Hope springs eternal in the breast of the winter steelhead fisherman. It has to — otherwise nobody would be out there in the wind and the rain and the December gloom, up to the navel in liquid ice, nose dripping and fingers numb, trying to will that electrifying “bump” that signals a take.
So ask any angler, any year, about the steelhead prospects, and you’ll hear, “Well, it looks like they might be a little early this winter — maybe we’ll have a decent run.”
About the size of the run, no one — not even state Fish and Wildlife Department steelhead managers — can predict with any degree of certainty. But it would appear, from reports around Western Washington, that this year the winter steelhead might, indeed, be early.
Take the quote from Bryan Nelson at Three Rivers Marine in Woodinville: “The past couple of weeks has been the best early winter steelhead fishing up at Reiter Ponds I’ve seen in years.”
He was talking about the steelhead rearing facility on the upper Skykomish, of course, where anglers have been hitting anywhere from three or four up to 10 or 12 fish a morning. Those numbers may not cause your jaw to drop or the hair on the back of your neck to raise, but considering the time of year and the general state of our steelhead fishery, they ain’t half bad.
If there are early winter steelhead at Reiter, then they’re also available on other sections of the Sky. Guide John Thomas (lamiglas@hotmail.com) hit two on Saturday in the Sultan area, even though he had less than two feet of visibility at that time. He drifts number 12 or 14 Corkies in pink, red or orange, on top of a number 1 or 2 red Gamakatsu, with prawn, sand shrimp, or eggs.
There have also been a few fish taken on the Snoqualmie, Nelson said, and bait becomes legal there on Monday.
Over on the Peninsula, Bob Gooding at Olympic Sporting Goods in Forks said the run returning to the Bogachiel hatchery (see the accompanying Pick of the Week) has shown an angler success rate as good as he’s seen for a long time, particularly considering it started two weeks ago and well prior to the Thanksgiving “start” of the winter season.
“We really knocked the snot out of ‘em for a while,” Gooding said.
Heavy rains the first week in November brought the fish in, he said, and hot fishing slowed some when the Quillayute system dropped into the too-low and too-clear category. He said this weekend could be another good one, however, with a little rain falling this week.
Plunkers on the Snohomish River bars have connected with a scattering of early fish, according to Jim Strege at Triangle Beverage in Snohomish. Try the upriver areas, he suggested — the cheapskate hole on Short School Road, or the area up around the Hwy 522 bridge.
Anthon Steen at Holiday Sports in Burlington reported steelhead being taken on the Skagit, not surprising for this time of year, but also in good numbers on the Cascade, way up at Marblemount.
Not all the reports are rosy. There are huge numbers of fish available to anglers on the Cowlitz right now, but a combination of factors has pushed the big southwest river well out of fishing shape.
“We probably only have a few inches of visibility right now,” said Frank Abbruzzese at Fish Country Sports in Ethel. “They’re working on a turbine at one of the dams, and the silt from that period of flooding has come straight downriver. It’s clearing fairly quickly, but you should probably check with someone first, before driving down.”
His phone number is 360-985-2090.
He said state personnel at the salmon and trout hatcheries reported 12,000 coho, 300 summer steelhead, 150 winter steelhead, and 1,500 hatchery sea-run cutthroat at their facilities last week, and more of all those species on the way.
And prospects aren’t particularly bright for the December 1 changeover from flies only to all-tackle on the North Fork Stillaguamish. The midnight circus at the Fortson Hole has become less and less an event over the past several years, and that pattern isn’t likely to change.
Darrell Kron at Hook, Line &Sinker in Smokey Point said fly fishermen have reported two or three fish from Fortson in the past week or so, and one of those was apparently a winter-run. “But it doesn’t look like there are a whole bunch of steelhead there,” he said.
One interesting early-winter possibility, according to Mike Chamberlain at Ted’s Sport Center in Lynnwood, and putting out good fishing already, is the little Sooes (pronounced “suez”) on the Makah Reservation. The tribe has enhanced the fishery, and there are big numbers returning to the Pilchuck-sized stream, Chamberlain said. For those who like to do a little exploring, or who prefer small, easy-to-read water, this one might make a nice weekender.
“Most of the fishing is up by the hatchery,” Chamberlain said, “but there are also some nice holes down on the lower end. Pick up a tribal permit at the Washburn Store, out of town and up by the old radar site, and have at it.”
The Humptulips has also been productive, early, Chamberlain said, particularly near the hatchery.
TROUT: Somewhere to take the kids on the long (for some) Thanksgiving weekend? Blackman’s Lake received a good-sized plant of triploid rainbow a couple of weeks ago, courtesy of the Snohomish Sportsmen’s Club and paid for with proceeds from the Everett Coho Derby. Most of the fish are running 14 or 15 inches and they’ve acclimated to their new digs. Best technique is to slow-troll a brown or green woolly bugger fly on a long, light leader, with only a small split shot, Blackman’s has a boat launch and two public piers.
Lake Goodwin is another good bet, according to Darrell Kron (above), stillfishing or wind-drifting with Power Bait or worms. Some of the holdovers are running 20-plus inches, Kron said.
Pass Lake has been very good for both rainbow and browns, according to Anthon Steen (above), for those using a slow retrieve with woolly buggers or leech patterns. Big Lake offers good late-season action on nice rainbow and a few crappie, Steen said, on the north end of the lake, fishing bobber and worms. Lake Campbell and Clear Lake should also be putting out prime rainbow.
CHUM SALMON: Some 80 percent of the chum run is probably through the Snohomish system now, but Arlington resident and guide Sam Ingram said there’s still a late chance to hit fresh fish. He nailed two on Tuesday, a 10-pound buck and a 14-pound hen, both with sea lice, on the drift from Sultan to Monroe. He had probably three feet of visibility, he said, and he back-trolled diving plugs in chrome, pink and purple color combinations.
The Skagit is still putting out a few chums, the Samish is an even better bet, and the Whatcom Creek fishery in Bellingham is in full swing.
There have been disquieting reports recently of fishermen targeting chums on their spawning beds in several river systems, and that’s not good. Once they’ve made it that far, guys, let ‘em be. Our chum runs haven’t been that strong recently, and we need all the spawners we can get.
BLACKMOUTH: Marine Area 9 offers one last weekend for winter blackmouth, and action picked up substantially Saturday and Sunday, and early this week. All Star Charters owner/skipper Gary Krein said Possession Bar and Double Bluff put out some really decent fishing, to join the Port Townsend area and the shoreline from Shilshole in Seattle northward. Reports from Point No Point and Pilot Point were mediocre.
Blackmouth at Possession and Double Bluff were not as large, generally, as those from the Shilshole area, Krein said, running 5 to 9 or 10 pounds as opposed to 7 to 15-plus pounds farther south.
A green flasher/green squid combo has worked well, or an Ace High fly, both in UV when the sun is out. A white/mother of pearl Tomic plug has also put out fish.
Marine Area 9 closes Sunday night, but Area 10 remains open, changing to selective regulations allowing two chinook, clipped only.
State checks Sunday at the Port of Everett ramp showed 57 fishermen with 16 chinook, while down at the Shilshole ramp it was 75 with 26 fish.
SMELT: Plenty of productive smelt jigging left at Cornet Bay, where a creel check at the Deception Pass State Park pier on Sunday showed seven rods with 295 smelt.
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