Chehalis River Salmon Fishing upper river

The WDFW usually opens the Chehalis River for salmon fishing above the Porter bridge for spring salmon May 1 thru July 31 & for fall salmon, from the middle of October thru the end of February. Trout & Steelhead season is usually closed from April 16th thru May 31. The marine area code for punching your salmon punch card from the Porter Bridge to Black River is (317) above there to the high bridge on the Weyerhaeuser 1000 line above PeEll is code (315).

There are NOT a lot of boat launches in this stretch of water & the water is not a slow lowing river in many places, a jetsled is recommended. Bankfishing is somewhat limited by the combination of fishable water/banks & obtaining landowner permission.

(1) The lowest boat launch is at the Porter Bridge as described & shown on the article on fishing in tidewater.
(2) Oakville launch
(3) Black River launch
(4) Borst Park launch at Centralia

The Oakville launch is situated off Hiway 12. This launch is on the 1st road to the left as you exit Oakville going west & is on the Gate Elma Rd W. It is only out there about 1/4 mile from Hiway 12. Gravel parking for about a dozen vehicles & appears to have a spot for bank fishing just downstream from the launch. No signs off Hiway 12 or at the site indicating public fishing or boat launch.

The Black River launch while not on the Chehalis is close enough to access the main river. It is immediately downstream from Hiway 12 where it crosses Black River, about 2 1/2 miles east of Oakville. Gravel parking for a dozen vehicles. The Chehalis River is downriver about 2 miles as the crow flies, but farther by water as Black River winds around a bit before it empties into the Chehalis.

Black River launch	Downstream from the Black River launch

For the Borst Park launch, from I-5, at the Centralia northern exit onto Harrison Street (exit 82), go west 2 or 3 stoplights, (depending which side of the freeway you exited from). Between the 2nd & 3rd light Safeway will be on your left. At this 3rd light (Johnson Rd) get into the left turning lane. Turn left & head south, about 2 blocks there is a 4 way stop with the Centralia middle school beyond on the right. Go straight ahead & at the end of the school parking lot, the road tees at the ball fields. Turn right & then left. follow thru the ball field parking lots & ahead you will see the restored Borst home. There is a sign for Historic Borst home & boat launch with an arrow to the right, take the road to the right which will take you past a park maintenance shed. Just beyond this shed/lot is the launch parking on the left. The parking lot has chuck holes, & the park dept has dumped loads of dirt /gravel in the center as a dump/storage dwindling the parking area. However there are ball fields near with some parking areas that if not being used could act as an overflow.

When you leave, you do not have to go back the way you came, but can head west from the parking lot & then north & back into the residential area which will take you back to the 4 way stop at the school. You could come in this way also, but it is harder to describe.

The river here is really only conducive to prop outboards from the launch upstream at a mid water lever, as there are a few large rocks just above the launch area that eat props at low water. Above that is a lot of flat water where a prop boat could navigate, but not conducive to salmon or steelhead fishing until you get upstream to the town of Chehalis. Below this launch can be navigated for about a mile until you get to the bend shown below is Jetsleds or drift boats are usually used from the launch downriver toward Rochester.

Google map view of area described above with the flow from the right to left.

Above this launch about 300 yards or so is the mouth of the Skookumchuck River entering from the left. There is a trail thru the main park, south to a bankfishing area at the mouth of the Skookumchuck. In the city limits, east off Harrision Street "restaurant row" is Riverside Park with some access. Across the river is bank access from the Church of the Nazerene parking lot, but by a free parking permit only.

The mouth of the Skookumchuck at the far bend, looking upriver from the Borst Park launch	The Chehalis at the mouth of the Skookumchuck from the bank fishing spot on a foggy morning

The Skookumchuck itself has a run in it as there is a hatchery upriver. Coho & steelhead are the prime targets for this river. River access can be at the Schaffer Park on the northern edge of Centralia where the road Ys to the Centralia Steam Plant. Also river access upriver from Bucoda has a public access with limited hiway access but plenty of public walk-in below the parking lot. Above this public access, there is access to the river along the road up to the base of the dam.

Skookumchuck River at Riverside park in Centralia	Skookumchuck River at Schaffer Park

Most of the fishing in this area of the Chehalis will be from boats & will be from the Skookumchuck, downriver to below Rochester. About a mile downriver from this launch is a island & a corner riffle combined. This can be tricky for a jetsled, depending on the water flow for a first timer thru.

Above the Skookumchuck's entrance, the Chehalis River water is flat, slow flowing until you get upriver to the city of Chehalis. There are a couple of riffles behind the city of Chehalis & fishable water at the mouth of the Newaukum River. This hole at the mouth of the Newaukum can be bank fished with access from Alexander Park, which is accessible from the 1st road to the left after you cross the Hiway 6 bridge just west of I-5.

There will be fishable water in the Newaukum all the way up to Onalaska where there the school raises & releases Coho & steelhead. Again bank access would be the prime consideration.

Above the Newaukum River, the main Chehalis River is not really much fishing/holding water & from Adna upstream, only conducive to drift boat fishing, with only a few private gravel bars to launch or take out on.

There are a few bank access areas above Adna to the Rainbow Falls area. At the Boistfort area, the South Fork of the Chehalis empties into the main Chehalis. This picture below is taken off the railroad bridge crossing the South Fork just above where it meets the main river. This South Fork is closed to salmon fishing, but is open for trout & steelhead.

The South Fork of the Chehalis on right, looking downstream to the main river

Above the Boistfort/South Fork bridge about 3 miles on Hiway 6 (just past the garbage transfer site) is the River Rd to the right, down it about a mile or so on the corner is an unimproved parking area that leads to the river which is close by. Here is a deep hole with a rocky riffle above on a corner. This pool below has fishable water, but usually a float/bobber works best as there are large jagged rocks in the bottom, precluding drifting.

Here is a rocky riffle at Meskil	The upper head of the pool below the Meskil riffle

Above the Boistfort/South Fork bridge about 5 miles is Rainbow Falls State Park, which is right on Hiway 6. The pictures below were taken off the bridge across the river entering the park's picnic/camping area. There is parking along the wide shoulder of the hiway at this area & a trail down to the falls under the bridge from the upstream hiway side.

This falls will usually stop fall salmon migration until the fall rains raise it enough to allow fish passage, & they usually use the LH side channel as most salmon can not jump the falls.

Rainbow Falls showing the LH side channel	Pool below the falls