Hardly more than a brook at first, it grows quickly in size and strength and rumbles out of the mountains a full-fledged river with great sound and vigor and passes into the canyons of the Hoh Rain Forest.
From the forest it flows on to the brief coastal plain, dropping more
gently now, restless in its passage, sprawling out and drawing in, seeking new channels as it
passes through land scarred from logging. A short river as rivers go, it moves quickly from
its source to where it meets the tide and is lost suddenly in the Pacific breakers."-from the timeless book The Year of the Angler by Steve Raymond
The Hoh is a very sensitive river throughout the year, quickly turning to latte brown at
even the slightest hint of rain--in the summer, a hot day will do the river in by melting
the glacier a bit too fast. In the winter, the Hoh is always the first river to blow out and the last to
drop back in. When it is fishable, it can be one of the most productive rivers in the state.
There is a good run of fish in this famous river nearly year round. In the winter you can count
on good numbers of steelhead. In the late spring, the summer kings start arriving and are soon
followed by good numbers of summer run steelhead. Then in the fall some of the biggest salmon
in the state are making their way upstream under the usual cover of muddy water and floodlike
conditions. Check the regs as the seasons can be fickle and it have been known to close if
escapement numbers do not materialize for any of its noted anadromous runs.
Jim Mansfield
Mar. 10, 2001
Thanks to: roy murdock
fishing with guide jeff saharah from the sol duc inn lodge a friend and I hooked 6 steelhead landed only 2 but lost a third at the net . jeff was great to fish with and his lodge was a great value and place to stay,his wife cooks a awesome breakfast and packs you an awesome lunch to boot! the fish were just mint bright and full of fight.
Oct. 13, 2000
Thanks to: Dave Weitl
Today I fished with my friend Keith McDonald and guide Jim Mansfield in the upper section of the Hoh. We decided to avoid the crowds and fish the upper "catch & release" water above Ox Bow. As usual Jim offers my guest the first plug in the water and after a couple of strokes, wham! Keith labors a little too hard, but does manage to get in the nice coho in the 13-pound class. We snap a couple photos and row back to the top of the hole only to give Keith another try and after about 10 strokes, wham! This time it really goes down and he is fast into a very feisty king. After what seemed like hours, Keith finally lands this nice king of about 28 pounds. Well it must be my turn by now, so we row back up and I get the rod, nothing. After about a half-hour we decide to head on downstream. Keith continued to benefit from Mansfield's steering to the tune of another 5 or 6 silvers before Jim finally turns the boat in my direction and I get my first silver of the day. All in, we had a great day with master guide Mansfield. He never lets us down and always educates and entertains us along the way. Thanks Jim, can't wait for the next time we get a chance to be on the river with you!
Feb. 25, 2000
Thanks to: Bill Herzog
Bank fished two areas today, started at Owl Creek and finished the day in the Coons Bar area, just above Morgan's Crossing. Fly fished all day (sorry, gear dudes) with a 15 foot, 160 grain sink tip, 10 lb. tippet and a #2 black bunny leach, pretty much standard issue for the unusually clear flows the Hoh was sporting. No steelhead in the Owl Creek area, just one Dolly Varden/bull trout, but it was a honker, 26 inches and fought well. Hooked two steelhead in the Coons Bar runs, one a 10 pound summer run buck still in remarkably good shape, and one fabulous hen around 14 pounds that was as new as could be. Both struck a light pink 2/0 rabbit strip fly fished down and across on a swing. Great day. The river around Coons Bar had a bit of color due to clay bleeds immediately upriver.
Feb. 20, 2000
Thanks to: chromer
Floated the Hoh with Jim Mansfield today. Although we didn't have any success, it was a good day out on the waters. The rivers needed a good shot of rain, 'cuz by the reports that day, fish were slim to none existent. If anyone wants a great experience with the river systems in the Forks area, I would suggest you book a float with Jim Mansfield in the year 2001, 'cuz he's FULL until late April. Thanks Jim.
Nov. 29, 1999
Thanks to: Mike Oxlong
Well the fishing sure has been better, however, me and my wife happened to land three kings between 24 lbs. and 32 lbs. We started out pitching corkies and yarn with little success. Then we threw eggs, wich produced the nice kings, and numerous jacks. Who needs a guide? See ya out there next weekend!
Nov. 3, 1999
Thanks to: Denny McBreen
The next morning we talked to Jim Mansfield and decided that we didn't want to fight everyone else on the Sol Duc. So even though the Hoh was pretty high, we decided to explore it and take our chances. Jim said there would be some fish in the river, but they might not be willing to bite. He was sure right about fish being in the river! And he experimented until he found the right combination to entice the kingers. Conditions weren't very good, but we managed to boat six and keep three, in the 24 to 36 lb. range, out of eleven strikes. This guy knows how to fish! You want an excellent boat ride and exceptional fishing, fish with the best, not the rest.
Oct. 15, 1999
Thanks to: Pam Sandmann
Went out yesterday (Oct. 15, 1999) with our guide of 12 yrs. plus, Jim Mansfield, and did excellent. Got 1 silver and 3 Kings on the Hoh, beautiful bright chromers - the biggest being around 25-lbs. There were a lot of people out there, more than I've ever seen - but once we were in the Hoh we didn't see anyone until we got out, but you have to take note we were with Jim and he is an aggressive guide with a keen sense of where the fish are, and what to use to get them.
Oct. 3-4, 1999
Thanks to: = Mike "No I'm not cold" S.
As my buddy Llyod and I suspected, the rivers are low and waiting for rain. The Hoh was low as I've ever seen it, many of the good drifts are almost exposed. Managed a couple cuts and dollies but everyone and the fish are waiting for rain. There were quite alot of darkening silvers holed up and skitterish at the Sol Duc hatchery. Kudos to the young man who caught one flyfishing. Sure hope enough rain falls during the week to give the rivers a boost...PS: My moniker refers to what driftboaters say and the funny looks they give me when they see me wading wet in shorts and tennis shoes and they aren't expecting to see any "bankies."
Oct. 1, 1999
Thanks to: Josh Hughes - Kitsap Sports
The River was still to low for large numbers of silvers. There were still a lot of kings present, but hard to catch without a boat. The silvers, and suprisingly some pinks were hitting eggs, while most of the kings seem to have been caught using Wiggle Warts, or K14 KwikFish. The larger numbers of fish were located on the lower portions of the river by Oil City. I would suggest waiting for a couple of weeks in order for some rain to push the fish in!
Aug. 14, 1999
Thanks to: Jim Mansfield
The summer King fishery on the Hoh is still hanging on. I fished the Hoh River the last two days the day before yesterday Mike Schookman hooked a fish we never saw... till after a huge 25 minute battle we finally got this MONSTER tipping the scale at 49 pounds! We thought it would be only right to have this fish mounted. I will post the pictures as soon as Dov sends them to me. What a fish, biggest this summer. Yesterday with Dov Schookman and his two boys, again, a great day hooking 4 kings boating three a 38 35 25 and a bonus summer run steelhead (8 pound hatchery fish). I'll post those pics too.I've hooked six kings in the last week. This is the month for summer runs. The fall king fishing is on its way. I've heard of a few silvers starting to show in the Quillayute and Sol Duc Rivers. The Game Department is saying it is going to be the best for MONSTER coho. Last year it was great, the biggest was 18 pounds. With the Canadians not fishing for coho, the rivers will be swarming with fish.
Last year the biggest fall king was 57 pounds caught by Jim Davis (owner of Pioneer Builders Supply Co.). Hooked and boated it, what a fish! It was caught in the first week of November. If anyone is looking for a great time and a fun fishing trip, call now and book a day of fishing the days are going fast. Remember: fish with the best not the rest!
Aug. 1, 1999
Thanks to: Ron Sanderson
River was way to high. Tried to repeat our great fishing we had last year on kings but could'nt get across the river to fish the deep pools. I plan to go back later when the weather cools down to get some silt out of the river. Well have many hookups!
July 17, 1999
Thanks to: Denny McBreen
We started our morning at 4:30 am with breakfast at the local diner. Hit the river at 5:45 and floated towards the first hole. At 7:10 we had the first bite, a 38-pounder! What a fight, and what a fish--as bright as a brand new dime with sea lice on the tail. It headed for a submerged root ball, but Jim pulled it back into the channel. Shauni, my 17 year old daughter, hooked another (32 pounds) that we boated at 7:50 to make our limit. I'll tell you--this guy can catch fish!!!I've fished with other guides and it doesn't get any better than fishing with Mansfield! As we floated down river to the takeout, we were very happy and content to have a fish a piece. But Jim said that he knew there would be a fish in the pocket at the next bend. "Let's catch him," he said. We put the gear out, Jim took 5 backstrokes on the oars, and WHAM!--a 36 pound hen grabbed the lure. 25 minutes and two rapids later Jim netted my daughter's fish. What a beauty! Fresh out out of the ocean, chrome bright and full of sea lice.
I've fished with Jim for about 13 years now, and I've fished the Calawah and Sol Duc for steelhead and the Hoh for King salmon and have yet to be skunked. I've caught some monsters, and I've caught some average-sized fish. If you are looking for a great river float, and the possibility of 50+ pound Kings or 25+ pound Steelhead, you need to "Fish with the best, not with the rest."
July 16, 1999
Thanks to: Jim Mansfield
Great News! The Hoh River is finally open for one adult King a day which makes it nice to be able to keep one if you want. Today we fished the Hoh hooked into a fish that we fought for 20 minutes before we ever saw it. We didn't weigh it because we let it go, I estimated it to be 40 plus, nice BIG buck-chrome bright and FUN to fight. We had four others on and boated two others, both were 25 plus, we let them go too. It was smokin' hot the last week of June hooking 4 to 7 a day, then it died off. Now more are coming in thick, no wonder they opened it, the Native Americans want to go back fishing. Remember August is a great time for catch and release on monster kings in the upper river if you want to have some fun, pack your bag and go west. Fish with the best not the rest. Keep the tip up and let it RUN.
Jan. 3, 1999
Thanks to: Jim Mansfield
The Hoh river is still a little high, it should be fishable in a few more days.
Dec. 27, 1998
Thanks to: Jim Mansfield
The Hoh River Rain Forest Road is fixed, wait till you see the changes on the
river you'll think your on a different river.
Dec. 16, 1998
Thanks to: Jim Mansfield
The river has changed big time, from every put-in the holes aren't the same.
Cottonwood is all changed, Nolan Creek and G&L Shake, they're all differnt. The
upper Hoh Rain Forest Road washed out again so if your planning to put in at Morgan's
Crossing, you won't be able to until fixed. The road crews are fixing it now.
Dec. 5, 1998
Thanks to Jim Mansfield
NEW NEWS: the Nolan Creek Bar road will not be closed. The State acquired different
land for their wetlands project. The Hoh hasn't come down long enough to see if
there's any fish. There usually in in December. The Hoh has a strong run of hatchery
fish that last till mid January.
Sept. 27, 1998
Thanks to: Jim Mansfield
Starting the morning at Cottonwood, had my client stay with the boat while we went to spot
the truck and trailer, telling him to fish while we were gone. Came back to him fighting
and landing a very nice summer-run steelhead weighing 10 pounds (hatchery fish). We went
on down the river and after a few hours and getting lower on the river we hooked a silver.
After a HUGE fight it got off. The next hole down we hooked another silver and landed it:
14 pounds, nice fish! Fished the rest of the way down with no more bites but saw a few BIG
fish in the very low and super clear water. The rest of the rivers are very low and clear,
silvers in the deep spots but very spooky, when we get some rain watch out the kings will
file in and stack like cord wood. The word around La Push is that this is going to be
the best run yet, they are getting some nice fish in the nets at the mouth of the
Quilayute river. We need a rain dance.
Sept. 5-6, 1998
Thanks to: Jeff Jackson
Backpacked in on the Hoh River for the Labor Day weekend, 8 miles up from the
Visitor's Center. Caught and released 7 Dolly Varden better than 5 lbs., a couple
over 8 lbs. All hooked on Vibrax spinners, color did not seem to matter
(I mainly fished copper and silver). Fishing seemed to be much better in
the morning because the river would come up 4-5 inches every afternoon, I
guess because of glacial runoff. Did not run into any other people fishing.
River was milky (from runoff) and water temp. was 56 degrees.
August 27, 1998
Thanks to: Maurice Austin
Very low water in the Hoh, caught a few whitefish and small sea-run cutts up
around the old bridge pools. Early Thursday morning snuck outta camp at Minnie
Peterson and drifted sand shrimp through some holes...I was using a pretty heavy
8 1/2 ft. rod with 20# test main and 3 ft of 6# test leader. Had given up, I
mean, the sun came up and it started to get warm quick, and I was just standing
there making practice cast after practice cast in the tail end of a small pool
when donga-donga-dong! Got that vibe and set the hook in something, didn't
know what at first. It shot upstream twenty yards and I followed, then held it
there for five minutes or so. It jumped twice and didn't look that big,
maybe 10-12 lbs, then drifted down, then up, then down...I'm steering it through
these log plies each way. Finally bank it and get a good look at it...a
hatchery steelie, my scales put it at 7 lbs. What fun! That little guy fought
like a salmon twice it's weight!
June 13, 1998
Thanks to: Dave Weitl
I got another chance to fish the Hoh with my lovely wife BJ. It seems that after all the years
I have been fishing, I finally figured one thing out. That one thing may make the biggest
difference in your future fishing success. Well, what is it? Bring along a child or a woman
and your success rate will go way up. It just seems that every time I am lucky enough to be
able to fish with my wife we have the greatest success. I am convinced that there is something
that women and children have that attracts fish to your boat.
We learned on Friday that the Hoh Indians had decided to have another "Ceremonial" netting
on Thursday and Friday. That makes 5 days of the week that they had nets in the water,
again. Their co-management agreement with the State allows for only 48-hours of netting
each week right now. Yet they are insisting that they have some kind of ceremony that
requires netting the river virtually every day of the week. It is getting a little
ridiculous. I called the Hoh fish management office and found out that in fact there
was a "ceremonial" netting permit granted for both Thursday and Friday of this week,
again.
Well BJ and I decided that it would be worth the trip if the Indians would keep their nets
out of the river for just one day so that we would have a chance of catching a fish on the
lower drift. After numerous calls to various people at the tribal offices, BJ finally received
a return call from the fish manager that assured her there would be no nets on the river on
Saturday, so off we went.
We put in at Cottonwood and floated about 3-1/2 hours before hitting our first fish. I was
rowing and had my rod out to the left side of the boat when I noticed a large bright king
roll below the boat. I also noticed that it had something pink in its mouth. It took a few
seconds for my brain to process the fact that I was using a pink plug and that fish must
be hooked! Even though my rod never went down I grabbed it and reeled as fast as I could,
finally catching up with the fish. Then the fun began. This fish was on its way upstream,
whether I had my plug and line attached or not, it didn't seem to make any difference to
this fish. It was screaming upstream and I was watching as my line began disappearing off
the reel. Earlier that morning I decided to add about 100 yards of 20# test line to the end
of the 30# test that was on the reel. That turned out to be a good decision.
BJ took over the oars and after about a 15 minute battle we landed a beautiful 35-pound hen
that was as bright as a chinook can be with that magenta hue they have when you catch them
in the saltwater.
In the next hole BJ hooked a summer-run steelhead and another monster king that was on for
no more than 15-20 seconds before completely straightening 2 of the hooks! That was my fault.
BJ had suggested that I change those hooks after the steelhead that we released had shown the
ability to bend them. Well you know how well men like to take direction. That was all the
action we would see that day, but we were satisfied nonetheless.June 7, 1998
Thanks to: Dave Weitl
Took a couple of friends from my home town of Fairfield, CA to the Hoh in search of the
mighty summer Chinook. Neither Scott nor Jerry had ever fished for salmon before so they
were obviously excited. To make matters worse for their anxiety, I had to filet the 35-pounder
that BJ had taken the week before in front of them on Saturday. Now they were really wound
up about the prospects of catching one of the best fighting, not to mention best eating,
chinook in Washington.
We floated the lower section from Cottonwood to Barlow's at first light, but finished the day
without a salmon. We only had one opportunity all day, which turned out to be a 7-pound Dolly
Varden.
We did get to watch clients of Jim Mansfield
hook and land 2 large chinook and one bright summer run steelhead. We rowed up beside Jim on
Sunday and when BS'ing with his clients found out that they were from the very same home town
that myself and my two buddies were from. In fact, the husband played water polo and swam with
Jerry's older brother Dale back in the '70s. Small world indeed.
June 13-14, 1997
Thanks to: Dave Weitl
I took the family out for a little fishing over the weekend of June 14-15th on the Hoh River.
We were in search of the mighty summer Kings that contributing editor
Jim Mansfield has been writing about in
his weekly column.
We knew the Indians were netting only through Wednesday at noon, so we decided to fish the
lower section of the river for some fresh ones. Well we worked very hard all day long without
even a bite. When we finally made it to the bottom and were taking the boat out we heard the
whirr of a jet boat. My heart sank. Sure enough, two Hoh tribe members were coming upstream
in their jet sled with gillnets in hand. They began to set one side of the net on the near
side and
of the river and then quickly gunned the
engine throwing out their net as they crossed over and covered about 75% of the width of
the river, right in front of my wife and I. I yelled out to them, "some kind of ceremony
today?" They paused and then one of them answered, "oh yeah, a funeral tomorrow." They
continued to drift with their net in tow downstream, slapping the water with an oar to
scare any bank-hugging fish into the path of their indiscriminate mono-filament killing
field. The one asked, "how'd you do?". I answered, "not even a bite, now I understand
why." Without hesitation the one replied, "I've been doing real good through here, got a
50 pounder this week." My wife just stared ahead, her blood boiling.
How is it that we can drive for 3 hours without getting any sleep, setting aside an entire
day of our lives, arranging for time off work in some cases, paying baby sitters in others,
paying for guides in yet other cases, and the Indians can just net any time they feel like it,
regardless of any kind of agreement or netting schedule? I don't have any problem sharing this
resource with the native peoples of Washington, if that is their legal right, proven in the
courts. But if we are to share this incredibly valuable resource, we must work together and
keep our agreements with some integrity. Otherwise, why do we go through the trouble of
making up harvest schedules and quotas and all that. It is not that difficult to notify
the sportfishing community of a change in their netting schedule; we can float a different
section of river, one that is likely to hold some fish that made their way upstream
during the last respite from drifting gillnets. Who I really feel bad
for are the guides, making a living by taking people out
on the river to catch fish. When one of their clients comes from across the state, across
the country or across the world to experience the thrill of catching one of
Washington's famous finned sportfish--only to have the Indians net on a day they were
not scheduled to net--resulting in a poor day of fishing for the guide and his paying
customer. This is not right, not fair. This effects a person's livelihood.
Jim Mansfield was luckier on Saturday, when he somehow got his client onto a 30 pounder
just before the takeout in exactly the same place the Indians were netting on Sunday as
I was leaving the river.
March 14, 1997
Thanks to Chris Tomkins for the following report:
Another sunny day on the Olympic peninsula in March, wow we both got
sun burned. The day was nice for me, I finally got one on the shore.
The 8-9 LB hen was dime bright and very fat, she didn't much like her
picture being taken much though and plowed out of the start gate
before my buddy could click the camera, oh well...memories. My buddy
had two nice fish on, but lost both in the electrifying battles. We
only saw 3 other boats on our 9 mile drift through the upper river as
we drifted from Willobies to Oxbow. There sure were some beautiful
areas in this part of the river, we were fortunate to have such a nice
day and good river conditions, the river was 3-4 ft visibility. We
had a strange thing happen on the way down through the canyon above
Oxbow, all of a sudden the water got very dirty and debris started
floating by us. I pulled the boat over and we realized that there
must have been a river bank collapse upstream from us, the water was
really muddy and visibility dropped to 4 inches. It took about an
hour for the water to begin to be fishable again, we didn't have any
more bites this day on the mighty Hoh. I worry how much these slides
can effect fishing and the river itself, the slide area stood in a
clear-cut that had only been planted maybe 10 years ago. The next
day we set off for the Sol Duc knowing that the weather was changing,
so long sun, hello drenching.
Anyone interested in Trout Unlimited?ctompkin@accessone.com
March 6, 1997
Thanks to Eric Cederstrand for the following report:
Just wanted to pass along a current update on the mighty Hoh. For the past two weeks the
Hoh has been in outstanding shape. It doesn't take much to blow this gem out of fishable
condition, primarily due to the lack of visibility from the clay banks, more so than high
water.
Big steelhead are being caught daily with lots of "teeners" to make for some good fishing.
There has been quite a few boats and bank anglers, but this is a big river. If the lower
river is colored, try fishing from Highway 101 to the Park, it's usually clearer and there
is lots of access. A client of mine from Boise, Idaho caught a huge 26# buck in the Hoh
last year in March with guide Larry Scott. If you'd like to fish with the best on any of
the Penninsula Rivers, Call Larry Scott at Westside Guide Service in Forks at 1 (360)
327-3671.
February 26, 1997
Thanks to John Bray for the following report:
My son and I fished the upper Hoh River 2-26-97 With guide Herb Jacobsen. Water was great and
we caught 4 fish out of 6 hook-ups. Three fish around 10 pounds, one smaller and my son lost
a bigger one. Two on Shrimp and a corkie and two on plugs. Lost one on plugs and my son's
big one was on shrimp.
February 26, 1997
Thanks to Bob Wilson for the following report:
I decided to call my old friend John Truex to see how he was doing on the hoh. John said he
was doing pretty good. I knew right then that it was hot. So my buddy Chuck and I decided
to treat ourselves to a guided float with John. We made the right choice. Yesterday (weds.)
We hooked 9 fish by 2 o'clock. It was hot! Most of the fish we're chromers with sealice.
The fish we're all natives avg weight 12lbs. The hoh is in prime shape! John Truex (360)
780-0495 knows the hoh like the back of his hand, and he's definetly one of the best
guides on the hoh. The solduc is getting pretty low and clear.
