Northwest Fishing Reports

Hey everyone, for those who are familiar with the Cowlitz, and or plunking, I am looking for some info. I have very limited experience plunking in rivers for salmon, but for many different reasons I figured I would give it a shot this weekend rather than head to the combat zone at barrier.
I copied the setup above as best I could from a magazine article that had no accompanying pictures. It simply consists of a two hook spin'n'glo as the terminal, a heavier section of line for the weight, and a diving plug slid down the line above that. I have a bunch of the standard colors of tackle and just plan to cycle through them. As for bait, I will take along some home cured eggs, as well as sand shrimp scent and probably some raw grocery store prawns. I would like sand shrimp, but we don't seem to have any up north anymore. Maybe I will see if I can pick some up down there.

From what I hear, you don't have to cast far to get into the fish, but that casting into seams or around structure is always a good idea (no surprise there).

And finally, I have done some reading on a few potentials spots to plunk on the mid to lower Cowlitz, including Mission Bar, the I5 launch, Olequa gravel bar, the mouth of the Toutle and the Hoyer Road access. Note however that I have been to none of those spots myself, so I am just going on what I have read.

All this being said, can anyone offer advice on these spots or my proposed plunking technique (or plunking in general)?

Ok, I grew up in Castle Rock. I'm going to try to help you out. Ok so, the mouth of the toutle is a lot like the war zone up at the barrier. Lol shoulder to shoulder. It's a snagging spot. Across the river, on chapman road, you can plunk there. It works really well. Camelot, that's the castle rock end of Hoyer. For the good fishing spots, get there early. Olequa is a nice place but the locals can be a bit on the rude side.

Back to the mouth of the toutle, regardless of what side you're on, you have to contend with idiots on the bank and lots of guides and other boaters. That slot through there is really skinny. Plunking is a good way if your just there to have a relaxing time. But the way I have had the most luck on is drifting eggs.

I hope this has helped. Oh and as far as bait, pretty much the only place to get tackle and bait is 4 corners general store.

Good info, thanks!

Be sure to tell us how you did!

Well, my first outing, which was purely plunking, got me nothing. My second outing was much better (the one I just posted a report about), but I wasn't plunking.