I agree with Steelheader. Last year the Chinooks and cohos in the Kalama were in the river most of September and were dark by the end of the month. However, most of the cohos were males. By early to mid October, there were lots of bright cohos scattered throughout the river. Most of them were females. Do females come in later in the year? It sure seemed like it. I did well on spinners (flo. orange or chartruese) although most anglers were using eggs and did okay too.

Remember it's fly fishing only between the gas pipeline at Mahaffey's and Hatchery Creek (that includes Beginners Hole) from Sept. 1 to Oct. 31. So late August might be a good time to check it out. Be sure the WDFW trap downstream of Modrow Bridge is out. Otherwise, all the fish will be stacked up below the weir. They usually take it out after they get their hatchery quota.

After Sept 1, pack your 9 weight, sink tip line, and yarn flies if you want to fish Beginners Hole. Getting a big Chinook there can be a blast on a fly rod! I saw a couple spawned out Chinooks last year that would have been close to 50 pounds.



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MSB