Skykomish

[Salmonhawk]

Both Derek Anderson from http://www.screaminreels.net and Todd Daniels from http://www.TallTailsguideservice.com have been schwacking'em all week on the Sky. Both kings and steelhead are being caught and it's not going to do anything but get better the closer we get to July. For an awesome Seattle area river opportunity give one of these guys a call and get out on the water today. What a great Fathers Day gift!!

Derek Anderson Sky.jpg (98.52 KiB) Viewed 10359 times

[Nelly]

Just a SOLID fishery this year on the Sky!
The direct opposite of last year when we were slapped with that emergency chinook closure and an iffy steelie run.
One thing is for sure: With the monster snowpack that's up in the mountains, low water in the rivers won't be a problem!

[Smalma]

Whoa Nelly!!!

Last year through the 16th of June the Wallace hatchery had trapped 105 Chinook, this year through the 15th of June they have trapped 50. While still way too early to make determinations on the run strength the early counts are not very rosy. The trap counts the next couple weeks are going to be key whether there is another emergency closure in store for Skykomish Chinook.


Certainly there seems to be some fish around (summer steelhead, Jacks, etc) but it remains to see how the season plays out. Are there more fish or just better fishing conditions?

Tight lines
Curt

[Nelly]

That's a great point Curt and I appreciate you pointing that out!
I was not aware of the lack of fish in the trap and the angler success could very well be attributable to great water conditions.
At any rate, I'm going to keep my fingers crossed that the chinook and steelhead keep streaming into the Sky.

[Smalma]

Nelly -
The weekly WDFW hatchery escapement report is now up and I see that the number of Chinook trapped at the Wallace is now up to 80 fish. Last year at this time it was 225.

Maybe the higher flows this week will bring some fish in however to be fair until now the water all this month has been higher than last year. If there is not a dramatic push of Chinook soon don't be surprised to see another emergency closure. The scary thing is that those Skykomish summers are kind of our first look at the Chinook returns to Puget Sound. Hopefully the fall fish will be a whole bunch better.

Tight lines
Curt

[Nelly]

Thanks for the update Curt.
Although it's dissapointing to see that we're at a third of the number that prompted the E. closure of last year and it's difficult to hold out hope for a "late" push, I'm hoping it's not beyond the realm of possibility.
We don't have to look any farther than the Columbia springers for an example of a run folks gave up on that finally materialized. I'm not suggesting that there is a correlation between the Sky and big C but merely hoping for a little push of fish!
On a related note, what's your take on the Tulalip Bay bubble this year? It seems like it's definitely better than the last several years. Do you have any insight or hard numbers on that fishery?

[Smalma]

Nelly -
Would have like to have seen something around 1,000 fish at the Wallace hatchery by this time of the month.

Regarding the Tulalip bubble. While the fish have generally been pretty nice size the checks have been medicore at best. Something folks need to keep in mind is that I think the Tulalip bay releases are all now Skykomish summers (no Green River falls in the returns since 2008) so the fishing/returns are going to be much earlier than what folks are use to. Expect to see declining catches in the next week or so.

As you know I have suggested that this fishery be on folks radar for next years NOF process; serious consideration is needed for an earlier start.

Tight lines
Curt

[Smalma]

Nelly -
Looks like the "bubble" fishery may be on the down hill slide.

After so-so fishing last weekend (Everett ramp for Sat. and Sun was 13 boats with 2 Chinook) the Check at Everett this weekend was 1 Chinook for approximately 30 boats. Pretty sure that less than 10 Chinook have been checked at the ramp for the season (of course only a portion of the fleet fishes out of the Everett public launch).

Tight lines
Curt

[Ray G]

The Sky is still pumping out some fish. We went 4 for 6 yesterday and one of the fish was a mint 12lb king. I also talked to another boat that had 3 kings in the box. It seems there are fish throughout the river.

[Nelly]

Here's a DANDY that Bayside Marine Pro Staffer Derek Anderson of Screamin' Reels Guide Service put in the box on Saturday!

Derek'shog.jpg (37.79 KiB) Viewed 10051 times

Derek! Give us the details on that slab willya???