Well the Washougal used to have bright
native steelhead 365 days a year. These fish have now been replaced by very inferior hatchery fish. As o stated above these fish go very dormant in cold water and are reluctant to chase flies. If you want to fish it for winter runs i'd recommend starting as soon as we get some rain and hitting it hard as often as possible through january. The washougal is in a narrow canyon i'd recommend brong a rod to throw spoons and spinners with in case the river is high. If you have a boat floating from mile post 3 boat launch to hathaway park is a good float with lots of good fly watter if you can stay above the plug pullers. Standard winter steelhead patterns will do fine.
If you want to catch summer runs i'd start in late may and fish through july. muddlers is about all youll need there. If you have specific questions you can e-mail me roba26@hotmail.com