Fishing with Rod Discussion Forum
Fishing in British Columbia => General Discussion => Topic started by: Plshelpnoobhere on December 02, 2024, 12:45:32 PM
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So, I'm new to Chehalis (and BC fishing in general), and I've only been up to the river two or three times. I saw many old threads on this river, but most are 10+ years old at this point, so I'm starting a new one. I had a few questions, especially about the upper part of the river.
- Every time I've been up to the campsite bridge, the forest service road that goes up to the logging bridge has had its gate closed (circled in red here: https://imgur.com/a/ekCCDgL). Is this ever open? Or am I supposed to take the turnoff circled in blue in the same photo? I saw many old threads mentioning rafting/kayaking from Statlu down to the bridge so I'm assuming you can get a car up to the logging bridge? Or is it all a hike?
- Are there any good/non-zombie salmon in the upper pools from A: logging bridge down to Statlu and B: from Statlu down to lower bridge in late fall? Like December?
- How is the winter steelhead fishing in those same A & B areas?
Would appreciate any info, thanks
Note: I am aware of both the dangers of the river/canyon and the fact that the Vedder is a much easier and more fruitful proposition. I'm purposefully looking for more remote/adventure fishing. If you have any suggestions for similarly challenging, wild, beautiful, and fishable rivers in LML, please let me know, thanks
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Past Sasquatch Inn you need to take the first left onto the Chehalis Forest Service Road and not continue on the Morris Valley Road to the hatchery.
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- Are there any good/non-zombie salmon in the upper pools from A: logging bridge down to Statlu and B: from Statlu down to lower bridge in late fall? Like December?
- How is the winter steelhead fishing in those same A & B areas?
I used to do this in the summer in a pair of shorts and old running shoes back when I was young and the summer steelhead fishing was good. I never attempted it during the rainy/winter season.
A combination of walking/floating down Statlu Creek to where it flows into the Chehalis with a small dingy. That's what I did. You must start early in the morning, and I'm talking August when you had 15 hours of daylight. You absolutely must leave a minimum of 5 hours of float time to get down to Morris Valley Rd, or you that could be the end of you. I would fish, then float, then fish, then float....you get the picture. I basically hit 10-20 pools in a day depending on how good each pool was. There were also some decent red springs back in the day that were in pretty good shape still toward the lower part.
Once I exited the Statlu, I was left with about 6 or 7 hours of premium pools to fish for summer run steelhead.
Do not attempt this at anything but lower water conditions. There are fallen trees with branches dangling in the river that will flip your boat. You better be good at padding to avoid them. A few places have them on both sides and you have to shoot right down the middle of the river with zero hesitation.
The other option is to hike back up Statlu creek, but that removes all but 2 or 3 pools to fish. This still requires you to get your dingy up a little bit of current. Impossible in high water.
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I used to do this in the summer in a pair of shorts and old running shoes back when I was young and the summer steelhead fishing was good. I never attempted it during the rainy/winter season.
A combination of walking/floating down Statlu Creek to where it flows into the Chehalis with a small dingy. That's what I did. You must start early in the morning, and I'm talking August when you had 15 hours of daylight. You absolutely must leave a minimum of 5 hours of float time to get down to Morris Valley Rd, or you that could be the end of you. I would fish, then float, then fish, then float....you get the picture. I basically hit 10-20 pools in a day depending on how good each pool was. There were also some decent red springs back in the day that were in pretty good shape still toward the lower part.
Once I exited the Statlu, I was left with about 6 or 7 hours of premium pools to fish for summer run steelhead.
Do not attempt this at anything but lower water conditions. There are fallen trees with branches dangling in the river that will flip your boat. You better be good at padding to avoid them. A few places have them on both sides and you have to shoot right down the middle of the river with zero hesitation.
The other option is to hike back up Statlu creek, but that removes all but 2 or 3 pools to fish. This still requires you to get your dingy up a little bit of current. Impossible in high water.
Makes sense. I'll be doing it on foot this winter. I'll drive in as far as I can and then just hike from dawn until dusk. Thanks for the info
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.....as Ralph said acces to upper river/statlu is at the 4 way stop past the sasquatch...blue circle is prison road, red circle is gravel pit..... no access......in winter snow can greatly impact and restrict access on the service road....from what I have seen road only gets plowed to statlu gravel pit...about 10 km......sometimes even impassable 2 or 3 km up...and don't expect much more info than you have been given .....some would say it is already too much.....info on remote and smaller systems is not readily given up in private let alone on an internet forum...
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there are few or no summer steelhead in Chehalis since the program to stock it was cancelled 5 years ago.
Also please note Statlu Creek is closed to fishing all year.
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there are few or no summer steelhead in Chehalis since the program to stock it was cancelled 5 years ago.
Also please note Statlu Creek is closed to fishing all year.
Inquiring specifically about the winter steelhead stock
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The Chehalis is easily the most difficult winter run fishery in the lower mainland both because of access and low numbers. The access to the upper canyon is pretty sketchy to say the least. Most of the access points have been deactivated. Which means your hiking a good long ways to get anywhere above the bridge. As far as the fishing goes the winter run is quite small and difficult to catch.
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Winter runs on the Chehalis are far and few between. I had a magical day there one February a few years ago and fished the entire lower end from the campground down to the big log jam with no one else around on perfect water conditions. Felt like I was on a remote river. I covered a ton of water and landed and released one fresh chrome wild doe. Careful in the canyons I recently lost a friend that went in there by himself. He was an experienced angler and very familiar with the canyon area. More than likely slipped and fell in and was swept away. He was found on the Harrison river by a sturgeon guide boat two weeks later. Be careful.
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Winter runs on the Chehalis are far and few between. I had a magical day there one February a few years ago and fished the entire lower end from the campground down to the big log jam with no one else around on perfect water conditions. Felt like I was on a remote river. I landed and released one fresh chrome wild doe. Careful in the canyons I recently lost a good friend that went in there by himself. He was an experienced angler and very familiar with the canyon area. More than likely slipped and fell in and was swept away. He was found on the Harrison river by a sturgeon guide boat. Take care.
I'm sorry about your loss.
Part of the allure is the remoteness and the danger but sometimes it can bite. On a remote river in Europe, me and my friend once fell through the ice. Luckily our car was close so we were OK.
Too bad about the small winter runs. I'll still try it out - even if I don't catch anything, its a beautiful river.
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Im gonna offer one word of advice.
Having fished the upper canyon lots in years past, please do not not fish it alone. And consider fishing it without snow and ice on the ground on your first visits. The canyon has offered its share of mishaps for friends and I who have somehow been experienced enough to make it back to the truck.
I was shown this river by another experienced angler some 30 years ago and most should not be scrambling around for their first time in the winter without prior visits in good weather conditions. Like others have said, the steelhead numbers are not what they used to be and rather elusive when considering the amount of water one needs to cover or just cant cover in the canyon areas.
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There are a few easy access points to the river from the road, to Statlu & the lake.
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If you have any suggestions for similarly challenging, wild, beautiful, and fishable rivers in LML, please let me know, thanks
To echo what others have said, fishing the Chehalis Canyon on your own is very risky. Probably the most dangerous fishing you can do in the LM. To me its not worth it even if it was full of steelhead.
I would recommend exploring the upper Squamish valley. Seems that you don't mind slow fishing days and non retention. The entire upper Squamish after about km10 marker all the way to Elaho confluence is fishable and relatively safe, and can yield bull trout, resident rainbows, fresh Coho until mid/late December and the very odd wild Steelhead. You won't see many people and arguably is one of the most beautiful and untouched places you can fish 3 hours away from Vancouver. Just take usual precautions and you will be fine. Just keep in mind there is no hatchery support and all fishing is C&R, so please treat them with respect
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There are Grizzlies in the Squamish Valley. Steelhead fishing was usually best in the spring, mid March into May until the start of the spring freshet.
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It really is a beautiful river with its own secrets. I have had multiple fish days on that river and have been skunked many times. Water levels and timing are beyond key. Too high and the fish shoot through along the edges...too low and you spook them before you ever make a cast. Steelheading is tough at the best of times but more so on that river because so little is accessible and it changes every year. What was a nice slot or pool that held fish the year before has changed and the fish hold elsewhere. That is the beauty of it....never the same other than the Bible Camp run. My experience with the Chehalis goes back 20+ years and if you find one there is a good chance you or somebody else will find another in the area. Good luck out there and stay safe.