Well with the starting gun close thought I would start a thread to work with. So right now? River was 62.5 degrees at 8:30 AM., clear, and flows are below normal. Living on the river you get a feel for it and little is moving except bait fish. For the last four days the river has been full of the little guys up to Friends Landing and was bank to bank with them for a couple of days. Chinook have to be getting closer as you can see the week by week increase in the commercial catch on the Hump but little is above the bridge in Aberdeen at the present time. The seals did show a couple of days ago but are in the swim around / relax mode but do not appear to be in the hunting mode. I don't do the bay so somebody else will have do that for ya.

One last thing. Last year many struggled to find the fish in the tide water fishery. It will be worse this years as the river will pretty much cleaned by the tribal and commercial nets from the last week of September through the third week of October. I will post as, as I did last year, what I see in the pattern ( and their will be a pattern ) on how the fish that do not get wiped out are moving. Several others, I hope, will do the same as to the different reaches because this ain't gonna be a amble on down to the river and catch a fish year, at least not on the Chehalis.


Sept 23-25 QIN 48 hrs

October QIN = Q NT Nets = S

1 - S
2 - S
3 - Q
4 - Q
5 - Q til noon
6 - Saturday net free
7 - Q
8 - Q
9 - Q
10 - Q
11 - Q til noon
12 - S
13 - Saturday net free
14 - S
15 - Q
16 - Q
17 - Q
18 - Q til noon
19 - S
20 - S
21 - Sunday net free
22 - S
23 - 31 net free for chum conservation

To be honest the three net free days between the October 1st and 23rd do not mean crap and are nothing but WDF&W PR crap as the fish will not get far up the river in the 24 hr period so pick your river dates carefully.



Luck to all.

Hope for a couple shots of high, muddy water in October.

I don't know how the dept lives with itself with a schedule like that.

Pathetic.

That's ugly

My dad used to say "They managed them till they were gone". He still says that .

That's the most ridiculous net schedule imaginable! Sport fishers = why bother

NT gillnetters are wards of the state, hands out all the way. Not every one of them, but most. You should hear their loudmouth "spokesperson" try to bully and guilt trip RW into coughing up more days.

Brutal schedule.BS for sure.Good luck,

SZ

Amen....

Greater Aberdeen-Montesano area can say goodbye to 300-500$ from me as a direct result of this net schedule. I'll be fishing down there but not close to what I would do if they let some fish on by.

Too many people keep on fishing on the scraps. Our $ is our power.

"We don't spend our money to fish for fish that were gillnetted yesterday." that's the message that we need to send - repeatedly

One additional fact. The NOF " no targeted Chum " was changed after NOF as was the additional day added. The NT nets will harvest Chum the 21st - 23 set along with Hat Chinook & Coho.

Net schedule just warms the heart.

No rain forecasted until Halloween.

I know a lot of folks who are really excited for this season, but that schedule makes it look like more of a letdown, unless Ma nature can step in for us.

as dry as it has been. The only option you will have is the chehalis. the hump is prob a trickle.

No easy answer........4 groups that fish the Chehalis:

1. QIN.....because of the Bolt decision.....get 1/2 of the fish. I still have real concern on how the total for the Chehalis/Humptulip system is reached.

2. Non-treaty(NT, cowboys).....in my opinion, shouldn't be allowed to continue to fish the Chehalis/Humptulips system. WE DON'T NEED 2 COMMERCIAL GROUPS FISHING THE SAME WATERS.

3. Marine Sport group...For the most part, fish from 101 bridge west. The larger boats, because of water and wind conditions, like the troll type of fishery.

4. River fishermen...101 bridge up river or Humptulips river....the largest group of fishermen, that typically "get the left overs" because of Groups 1, 2, and 3.

NOF process, favor the 1st 3 groups. Reason.....river sport group just too easy to deal with.

Things that need to change so the "River fishermen" get a better share of the fish:

1. Lot's of rain, early......get fish spread out in the systems. This year looks like a real blood bath.....groups 1, 2, and 3

2. NO NT gillnetting in the river, above 101 bridge.......would allow the "behind the mall" better chance at fish because of "clearer water" from no gill net boats running up river, stirring the mud up.

3. 2 full net free days from river opening, until end of October. River sports has been shorted by WDFW and the allowing of NT fishery and their 12 hour gillnetting......saying the extra 12 hours give fish enough time "to get up river".........bull xhit.

River fishermen need to be given a fair shake, in the river the allotment, even if groups 2 and 3 need to share more.

Hope there are lot's of tight lines, not so many gillnet netted fish!!!!!

Got word that the fish while spread out in the lower reaches and not to easy to find that they are pooling up Friends Landing up and then moving with the tide. Stands to reason but until we start fishing no one will really have a handle on the movement.

More Chinook than Coho and they are stopping out of the current on out going and pick up stakes with the tide change and ride the incoming tide. Not much after the early incoming movement.

fished westport to john's river. 10 people on boat. we went 4 for 5 with 3 coho and one king jack. 3 on bait one on spinner. i got 2 one on spinner only saw three or four others caught around 100 boats. need rain

We sucked.... 3 for 7... four rods. Boxed a small buck king and a decent buck coho, released a platinum hen.



It fished a lot better than that for an opener with a HUGE exchange. Missed out on THE hot bite of the day. Thanks to my homies that tried, but cell phone in pants pocket buried in a seat box doesn't cut it. Next time I won't forget the floatie/lanyard that keeps my iPhone arounnd my neck.

Props to the guy who anchored up in the main troll path on our first downhill pass... that was fun... seriously.... NOT!

We went 1 for 5 on 2 rods. Our odds would have been a lot better but they kept breaking off. Sooo afer another $100 bill at the Dennis Company..lets just say they wont be breakin me off anymore : )

May as well have been using this model....

Lots of people are retaining chinook above the chehalis 101 bridge. I thought it doesn't open for chinook until oct 1. Was there a rule change Or am I missing something....