i know people here wont give up there zipperlips up there, and nor do i want them, i jus want a oppurtunity to go and catch some decent numbers of steelhead, if anyone is going up there this fall, could i go with and fish with ya...i got my own cash and what not, no bumming here..anyways..you can private message me if ya want to, or not..

the best way to find the best steelhead rivers is to get a copy of the fishing regs and look for waters that are "classified waters" . it costs 10-20 per day to fish these rivers, but the fishing is way better on them.

I'll be fishing the Vedder for steelies a lot, so if you want to come up, let me know.

THANKS SWJ, so when do the steelhead start to show up?

This will be my first season up there, but I think they start showing up at the end of November, and things start to pick up in December and January.

The Vedder steelhead are late returning. By Christmas there are only a few in the river. Run gets strong late Jan-April

They have a derby every Boxing Day - The Day after Christmas. Usually only a very few fish caught in that derby.

... and it seems like just as many people fish for them as they do the salmon. (OK not quite, but it sure can seem that way when EVERY run has a couple of guys on it) You won't believe the crowds of steelheaders in Feb. IMHO there are more productive rivers down here...

4 Salt:

I agree with you about the crowds on the Vedder. As a result, I usually avoid it until April, when things tend to quiet down a bit. but . . I can't necessarily agree about more productive waters down here.

The total Vedder River steelhead catch is often larger than the total on the Cowlitz!! In a good year they get 5,000 hatchery fish and another 5,000 wild fish. Part of their productivity lies in the fact that most B.C. ~~~~~~s wont kill a fish no matter if its hatchery or wild. They usually are allowed only one hatchery fish a day and they don't wnat to quit fishing so they release the hatchery fish, unless thay catch one near dark.

And, becasue all hatchery raised fish on the Vedder come from wild parents, caught on hook and line they are biters. They may be caught several times in a season.


Yeah, it can be a zoo, but it's a mighty productive zoo. Good rods, who are willing to hike and work the water, can average three to six fish a day.all season long.

Unless you are pulling them off their redds in April, you will not average 3-6 fish a day. There will be a couple locals that put that many fish to the bank but for the most of us who fish it fairly regularily, 1-2 fish a day is a good average, and a 6 fish day is outstanding.

No one is averaging 3-6 fish a day "all season long" .

I admit that I typicaly average only one or two fish a day. Hell. I have had my share of skunks on the vedder. But I have had a nine fish day on the Vedder and was sure as heck not "pulling them off the redds". If you fish the lower river in April you do not hit many stale fish.

My good friend, who is a sort of local - Port Coquitlam - did indeed average better than 3-6 fish a day. He is an outstanding rod, and fishes hard, daylight to dark. But he and sevceral of his super dedicated friends did avaerga that many last year. I admit last year was a great year.

My point is the Vedder is, to my knowledge, the most productive steelhead river within a reasonable drive of Seattle. I base that assertion on the total number of fish caught compared to the size of the river. If you know of any other river that produces so many fish from so little water, I would like to know about it.