Porter2
Legend
But the seed has been planted. Add water.
Methow Steelhead Opening 2024
- Thread starter Evan B
- Start date
charles sullivan
Life of the Party
I will feel free to make whatever point that I like.
Lol
Sounds like they knew that going in but still suggested it. It’s not like other organizations haven’t work in collaboration with WDFW over the years. Maybe they have, but I don’t recall any specifically asking for locals only type fishing.
I wonder how members of the club would feel if there was another area of the state they wanted to fish and someone tried pulling rank on them with some locals only bullshit.
I know the suggestion wasn’t adopted and feel free to defend it all you’d like.
It was a poorly thought out suggestion in my opinion to attempt to limit others angling opportunities for however long all in the name of localism just because the club did work with WDFW.
By the way, one of my home rivers has been closed to steelhead fishing since 1993.
SF
I agree, probably a poorly thought-out suggestion in the first place.
HauntedByWaters
Life of the Party
No we aren’t. Moral licensing and privilege is something that drives me fucking nuts. I’ve dedicated my life to removing fish barriers and planting trees on streams and am not the most financially stable because of that and I am not asking for any special favors. I know how fly clubs work and I don’t want some dentist who volunteers 8 hours of their time a year to get any special fucking special privilege at all.
HauntedByWaters
Life of the Party
I hear you Evan but that kind of request from a fly club is exactly why I don’t like fly clubs and generally don’t like fly fishers. So much “special”.
charles sullivan
Life of the Party
A more positive or productive spin may be that the club now has a better idea as to some of the publics perception of different kinds of requests. It also knows WDFW's perspective of requests/ suggestions. Knowledge is good and making decisions based on larger data sets generally makes for better decisions. I suspect that the club has plenty of uber-smart people who can take something from the discussion here and the response from WDFW. I don't believe for a second that the club should do things based on what one Masshole transplant in Bellingham who is not a club member thinks either.
I respect the club attempting to have dialogue with WDFW and have more of the river opened up. Please don't think that because I have strong negative feelings about one bullet point that I think poorly of the club as a whole. I could see how my language could lead someone to think that. I was not trying to shame the club in any way. Rather, I was voicing my opinion with the weight proportinate to my feelings on the subject. I favor non-commercial fishing oportunities like opening up more of the river with similar weight. I did not communicate that but I am now. I appreciate that effort. Thank you.
I am quite sure that the club is made up of people who care about the river and the fish. These sorts of groups generally are.
Like Evan, I am curious as to what the scene actually looks like. It is a great place and fishing there in October can be about as much fun as a man can have while standing up.
Lastly, the management paradigm on that river is really jacked up. This is common with all WA state steelhead rivers but the Met's structure and reasoning for opening and closing the river leads to decisions being made that he public struggle to understand.
I thought about driving up the river a bit and looking down into the --- ---- ---- to see how many rods were swinging the run. I too would like a report.... anyone, anyone?
I got a report that the conventional guys were having success in Miller’s on opening day. I haven’t heard from any fly guys.
If the conventional guys found them, the fly guys likely did as well.
BDD
Steelhead
Okay, I got a report. Short version, I caught and kept two hatchery steelhead on Wednesday.
Long version, in case you are interested. Be warned...More than just the Methow.
We were spawning sockeye in Penticton Thursday, and I wanted to see a new technique the hatchery staff were using, which was collecting and transporting females and holding them till ripe at the hatchery instead of spawning them riverside. They have been doing this for several years with increased egg to fry survival, but I had not seen it implemented yet. So, I figured if I’m driving right by Pateros on the day it opened, it seemed silly NOT to fish.
I launched at first light at lower Burma and planned to float to the first bridge. There were half a dozen rigs/people wade fishing that area and another guy launched his boat and was wade fishing. Being one of the few guys in boats, I figured I’d give up any water than had bank anglers and moved downstream for unoccupied water, chatting with guys on the way. Everybody seemed pretty friendly. My first dozen fish or so were a combination of adipose clipped mykiss (the kind that had not been to sea yet and probably never will), adipose present mykiss and some cutthroat.
I wanted to float for three reasons…try a new boat model, escape the crowds as much as possible, and float the entire Methow from Winthrop to slack water, with the Black Canyon being the only stretch I had not done. About the fourth stop down I caught and landed my first adult steelhead, a hatchery fish that I obviously killed. I caught and killed my second hatchery steelhead in the tailout before the Black Canyon entrance. I was done fishing for the day, sooner than I hoped but could now concentrate on the rapids ahead of me, which were not as bad as I thought they’d be.
Knowing I’d be crossing the border later that day and not wanting the hassle of declaring two fish, I thought about calling my brother who lives farther up the road to take the fish for me, but I got no answer. Later I saw an old friend who I went to grad school with, who I last saw on the Methow around 2009. I had plenty of time to kill since my wife was not expecting me at the takeout until 2 PM, we visited for awhile until my fish conundrum entered the conversation. He offered to take the fish off my hands; I just need to put them in his cooler at the takeout and write a note in case WDFW inquired.
After watching the sockeye collection and transport the following day in Penticton, we made our way to the dam at the outlet of Okanagan Lake, an essential fish barrier that has been made temporary passible with some experimental studies. There is a proposal to construct a fishway to allow permanent fish passage and I was envisioning what it would look like after completion when some of the folks I work with were giving a tour to members of the Pacific Salmon Commission and I got to meet some of them. It was heartening to see sockeye using the spawning gravel platforms we have added over the years to help create additional spawning areas that before essentially provided no spawning habitat.
That evening we drove a couple hours north to Chase, BC with the intent of floating the Adams River to observe spawning sockeye and maybe catch a rainbow. Friday morning found us driving up the Adams which had recently been burned by wildfires. The park at the takeout was closed to the public so it looked like that plan had fallen through. As we headed back, I saw a truck with two boats in the back. I turned around and followed him to see if he had an alternate plan. I caught up with him at the closed gate and he was busy with a hammer pounding the slide open. He was going fishing regardless. Turns out he grew up nearby and had been fishing in this area for 40 years. We even knew some of the same people. He had already been fishing for a couple days but his fishing/shuttle partner had an emergency, so he was fishing alone. He was going to float a different section; one that I wanted to see so I offered to shuttle his truck to the takeout. Once I got there the parking lot was full of bank anglers, and it did not seem like a good place for my wife to hang out while I floated so we decided to skip fishing the Adams but will file it away for another time.
As we turned around, I started thinking of some of the lakes I could fish but didn’t really have lake flies and I really enjoy floating rivers in the fall, observing spawning salmon. We headed for the Shuswap River, 90 minutes to the south. We got there about 1:30 in the pouring rain. This was a section I floated about 10 years ago. It’s not a very good trout river for some reason but it was a good section for spawning salmon and the length was exactly what I needed. Three hours later, I arrived at the takeout soaking wet and never caught a trout. But I must have had 50 grabs from whitefish, using a floating line, single split shot and a size 6 bead. I saw lots of chinook and nerkids (probably both sockeye and kokanee) and any riffle produced all the grabs from whitefish you could stand. I can’t remember the last time I had so much fun in the rain. These fish were so aggressive they would rise and attack the bead at the end of the drift, with their dorsal fin out of the water. We quickly loaded up and headed south.
About 12:30 AM Saturday morning we pulled into Pateros and I drove up the Methow to the first pullout for a quick rest. My wife was still upset that I gave those two fish away and wanted me to float again and catch two more. In my mind I knew it would not be that easy and I didn’t really want to deal with the crowds on a Saturday. I knew if we pulled over and slept, if we were still there at daylight, I’d be inflating my raft again to tackle Black Canyon and the crowds. Rather than do that, I grabbed an energy drink and fired up the diesel for home, arriving to a comfortable bed at 3 AM.
Two half-days of fishing, sandwiched between a work trip, went surprisingly well. Three things I wished I could change. I broke my 7-weight single hander the first day. Don’t even know how it happened but know it was my fault. At some point the fan and turn signals stopped working…I’m thinking it was a blown fuse. I resorted to using my hazard signals when changing lanes in traffic and paper towels to clean the windows instead of the defroster when it rained. Finally, I have not killed a steelhead in over a decade. I used to pull a gill arch and bonk them on the head after letting them bleed. Then I remembered why I stopped doing it that way…the teeth really cut up your hands and fingers doing that. I hope this time I don’t forget…we stopped at four gas stations looking for some ointment.
By the way, I really liked the boat. It is essentially a longer and wider version of the floorless Freestone raft…which can either be set up with a second seat and anchor system or more cargo space with a front mesh deck. Not 100% sure I’ll fish the Methow again this season…we’ll see.
Long version, in case you are interested. Be warned...More than just the Methow.
We were spawning sockeye in Penticton Thursday, and I wanted to see a new technique the hatchery staff were using, which was collecting and transporting females and holding them till ripe at the hatchery instead of spawning them riverside. They have been doing this for several years with increased egg to fry survival, but I had not seen it implemented yet. So, I figured if I’m driving right by Pateros on the day it opened, it seemed silly NOT to fish.
I launched at first light at lower Burma and planned to float to the first bridge. There were half a dozen rigs/people wade fishing that area and another guy launched his boat and was wade fishing. Being one of the few guys in boats, I figured I’d give up any water than had bank anglers and moved downstream for unoccupied water, chatting with guys on the way. Everybody seemed pretty friendly. My first dozen fish or so were a combination of adipose clipped mykiss (the kind that had not been to sea yet and probably never will), adipose present mykiss and some cutthroat.
I wanted to float for three reasons…try a new boat model, escape the crowds as much as possible, and float the entire Methow from Winthrop to slack water, with the Black Canyon being the only stretch I had not done. About the fourth stop down I caught and landed my first adult steelhead, a hatchery fish that I obviously killed. I caught and killed my second hatchery steelhead in the tailout before the Black Canyon entrance. I was done fishing for the day, sooner than I hoped but could now concentrate on the rapids ahead of me, which were not as bad as I thought they’d be.
Knowing I’d be crossing the border later that day and not wanting the hassle of declaring two fish, I thought about calling my brother who lives farther up the road to take the fish for me, but I got no answer. Later I saw an old friend who I went to grad school with, who I last saw on the Methow around 2009. I had plenty of time to kill since my wife was not expecting me at the takeout until 2 PM, we visited for awhile until my fish conundrum entered the conversation. He offered to take the fish off my hands; I just need to put them in his cooler at the takeout and write a note in case WDFW inquired.
After watching the sockeye collection and transport the following day in Penticton, we made our way to the dam at the outlet of Okanagan Lake, an essential fish barrier that has been made temporary passible with some experimental studies. There is a proposal to construct a fishway to allow permanent fish passage and I was envisioning what it would look like after completion when some of the folks I work with were giving a tour to members of the Pacific Salmon Commission and I got to meet some of them. It was heartening to see sockeye using the spawning gravel platforms we have added over the years to help create additional spawning areas that before essentially provided no spawning habitat.
That evening we drove a couple hours north to Chase, BC with the intent of floating the Adams River to observe spawning sockeye and maybe catch a rainbow. Friday morning found us driving up the Adams which had recently been burned by wildfires. The park at the takeout was closed to the public so it looked like that plan had fallen through. As we headed back, I saw a truck with two boats in the back. I turned around and followed him to see if he had an alternate plan. I caught up with him at the closed gate and he was busy with a hammer pounding the slide open. He was going fishing regardless. Turns out he grew up nearby and had been fishing in this area for 40 years. We even knew some of the same people. He had already been fishing for a couple days but his fishing/shuttle partner had an emergency, so he was fishing alone. He was going to float a different section; one that I wanted to see so I offered to shuttle his truck to the takeout. Once I got there the parking lot was full of bank anglers, and it did not seem like a good place for my wife to hang out while I floated so we decided to skip fishing the Adams but will file it away for another time.
As we turned around, I started thinking of some of the lakes I could fish but didn’t really have lake flies and I really enjoy floating rivers in the fall, observing spawning salmon. We headed for the Shuswap River, 90 minutes to the south. We got there about 1:30 in the pouring rain. This was a section I floated about 10 years ago. It’s not a very good trout river for some reason but it was a good section for spawning salmon and the length was exactly what I needed. Three hours later, I arrived at the takeout soaking wet and never caught a trout. But I must have had 50 grabs from whitefish, using a floating line, single split shot and a size 6 bead. I saw lots of chinook and nerkids (probably both sockeye and kokanee) and any riffle produced all the grabs from whitefish you could stand. I can’t remember the last time I had so much fun in the rain. These fish were so aggressive they would rise and attack the bead at the end of the drift, with their dorsal fin out of the water. We quickly loaded up and headed south.
About 12:30 AM Saturday morning we pulled into Pateros and I drove up the Methow to the first pullout for a quick rest. My wife was still upset that I gave those two fish away and wanted me to float again and catch two more. In my mind I knew it would not be that easy and I didn’t really want to deal with the crowds on a Saturday. I knew if we pulled over and slept, if we were still there at daylight, I’d be inflating my raft again to tackle Black Canyon and the crowds. Rather than do that, I grabbed an energy drink and fired up the diesel for home, arriving to a comfortable bed at 3 AM.
Two half-days of fishing, sandwiched between a work trip, went surprisingly well. Three things I wished I could change. I broke my 7-weight single hander the first day. Don’t even know how it happened but know it was my fault. At some point the fan and turn signals stopped working…I’m thinking it was a blown fuse. I resorted to using my hazard signals when changing lanes in traffic and paper towels to clean the windows instead of the defroster when it rained. Finally, I have not killed a steelhead in over a decade. I used to pull a gill arch and bonk them on the head after letting them bleed. Then I remembered why I stopped doing it that way…the teeth really cut up your hands and fingers doing that. I hope this time I don’t forget…we stopped at four gas stations looking for some ointment.
By the way, I really liked the boat. It is essentially a longer and wider version of the floorless Freestone raft…which can either be set up with a second seat and anchor system or more cargo space with a front mesh deck. Not 100% sure I’ll fish the Methow again this season…we’ll see.
Attachments
speedbird
Life of the Party
Kind of perfect timing that the Methow opened this year because my girlfriends family has a cabin up there and she’s been wanting me to go up and visit all year, now I can go up there and also spend some time on the water! Shame it’s not the upper section though, looks way prettier
BlakeHerrington
Steelhead
So much pre-opening hype, but then not much news.
Anyone have a sense of how the fishing was?
Anyone have a sense of how the fishing was?
BDD
Steelhead
11 feet long, 52 or 54 inches wide, I think the tube diameter is 16 inches. If I ever set it up with the second seat and anchor system, maybe I'll snap a picture.