June One Skykomish Opener! Leave a reply
The June first river opener on several area streams has been marked on many an anglers schedule for many a day.
Why???
Most Puget Sound rivers closed on February 28th -if not earlier- so to the opportunistic angler paying close attention might observe that the salmon and steelhead have been unmolested for at least three months. The fish's lack of an "education" for 90 days means that the first guy to get a bait in front of their face is more than likely to get bit!
Armed with the above facts, a weak excuse of a summer last year, a winter that got an early start and a spring that you could only identify with a calender, the faithful, long-suffering northwest angler was chomping at the bit to get out for some Skykomish summer-run steelheading!
Can you say "pent up fishing demand"? The parking lot was full to bursting at both Sultan and Monroe (seen below) with both boat trailers and bank fishermen. The launch line at daylight? Fierce!
Since I couldn't make it for the "Fierce" dawn patrol, Derek Anderson of Screamin' Reels Guide Service was kind enough to give me the "civilized" 0630 pick up at the ramp. The guys made sure I knew that they had already released a fine native steelhead of 14 pounds!
On our first drift, Derek's long time client Wayne Smith quickly hooked up with a chrome torpedo of a steelhead which just as quickly came unhooked!
Derek hooked another dandy steelie on the next drift and tried to hand someone the rod but we made him play the fish! Todd Lalone of Bayside Marine stands ready with the net.
Derek's steelhead didn't want much to do with that net and did the standard steelhead "fly by".
The big hatchery steelhead got a little too close to the net and found himself in the bag!
Derek Anderson with a fine, 12 pound hatchery steelhead. This larger female is referred to as a "three-salt" hen due to the fact it has spent three year in the ocean putting on some extra weight!
All in all, a very strong start for the Skykomish summer season! Good numbers of chinook and steelhead are already in the Wallace hatchery and the peak of this run is weeks away! Over the course fo the summer we will see this fishery transition from steelhead to chinook and then from pink salmon to coho or silver salmon.
It's going to be a great year in local waters… Don't miss the boat!
Tom Nelson
The Outdoor Line
710 ESPN Seattle
www.theoutdoorline.com