Late in the year the lower Chehalis can drop so low and clear that you see every stone in the tailouts, and the river fills with fish anyway. Coho push in through October and November with chum behind them, and the winter
steelhead start in December. A salmon hatchery sits a short way above the mouth, and this short river is one of the main feeders of the Harrison’s runs.
Get the shape of it first. The river leaves Chehalis Lake high in a logged valley north of Harrison Mills and runs south beside a gravel road. Near the bottom it squeezes through a small canyon, then spreads into a short, fairly flat stretch before it meets the Harrison. That makes three parts worth knowing: the lower river, the canyon, and the valley water below the lake.
The lower river is the one to start on. A road leaves Highway 7 just west of the Harrison bridge and follows the river up to a recreation site, where a day-use area and a riverside campground sit beside a road bridge. A fishermen’s trail runs along the bank from the campground, and the walking is easy. This is where you learn how fast the Chehalis rises and falls.
The canyon is the reward for a little scrambling. Cross the bridge, park in the dirt lot on the far side and follow the trail upstream into it. The footing is rough, the water is deeper and pushier between the walls, and it is where you look for summer steelhead from June into August.
Above the canyon the valley road climbs beside the river towards the lake, past the bridge where Statlu Creek comes in. Lake-bound traffic goes straight past it, and it is worth a stop on the way up. The last stretch below the lake, from the boundary signs at the outlet down to the main logging road bridge about 2.4 km downstream, is closed to fishing all year.
Down at the mouth the Chehalis gives itself to the Harrison, a bigger and slower river with cutthroat working its edges all winter. Up at the top, past the lake, the same river runs on towards Statlu Lake and the falls below it.
Fish in this water
Each fish is rated by its strongest evidence. A rating says how sure we are a fish is here, not how many there are, whether it is worth fishing for or whether you may keep it.
Confirmed
Recorded on this water in the last 15 years, or named for it by a fishery agency, its fishing rules or a fishing publication.
Likely
Older records here, recent stocking, a local guide or fly shop, a guide listing, or recent records on connected water nearby.
When to fish it
After the summer steelhead, September is often quiet, with the odd push of coho. October and November are the heart of the salmon season on the lower river and in the canyon, and the winter steelhead carry on into April. The whole river below the main logging road bridge is closed to fishing from 1 May to 31 May, so April is the last of the winter season on the canyon and lower river. Rain matters more than the calendar: coho schools move on rainy days, and the best fly water is the low, clear river a few days after a storm.
How to fish it
Bring a 7- or 8-weight for steelhead and coho, and a 5-weight if cutthroat are what you’re after. In clear water, get on the river at first light, before the sun is on it, and come at each pool from below so your shadow stays off the fish.
For steelhead in the canyon, swing a dark leech-style fly on a sink tip through the tail of each pool and the slots between boulders, a step between casts. If nothing moves after a pass, go deeper with a heavier tip before you go brighter. In the low water of summer, drop to a smaller, sparser fly on a floating line and fish the faster broken water at the head of the pool.
For coho, cast across the slower pools and strip back. Coho will follow a fly and turn away at the last moment, so change the retrieve speed, then the colour, before you leave a pool that holds fish. An egg-sucking leech is a good first fly, and for chum go to pink or purple. On the Harrison next door, small minnow and nymph patterns take the cutthroat, and they work here too: fish them in the slower water below spawning salmon in November.
Regulations
Region 2 rules apply. You must use a single barbless hook in all streams in the region, and your licence allows one line with one fly on it. Wild trout and char from streams must be released, and all wild steelhead must be released. You need a Conservation Surcharge Stamp on your basic licence to fish for steelhead, even if you release every fish. Salmon fishing is managed by Fisheries and Oceans Canada, so check its rules for chinook, coho and chum before you fish, along with any in-season changes to the provincial regulations.