2024 Skagit Steelhead
- Thread starter Pink Nighty
- Start date
Last steelhead I landed was October on the Trinity in California. Stopped to visit my friend who lives on the river in a mobile home park that has some of the best water on the upper river. Mike stopped fishing several years prior due to COPD and other health issues but is a great source for conditions and I always stop and chat. He asked me to kill a fish if I caught a clipped one. I thought that was unusual as I’ve not seen him kill a fish in the 15+ years I’ve known him, but ok. Swung the camp water with a black egg-sucking leech with no luck but if there’s a fish in the upper river there should be one here. I added 18” tippet to the leech and tied on a bead
Fish this a little differently, cast straight across or a bit upstream and basically tight line nymphed it and just as line came under tension below me it’s fish on. A nice little 5# hatchery brat and a nice way to break in the new Meiser 12’-6” 345CX. I don’t kill any steel but dispatched that one for my pal. When I took it up to him he said “Oh, it’s for my neighbor” and proceeded to call the guy. Neighbor took the fish, looked at it and said “you didn’t clean it”.
WTF!
Fish this a little differently, cast straight across or a bit upstream and basically tight line nymphed it and just as line came under tension below me it’s fish on. A nice little 5# hatchery brat and a nice way to break in the new Meiser 12’-6” 345CX. I don’t kill any steel but dispatched that one for my pal. When I took it up to him he said “Oh, it’s for my neighbor” and proceeded to call the guy. Neighbor took the fish, looked at it and said “you didn’t clean it”.
WTF!
GOTY
Steelhead
To be fair to the neighbor, a fish that hits such a dirty presentation needs to be cleaned thoroughly.Last steelhead I landed was October on the Trinity in California. Stopped to visit my friend who lives on the river in a mobile home park that has some of the best water on the upper river. Mike stopped fishing several years prior due to COPD and other health issues but is a great source for conditions and I always stop and chat. He asked me to kill a fish if I caught a clipped one. I thought that was unusual as I’ve not seen him kill a fish in the 15+ years I’ve known him, but ok. Swung the camp water with a black egg-sucking leech with no luck but if there’s a fish in the upper river there should be one here. I added 18” tippet to the leech and tied on a bead
Fish this a little differently, cast straight across or a bit upstream and basically tight line nymphed it and just as line came under tension below me it’s fish on. A nice little 5# hatchery brat and a nice way to break in the new Meiser 12’-6” 345CX. I don’t kill any steel but dispatched that one for my pal. When I took it up to him he said “Oh, it’s for my neighbor” and proceeded to call the guy. Neighbor took the fish, looked at it and said “you didn’t clean it”.
WTF!
GOTY
Steelhead
Roughly 1.346 runs fished according to my TI-83.
I would have guessed .72
HauntedByWaters
Life of the Party
That surprisingly high. The fishery might not make it to April 17th.
I think you may be right.
Historically the late March and early April has been what I considered of the fishery, fresh stilling entering the fishery and only a small portion of the population spawning.
I was told that through March 10th the encounters were 710 so catches seem to be increasing. Was also told the other day that pressure is much higher than normal.
Curt
GOTY
Steelhead
Agreed. Catch rates needs to go from the current season average of ~34/day to over ~90/day for the next 14 days to hit the limit before April 17.
Based on Smalma's quote of 710 caught thru March 10, that means the last 13 days have averaged ~49/day. So the next 14 days (thru April 16) need to have ~84% more fish caught than the last 13 days for a closure.
Anecdotally speaking, 34/day being caught so far seems much lower than I would have thought.
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Mind if I ask what the catch rates in February were like? Saw two hook ups right in front of me within minutes when I went out
After the recent NOF meeting got a chance to talk with regional biologist from both Region 4 and 6. Both thought the fishing to date might indicate that this year's run maybe stronger than forecasted. If memory serves last year in late March through April the fishery averaged more than 90 steelhead/day. If fishing is (fish/day) similar to last year (potentially with more fish and increased pressure it may be better) the encounter maybe reached prior to the season end. Of course that are other variables to consider like high water though the next 10 day forecast looks pretty good.
Curt
Curt
HauntedByWaters
Life of the Party
I was mistaken and thought the limit was around 1600 but it looks like it is closer to 2600 so the season looks more likely to persist until April 17.
Fun day on the Sauk with a classmate I connected with through our shared love of fishing, no fish to hand and a gin clear river. Tried to challenge myself with a crossing but I think I need to invest in a wader staff and felt sole boots to increase my confidence. I'm a big 6'4 guy and could definitely have made the crossing, but sometimes underconfidence is as dangerous as overconfidence. The low water actually creates some really nice looking seams and holes. Ran a bead and a lure popular in BC and the Lakes but less used over here. Lots of bug activity, saw a bunch of spider looking water insects and what appeared to be small caddisflies flying around. Saw a nice sized bull trout milling about some boulders
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That clear water always looks way more shallow than it really is
