Skagit river opportunities coming up?

[Jim in Anacortes]

I've dabbled in fishing from shore on the southern banks of the Skagit (super fun). That being said, I have neglected to educate myself sufficiently on the upcoming opportunities. So, (ever so humbly), if any one could give me the basic overview AKA "spoon feed me"..... information regarding "what, and when" I should be looking for on the Skagit in the coming weeks,,,,that would be nice.

 

[Deleted member 1337]

I've dabbled in fishing from shore on the southern banks of the Skagit (super fun). That being said, I have neglected to educate myself sufficiently on the upcoming opportunities. So, (ever so humbly), if any one could give me the basic overview AKA "spoon feed me"..... information regarding "what, and when" I should be looking for on the Skagit in the coming weeks,,,,that would be nice.

The skagit isn’t that easy. It has so much water that looks similar it makes it difficult to coach.

I recommend floating it and paying attention to where folks fish for an entire day. Don’t fish, just float and pay attention.

Then ask yourself what it is that made them fish that spot, compared to the other spots.

Some of them will give false positives because they don’t know either.

Then drift it again, and compare and contrast what you see the second time.

 

[Jim in Anacortes]

Jeremy, thanks for the input. Obviously your level of skill, and knowledge of fishing the Skagit is extensive. I'm just a guy that likes to take a drive along the south side of the river, east of freeway five,... get out of my car, walk down and cast for a bit. I'm hopeful that a knowledgeable fisherman could provide me with information that could give me a general overview regarding the general situation along this stretch of river during this time of year.

 

[Smalma]

In the couple months the focus of most of the Skagit fishing effort will be on coho (majority of the interest) and sea-run cutthroat (attracts a small core of hardcore addicts). It would pay the exploring angler to become familiar with how those two fish behave as well as this year's regulation. Both migrate in lower velocities than say steelhead or Chinook though at current river levels that still opens up most of the channel. Both of those species definitely prefer holding waters that are slower than rainbows or their sea-run cousins.

For sea-runs (all wild) the core of their production is the smaller tributaries downstream of the Baker while the coho are found throughout the basin with lots of fish returning to the hatchery at Marblemount. There is some over-lap in the water the two species and encounter both in a day is certainly doable (caught both yesterday from the beach). In the section you currently exploring you should begin seeing more anglers over the next couple weeks and their cars will provide clues to potential productive access points.

As to approaches I would start with a moderate sink tip or full sinking line with some sort of "spider" on a one hand 6 weight and expand your game as you start finding areas that you like. While the Skagit has a wonderful and diverse fishery it doesn't gives up many of its secrets easily. As a result some of us old timers are relucent to give up too many specifics.

Have fun exploring the river and its fishing opportunities; it is worth the effort.

Curt

 

[Jim in Anacortes]

Thanks for the input Curt.

 

[kerrys]

The best game in the Skagit for fly fisher right now is searun cutthroat. Coho are present and catchable but not as obliging to the fly as cutts.

I‘ll give you some direction. The river is best fished from a boat for both cutts and coho but if you are relegated to the beach cutts are found in slower moving water with lots of structure. Stumps, trees, branches, stuff. In other words if the water looks like it is going to snag up all your flies that is where you want to fish. You will lose flies. I prefer to cast and swing but a cast and strip will catch you a lot of fish. My favorite fly is a Knudson spider in various colors. Easy to tie so keeping a dozen or so in your box isn’t hard to do. An intermediate sink tip is my preferred line but a floater will catch just as many fish. A 4 weight is plenty for searun cutthroat but I use a six in case I encounter a coho which is entirely possible at this time of year.

 

[Old Man]

The best game in the Skagit for fly fisher right now is searun cutthroat. Coho are present and catchable but not as obliging to the fly as cutts.

I‘ll give you some direction. The river is best fished from a boat for both cutts and coho but if you are relegated to the beach cutts are found in slower moving water with lots of structure. Stumps, trees, branches, stuff. In other words if the water looks like it is going to snag up all your flies that is where you want to fish. You will lose flies. I prefer to cast and swing but a cast and strip will catch you a lot of fish. My favorite fly is a Knutson spider in various colors. Easy to tie so keeping a dozen or so in your box isn’t hard to do. An intermediate sink tip is my preferred line but a floater will catch just as many fish. A 4 weight is plenty for searun cutthroat but I use a six in case I encounter a coho which is entirely possible at this time of year.

Hey, you didn't tell them what rock to stand on to catch those fish. Is the N/F of the Stilly open yet. Just asking as I now live in Montana.

 

[Jim in Anacortes]

kerrys thank you so much. So much enlightenment in so few words. Much appreciated.

 

[JACKspASS]

Hey, you didn't tell them what rock to stand on to catch those fish. Is the N/F of the Stilly open yet. Just asking as I now live in Montana.

The NF Stilly is closed to outsiders, you will get fined for having Montana plates

 

[Jim in Anacortes]

Old Man, you probably already know that this stretch of road, on the south side of the Skagit is tricky for an outsider. I was told (by a local) of a certain mailbox to look out for. I'd passed by it many times. I guess sometimes a certain colored mailbox is more of a secret than a certain rock. Mums the word on that mailbox.

 

[Old Man]

I've driven up and down both sides of the Skagit. Plus many of the roads away from that river. It is hard for me to get lost in the wet side of the state.

 

[kerrys]

Hey, you didn't tell them what rock to stand on to catch those fish. Is the N/F of the Stilly open yet. Just asking as I now live in Montana.

I didn’t need to. He is already standing in the right place. I told him what kind of water to look for. Should be a 1 + 1 = 2 from there. You did have math way back when you were in grade school didn’t you?

 

[Old Man]

The NF Stilly is closed to outsiders, you will get fined for having Montana plates

I didn't want to fish it. I fished in the day when it was open damn near around. Now all you get is a little window. I also used to fish all those rivers that dump into the Wenatchee that are now closed. It used to be fun to fish in Washington state. Not so much now a days. But there are fish to be had. It just takes a little exploring to find them waters.

 

[Old Man]

I didn’t need to. He is already standing in the right place. I told him what kind of water to look for. Should be a 1 + 1 = 2 from there. You did have math way back when you were in grade school didn’t you?

And I was good at it. Then it was high school and I lost my edge.

 

[_WW_]

And I was good at it. Then it was high school and I lost my edge.

Did you have to take that new fangled multiplication? Or....shudder...FRACTIONS?

 

[Wanative]

Did you have to take that new fangled multiplication? Or....shudder...FRACTIONS?

Back in Jim's day they called it cipherin'
or 'rithmatic.

 

[Maltmstr]

Back when a calculator was not a device, it was a profession.