Skagit County, Washington Area Report

[House]

UPCOMING SEMINAR
Cal Stockin of Cause For Divorce Guide Service will be giving a presentation on Saturday July 16 starting at 10:00AM here at Holiday Sports. He will speak on the upcoming Baker Lake sockeye season as well as the upcoming salmon seasons in the Skagit. This will be our second year of fishing in Baker Lake for sockeye so not much info is out there on this fishery. He did very well last year with limits on most trips so come by and learn from one of the best.

FRESHWATER
A few fishermen have been fishing the mid/lower Skagit for cutthroat/dollies. They have been doing very well on large dollies weighing up to 7-8 pounds. Some are using bait while others are fishing hardware (spoons).

There have been some reports of fish sightings in the Samish River already. When it opens, there should be some fresh fish to catch.

Lake Samish has still been holiding up for kokanee fishermen. Fish are running in the 40-45 foot range. The best time is very early in the morning. Expect it to get a little tougher as temperatures warm. One of the tackleshop employees hit the lake on the fifth. He said that all of the fourth of July traffic must have stirred the fish up and he only landed three. There was lots of grass in the water so he had to check his bait constantly.

SALTWATER
The San Juans have started off with red hot fishing throughout Rosario Strait. Some fishermen reported boating limits on every trip. There have been multiple fish weighing in the twenties with a few in the thirties and one reported forty pounder. Hot spots have included Thatcher Pass/James Island, Tide Pt/Eagle Bluff, Obstruction Pass, and Pt Lawrence. Kevin and I fished on the fourth of July after we closed the store down at 4PM. We hit Thatcher Pass first. Kevin hooked up on a nice fish (on his herring) that we estimated to weigh in the twenties on our first pass but the hooks came out. We made a couple more passes but only caught a couple of dogfish. We decided to head over to Eagle Bluff since there was an incoming tide. On the first pass, I hooked into a nice one on a spoon and landed it. The fish weighed in the 18-20 pound range. We made a couple more passes and had two other solid takedowns before we headed out to the fourth of July parties.

A few fishermen fishing early in the mornings have reported that they have been back to the dock with limits before 6AM. Even this morning, we had fish come through by 8AM. This weekend's Bellingham PSA Derby should be a great one.

Crabbing was reportedly red hot in most areas of 8-1 and 8-2. Many crab fishermen reported that they had no trouble getting limits with quite a few in the 7+ inch range.

Anthon Steen
Holiday Sports Center
Burlington, Washington
(360) 757-4361