Wild Skagit Steelhead
After last year’s not so hot year of fishing I decided to start out 2013 right and set up some trips. First plan of action was to get on the Skagit again as fishing had been good lately and some wild fish were showing up as early as December. I had originally scheduled the trip for last week in the deep freeze but happened to whack my head the day before and needed to rest and re-scheduled. That turned out to be a good thing as the artic air vanished and I got to fish on a warmer, cloudy day with drizzle turning to rain as the day went on.
I met John Farrar in Concrete and then we headed downriver to the Birdview launch where we got the boat ready and headed out for the day. First stop was the run just above Finney Creek which had evidently been fishing well. I worked the run with a Type 8 head and a black Pick-yer-Pocket all the way down until I finally lost the fly right at the creek mouth. I re-rigged with a purple Pick-yer-Pocket and began working the lower end of the run again which had evidently been the best water. Nada but the day was young.
Next we went up-river to a run that looked great with big boulders on a nice slow bend. This was the other side of the river too so I got to finally use a different cast. I started fishing while John had some lunch. I got my line worked out slowly then started working down the run. About 20′ down the run I had a grab, my loop went out and I was tight into a fish. At first I figured it was a Dolly but then the fish ran and splashed on the surface and I knew it was a nice steelhead. The next ten minutes or so were nerve wracking as I played the fish hoping that the barbless hook would not come out. I got a good look at the fish once before it ran again, a broad and bright steelhead, definitely bigger than any I’d landed before. The last few feet to the shallow water were the hardest but I got the fish on its side and up to a rock and John tailed it. A perfect 12-14 lbs. native hen that was just in from the salt. My first winter fish after all these years of fishing in the Northwest!
Winter Chrome!
After a few shots I released the fish to swim and spawn again. I worked the run two more times all the way through without any other grabs.
We then moved on to a short run below Finney Creek which I fished with a Type 3 first and a Type 6 next again with no grabs. By then the drizzle had turned into real rain and the day was growing short so we called it a day and headed back to the launch.
Getting a winter fish, and a native one at that, made my whole day and probably will be one of my top catches of the entire year. While I’ve caught quite a few summer run fish I had never even hooked a winter fish before though I have to admit I hadn’t tried nearly as hard. This fish was far larger than my previous big steelhead which ran about 9-10 lbs and was by far the brightest steelhead I’ve ever caught. What a way to start the season!