Anglers can do just fine from bank

FORKS — Steelhead fishing is not just limited to drift boats in this neck of the woods.

In fact, bank anglers can find fairly easy access to most rivers.

Jim Mansfield, a guide for Olympic Peninsula Fishing, and Mike Price, with Grizzly Charters in Forks, offer their advice on where to go bank fishing in the northern Olympic Peninsula area.

Bogachiel River: The most popular bank spots are the Bogachiel rearing ponds hatchery down to the Forks Hole near the confluence of the Bogachiel and Calawah rivers, and the rocky banks along the Tall Timber Hole. Road access to these areas is off the La Push Road at about milepost 4 on the left side of the road at the blue gate. This road is owned and maintained by Rayonier Timber Division, and leftover trash will close this road to access. Please pack out the trash.

Calawah River: Head to the back of Bogachiel Hatchery, then to the first parking lot on the right that comes down the hill. This is a walk-in only and handicap-access area. It is about a 10-minute walk to get to the riverbank of the Calawah North Pond.

Soleduck River: This is pretty much devoid of bank access because of private land, but there are two ideal spots. On the La Push Road at about milepost 7 on the right-hand side is a road called D3000. At the end of that road there is a place called the Sand Rock Hole, which has good bank access. The other is the Bark Hole on the Goodman Mainline north side of the La Push road at about milepost 5.

Hoh River: Best bank-access river on the Olympic Peninsula. There are good bank areas along both sides of the Lower Hoh, and they can be accessed by driving along the Lower Hoh Road (Oil City Road) on the river's north side and Highway 101 on the south side. Barlow's Bar at the mouth of the Hoh river is private land. Fishing from the bank is free, and boaters must pay a $5 user's fee to take out.

Quillayute River: The Richwhine Bar is a great spot for bank anglers and access is at Ford Road. This is a private-access area and there is a pay window; it costs $5 to fish. Make sure to drive slow, as it's a private drive. Bank anglers can also fish at the Olympic National Park's Mora Campground, located off Highway 110 on Mora Road.

Lower Queets River: There is a lot of good bank access on the lower river. From Forks, head south on Highway 101 and turn north (take a left) onto Queets River Road at the Grays Harbor-Jefferson county line. Follow the road, which roughly parallels the river from the Salmon River upstream, about 14 miles.

The Clearwater River, a tributary of Queets, has tiny spots to fish along the bank, but you'll have walk through dense tangles of second-growth trees to find them.

Fishing tactics

For the novice steelhead angler, knowing where to fish can be as hard as catching one.

Look for long, smooth flows where deep holes often attract steelhead, or a sunken log, patches of boulders, overhanging trees and rocky ledges.

Structure breaks where the current ripples provide cover from predators. The tail of a river's pool, where the current is soft, is another good place to try.

Anglers who find a river with a dropping water level, coming off a flood with colored water and a foot or two of visibility, have found the prime conditions.

How fish runs are faring

This year, the Quillayute has the most robust wild run in the state, while the Queets could be bouncing back from recent problems.

"I heard in the Queets river system they have fish coming out of their ears," said Bill Freymond, the head state Fish and Wildlife coastal fish biologist.

The only place of concern is the Hoh River, because it was hit really hard from winter floods.

In the coming few months, anglers can expect the wild steelhead runs to grow, and more anglers are turning to catching and releasing wild steelhead.

"We're right in the key transition period, and last weekend we saw a quite a switch in wild to hatchery fish catches," Freymond said. "By middle-to-late February, the wild-fish run should be nearing its peak."