Calawah River Forks Washington;
A smaller sister to the Sol-Duc, this river has the ability of producing the largest, hardest fighting steelhead on the Peninsula. With spectacular rapids, gin clear water and spooky steelies the Calawah demands the most from every angler. There are three sections to this gem, two divided by 101, and the ever-present bait and kill area boundary. The upper by intimidating rapids and an early closing of February 28th. A good percentage of my guiding is spent on two of the three sections. The lower river, below 101, calls for a long float and some class 111 water, ending in the Bogachial at Wilson boat ramp. With beautiful tail outs, long runs, and the entrance of the Bogy. This section swings best of the three but must be done with speed as there are so many good runs that an angler will find himself floating in the dark down the Bogachiel. With the middle being so short, I often do a double float, taking out and finishing on another river or swinging it all and ending the day with a push out whenever wanted. When the upper is open, it makes for a very fun and challenging float including sections like hells half mile, note: not just an intimidating name. All in all, the Calawah river will test you in every way and a must do by the ADVANCED rower and angler.

As I drove around today looking at the rivers to see how soon they may be fishable I was inspired to add this gem to my steelhead waters catalog knowing that I will soon be embracing it’s waters in the quest for it’s giant steelhead. It along with the upper Sol-Duc are probably the most stable of all Washington Rivers and have provided the refuge used for thousands of years to the wild steelhead we seek out today.