Willapa & Other Rivers above the actual "Bay"

Upriver Willapa:    Later in the salmon season after the fish move upstream, 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 Weyerhaueser mill , or use the Raymond City Park launch if a high tide.  Farther upriver is the last launch at the mouth of Wilson Creek.

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.

Raymond City Park launch at about a -1.0 tide

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 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, thru the old town of Old Willapa & across the 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.

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 tide difference here will be at least 2 hours after the ocean tide.  Some 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 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 to Aberdeen.

Willapa River from Raymond to the upper tidewater

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.  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, many times you can feel the keel encounter a stick & if you are fast, reel in enough to get the lure above it.

Typical tackle set-ups

However lately I am thinking a large Spi-N-Glo with a gob of eggs rigged as if I was trolling the lower bay with a shorter & lighter 8" dropper & 4" of 1/4" pencil lead for a sinker is the way to go.   The Spi-N-Glo color would not be critical except it be bright enough to be seen in the murky water.  What this dropper & sinker does is to run interference & if it does get snagged the lead will pull off or the dropper will break, allowing you to recover your lure.  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.   You might consider taking extra droppers & pencil lead however just in case.

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.   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 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.  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.

A foggy cold October morning

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

Farther upriver there is also a small gravel launch on the East side of the Hiway Southwest of the town of Naselle that is good for only smaller sleds or drift boats. This is also a river that can be fished like the upriver Willapa.

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 & no hatchery.  The upper section of this river will be only fishable from the bank.   There is no hatchery here so only wild fish are returning to this river.

Nemaha River:  This river has no launch & is best fished from the bank.