Satsop River, mouth to bridges

The lower Satsop, if you haven't been to the area, will have major changes from last year.

1. Change was necessary to protect pump station for water to the Nuke plant AND to Keys Road itself.

2. There has been many piling being driven, and logs used in, around, thru the piling to slow the river.

3. There is also piling being driven to the West of Keys Road. If you have bank fished the areas or boat run the lower part, from mouth up toward the bridges....I'm thinking major changes in river bed. Really hard to tell, right now, because of low water flow.

All this change will definitely cause "mud, sticks, etc." to be pushed in to the Chehalis and my fishing areas......grrrrrrr, might have to join the above Fuller Bridge horde of fisher people.

I know its early because Chehalis doesn't open for adult until 10/01/20 but now you'll know....

The following is information on this phase of the plan: There is a map, showing where the work is being done.....


https://www.ezview.wa.gov/site/alias__1492/37644/default.aspx

Big file......

It's nice to have a local keep us in the know.

Thanks drifter and good luck out there.

Thanks. I've never fished that part of the river. A fisherman was telling me about Keys road yesterday. Doesn't open until 1 October.

I suspect the claim this is to protect the nuke plant's pump house may be misleading, because a mothballed plant that never got up and running has little use for a pump house, and none of the businesses operating at the site need one either. Pretty sure these changes are about protecting Keys Road and the properties on the west side of the lower Satsop. To think the lower river was such great fly water just 10 years ago... Every run had bitey coho in it. The run by the aforementioned pump house was my favorite spot. Now they all seem to beeline all the way to the Riviera before they start staging where you can catch them. Timing the tides has become more and more important as the lower river becomes less and less hospitable.

Thanks for the heads up, DW!

I think the pumps are for potable water to the site that operates now not the former nuke generators. The Satsop is always changing in fact in the early 80's the mouth was at Fuller Hill bridge then went west which at that time was called the old mouth. It will move again just as it has many times. Just look at the changes at the old highway bridge and above the cemetery hole in recent years.

They are changing the river all the way up to the East and middle fork confluence.

The island below Satko Glenn, the water currently runs to the right facing down river from the confluence. Last fall, a survey crew was marking areas while I was fishing (the best part was shoving a giant measuring stick through the run I was fishing). I asked them why they were taking SO many measurements. The answer: shifting the water to the current dry side of the island. Why? To keep floods from impacting the west side of the river.

I’ve said it a million times...don’t want to be flooded? Don’t build in a flood plain or right on a river bank.

(Keep in mind it is shallow Froggy water during normal October/November flows but the left side is completely dry as of July when I was up there last)

Any chance these changes are going to help out the highway launch. It was really shallow last season. Didn’t try it last year with my jet boat but the couple times I had my raft down there it seem like it would be challenging for anything except high water.

Not unless they move about 2000 cubic yds of gravel. It was rather poor choice for a location, a fact WDFD was made aware of but chose to ignore. As always the staff that made the decisions are mostly gone and we live with their ill advised fantasies.

Actually, when you stand on the old bridge and look North, the main flow of the river is back on the East side. Hopefully that will help move the main channel, below the highway bridge back to the East.

Much as I hated to launch and then load boat my boat, after the launch was "improved"......there is no way jet boats can be launched without "very high water".

I MISSED TWITCHING FOR THE "LATES"....THE PAST 4 OR 5 YEARS!!!!!! Come on Mother Nature.......do your thing, move the channel back to the East....

There is LOTS of work taking place around the Keys Road area.....Time will tell, but it looks to me like the plan is to get the Satsop river back in the channel where it was a few years back, that's back EAST toward Keys Road.....by doing that the Willis property will have almost no impact.......but I see in the plans that a house will be moved away from the river is currently flowing.

Lots of piling being driven, time is short on.....wonder why work wasn't started a few weeks earlier????? Maybe smolt out go??????

Will be an interesting jet boat ride from Fuller Bridge, up the new channel re-build, past all the new pilings to the highway bridges......won't see this old man with his "River Wild boat" in that stretch of the river......

The movement of gravel east started when the rip rap fingers were put in to protect the old highway bridge. The river had slowly eroding the West bank so action was taken to protect the bridge foundations. It did just that by moving the gravel East over time. Prior to that the river was a straight shot from the sandstone toe ( above the bridges ) under the bridges to the old gravel bar down stream. The recent movement that took out several acres of the East bank above the bridges in a flood has returned back to more or less the normal track. The gravel build up at the launch is not going anywhere as long as the gravel flow is directed to the East side of the river.

When I was a kid you had a small gravel bar upstream of the old bridge and the water where we went swimming just down from the nursery was 4 ft deep on the East side of the river. The river from the sandstone toe down above the old highway bridge to W's bar was a long deep stretch with the West side being very deep and we used the railroad bridge to jump off of and never hit bottom. By changing the hydrology at the bridges it simply allowed for the river gravel to build up. Best way to think of it is from the sandstone toe above the bridges the river was like a hose cleaning out things until the flows lost that effect and the gravel built up at W's bar. Loose the fire hose effect and gravel builds up.

I did another "lookie lou" around the current Satsop Highway boat launch.

If it was the 1980's, problem would be temporary fixed by starting down river below the mid point of the boat ramp...start hauling gravel until you got to the East bound bridge, this would force a change in water flow back to the East side of the river.

BUT ITS 2020......so with all the permitting needed to legally do anything around streams, rivers, lakes, etc. , looks like boat launch will be a "high water" type of boat launch for jet boats or run from Fuller Bridge or come down river from the West Satsop boat launch.

There are more than a few areas, in the old days, when equipment would show up, early on the weekend, mid summer, low water.....gravel would be removed in a way and amount, that during the high water flows in the winter......new river channel, 2 of the those channels are still there, 30+ years later.

OK EVERYBODY!!!


GRAB YOUR SHOVELS!!!!!!

08/31/2020......

Got a call from someone close to that area of the Satsop:

1. water is starting to flow, in the old channel, close to the pump house by Keys Road.

2. I'd say by the legal opening, 10/01/2010, the Satsop will be back in that old channel.

3. By doing what is being done, the Satsop River bank on the West side of the river will be saved from continuing to wash away. This is called "Willis property", and river was getting close to their home.....think the plan calls for moving a house.

High water, this winter, will let everyone know if the work done......WORKED. We all know "Mother Nature does what Mother Nature wants to do".

So will the tidal waters be trashed by debris for the opening?

Could be, depends........anytime there is a major change in a river, lots of stuff breaks loose.....down river it goes............tide holds up stuff, back and forth it goes....it takes time but the lower river will clear.

Problem I'm having is just moving around......no rain, Chehalis river above Monty is "low water".....even with a high tide, person has to be careful or you will get caught with limited water to run a boat.

My days of walking to areas that I like to fish.....gone, balance is not good, even with wading pole, movement is limited......."stay young, as long as you can"

create your own report instead of relying on the internet,

Eat shi* and die, troll

Not really as it takes rain and not a little but enough to bounce the river and then it is muddy water as dust and roads everything is right into the creeks but clears fast the minute rain stops. We all call it nature flushin her toilet

Somewhere in the first half of Nov the river will blow and bay and tidal below South Monte will be slim pickings and that is when the parade of crap is something. All the dried up sticks, limbs, grass and trees just pour down the river with mud. Happens every year.

I just hope it holds off "till the 1st week of Oct. Don't need those fish to shoot up river in early Sept. like last year.

Your boat will be in the bay so I would say yes.

Sept 23rd ?............... no but the fish are showing shoot upstream / middle the river thing now & lots of jacks. No idea why with low flows.

9/03/2020

Work by the pump station must be completed.......equipment is now moved to protect the Keys road.

When you turn off the highway to go toward the Chehalis River, there is a area where the Satsop River has been eating away the river bank.....now the river is only 20-30 yards from maybe taking out part of Keys Road. They were driving piling in the area, so the river should be under control......as much as it can be.

Stay safe!!!!!!!

9/04/2020

Just a short comment on "moving Satsop River channel" back to where it was 3/4 years ago.

I'm sure its going to happen, there is water in the old channel where there was no water 2 weeks ago........but the water is not moving, so I'd say that the contractor is waiting until more work is done 3/4 river miles up river.

My concern is that "stuff will get flushed down river" if the flow is increased quickly. I would prefer it done slowly so there isn't a build up in any stretches of the river to the bay.

Save safe, wear a mask, 6' ----will be tough to follow safe guide lines during 3 day HOT weather weekend.

9/10/2020

Thought I'd give a short report on the Chehalis below the Satsop. Many know I like to fish Coho jacks, have done so in the Chehalis River for a looooong time.

This year, because of low water conditions, I've been running up-river from the Montesano boat launch. There is a major river change about 1/4 mile up river from the launch, right across from the mill, he main river has cut though, when you get pass the "cut" stay to your right.

Not a lot of change up to the pump houses, just a few trees hung up in the river. If you are running "low water", then conditions change...gravel bars have gotten larger .

Major change is in a area called Tidwells, down river from the Satsop, I've fished this area for 40+ years.....lots of "stuff" got pushed down from the Satsop last winter.....logs where there were no logs and the gravel bar build up "on the North side of the river is major.

I've not been from Fuller Bridge down to Tidwells, so I can't speak to that area but it would be a challenge going down the "skinny water", below Tidwells, at this time....in a jet boat.

Be safe both on the water and personal life.....

Any update after the rain or today’s events?

Sorry, haven't been there since 10/23, been fishing in the marine area......now I'll probably start to fish the Chehalis, below the Satsop.

I'll be fishing jacks, until I get 5....then try for my 1 Coho.

Remember if you get your adult limit, you legally can't fish for jacks.

Good luck all.....there are fish to be caught.

Also the QIN starts netting on 10/4 - 10/7

I talked with the GH County lead person on the project, Phase 1 is pretty much done.

Phase 2 will be either 2021 or 2022.

Part of the goal in phase 1 was to try and get the river to flow both in the old channel by the "pump house" AND to stay in the West channel. Satsop could have 2 mouths.

Mother Nature does what Mother Nature does....... West channel will be the main emphasis in Phase 2.

Don't have to tell most people BUT as a reminder.....when the "big rains" start, there will be lot's and lot's of xhit coming down the river and out into the Chehalis,,,,nothing worse than to be "on the hook" and look up river and see a tree or part of a lot jam coming at you........toilet paper time!!!!!



TWIDWELL AREA

THE BIG COTTEN WOOD TREE IS STILL LAYING FROM NORTH BANK, OVER TO THE SOUTH SIDE GRAVEL BAR.........ITS A NO GO, UNLESS GOING AROUND ON THE GRAVEL SIDE AT VERY HIGH WATER......BE SAFE!!!!!

Dont take the new channel yet(river left).. low lots of sand and grass and a portage .. river right looks definitely better ..(careful tight squeeze in between some spots ..stay safe🤙

Well, I think in the same way.