08-24 REELLIFE print digital - Flipbook - Page 14
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Five Coastal Salmon
Rivers to Check Out
By Brent Knight
Summer is upon us and
for many of us, that means
that our home rivers are
closed to fishing to protect
ESA-listed wild Chinook.
As a result, we are looking
forward to fall when
we begin to see runs of
Coho and Chum salmon
flooding into our rivers with
increasing opportunities
to catch them. Fingers
crossed! It is anyone’s guess
what WDFW will do and
many of us are eagerly
awaiting news concerning
our seasons, emergency
closures, and changes
in general. Keeping this
in mind, let’s look at five
coastal river systems
to check out that could
present great opportunities.
Let’s start on the Northern
Coast and work our way
South. For the sake of this
article, the focus will be
from Forks in the North to
Grays Harbor in the South.
There are other coastal river
systems South of Grays
Harbor, but we are going to
focus on the most popular
systems.
QUILLAYUTE RIVER SYSTEM
The Quillayute empties
into the Pacific Ocean at
La Push, Washington. The
Quillayute River is formed
by the confluence of the
Bogachiel River, Calawah
River , and the Sol Duc
River near the town of
Forks, WA. The Dickey
River joins the Quillayute
from the north, just above
the river's mouth at the
Pacific Ocean. Though it is
world-renowned as a winter
Steelhead mecca, this
system also receives returns
of all five species of salmon.
With spring and summer
Chinook salmon returning
in lower numbers than
expected, the Quillayute
river system, including the
Bogachiel, Calawah, Dickey,
Sitkum, and Sol Duc rivers,
as well as Thunder Creek
closed to all fishing on July
15.
