I heard that they are going to be opening the Sockeye on the skagit this year is that true I looked all over the regs and couldnt see it I am probalbly just blind though.

If that is true what do you use for sockeye in the river I know in lake washingotn we just a red hook is it the same in the rivers. Inquiring minds want to know :rolleyes:

Yes, there is a season on the Skagit. (See page 49 of the regs.)

It is only open from the Dalles Bridge (on Concrete-Sauk Valley Road.) to a point 200' above the east bank of the Baker.

I've never fished for them...yet, so can't say what will, won't work, but you can bet on July 1, early am, I'll be sitting on the beach somewhere with a cup of coffee and some kind of gear in the water looking for one!

I hear that a ton of people fish the Baker stretch from the mouth to the Hwy. 20 bridge...that is going to be a combat fishery, for sure. I don't want any part of it.

Mike

Can you keep these sockeyes for table fare, when they're up so high in the Skagit river?

SR:

I've talked to my neighbor who has fished them for years, and he said they are still sea bright when they get up here...and yeah, superb groceries!

I can handle a couple people on our beach if anyone wants to come up and give them a try.

There is good beach in the area, but be warned that the locals don't always take kindly to trespassing.

Mike

Hey MikeB,
Thanks for your generous offer!
Well, if these sockeyes are still superb groceries in the Skagit, then I'll have to give that a try this summer.
I've never fished for sockeyes in the past.
But I've seen videos of sockeye fishing. They appear to be great fighting fish.
I've got a Lavro DB also, so I can try a float trip for sockeyes on the Skagit.
Maybe, Beezer and leadthrower and 4Salt would want to try that also this summer.

Hey mike I will gladly take you up on that offer to fish for the Sockeye that would be pretty cool. So they are open all the way to baker river that will be some good fishing have they said anything what they are expecting for returns. It must be good if they are going to open them up

Summer Run:

Dropped you a PM.

This really isn't a good DB fishery, IMO. The section that is fishable is short , and the next takeout is after floating a lot of water (maybe 3 miles?) you can't fish sockeye in.

Mike

Is this strictly a flossing gig or do people actually get them to bite?

It it going to be a flossery like 99% of the sockeye fisheries out there? If so don't use corkies and green (forest) or brown yarn.

I've been doing the skagit thing for a couple of years now. Most of the fisherman stay in the baker and it is almost exclusively fish biting ~ very little snagging/flossing. The reason for this is the current is very strong (the fish only bite good if the dam is open) so you have to plunk it with 4+ ounces of weight.

The fish up here are crome bright and excellent eating though it can be a little difficult to catch them sometimes. I typically use 15 to 20 pound test because of the strong current and number of rocks/snags and a pyrimid sinker on a 25 inch dropper. Above this is a 3 way swivel and a 3-4' leader with a medium sized pink/tiger stripped winged bobber, 3 red beads, a small pink squid with half of the arms removed and a small sand shrimp. The squid just adds color incase you'r sand shrimp comes off. Cast out so your fishing about 20 feet off of the east bank (of the baker) in the deep channel and wait.

You can access the river from either side simply by crossing the concrete bridge but I typically fish the West bank so I can have a little more room to myself and stay out of the sand....

This fishery is a snag fest when the dam is off. Once the dam is opened the plunking begins. The majority of the fish hooked when the dam is open are legally hooked. At time the river(skagit) in front of the baker can be packed with boats. As mention previously the east bank is better.

Mike B. - This info is all from observation, I have only seen the fish rolling on the north bank by your house. Right on the corner just before the straight away to the baker. I have pounded the water from the Dalles to the Baker with nothing to show for my efforts. I have hooked fish at the mouth. From the exceptional brightness of the the fish I am going to assume that they make a B-line for the baker; severly limiting fishing in the Skagit. I do hope you manage to figure out how to hook those fish by your house. There is a serious surplus of fish heading back to that river. Be sure to post some reports on this fishery in July.

LT

LT:

Thanks for the great info. For me, I know very little (if anything) about this fishery.

My hopes are that when the Baker was shut down some of those fish might be holding in the water below the house. I really haven't a clue if they will or not, but going to try all the same. I despise "combat" fishing, and would
rather fish where there are few people than over with the masses on the Baker or N. bank.

Fact is, more time spent with a line in the water may bring a few fish, even if they aren't in the water on the N. side that smells like "home" to the fish. With the Baker shut down that smell may be lessened enough that the fish will meander over to the S. side..:-)

Always the ultimate optimist..

The logjam created in the flood last Oct. is going to block most people from walking down the N. side starting at the mouth of the Baker. You can access the N. bank further down if you enter via 10 Acres and hike back in. I have not done this walk, but know it isn't far. (If you do walk in, please toss that big piece of while stryofoam on the bank somewhere else...I'm tired of looking at it.)

MB

Reiter rat up at three rivers Marine in woodenville can set you up with a perfect setup for those skagit sockeye that actually works great jigs and floats give him a call mike and you will be into fish!!!PEACE

This is a terrible fishery, not worth your time. Oh and did I mention the bears, yeah big grizzly bears and not to mention the haunted indian grave yard under the river. yeah thats the ticket. speaking of Indians do try to avoid fishing it when they are netting. It will only make you mad. This is one of the few sockeye fisheries that is not a flossing show. There whas a few lowlifes there last year that where snagging them out of thier sled with bare jig hooks. I found a small little Cleo spoon in orange and crome did the trick. along with a few other secret tricks.

ReiterRat was not associated with the "lowlife snaggers" I just posted about. Just so as not to piss any one off. My last post looked like a rip on RR and that was not ment to associate with any of the recent posts.

Before you plan to fish there go and watch it first, then ask yourself is it worth it!

Ditto...Homer.

2003 was a record return of 20,000 sockeye to the Baker River. The run size fluctuates quite a bit from year to year. I haven't heard what the run size forecast is for this year yet, but the brood year fry production and smolt passage were above average and good respectively. High ocean survival will be the determining factor, and it hasn't been way above average - like last year - two consecutive years before. The good news is that this run is gradually improving. Eventually, WDFW may allow a fishery in Baker Lake, similar to the one in Lake Washington, altho on a much smaller scale.

Sincerely,

Salmo g.

Salmo, I can see it now. Every tarheel in the valley will be lit up on Schmidt Ice and trolling Baker Lake. The lake will have a layer of blue smoke from the pre-1980 outboards, and will be a checkerboard of wife-beaters and hickory shirts.

Cupo,

Careful now. That's coming close to an ethnic slur. I've fished with some of those tarheels, and I have a pre-1980 outboard too. Unfortunately, it's true that the farther you drive from I-5 and major highways, the cheaper the brands of beer cans and bottles in the roadside, lakeside, or streamside litter.

The Wildcat Steelhead Club has become active in promoting the enhancement of the Baker sockeye, and I'm happy to have the support. It's a program with a lot of potential social and biological benefits. The run will support a lot of mid-summer recreational fishing and tribal ceremonial and subsistence. It also helps the ecosystem. As Baker sockeye have recovered, the bull trout population appears to be doing much better too, since they prey on the juvenile salmon. Even residual chinook have been found preying on juvenile sockeye.

Hope you don't mind those tarheels fishing for the sockeye. I've worked on this far too long to turn back now.

Sincerely,

Salmo g.

I'm just joking around. There are a lot of Concrete HS grads in my family.
I'd like to see a lake fishery too.

w. coyote,
Are you serious about grizzly bears showing up on the skagit river when sockeyes are in?
I never heard of a grizzly bear in WA state.

Mike B,
When do you is the prime week in July for this run of sockeyes?

SR:

""Mike B,
When do you is the prime week in July for this run of sockeyes?""



I'm clueless SR...this is our first year here, and it will be my first at fishing for sockeye. Couldn't even take a WAG at this one!

I'll be happy to post reports of fish seen as they come in..'bout the best I can offer, I'm afraid.

I would be willing to bet a few cold Buddummers that if anyone knows, its Salmo.

Mike

p.s. Yes, there are Grizzly Bears in WA, especially in the N. Cascades. Never seen (or heard) of one hanging around these lower parts.

SR,

I'm not expecting grizzly bears to show up on the Skagit any week this summer. Sockeye will show up in the Baker the last week of June. The run usually peaks about July 12.

Sincerely,

Salmo g.

Mike B. - At a recent presentation by a USFS bear specialist we were told that there were something like 6-10 confirmed grizzly sightings in the Washington State portion of the North Cascades over a period the last 50 years.


Salmo g.

I'm in agreement that July 12 is probably an average date for the peak of the run. My timing to target that fishery has always been the first three weeks of July with the expected peak during the second week.

It has been mentioned that the sockeye bite better when the dam is open and the water flowing. We know that the current power plant requires that the flow is either near none or around 4000 cfs with nothing in between.

That off or on regime is tough on the fish in the Skagit for quite some distance below the Baker's confluence and many people would love to see some kind of change in that. Do you forsee any improvement towards less abrupt changes of flow?

That question was asked of Jeff Koenings and some of his staff at the recent meeting in Sedro-Woolley and they hinted of improvement to result as part of the relicensing agreement negotiations but were less than specific about those improvements.

Somewhere I got the impression that the power plant might be modifed to operate efficiently at as little as half of that 4000 cfs flow rate.

I know nothing is yet written in stone but I wonder if you might be willing to outline some of the ideas being considered in respect to the Lower Baker power plant and its operation?

fyi -
The 2004 run size forecast for the Baker sockeye is 12,633 -

Run size forecasts for most salmon runs can be found at:
http://wdfw.wa.gov/fish/northfalcon/

Plunker -
I would expect that any expansion of the fishing area for these fish will be dependent a couple of factors:
1) Having larger and more consistent sockeye run sizes -
Salmo is correct in that sockeye returns have been increasing.

2) The incidental impacts to the Skagit chinook - as you know July is a month of high spring/summer chinook abundances in middle Skagit.
The impacts on those fish have to be accounted and included in the co-manager's fishing plans. In the recent North of Falcon process this fishery has been of minor interest to those there.

Tight lines
S malma

I had no idea that we actually have grizzlies hanging out in N. cascades. I'll have to be extra careful when I'm out fishing on the Skagit. Especially if I'm out there taking a pit stop.
Never know what might comes out from the woods.
Salmo, thanks for the info on the sockeye run. I'll plan on fishing the 1st and 2nd week of July.
I'm looking forward to this sockeye fishery as this will be first time fishing for sockeyes for me.

I doubt anyone will see grizzlies when fishing the Skagit. The last grizzly legally killed in Washington was taken above Diablo Lake and more recent sitings have been closer to the pass.

Plunker,

Although nothing is firm yet, more flexible operations at Lower Baker powerhouse are in the works. Unfortunately, it won't be ready and on line until 2012 as presently estimated. The powerhouse will have to undergo a major remodel, with two new smaller turbine units and generators installed. The plant will then be able to run perhaps as low as 500 cfs to 1500 cfs when the big unit isn't running. We're contemplating a higher minimum flow of 1,000 or 1,200 cfs, quite a jump from the existing 80 cfs. Hydrologic modeling is nearing completion, but engineering for the change and upgrade probably won't begin until 2008.

We're stuck with the lack of flexibility at the plant for a few years yet, but the long term changes should improve conditions for both fish migration in the lower Baker, and most importantly, spawning and incubation conditions in the Skagit when it is at low flow.

Sincerely,

Salmo g.

FYI -
For those interested in Grizzly bears in the North Cascade the following might be of interest -
http://wlapwww.gov.bc.ca/wld/documents/ncgb_rp0101.pdf

It is a relatively recent report out of BC on the status of grizzlies in the North Cascade complex (both Canadian and USA). They estimate there are less than 25 bears in the complex. I remember reading in a recent article on potential delisting of them that it has been estimated that there maybe 6 to 10 bears in the USA portion of the complex (they may be animals that wander back and forth over the border) . I believe that it has been estimated that the North Cascades could support several hundred bears. One of the most recent reports of them being in the complex were tracks found near Breeden Lake (the mountains between Bacon Creek and Baker). I would guess the most likely to encounter one would be in the high country during the summer or in thelate fall/early winter along the upper Skagit or Sauk/Suiattle.

In short the likelyhood of encountering a grizzly in the wild on the Skagit is remote at best however if one gets out and about way from the beaten path the likelyhood of encounter signs of one (tracks/sighting) would be higher than your chances of winning the lottery.

Tight lines
S malma

Maybe if we get enough sockeye in Baker lake the grizzlies will start coming down out of the hills at night to feast in the fall?

I've noticed that the sockeye fishing has gone from rarely open to regularly open over the last 5-10 years. What used to be hit or miss production of these fish has become quite dependable because of all the good work with the spawning beaches and the fish passage improvements. The Baker sockeye are a real success story.

Thanks for the link to the NOF predictions Smalma. Nice to have a handy reference for the different fishing opportunities.

At first look it seems ridiculous that the lower river is open to fishing but not for sockeye even while the same fish can be kept above the Bridge at Concrete but you bring up a good point about accounting for the impacts on the chinook.

Any fishery targeting the sockeye on the lower river would bring many more anglers than what we now see with the limited opportunity there. With these anglers would come greater impact on the ESA listed chinook and that impact requires study and quantification and the planned incidental take requires approval. Not so easy as just deciding to harvest a few sockeye.

Salmo - I was hoping you were going to say that plans were in the works to provide for more flexible operation of the lower dam. Thanks for confirming that hope. The constant 1-2 foot changes in the river level just can't be good for the juveniles nor can it provide ideal spawning conditions for the adults. Too bad things change so slow but with age comes patience and the understanding that doing things right the first time requires planning and that takes time.

It wasn't too long ago that the Baker sockeye were very close to becoming extinct, but with everyone pulling together many of the difficulties that they face have been resolved.

It seems that things just keep getting better.

The grizzlies thing I had NO idea.

Thanks, Plunker

Can anyone recommend a decent plunking set up for these fish?

I've heard that they will take a sand shrimp, but having never really done any plunking before, I'm not quite sure how to rig it up.

Mike

Sumer-run
the only grizzled creatures you need to worry about will be the two legged ones fishing there. My comment was an attempt at humor to keep other people away. If there is any bear in the area they are more than likely black bear. You probably won't see any there. And the indian graveyard was a joke also. NO FEAR!!!

Wildlife in the stretch from the Dalles Bridge to the Baker?

Here's what I've seen since Oct.

No Bears (Black or Grizzly)

Cougar (haven't seen any, but they are in the area - seen bunches of tracks)

Bobcat - (see cougar)

River Otter - 3 different otters inhabit this stretch (or travel through). Please don't bother them..wife love to watch 'em play.

Beaver - 3 in the area...one that goes over 60 lbs.

Deer - a couple of does seen twice

Coyotes - never seen or heard one

Osprey - A couple hang out in the area

Eagles - Pretty much gone from the area till next Nov.

Mergansers - bunches of the things - feel free to take as many as you wish.

Please, if your going to fish the north bank of the Skagit near the Baker (or anywhere for that matter) please take out what you bring in.

Mike

W. Coyote, I feel much safer now.
Mike B, Thanks for the Skagit wildlife report!

Mike B ~ if you see my post (above) that will give you a pretty good idea of how to do it. The fish can be pretty picky and the pink tiger stripped wing bobber usually works the best.

To rig: Tie a 3-way to your mainline with a bead above it (to keep the cotton from stopping the swivel from spinning). One one end of the 3-way use a 25" dropper (at least 20 lb line) to a 4+ ounce pyrimid weight.

On your leader put 2 beads above and 3 below the winged bobber, slide on the small pink squid (missing half the tentacles) then another bead or two. Snell the hook and attach with bait loop (or don't pull the snell tight with the eye of the hook). I usually use red or black 1's for sockeye

To rig the sand shrimp: make sure you buy the small ones, you'll get more and the big ones come off too easily when the current is running. Pull the large pincher off the shrimp and run the hook through the head of the shrimp starting between the eyes and then follow the curve of the shrimp and until the hook has threaded the shrimp and is comes out it's tail. This isn't very difficult with small shrimp but is with large ones in which case you might need to use a bait threader. I make sure the hook comes out the tail between the hard plates at the very back so it has something solid to hold on to. After this I pull the antennae, a few walking legs and the remaining claw through the bait loop and pull a until slightly snug (not too tight because the head of the shrimp should be infront of the hook eye and you don't want to rip the hook out). After that just slide the squid back so it goes over the top of the shrimp and you're ready to fish.

Is ther a way you could post a pic on what is looks like minus the shrimp or tell me how long the squid are
Thanks Kris