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.