass line has been producing catfish. The action is best early or late in the day.
Tanwax: The bass fishing has been good, with people using worms or jigs. The crappie and perch are plentiful, but small. Crappie jigs tipped with worms has been working best. The trout are holding deep in the cooler water, but hitting Wedding Rings tipped with worms.
Rivers
Cowlitz: Reports from various sources indicate the fishing is very slow. A few steelhead are being caught from the barrier dam down to Blue Creek, but it has been a struggle.
Kalama: As of today, anglers may retain hatchery spring chinook, through July 31. The opening covers the river from the boundary markers at the mouth to 1,000 feet below the fishway at the upper salmon hatchery. The state reopened the fishery after the hatchery escapement broodstock goal was met.
Olympic Coast: The fishing for summer-run steelhead has been good with some fresh, bright fish being caught in the Bogachiel and Calawah. There are steelhead and searun cutthroat in the lower river and trout high on the Sol Duc.
Salt water
South Sound: The salmon fishing has been slowed, based on a creel samples and angler reports. Look for the bait congregating off the clay banks and the flats off the boathouse. Some of the first pink salmon of the year were caught over the weekend. Crabbing off Tacoma remains fair, with some people bringing in limits. Creel checks at Zittels Marina over the weekend showed no salmon caught.
Strait of Juan de Fuca: The waters between Sekiu and Port Angeles are the place to be right now. Anglers continue to catch a mix of chinook, coho and pink salmon. At the Port Angeles boat ramp Saturday, for example, 173 anglers were checked by the state. They had brought in 80 chinook, 18 coho and 258 pinks.
Westport: The fishing over the weekend was fair to good. Anglers were finding schools of chinook fishing straight out from the harbor in 160 feet of water. Most fish hit a Pautzke’s green-brined herring or a Silver Horde Irish Flag Kingfisher Lite spoon.
