Hello everyone, this is my first post to this web sight and am interested in any suggestions for steelhead patterns on the north fork of the stilly? I'm trying to get a jump on tieing before the June opener. Hi Bob, I just wanted to say thanks for the great web sight and all the information it contains.
Respectfully,
Fishtalk2000

I haven't been able to verify this, but I have heard that there were no smolts planted two years ago, which would mean that the only hatchery steelhead coming back this year would be three-salt fish. I thought that there was a reduced number planted that year due to the shaky funding situation at Reiter, where the fish that are reared at Whitehorse originate. Either way, unless there was extraordinarily good survival at sea, there won't be many fish coming back. It's been pretty dry, so maybe the claybank at Steelhead Haven won't keep the lower part of the river too dirty to fish and we'll have a chance to fish over the wild Deer Creek fish before August. After all that gloomy talk, in the low water conditions that will probably prevail this summer I've always favored two patterns: Haig-Brown's Silver Brown and the Spade. I always tie my Spades with a dubbed butt of orange, fluorescent green or kingfisher blue just to add a spot of color. I tie both on #8 or #6 light wire hooks and fish them on a floating line and in sort of a half-assed greased line style.

What is a three salt fish

A three-salt fish is a steelhead that has spent three years in saltwater instead of the normal two years before returning to the river.

I wish I knew how to find the WDFW page with the smolt plants listed...but plan to fish the Stilly alot this summer, as it's the closest to home.

I have a lot of luck with Stilly Sunrises, Stilly Sunsets, Green Butt Skunks, Dr. Spratleys, Purple Perils, Stoneflies, Silver Hiltons, &c. Don't obsess too much about the specific flies--just have an assortment at hand to show fish in varying water conditions--clear and low to chocolate syrup. Summer runs will grab about anything you show 'em if you show it right...

Check out Dennis Dickson's website for an awesome archive of information--much of it geared specifically to the Stilliguamish.

Oh--and buy a quality hook file...

Thanks everybody for the information on the Stilly.I've fished bobber and jig in the winter up there but am interested in shifting gears into the fly fishing side of things.I looked up Dennis Dickson's sight and thats a incredible source to reference. It's amazing how freely he shares his steelheading experiences. That kind of info is priceless. Does anyone have a suggestion where to put a pottoon boat in above French creek or is that a waste of time that far up?

I think that would be a waste of time as the river is just not deep enough for a pontoon boat. Now thats just my opinion. Even if you put in at Boulder river you might have enough water to float very good. Besides the access is very good for wading that part of the river.

Over the past couple of years, I have taken floated the Stilly in Pac 8 pontoon boat from Fortson all the way to the Quarry in all differnt water conditions. Had to drag it a couple times but it is easy to say the boat was much more an assest then a hinder...by far!! Hell, I had to a drag a pontoon boat in a couple riffles on the middle Hoh. It is very typical of alot of our rivers under super low water conditions.

You might be able to float from Fortson down. But I hope you didn't fish from your pontoon boat. I don't know if all the people that float down the river know all the rules. You can't fish from any floating device above Cicero bridge.

Welcome FT2000 ... glad you're finding some useful info here. Hope you make yourself at home and enjoy our company!

Big purple stuff, aka leech or a green butt skunk get the knod from me. A

Preston or anyone else,
Out of curiousity, how well are the Deer Creek fish doing on N. Fork Stilly these days? The last numbers I heard indicated that only about 200 were spawning. I've heard some very quite mumblings that a few more than that were making their way up recently. Any word on this?

Flyfisher 1066,
I couldn't say for sure, the reports over the last few years have been better than I would have expected. The clayslide at Steelhead Haven as well as Deer Creek itself have kept the lower part of the river too dirty to fish until well into the summer for the last couple of years. I walked in to the Mermaid last year near the end of July when it would normally be clear enough to count fish in the hole, and found the visibility to be only a foot or so. A few years ago ('98?), the year they had the emergency closure in the stretch just below the mouth of Deer Creek to protect the fish that were stacked up there, the WDFW estimated at least 1000 and possibly twice that many returnees. To me, that sounds a little too good to be true.