Before heading to the Calawah River, stop in Forks and ask local fishermen where the best spots are, what's biting and the shape of the river recently. This last-second information can mean the difference between getting hookups right away and having to work for them.

The water levels on the Calawah are excellent for drift fishing and "dink" fishing. A dink is a tube float that lies on its side and then tips up whenever a fish strikes. When traditional drift-fishing doesn't work, this is an excellent option. It can be used in the exact same water that drift-fishermen use.

Depending on the freezing level, the river can run crystal-clear with unlimited visibility. Fish it with leader setups for turbid conditions anyway. This sounds unusual, but shorter leaders are better since the water is cold and most fish are lethargic.

It's critical to get baits right in front of their noses. Use smaller baits, corkies and hooks whenever fishing the clear water. Use more weight than when fishing in summer, but not as heavy as you would use in traditionally turbid conditions. This particular drift-fishing technique may seem a little backwards, but it's a combination of secrets that works.

The Calawah is not wide, making it perfect for fishing with "dink floats." Bobber-jigs would just get hung up. Fish dinks with longer leaders in shallower water. Baits and corkies work great for this setup, which allows each offering to move in the slower current found near the bed while the float passes the bait at the surface.

This presentation allows for hookups to be felt and seen immediately. As it drifts downstream, make sure to continually mend the mainline to avoid bellies that will diminish your ability to set the hook fast. Fish the Calawah oxbow's with dinks for the slowest water and deepest pools, and drift-fish straight stretches near banks, undercuts, and dropoffs.

Being able to fish steelies with all these techniques on all three rivers makes it worth the effort to get out along the coast.

The natural scenery of the ocean, national park, dense forests, and rivers keeps the outdoor experience true to the harmony envisioned by all anglers who travel there.

The Sol Duc, Bogachiel, and the Calawah rivers are excellent places to fish and get away from it all, especially during the heart of winter.

COMBAT FISHING
It's not always bad to have many fishermen on the same water at the same time. Combat fishing, as it's called, can produce some insights that get easily overlooked when other anglers aren't around. You might be able to get near some of the best spots to fish. And the numbers of fishermen can tell you how well the fishing really is. Holds they fish in can suggest new areas that will out-produce those that are being pounded.

When the fishing is good, word spreads fast. Anglers will literally come out of the woods to find the best spots. Ironically, with so many fishermen it can feel more like a "fishing club" rather than the deep solitary recesses of winter it would otherwise be. But in many cases, they wouldn't be there if the water wasn't producing fish.

Once you find a glut of fishermen, it's worth sticking around even if you don't like that kind of atmosphere. Finding out what they're using will help you take pressure off fish in the same area. Hooking a fish is the same as telling everyone that you've got a secret, and they'll want to know what it is. Once the secret's out, everyone on each bank and in boats will be using it in no time, and then the "secret" that suddenly produced will just as quickly stop.