We drove down to the Skookumchuck Wildlife Reserve on Saturday for an afternoon of exploring and hiking.The Reserve is about an hour's drive south, into Lewis County. 
The property consists of prairie, farmland, meadows, orchards and forest habitats, a pleasant mix that provides enjoyable hiking. Lots of moisture here - little ponds and streams meander through the orchards. The forest is a frequent habitat for elk, deer and bear - we saw the scat.
The refuge harbors pheasant, grouse and occasionally a few wild turkey.Not far from the refuge is the Skookumchuck River, a popular fishing area. Rainbow and cutthroat trout are fished above the reservoir and steelhead and sea-run cutthroat below it. Lots of fishermen were trying their luck along the river. They parked their cars along the road and families sat around make-shift bonfires to keep warm.
Online sites like Gamefishin.com offer river reports:
Cohokiller caught 22 coho in January, all fire truck red and black; didn't keep any.
fishon wrote: "kookumchuck went all day mass fisherman no fish but a few dark steelhesds. cow is getting good try it out boys. skook is a wast of gas."
Alan Rainwater reported: "Spent the morning on the Wynoochee with nothing to show for it. On the way home we hit the Skookumchuck, it was also very low but I was surprised to see a little bit of color. Drifted eggs with no weight below the gravel pit. I had a solid strike on about my 15th cast. When I set the hook my 6 lb. f-carbon snapped like button thread, I guess I tied a lousy knot (I know that's hard to believe!). Re-tied and moved up to the next slot. Made my first cast up under a down tree and wham !!! FISH ON !! 5 seconds later FISH OFF ! #$%^&**! Fished for another hour or so with no luck. Saw enough to make me want to come back even with the low water. Maybe next time."
I know nothing about fishing, but wished I did - I enjoy the details: Boober and jigs, pink worms, #10 corkies, baiting with sand shrimp. Stuff like that.
We drove to Cabella's, spent about an hour shopping - or at least I did, as I had a Christmas giftcard burning in my pocket.
George took pictures and listened to a lecture on fishing.
