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Lewis River Fishing Report

Updated Fri, Sep 4, 2026 from live gauge and weather data

Three dams, four runs: the Lewis below Merwin delivers winter steelhead, spring kings and a fall coho stack an hour from Portland.

3/5
Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
Flow
1,290 cfs
Air / High
65 / 68 F
Wind
SSW 4 mph

Sources: USGS gauge 14220500, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.

Satellite view
Friday
4
September 2026

Today's Fishing Report

Generated this morning from live readings: gauge, weather model, sun and moon. A fresh report is published here every morning.

3/5Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.

Lewis River offers the kind of conditions this water was made for. The river is running 1,290 cfs, steady over the week. Today brings clear skies, wind SSW around 4 mph, steady pressure near 1013 hPa and a high of 68. Water sits around 66 F for the season (estimated). With the last quarter, the solunar majors run 5:39 AM-7:39 AM and 5:39 PM-7:39 PM: the windows to build the day around.

The plan, species by species

Smallmouth bassGood

Peak season. Tubes, jerkbaits and swimbaits around gravel points, boulders and current seams.

Brown troutGood

Terrestrials tight to the bank; streamers through the deeper runs on cloudy days.

SteelheadSlow

First fall runs after rain: fresh chrome in the lower pools on spawn bags and beads.

Tomorrow: Similar at 71 F. The solunar majors shift about 50 minutes later.Next report: Sat, Sep 5, 6:30 AMHow this report is made →

Water and weather

Live readings from Lewis River at Ariel.

Flow, last 30 days

USGS gauge 14220500.

1,3021,3251,3481,290 cfs08/0508/1508/2509/04

Right now

Latest readings

Air temp65 F
High / Low68 / 52 F
WindSSW 4-9 mph
Pressure1013.2 hPa, steady
Sky / Rain11% cloud, 18%
Sunrise / Sunset06:36 / 19:43
MoonLast Quarter, 50%
Water temp (seasonal)~66 F est.

Bite planner

Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today. Tap a bar to see why.

5 AM8 AM11 AM2 PM5 PM8 PMsunrisesunsetPRIMEPRIME

Next 7 days

Tap a day for the detailed outlook.

Fri Sep 4 · Showers, 68/52 F, wind 13 mph, rain 18%

Fair or better. A 13 mph breeze puts a working chop on the banks it hits: fish the wind-blown side.

Species guide

The species that matter on Lewis River: seasons, structure and how to fish each one. Today's ratings live in the report above.

Steelhead illustration

Steelhead

Best: Oct-Apr

Lake-run rainbows that turn tributaries into winter fisheries. First fall runs after rain: fresh chrome in the lower pools on spawn bags and beads.

Smallmouth bass illustration

Smallmouth bass

Best: May-Oct

Current and rock. Finds gravel flats, boulders and drop-offs, and fights far above its weight. Peak season. Tubes, jerkbaits and swimbaits around gravel points, boulders and current seams.

Brown trout illustration

Brown trout

Best: Sep-Nov

Wary, predatory and nocturnal by preference. The big ones eat streamers. Terrestrials tight to the bank; streamers through the deeper runs on cloudy days.

When to come: the Lewis River calendar

Activity by species and month, and how the water warms through the year. Tap any cell.

Species activity by month

1 = slow, 5 = peak. Current month highlighted.

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Steelhead
Smallmouth bass
Brown trout
SlowPeak

Water temperature through the year

Typical surface temperature for this water type; today is around 66 F (estimated, not a reading).

304050607080JanMarMayJulSepNovSep, ~66 F now

Angler reports

Real reports from real anglers, reviewed before publishing. The water log below tracks each day automatically.

No angler reports yet this weekBe the first: your report helps every angler who checks Lewis River today, and we feature the best catch of the week.

Water log, last days

Auto-logged from live data
Thu, Sep 3

4/5 Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up. Smallmouth bass led the card at excellent. High of 62 F, wind to 9 mph.

Wed, Sep 2

4/5 Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up. Smallmouth bass led the card at excellent. High of 64 F, wind to 13 mph.

Tue, Sep 1

4/5 Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up. Smallmouth bass led the card at excellent. High of 67 F, wind to 6 mph.

Where roughly, what depth, what bait. Skip anything you want to keep secret.
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Before you go

License

Washington requires a valid fishing license for adults. Buy online from the state agency; one-day options exist for visitors.

Regulations

Washington license plus salmon/steelhead endorsements. Hatchery-only retention for steelhead and most salmon: seasons open and close by emergency rule: check current WDFW regs before every trip.

Access

Woodland ramps, Island access, Cedar Creek launch, Lewis River Hatchery bank water, and the Merwin Dam reach.

About this water

The North Fork Lewis River below Merwin Dam, Cowlitz and Clark counties, Washington: a hatchery-driven salmon and steelhead river joining the Columbia at Woodland.

Fishing Lewis River: the full guide

The north fork program

The North Fork Lewis drains Mount St. Helens’ south side through three reservoirs before its final 19 free miles from Merwin Dam to the Columbia: and those miles carry southwest Washington’s most dependable hatchery returns: winter steelhead (December-March), summer steelhead, spring Chinook (April-June), fall Chinook and a famously thick October coho run. Federal mitigation money keeps the hatchery pipeline full, and the fishery close-in and popular.

Salmon seasons

Springers arrive fresh off the Columbia in April: back-troll plugs or drift eggs in the deep slots from the Island area to the hatchery. Fall brings the double: kings from late August on the lower gravel bars, then coho flooding the whole river in October: twitched jigs and spinners in every soft seam. Run timing shifts with rain: the Ariel gauge dropping after a freshet is the bell.

Steelhead water

Winter fish stack from Johnson Creek up to the Merwin deadline: float-fished jigs and beads through the boulder runs, plugs in the deeper slots. Summer runs hold the same water June-September with lighter crowds. Bank access is generous: the Lewis River Hatchery, Island access and Cedar Creek areas absorb the drift-boat overflow. Respect the deadline markers below Merwin: enforcement is real.

Woodland logistics

Launches at Woodland (tidewater), Island access and Cedar Creek serve sleds and drifters: the lower river is big water: jet-sled country: while Cedar Creek up fishes drift-boat and bank. I-5 at Woodland puts Portland 30 minutes out: weekends peak accordingly. The reservoirs above (Merwin, Yale, Swift) add kokanee and tiger-musky side trips in the same drainage.

Common questions

When is the coho run?

October is the show: rain pulls thousands of hatchery silvers upriver in days. Twitch jigs in the frog water and check the gauge after each storm.

Can I fish it from the bank?

Extensively: hatchery, Island and Cedar Creek accesses cover the prime drifts: half the harvest comes from boots, not boats.

Why so many emergency rule changes?

Runs are counted in-season and quotas adjust: the WDFW rule page the night before is as important as your leader wallet.

Is fishing good at Lewis River right now?

Check the daily report at the top of this page: it is regenerated every morning from live data. Today's read: Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.

Nearby waters

Kalama River12 miCowlitz River18 miLake Merwin19 miSandy River38 miRiffe Lake53 miDrano Lake56 mi
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