just talked to one of my fishing buddies and he says the silvers are running up the cowlitz big time right now...

lots of action at the barrier dam but they seem to move fast and are very hard to catch until they get near the hatchery.. Cow is running at over 9,000 cfs right now so be very careful with the canoe on that river.. current very strong..

also.. I forgot about coldwater lake... it's at the far east end of cowlitz county.. in fact I think most of it's in skamania county but it can be good... just run 30 miles up 504 and you're there........ it's a great one for trolling from a canoe and I've had mine up there many times.. I've never been able to troll all the way around the lake without catching at least one nice rainbow...... but call the monument office first to make sure the access road to the ramp is open and ask about the color of the lake... Forest Service has totally mismanaged this area. They refuse to plant vegetation along the burnt slopes north of the volcano and any kind of heavy rain causes everything in the drainage area (e.g. coldwater lake) to really muddy up..... I think it's been cold enough up there lately to make snow instead of rain so the lake may be fairly clear..... but definitely want to check first..