I can honestly say that I have never plunked for steelhead but would like to get my kids into catching a few the easy way.

Can anyone help with some relatively easy public access to plunking spots in the lower Columbia where a guy might catch a fish or two?

In bygone days of Hunting and Fishing News, I recall folks fished for them down around Kalama and Cathlamet but have never been around that area to try.

While I figure I can set up a plunking rig easy enough and put a sand shrimp on, how much weight is needed for this type of fishing?

If I strike out here, I guess the next step is to contact the local WDFW office for info but I'm guessing there are folks here who are in the know.

PM's welcome. Thanks in advance.

Puget Island has a good WDFW beach, just south of Kalama there is a public beach off the frontage road, county line park west of Longview and just below Bonneville on federal land managed by the Corps.

weight is dictated by the flow. IMO, steelies are often found in much shallower water than you would find springers. Shrimp work good, eggs work good and even a nightcrawler works well. Don't forget to put on a river runner, flat fish, or tadpolly on one rod, sometimes they just want plugs

For weight, just assume as much as you can toss, as you probably will lose it on the retreive. Most guys will use a smaller diameter leader, often tying in a knot for a weak spot. One of the more sucessive guys I saw down there was using a heavy main line and a rail road spike. They would lob it out there just a short distance and get it to lock up on the bottem. They would then crank the rod down like a down rigger rod. The drop line they were using was very weak, and when a fish would hit it would pop the drop line and the rod would snap back, hooking the fish.

Thanks for the tips guys. I'll have to keep that rock tip in mind. I remember when an article came out in STS years ago using rocks and weights for drift fishing. I never tried that (seemed a little to ridiculous to me) but using rocks as plunking weights doesn't seem unreasonable to me.

I had no idea that plunking Lower Columbia River was such a tight-lipped secret.