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[sgodwin]

This weekend I'm going kayaking on Harrison Lake and am really hoping to take advantage of some salmon fishing on the Harrison River.  I just started fishing in freshwater systems this year and have found Rod's articles and this forum immensely helpful in learning the ropes.  I've only fished for pinks so far this year, so have been doing some research on what species are in the Harrison system right now and what I should use to target them.

Has anyone been to Harrison recently that could provide an update?  It looks like coho will be the best bet, and I think I will try fishing with spoons and spinners before roe.  I can't remember the model of my rod and reel right now, but I will be casting with an 8' rod and using 12lb test.

I found a general article on Harrison River fishing by Rod, which was very helpful to start me off (http://www.fishingwithrod.com/articles/region_two/harrison_river.html).  Does anybody have any general advice for a beginner to coho fishing in rivers, useful online resources where I can find more information myself, or recommendations for specific spinners or spoons that I might try on my first time out?

I do of course understand the species- and region-specific rules and regulations with regards to retention.

Cheers.

[RalphH]

Where will you access the river and are shore fishing or from a kayak?

Best not to access from Harrison Lake as it is a long paddle from there to where salmon fishing is best and it is generally best from the Chehalis River confluence downstream. From the Kilby Park - Highway 7 bridge you can put in either at the park or the private launch on the western bank by the bridge. There are good possibilities all along there.

For coho most standard lures work well - Spinners spoons (Crocs in 1/4 to 3/8th etc). Harrison coho have a reputation for favouring blue on the lure - I just usually use a #3 gold spinner.

For chum I mostly use flies and not surprising jigs in pink, purple etc have become popular as these look very much like favoured chum flies.

There isn't a lot of water suited to float and bait. There is a lot of weed in some sections. If the water is high fish don't tend to stay in the river much but move into the tributaries or into the lake. The lower section is greatly influenced by levels in the Fraser. General advice fish the Harrison  when it is low otherwise look for other opportunities.

[sgodwin]

Thanks so much for the response, Ralph.  Your info helped me a lot!  I didn't have a computer with me for the last couple days, so saw your post on my phone and decided to wait to reply.

I ended up kayaking from the lake to Kilby (we dropped one car off beforehand in Kilby).  It was a great day.  There's a tributary that about halfway between the lake and Kilby that had hundreds of chum, pink, and sockeye (surprised me).  So many that they were hitting the boat and we left so we didn't disturb them so much.  I fished on and off on my way down as we got closer to Kilby.  I primarily used a 1/4 oz spoon with a blue stripe, but switched to a few others throughout the day as well.  No one around seemed to be getting into any coho, only chum.

Thanks again!

[RalphH]

You're welcome. That was Morris Creek and it has a large sockeye run plus a spawning channel that can host over 20,000 fish. It's worth a visit.