2024 NOF

[speedbird]

Looking through the draft season. Looks like the Snohomish is totally closed for king this year and a late fall salmon season.

Maybe I hadn't been following but I don't remember a recent springer season on the skagit.

Upper river has been consistently open most years, lower river is a new fishery added in 2022 I think? Very little information on it and I imagine it to be a very tough nut to crack. I'll probably give a shot plunking herring and a spin n glow and maybe casting large spoons to pass the time since we are allowed 2 poles

 

[Tallguy]

No early October coho in MA9 as initially proposed...

 

[johnnyboy]

No Skykomish kings for sport anglers is a huge waste of money, especially with all the renovations at the hatchery. Why are we dumping millions of dollars into raising dumb hatchery fish when sport anglers get no opportunity? Are they just raising them for whale food?

No surprises in the salt, other than chums being back on the menu in Oct/Nov.

 

[speedbird]

No Skykomish kings for sport anglers is a huge waste of money, especially with all the renovations at the hatchery. Why are we dumping millions of dollars into raising dumb hatchery fish when sport anglers get no opportunity? Are they just raising them for whale food?

No surprises in the salt, other than chums being back on the menu in Oct/Nov.

Yup! And no benefits to the salt fisheries either, since AFAIK the bulk of the run shows up in June, while the salt stays closed. (Maybe Neah Bay anglers can pick some out?) Why not boost production of a fall stock instead.

Really disappointing to say the least, I quite liked fishing for them early morning before work.

The reality is in just two years we have basically lost all angling opportunity on the Skykomish, no summer gamefish, winter steelhead returning in arguably unfishable numbers, and now no salmon fishing. I am not knowledgeable enough to ascribe blame, but it still really sucks, the sky is the closest "fly friendly" river to home for me.

 

[Stonedfish]

I wish MA 9 was open seven days per week for hatchery coho with chinook only retention Thursday - Saturday during July 18 to July 31st, but I understand what they are trying to do.
Maybe make Sunday thru Wednesday shore based only during that period in the future, but that really wouldn’t be fair to folks with boats. They could still fish MA 10 though if they wanted to.
No surprise to me that there is no October coho fishing in MA 9.
SF

 

[speedbird]

I wish MA 9 was open seven days per week for hatchery coho with chinook only retention Thursday - Saturday during July 18 to July 31st, but I understand what they are trying to do.
Maybe make Sunday thru Wednesday shore based only during that period in the future, but that really wouldn’t be fair to folks with boats. They could still fish MA 10 though if they wanted to.
No surprise to me that there is no October coho fishing in MA 9.
SF

I personally think Sunday-Wednesday beach fishing only would be more than fair. Minimum Chinook would be caught and we could keep our beach fishing

 

[jasmillo]

No early October coho in MA9 as initially proposed...

We started fishing the beaches for coho around the same time. We’ll get an October MA 9 beach fishing season one of these years before we die. Got to find out what all the hubbub was about…

 

[Tallguy]

I think I might know what all the hubbub is about... 1-2 more weeks of Sept. 29, 2023, 4-7 pm fishing. Sign me right the f*** up for more chances at hungry late season coho pushing in hard. That kept me warm all winter.

 

[Stonedfish]

We started fishing the beaches for coho around the same time. We’ll get an October MA 9 beach fishing season one of these years before we die. Got to find out what all the hubbub was about…

A lot less people, cooler weather, later sunrises and some nice fish.
Lots of previous years much like last year, the fishing got very good near the end of September. Unfortunately, with no time in October we are done. Just hard to get psyched about MA 10 beaches compared to MA 9 in October, at least for me.
I’d be happy with even just having the first two weeks of October, though Halloween coho were fun as well.
SF

 

[jasmillo]

I think I might know what all the hubbub is about... 1-2 more weeks of Sept. 29, 2023, 4-7 pm fishing. Sign me right the f*** up for more chances at hungry late season coho pushing in hard. That kept me warm all winter.

Ha, yes I recall hearing about that bite from you and others. The last weekend was really good in 2023. My last MA 9 keeper from 9/30 one of my better fish of the year.

 

[skyriver]

Guess this probably means no SRC fishing on the Snoq or Snoh.



Wishing for special gear restrictions and enforcement is probably pie in the sky stuff.
I'm fully aware that summer and fall kings are fairly common bycatch when throwing my #6 spider or Brad's Brat for SRCs. I caught plenty on the Samish back in the day.
I get the idea of protecting every single fish, but this is the situation we've all been dreading.
One specific run of ESA fish closing the whole lower watershed.
Gotta think more are on the way unless something "out there" improves.

I'm gonna go tie some carp flies.

 

[johnnyboy]

Will the Sky forks remain open for trout?

 

[the_chemist]

Guess this probably means no SRC fishing on the Snoq or Snoh.



Wishing for special gear restrictions and enforcement is probably pie in the sky stuff.
I'm fully aware that summer and fall kings are fairly common bycatch when throwing my #6 spider or Brad's Brat for SRCs. I caught plenty on the Samish back in the day.
I get the idea of protecting every single fish, but this is the situation we've all been dreading.
One specific run of ESA fish closing the whole lower watershed.
Gotta think more are on the way unless something "out there" improves.

I'm gonna go tie some carp flies.

Damn. This really really sucks.

 

[Smalma]

skyriver-
My read on the news release and what came out of NOF freshwater season the only sea-run fishing will be on the Snohomish itself when open for salmon - Mouth to mouth of Pilchuck 9/21 to October 31 and mouth of Pilchuck to confluence of Sky and Snoqualmie 10/1 to 10/31 as well as the Wallace 10/16 to 10/31.

As the news release is written there will be no fishing on the Snoqualmie until at least after mid-May 2025. That would mean no winter steelhead fishing for those hatchery fish returning to the Tokul Creek hatchery.

Looks like there will be some sort of carve out for a very limited summer steelhead during the fall in the Reiter area.

Based on what we have seen on the Stillaguamish not sure that gear restrictions and more enforcement will buy us more game fish opportunities on the Snohomish system.

If possible things are just as bad on the Nooksack freshwater season where unless there is a target salmon season everything is "closed waters for the protection of spring Chinook and wild steelhead".

Looks like the only target game fish season for the summer/fall seasons on the Nooksack, Stillaguamish, and Snohomish basins are the small section on the North Fork Stillaguamish (downstream of Cicero Sept 16 to Oct 31) and whatever happens in the Reiter section of the Skykomish for summer steelhead.

In short the erosion of game fish opportunities at least in North Puget Sound continues.

Curt

 

[SeaRunner]

For this summer (2024) anglers will/would be fishing on a summer steelhead planting of 80K smolts in the Skykomish. For the summer of 2025, any summer steelhead fishing in the Skykomish will be on a smolt plant of 26K.

Regardless of what's going on with Skykomish chinook that doesn't sound like a ton of opportunity compared to years past.

 

[the_chemist]

26k? Guess that south fork brood stock program is going as well as expected.

 

[HauntedByWaters]

We are to the point where we are protecting hatchery fish.

 

[DimeBrite]

It has been very tough to watch fishing opportunity in WA state diminish over the past 25 years. I have very fond memories fishing and exploring the S rivers.

 

[SeaRunner]

Any guesses on when the LOAF will get posted? At 3 weeks and counting.

 

[Smalma]

Typically, the LOAF is signed by the 2 parties in late April. However, the agreement itself is typically posted in early May to early June.

curt