Above the falls, the Molalla, McKenzie and Santiam each receive thousands of hatchery winter steelhead plants, and they are open all year for adipose-clipped steelhead. The hatchery fish arrive later than on the Clackamas, usually in December, and fishing can remain good well into early spring. The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife's Web site contains links where you can see the number of fish that have passed over Willamette Falls, which gives a good indication of the angling potential on the upper tributaries.

The Cowlitz main stem has averaged around 2,000 winter fish in recent years, and more than half of those fish have been taken in December. Wild fish don't contribute much of the total run on the Cowlitz, which is one of the most heavily planted systems in Washington. Two years ago, the main stem received 218,000 fish, while Blue Creek got 50,000 and the Cispus and Coweeman absorbed an additional 37,000.

Karen Glaser of the Barrier Campground near Salkum has a bird's eye view of winter steelhead on the upper Cowlitz. "Usually, the first winter steelhead show up in late October," she said. "But we figure it really gets started around Thanksgiving and the peak is in December." According to Glaser, the average size of the steelhead varies from year to year. "But the average range is probably between 8 and 15 pounds," she said. Everything from plunking to spinner fishing to back-bouncing is productive, but Glaser says that jig and bobber rigs, corkies and yarn, and shrimp are the most popular. "Some people use plain shrimp but others like it with a piece of yarn," she said.

STEELHEAD PHONE BOOK Umpqua: Bob Stockdall’s Guide Service, 541-726-1950; Big K Guest Ranch & Guide Service 800-390-BIGK (Roseburg area, 800-440-9584). Tillamook: Tim Marshall, 541-842-5171; Slam Dunkin’ Guide Service, 503-623-6965; The Guide Shop, Tillamook, 503-842-FISH. Clackamas: First Water Guide Service, 503-774-4386; Slam Dunkin’ (see above); Great American Tackle Company, 503-650-2662. Cowlitz: Upriver Guide Service, 253-884-4679; Barrier Dam Campground, Salkum, 360-985-2495. Bogachiel: J.D. Love Fly-fishing Guide, 360-327-3772; Olympic Sporting Goods, Forks, 360-374-6330; Waters West Fly Fishing Outfitters, 360-417-0937; Three Rivers Resort, 360-374-5300. Snohomish: Dennis Dickson (flyfishing), 360-435-6499; Ted’s Sporting Goods, Everett, 425-743-9505. — Doug Rose

With a system-wide ban on wild harvest, the catch is based on hatchery fish, supported by upwards of 400,000 annual steelhead smolt plants. The Chambers Creek hatchery stock, which is the foundation of the hatchery program on the Snohomish, are early-timed, like most winter hatchery fish, and the bulk of the harvest occurs before Christmas.

Indeed, the Bogachiel main stem and Quillayute have yielded nearly 2,000 fish in recent winters, while the Bogey's principle tributary, the Calawah, accounted for an additional 1,200 steelhead.

About 150,000 steelhead smolts have been released into the Bogachiel and Calawah in recent years, and as with most hatchery winter fish, they return in December and early January. The water downstream of the rearing pond is best during the early season, and much of it is best fished from boats. Launches are located at the Bogachiel Rearing Ponds (crowded even on weekdays), at Wilson's ramp off Mora Road; anglers can take out at Lyendecker County Park, near the Three Rivers Resort. Bank access to the lower Calawah can be obtained at the rearing ponds, and plunkers work the Lyendecker Area and the Quillayute River's Richwine Bar, near the Olympic National Park boundary.