Non-Fly Skagit springers

Creatch’r

Creatch’r

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Anyone have much luck with this fishery? I haven’t given it a try but I’m thinking I might fish the upper river this year when it opens. I don’t like fishing bait but I will if I have to I suppose.
 
If they're anything like ours down here: put some Kwikfish down in a lane. Preferably on the upstream side of a point or obstruction they have to go around.

That's about all I got.
 
Creatch’r said:
Anyone have much luck with this fishery? I haven’t given it a try but I’m thinking I might fish the upper river this year when it opens. I don’t like fishing bait but I will if I have to I suppose.
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I looked ito it last year, on the lower river they bolt up to Gilligan creek(the top of open water) without stopping. Never heard anything for the upper river, if and when it opens
 
Caught one in many bank attempts years ago near the mouth of the cascade, plunking roe. From my what I've learned and heard, it's a crack of dawn (4am in june) and twilight fishery. Had a buddy start getting it dialed out of a jet sled "hover fishing" roe and prawns a foot off the bottom in the deep dark.

Youtubers savage and smith caught one swinging for bulls a couple years ago, it can be done in theory! I'm planning to swing up there this year as I can and I'll have Springers in mind.
 
I’ve caught them on the swing before just trying to learn a bit about getting them on gear. Plugging could be fun. I’m down to give that a try. Maybe spinners too. I also thought about bobber dogging yarn balls and prawns all soaked in scent? I really would rather not mess with roe but I understand I might need to.
 
This is how we run them on the Columbia. I'm sure you'd be fishing similar depths. Most the springers being targeted here are in 6-15' of water. Only going deeper if water gets low (the lack of current and more visibility puts them down a bit).

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A friend told me it's a real circus. The open area between Rockport and the Cascade has a few deeper holes that the springers stack up in. Naturally, that is where the fishermen all stack up as well. Kinda' like playing bumper boats at that blood hole on the North Lewis.

A big difference between the Skagit and Columbia springer fishery is that the Columbia fishery occurs before the river warms up enough to really put the fish on the snap. Some years ago the Columbia was open into May - warmer water - and I swear the bite was 10 times better.
 
Salmo_g said:
A friend told me it's a real circus. The open area between Rockport and the Cascade has a few deeper holes that the springers stack up in. Naturally, that is where the fishermen all stack up as well. Kinda' like playing bumper boats at that blood hole on the North Lewis.

A big difference between the Skagit and Columbia springer fishery is that the Columbia fishery occurs before the river warms up enough to really put the fish on the snap. Some years ago the Columbia was open into May - warmer water - and I swear the bite was 10 times better.
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It was open in May/early June last year, too. I think we'll see it happen this year.
 
Last time I fished it, we twitched jigs and it worked fine. Went with a guide, can't remember who, got our jigs at the Rockport store so it can't be that much of a secret...we got our fish without a whole lot of effort, they were tasty.
:)
 
ooooh jig twitching would be super fun. I know some guys have success on the Sandy here down the street when the fish are around. The times I've gone, the fish were anything but "around." But I do plan to look again at some point.
 
Seems like all Salmon are suckers for a twitched jig...I do it mostly for Coho, but Kings seem to take them fine, maybe not as readily as stupid Coho, but readily enough.
 
Mossback said:
Seems like all Salmon are suckers for a twitched jig...I do it mostly for Coho, but Kings seem to take them fine, maybe not as readily as stupid Coho, but readily enough.
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Sockeye are the only one I haven't caught on a twitched jig yet.
 
Decades ago I had some "luck" (mostly getting my ass handed to me) drifting big, weighted buggers at the heads of pools. Usually crack of dawn. Floating line, long leaders. Polar shrimp pink (orangish-pink) seemed to be a good color.
 
If you are lucky enough to be able to go during the weekdays I have found some holes on the upper river with fish and not too many people, but I have yet to hook one. Cascade isn't always circus butI bet it is an even bigger one at the crack of dawn when the fish actually bite. I have seen fish caught later in the day though, and the river is mostly empty then. Most people drift fish up there, and while I bet most of the ones I saw caught were flossed I'm not 100% sure since most people didn't seem to be actively trying to floss them (Setting the hook at the end of each drift) and I saw a couple caught bobber and egg or even bead. The Cascade is best before the first tribal netting, afterwards it becomes slim pickings. The quality of fish is really really good though.

As for the lower river, this will be the first year I give a try. It's a two rod fishery, and I have been told that fishing spoons in seams or drift fishing eggs can be productive. Seems like a fun way to kill some time on a nice day with buddy's, worst case just leave the plunking rod in the water and crack open a couple drinks and try your luck
 
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Creatch’r said:
I’ve caught them on the swing before just trying to learn a bit about getting them on gear. Plugging could be fun. I’m down to give that a try. Maybe spinners too. I also thought about bobber dogging yarn balls and prawns all soaked in scent? I really would rather not mess with roe but I understand I might need to.
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Jet diver and eggs works when almost nothing else will.
 
This one (about 30 years ago) took a #8 orange and black bugger fished 18" behind a much larger/heavier fly to help get it down.

4925Little_Piggy.jpeg

Fly stuff, I know. The point being it ignored the larger/flashier option and took a smaller one more appropriate for trout than salmon. Pretty sure there are times, particularly later season, when the same idea applies to bait and lures.
 
Haven't fished the Skagit but have heavily fished the Sandy for springers for years. Been running bait with a large bead dropper the last several years and it's right about 50/50 on if they'll take the bait or the bead. We're talking almost golf ball sized beads sometimes. Fish are stupid. Just another option if you're not super stoked on running bait.
 
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