Willapa River above the actual

For salmon the regulations above the designated mouth of the Willapa River (city of South Bend boat launch), minimum size 12". Daily limit 6. Up to 3 adults may be retained. Release Wild Chinook, Wild Coho, & Chum.

READ THE REGS, as here in fresh water above the designated mouth, the WDFW rules for single point barbless hooks apply. This does not really make sense since the ocean & adjacent bay is usually open for barbed hooks, but apparently written toward using large gobs of salmon roe as bait. Be warned that sometimes a 14' aluminum boat with a non-uniformed WDFW officer may be your fishing neighbor here.

Upriver Willapa: Later in the salmon season after the fish move upstream into more freshwater, or at least about mid September & later, you may consider moving upstream with the fish. Here the lowest launch would be the South Bend launch as described in the "Bay" article, & then run upriver to near the mouth of the South Fork near the Weyerhaeuser mill , or use the Raymond City Park launch if a high tide.

Raymond City Park launch: This launch is not used much as shown from this picture for obvious reasons. The rumor is that it was supposed to be dredged, but nothing has transpired for at least 15 years. So it is basically a mid to high tide launch unless you plan on staying out for a while. This launch is reached off Hiway 105 just as you exit Raymond, heading north toward Aberdeen. Take the last street to the right just before the bridge, go past the Weyerhaeuser scale yard & the Pacific Pride refueling station. Straight ahead is the city park, with baseball diamonds etc. To the left there is a gravel parking lot & a skateboard ramp area. At the far end of the parking lot are restrooms & the launch/docks.

Wilson Creek launch: The farthest upriver launch is this one, it is reached by turning off Hiway 6 at the old WDOT weigh station about a mile before you get to the hill east of Raymond. Heading west, take a right just before this unmanned weigh station, cross thru the next intersection, then take a right on the next road, (Willapa Rd.). This will take you up the river, across the Willapa River bridge (#2 on the map below), thru the old community of Old Willapa & then across the low bridge at Wilson Creek. Turn left just across the Wilson Creek bridge to the launch parking lot. The launch is on the main Willapa River with Wilson creek bordering the upstream side of the parking area.

Wilson Creek launch at near a medium tide. These guys are just leaving for a afternoon try.	Wilson Creek launch again, but at a -1.70 tide (08-19-09) The fishermen shown here had a motor with water pump failure so they were proceeding to bank fish before pulling the boat out.

The Wilson Creek launch at the -1.70' tide as shown below at dead low water would be a formidable obstacle if you tried to launch & the trailer dropped of the end of the slabs. The drop-off appears to be rather steep here.

Wilson Creek launch, with a -1.70 tide

This area is also called the Old Willapa or Camp One area by the locals. Fishing from this area you will be in the final tidewater area of the river.

The low tide difference here will be 2 hours after the ocean tide. Most fishermen who consistently catch a number of fish here, confide that they like the low slack tide best, (about 2 1/2 hours before & a couple of hours after depending of the run-off) but not a minus tide. The higher the low tide the better. If the tide gets to being anything into the minus this gets the water flowing faster in the shallow water that creates excessively muddy water. Other fishermen tend to favor the high tide & troll the brush shore-line. Also there are a few bank fishermen in this area that plunk with eggs. So take your pick.

In the picture below the launches are at the blue arrows, with the bridges in purple, number 1, 2 & 3 with the #1 the lowest on the river crossing Hiway 101 at the north side of the town of Raymond. This Hiway heads north to Aberdeen, & heading south to South Bend. Hiway 6 leads east to PeEll & Chehalis. The snake shaped river heading down (south) from the town of Raymond is the South Fork of the Willapa.

There are a LOT of brushy snags or dead limbs underwater that like to reach out & grab your lure. If this happens & when you decide that it is not a fish stop & back up. You will retrieve most of this hooked gear IF you do not set the hook into the snag. However it may be best to run a slightly lighter leader than your mainline, just so you will only loose all your gear & some mainline but just the spinner if you do become really snagged & have to break it off. It is suggested that you run it as an exploration trip at a minus tide & document where the underwater debris will be. This can pay off later in retained tackle.

The most used lures are a large brass Golf Tee spinner, or 1/2 oz. weighted brass Flash Glo & troll the river from below the Wilson Creek boat launch, up to the bridge above it. In use, they are usually attached to a 40" leader behind a trout keel with no weight. I tend to prefer a longer leader, say of 48" so that I have a "heads up" when I feel the keel bump a snag as explained below.

One thing to consider is that since these lures are not bait as in herring or eggs & that the troll is slow, when the fish does hit they may well spit the lure back out rather quickly. So it is advisable to hold onto the rod & be ready to set the hook at any indication that it could be a fish. Sure it may be a snag fish, but that is the name of the game.

You want to be nearer the bottom but with all the underwater debris this causes the hang-ups, so setting the rod in a rod-holder may not be practical here. With the keel ahead of the lure, most if the time you can feel the keel encounter a stick & if you are fast, raise your rod tip or reel in enough to get the lure above it.

I experimented with running a 4" to 6" dropper & 4" of 1/4" pencil lead for a sinker is the way to go. What this dropper & sinker does is to run interference & if you do encounter an underwater limb, it usually does not get snagged as the dropper lead will allow you to feel the limb & lift the rod up over it. Or if it does snag, you can pull off the lead or the dropper will break, allowing you to recover your lure. You might consider taking extra droppers & pencil lead however just in case.

Better yet is to purchase the "Bottom Walker" weighted wire unit designed for Walleye fishing as shown on the bottom below. This seems to function quite well. And when the walker wire hits something, the shorter upper end of the Ell raises the lure. With this you can actually drag the bottom, placing the lure in the fish's face.

I am thinking a large Spi-N-Glo with a gob of eggs rigged as in the bottom illustration above, using either of the 2 droppers should work great. The Spi-N-Glo color would not be critical except it be bright enough to be seen in the murky water. Again this dropper & sinker runs interference & if you do encounter an underwater limb, it usually does not get snagged as the dropper lead will allow you to feel the limb & lift the rod up over it. And the buoyant lure lends to raise behind the dropper making it less susceptible to snagging the hooks even if the sinker does ride over it.

Trolling speed is SLOW. Some fishermen will use electric trolling motors. Battery life will usually be about 3 hours for these depending on the tide flow. A small kicker motor is what is usually used & even then the use of a bucket or drift sock may be needed especially if you only have a larger motor. Many only troll with the tide, & of course you can go both directions when it is slack.

Small boats seen here can be 10'-14' aluminum or fiberglas car toppers, aluminum Jon boats, river jetsleds, even a personal pontoon float tube may be observed.

Fishing here is usually timed after the fish have left the bay, & in between the commercial gill netting dates. Catching can be effected by any slight amount of rain that may push the holding fish upriver. This upper area is not effected that much by floating debris as downriver in the bay except later in the fall when the leaves start falling from the alders & maples. If any debris is in the water, it is not like the multitude of weeds of the lower river, but more small sticks, leaves & heavy weed shanks & usually shows more after the tide has turned & incoming.

Later when the Coho are in, casting spinners toward the shore or into the holes at low tide can also prove productive. If there are fish jumping & splatting their tails on the water, these will usually will be Coho. But just because they are jumping does not mean they are holding near the surface.

A cold foggy October morning	How's this for solitude?	Husband & wife fishing team on a decent late October day

South Fork of the Willapa: This is a very short river, entering the main Willapa just west of the Weyerhaeuser mill in Raymond, with headwaters in timber company lands. The lower river is a windy tidewater slough type water that has no real bank access until you get upstream to near the golf course. Access is from private property until you pass the golf course & then it gets into timber landholders property, but the river is getting rather small by this time. Most of the lower part being tidewater . It is not much of a floatable river & not really a lot of accessible bank fishing water.

There is not a lot of salmon fishing going on in the river because the regulations prohibits retention other than Steelhead. As of 2011 the WDFW opened this river for salmon fishing, however for hatchery fish only. Now there is no hatchery here, so the only fish you can legally retain as strays.

Palix River: Here is where the Palix WDFW or Bay Center launches can be utilized. This is a smaller shorter river, but does have a run of wild fish in it. However the WDFW regs catch & release except 2 hatchery Steelhead may be retained. For salmon, minimum size 12". Daily limit 6 up to 2 adults may be retained. Release Wild Chinook, Wild Coho, & Chum. There is no hatchery here so only wild fish are returning to this river unless they are strays so not much effort is expended for salmon on this river. The upper section of this river will be only fishable from the bank.

Nemaha River: This smaller river has no boat launch anywhere near it & is best fished from the bank, however public bank access is limited. There is a hatchery on this river.

However the WDFW regulations below the Highway 101 bridge, catch & release except 2 hatchery Steelhead may be retained. For salmon, minimum size 12". Daily limit 6 up to 2 adults may be retained. Release Wild Chinook, Wild Coho, & Chum. Above Highway 101 bridge, for salmon from Aug. 1 thru Jan. 31, minimum size 12". Daily limit 6 up to 3 adults may be retained. Release Wild Chinook, Wild Coho, & Chum. Single point barbless hooks required

Naselle River: The Naselle can produce salmon also, the closest launch in lower tidewater is the Long Island Wildlife Refuge boat launch. This is a no charge gravel launch wide enough for 2 boats, no dock but parking is across the road by the refuge office.

Launch here & head north, staying close to the piling markers on the east side of the channel most of the way out, as this channel is also narrow, shallow & is covered with oyster beds. I have however navigated it with a 20' fiberglas deep Vee at a 0' tide. You can make it if you go slow & are willing to back up & try another spot until you learn the channel. You may only have 3' of water under you at times at a low tide. When the piling markers on the right side of the channel cease & you get to where the channel opens up, you will see a clay bank bluff on the western shore of Long Island ahead of you, head angling across the channel toward this bluff, then follow this shore until you come out into the mouth of Long Island & Stanley Peninsula where you take a right at the piling marker to the east & head up the main Naselle River.

Long Island Launch : This launch is at the Willapa National Wildlife Refuge headquarters & was actually set up for equipment & logging trucks to be ferried across from the mainland to the island.

This is a no charge concrete launch wide enough for 2 boats, with a dock on the south side & parking is across the road by the office.

Most boats fishing the lower Naselle River tidewater would launch here. Launch here & head north, staying close to the piling markers on the east side of the channel most of the way out, as this channel is also narrow, shallow & is covered with oyster beds. However I have navigated it with a 20' fiberglas deep Vee at a 0' tide. You can make it if you go slow & are willing to back up & try another spot until you learn the channel. You may only have 3' of water under you at times at a low tide. When the piling markers on the right side of the channel cease & you get to where the channel opens up, you will see a clay bank bluff on the western shore of Long Island ahead of you, head angling across the channel toward this bluff, then follow this shore until you come out into the mouth of Long Island & Stanley Peninsula where you take a right at the piling marker to the east & head up the main Naselle River.

Farther upriver there is also a small WDFW launch on the East side of Highway 401, Southeast of the town of Naselle that is good for only smaller sleds or drift boats. Heading south from the town of Naselle on 401, one mile, turn left on the first road after the Naselle River bridge (South Valley Rd) & then almost immediately (100') another left on the Knapton Rd that appears to lead to a private parking lot. On the far north end of this gravel lot & on the river's edge is a deep slot cut down the river bank is a concrete slab ramp. However there is not a lot of current here so there will be some mud on these launch pads.

Also in this section of the river, it can be fished much like the upriver Willapa from a boat.

For salmon above the Highway 101 bridge, minimum size 12". Daily limit 6 up to 3 adults may be retained. Up to 2 may be wild Chinook. Up to 2 may be wild Coho. Release Chum. Above Highway 101 bridge, catch & release except 2 hatchery Steelhead may be retained. For salmon, minimum size 12". Daily limit 6 up to 3 adults may be retained. Release Wild Chinook, Wild Coho, & Chum. Other restrictions apply near the hatchery.

Long Island, National Wildlife Refuge boat launch & dock	Long Island, National Wildlife Refuge boat launch