Chris and Mellisa,
I am gonna offer you a little advice, whether you take it or not is up to you, but I have followed up on alot of your posts and you both have lots and lots of questions. First things first, trying to get a guy or gals honey hole out of them is damn near impossible. I am not saying that you can't get it sometimes but it is pretty rare. Names like the Cowlitz and the Hoh are as popular as Coke and Pepsi, everyone has experienced it at least once. I am not putting down the Cowlitz or the Hoh but you have to understand that with big names comes big crouds. If you don't mind fishing in crouds then there isn't a problem, but for those of us that like to have some peace and quiet like to venture out and find our own little river all to ourselves. I would have to say that if you want to hook fish with out alot of experience the Cowlitz is probably a good bet, with the large numbers of fish in that system, once you master your skills you can go out and go after the rivers with few fish in them and the fish that are there are hard to catch. When you reach that point you know you have accomplished alot since you began. You ask alot of questions on what to use. First start off with the best gear that you can afford, no you don't need a new Loomis and Chronarch reel but you will want one after you play with one for a trip. Fishing for summer runs is an experience. Often times conditions are low and clear and you need to use light gear. I would start off with a 4 foot 6 pound leader with tandem #4 Gamakatsu hooks, put a small orange cheater inbetween the two hooks and run small dime size egg clusters. This is the norm on the Cowlitz for the guides. You don't need the tandem hooks but it will increase hook ups for begginers. There shouldn't be a fish in the river that will be scared of that setup. You will loose alot of fish with the 6 pound leader at first, but you will get the hang of it. Jigs are also a good bet. More and more people are fishing jigs and floats each year, why? because they are real effective. I hope this helps you out a little bit and if you have any questions you can email me at answer@techline.com

Thanks,
Andy Matthews http://The_Steelhead_Solution.homestead.com