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Fall Steelheading…Oh Yeah!

September 10, 2010 by emeraldw

As fall arrives in our region, some anglers begin to feel a bit anxious, almost hormonal in a way. It’s the change in the air as we walk downtown to work or while trout fishing one day late in the summer, we can smell it, even sense the change of season upon us.

It is fall and my absolute favorite time of year to fish and not only fish but to swing flies, both dry and wet for steelhead.

For some, it is the time of year when they will marginally consider going out fly fishing, only if the weather is “cooperative.” For those anglers it is the last chance at a steelhead for the year as they won’t endure the winter conditions to pursue these fish, their disease hasn’t set in — yet!

Fall steelheading is pure serenity on the water. Cast, mend and step, watch the line swing, or not, take a deep breath and feel the cool crisp fall air deep in your lungs — repeat. Paying more attention on the next one because you know you are headed for the bucket or something grazed your line on the last pass, nearly impreceptible in this perfect piece of water, a mere hesitation that brought you back to your senses.

As those of us who are hosts or carriers of this affliction/affection for steelhead wander or sprint our way into this time of year, we inevitably question ourselves on every facet of the pursuit. This is the game and we love it. It drives many nuts to even open this proverbial can of worms with someone like us because there are no absolutes with one exception — you must be in the water with your fly to even have a chance, this we can all agree on.

I don’t wish to delve into the minutiae of the rest, only want to open a door here for those who haven’t yet had it cracked. Without question, this time of year will drive those whose heart is not owned by a particular river insane — way too many choices!

May favorite question from my regular and new clients is “Where should we go to get a steelhead?” My mind says “HOLY CRAP, did you really just ask that!” Because I can only come up with about 20 absolutely beautiful, serene, sexy, fantasmical (word unsure?) rivers to watch water pass on. Especially if 7 hours drive isn’t too much and for those afore mentioned anglers, this is not a problem.

Here is a brief list of my favorites with candy:

North Umpqua River, Oregon


Grande Ronde River, Oregon, yes Oregon


John Day River, Oregon


Deschutes River, Oregon


Snoqualmie River, Washington


Cowlitz River, Washington


Hoh River, Washington — Yeah, there are summer fish here too!


Skykomish River, Washington

I think you get the point and the scary prospect is this barely scratches the surface. Imnaha, Clearwater, Rogue, Willamette, Toutle, Wenatchee, Methow, Klickitat, Sol Duc, Salmon, Kalama…if it happens to be a tributary to or even a trib to a tributary of the Columbia or any of these other rivers, it likely has steelhead in it this time of year. And don’t let anyone tell you you can’t catch steelhead on the swing in these either, you can you just have to actually do it. Please do not let someone tell you they are going to have you swing then after an hour of half hearted effort be like, “Well, good thing you have that long rod because it sure makes managing your indicator easy from the boat!” Choose your path and stick to it, make it a mission and it will happen.

One item to note, so as not to make it even worse, I haven’t even mentioned leaving the U.S. to the north, even I can’t take it once we bring those lovely waters into the picture.

So to summarize, where will you find yourself this fall? Here maybe:

“Where is this?” you ask. Anywhere you want it to be, you just have to get yourself there!

Filed Under: Emerald Water Anglers Tagged With: Deschutes, Emerald Water Anglers, Grande Ronde, John Day, Oregon, Skykomish, Snoqualmie, spey casting, steelhead, swinging flies, Umpqua, Washington

All Puget Sound rivers to close early, as expected

February 13, 2010 by emeraldw

WDFW NEWS RELEASE
Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife
600 Capitol Way North, Olympia, WA 98501-1091
http://wdfw.wa.gov/

February 12, 2010
Contact: Bob Leland, (360) 902-2817

Steelhead fishing will close Feb. 18 in five river systems around Puget Sound

OLYMPIA – Steelhead fishing will close Feb. 18 in five major river systems in the Puget Sound area to protect wild fish, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) announced today.

The closure will affect the Puyallup, Nooksack, Stillaguamish, Samish and Snohomish rivers and their tributaries.

Pre-season estimates developed by the department indicate that returns of wild steelhead will fall far short of target levels in all five river systems, said Bob Leland, WDFW steelhead manager.

“This is the fourth straight year that we’ve seen a downward trend in wild steelhead returns,” Leland said. “These closures are necessary to meet the conservation objectives of our statewide steelhead management plan and comply with provisions of the federal Endangered Species Act (ESA).”

Wild steelhead in the Puget Sound region have been listed as “threatened” under the ESA since 2007. Although anglers are required to release any wild fish they catch in those rivers, some of those fish inevitably die from the experience, Leland said.

Rivers closing to steelhead fishing Feb. 18 include:

Puyallup River system

•Puyallup River mainstem from the 11th St. Bridge in Tacoma upstream to Electron Power Plant Outlet
•Carbon River from the mouth to Hwy.162 Bridge
•White (Stuck) River from the mouth to R Street Bridge in Auburn
Nooksack River system

•Nooksack River from the mouth to the confluence of the North and South Forks
•North Fork Nooksack from the mouth to Nooksack Falls
•South Fork Nooksack from the mouth to Skookum Creek
•Middle Fork Nooksack from the mouth to headwaters.
Samish River system

•Samish River from the mouth to the Hickson Bridge.
Stillaguamish River system

•Stillaguamish River from sloughs south of Marine Drive to forks.
•North Fork of the Stillaguamish from the mouth to Swede Heaven Bridge.
•South Fork of the Stillaguamish from the mouth to the Mt Loop Hwy. Bridge (above Granite Falls).
•Canyon Creek from the mouth at the South Fork of the Stillaguamish to the forks.
Snohomish River system

•Snohomish River from mouth (Burlington-Northern railroad bridges) to the confluence of the Skykomish and Snoqualmie rivers including all channels, sloughs, and interconnected waterways.
•Snoqualmie River from the mouth to the boat launch at Plum Landing (~1/4 mile below Tokul Creek).
•Skykomish River from the mouth to the forks.
•North Fork of the Skykomish from the mouth to Deer Falls (about ¼ mile upstream of Goblin Creek).
•South Fork of the Skykomish from the mouth to the Sunset Falls Fishway.
•Pilchuck River from mouth to the Snohomish city diversion dam.
•Sultan River from mouth to the diversion dam at river mile 9.7.
•Tolt River from mouth to the confluence of the North and South Fork.
•Raging River from the mouth to the Highway 18 Bridge.
The Wallace River, Tokul Creek and Snoqualmie River above the boat ramp at Plum Landing will close Feb 28.

Filed Under: Emerald Water Anglers Tagged With: Emerald Water Anglers, Nooksack, Puget Sound, Sauk, Skagit, Skykomish, Snoqualmie, steelhead, Stillaguamish, WDFW

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