The river in question isn't the issue at all. It's ANY river that gets the "hot" report. It brings crowds......more than the typical day. No crime in that..........

The crowds in the early 90's are nothing compared to what they are now. Before the early 90's (mid-70's to late 80's) you'd see a handful of boats on any given weekend. Then a certain guide, who has since left the area, started write-ups in F&H News about the native steelhead and late-season coho on the Satsop. The crowds increased to a dozen or so DB's in the east fork and about the same number of sleds below the west fork. People fishing the late season coho got wise to the kick-ass tough-fighting chums and you started to see significant crowds fishing them in the early 90's.

Then a dillweed STS writer, who shall go un-named, wrote an article about a phenonenal day of salmon fishing on the Satsop that he and his friend (who shall also remain nameless) had. The STS article and the repeated write-ups in F&H News really built up the number of people fishing the Satsop. By the mid-90's it was pretty well known by the majority of fishers in the area. It's gained popularity since..........because it can be a tremendous fishery.

Like I said before.........I'll still head there and do my thing, but the banks of that river are becoming a sty with $hit left all over the place. That's really the only thing that fires me up about it..........thinking you can go back to the day of 3 boats on the Satsop is a waste. Same with the Hump, Nooch, Skok, and umpteen others around the west side.


So go and enjoy.........but pick up a little trash while you're there, it will do us all a lot of good.