Robert Allen --- I have to disagree. I can't speak for the Washougal, but I have fished the north and east forks of the Lewis River since 1960 (hmmmm, that's 42 years!).

Our fishing today is as good, and in many ways better, than at any time in all those years on those rivers. Winter steelhead are down somewhat on both forks as are springers, for sure. Summer steelhead though are 10-fold better, and coho are every bit as good as I've ever seen.

Fall chinook this year on the North Fork will be more plentiful than at any time in the last 11 years. These are not my numbers --- they are publications of the F@W departments of Oregon and Washington.

Even generalizing to the Columbia as a whole finds good fishing when compared with historical levels of runs. This fall we will see the third highest run of fall chinook entering the Columbia since 1948 --- that run will be the highest in 12 years. Even the lowered estimate for Columbia River coho this fall will be the fourth highest in 12 years.

All this doesn't even take into account last year's record runs of both fall chinook and coho, and that includes the highest numbers of returning coho on the Lewis that any of us have ever seen. And the number of fall chinook and coho seen on the east fork Lewis this year was really encouraging.

It is easy to gripe about the "decline" in fishing. But it just ain't so. These are the "good old days".