Pick of the Week: Skagit dollies

Published 7:00 pm Wednesday, December 21, 2016

Not much doing yet on the Skagit River steelhead scene, but while you’re waiting, give Dolly Varden a shot. They get big on the Skagit — Kevin John at Holiday Sports has caught them to 12 pounds on the upper river, where some of the big ones are probably bull trout.

This time of year, dollies are transitioning away from gorging on chum eggs, and tending to move downriver. John likes the water from Mount Vernon down in January and February, particularly on an incoming tide. He drifts and casts half-ounce spoons in white, chrome or chrome/brass, mostly Steely types, Krocodiles or the like. Flies also work very well with Dolly Varden, including egg imitations, woolly worms and woolly buggers. Casting to banks with overhanging vegetation as the tide comes in can be productive with various spiders, John says, as insects drop off the overhang. Otherwise, look for steelhead water, concentrating on riffles and pool tailouts.