Hay Andy,

Take HEY YALL advice. It will be OK for you to lunch at the barrier dam, but don't go down river very far. It gets pretty hairy about a half mile down, i.e. lots of skinny water with big boulders every ware! The other areas you might be able to use your 12 foot boat is the area just above the Toutle river where dumps into the Cowlitz.. There is lots of calm, deeper water up there, but you almost need to know someone to lunch in that area. Maybe you can lunch your 12 foot boat at the mouth of the Cowlitz and fish out at Carol's Slue area.

This time of the year, there are lots of steelhead and a few really nice big up river bight Salmon that hang around out there. Every year, I see lots of 12 footers trolling or anchored up fishing the out going tides. The one thing that you must watch out for if you lunch at Gearhart's Garden Boat Ramp is the sand bars! Lots of sand bars all the way out to the mouth, but if you follow the guys out that know the water, it will be a piece of cake. Just take your time the first time out.

Good luck

Cowlitzfisherman

Is the taste of the bait worth the sting of the hook????