River Snorkeling with Cutthroat

WOW!! Good for you for getting out and doing this. Thanks so much for posting your film. Best thing I've seen on PNWFF in a long time. Just beautiful. Comforting to know things like that still exist.
 
Awesome! I think I enjoy snorkeling the rivers almost as much as fishing. Sometimes I like to just ride the current and FLY through the run, other times grab a root or boulder and watch the show like you. The practice has really taught me where fish actually lie and where they don't. And as a bonus you can't get skunked snorkeling. You've just inspired me to get back out there.
 
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Grandpa Jim said:
That school seems to be hanging over the lighter colored bottom rather than the adjacent cobble. Is that bottom bedrock or sand?
The fish look in pretty good shape. Do you think that they are pre or post spawn?
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Hard to tell, they didn't look too beat up, if you've seen some of the videos we have shared cutthroat fishing we find big pools of them like this through September in rivers down here! Not sure what they are doing but look good and healthy. The ones that look skinny and spawned out we usually catch during steelhead season in January and Feb while trying to catch steelhead!
 
Jisabi said:
Awesome! I think I enjoy snorkeling the rivers almost as much as fishing. Sometimes I like to just ride the current just FLY through run, other times grab a root or boulder and watch the show like you. The practice has really taught me where fish actually lie and where they don't. And bonus you can't get skunked snorkeling. You've just inspired me to get back out there.
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Love this! time to get the wet suit on! If you bring a go pro like I did be sure to share I would love to see it!
 
In between assisting ADFG with steelhead index surveys and my own steelhead presence surveys the past 6 springs, I spend a lot of time in late April and May snorkeling in rivers. Some days it's face-freezingly cold, it's occasionally sketchy in terms of obstacles (and bears), but boy is it a hell of a lot of fun.
Certainly a great way to learn more about fish behavior and river hydrodynamics.

Floating down a low-gradient meadow section, after 3 miles of occasionally bumpy and log-jammy transport water.
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The payoff
MirSH-23.jpgPeace, y'all
 
I should start doing this in the summer, when it's too hot to sit around the house.

Can you theoretically "swim" entire floats in a day?
 
Shad said:
I should start doing this in the summer, when it's too hot to sit around the house.

Can you theoretically "swim" entire floats in a day?
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As a kid we tuned the af nooksack every summer. Starting around 10, my brothers and I would just swim it. Faster than being in a tube, for what that's worth
 
As a kid/teenager I would slither down streams like a frog with just my face and the top of my head above the water, pulling myself along with my fingers. Man, that was fun!

I've always thought those whitewater swimmers with small floaty boards were cool, but it seems very dangerous.
 
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I'm trying to find photos from bigger rivers but the little stuff is cool, too--a real workout. It's like doing a bunch of burpees while trying to control your breathing, not to mention the whole not bashing your head into a rock thing--while you're trying to find fish, too! And managing the constant, constant foggy mask from working hard in the cold water.
But seriously, be careful out there, y'all. Always have a buddy.
wdfw.wa.gov

Wind River, Skamania County incident

Media contact: CommunicationsOLYMPIA – Yesterday Sept. 13, the Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) experienced a grave loss of a beloved coworker who passed away as the result of an accident while participating in a snorkeling survey for summer steelhead on the Wind River in Skamania County...
wdfw.wa.gov wdfw.wa.gov
 
I wish we could post video. I have some cool clips, but here are screen grabs. This gorge is an exciting reach to swim and a magical place. There were some kings and trout (er, various classes of O. mykiss) in this gorge this time. And, those kings were adipose-clipped hatchery strays, far from any hatchery.IMG_0419.jpegIMG_0420.jpeg
 
Divad said:
I do this in late fall right after the typical closure on my local rivers and free float down to collect bobbers and jigs. I have a bucket slowly accumulating Beau Macs :D its good fun, should bring a camera next year. I run into quite a few poachers doing it though...
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There were so many jigs and spinners in this river... I could have loaded up!
 
I've finally got my wetsuit all together! Snorkeled the Molalla earlier this year, which was beautiful, accessible, and clear. Any favorite Portland-area (within 1-2 hours) places to snorkel you'd recommend? I was planning on going to some of the nice pools on the Wilson.
 
Sneax said:
I've finally got my wetsuit all together! Snorkeled the Molalla earlier this year, which was beautiful, accessible, and clear. Any favorite Portland-area (within 1-2 hours) places to snorkel you'd recommend? I was planning on going to some of the nice pools on the Wilson.
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Wilson is cool for sure! depends on what you want to see, I used to fish the lower molalla for smallmouth bass really cool area! All the coastal rivers near the Wilson would be awesome! Trask and Kilchis!
 
Out of curiosity anyone here fish the spots they are snorkeling in? What do you think the catch rate is vs. the fish count? 1/10? 1/100? 1/1000? Something else?
 
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