09-15-2004, 02:19 PM
Skagit River - September 13th, 2004
supplied by: [url "http://www.fisheyesoup.com/redir.php?recKey=48,re"]Dickson Flyfishing Steelhead Guides[/url]
FISHING: Fair
[url "http://waterdata.usgs.gov/wa/nwis/current?type=flow&group_key=NONE&search_site_no_station_nm=skagit"]water levels - click here[/url]
"You really don't want to fish there."
Did someone mention rain?
After the great deluge, our rivers have all peaked since yesterday, and on their way back down.
Mike & I can report some happy fishing on the North Fork Stilly, but with the silt load coming in at the slide below C-Post, the only decent fishing before the rain, was either in the upper river, or all the way down into the tidal waters below Silvana. After the rain. Nada.
Weather patterns: Wow, not looking good for the cowboys. Rivers are at saturation levels, which means: Any significant rains are going to make your rivers jump. Keep one eye on the weather Doppler and the other on the USGS river gages.
I look for poor bay fishing in the saltwater, because the fish will pull right into the rivers with the high waters. River conditions are up and down faster than the stock market, and the tributary fish is an October gig. Here is what I see:
Skagit: Upper river jumped to nearly 20,000 cfs. The Chinook are spawning now. I mentioned the Cascade River will have some good fishing above the bridge, but we need a dry spell. The Cascade will also be opening for the below the hatchery kill fishery so you might want to avoid that. Skagit Coho are in now. Egg patterns, and egg-sucking leeches for Coho and the Dollies are the drill.