Erik, the drift from Sultan to Ben Howard is considered the middle drift and you can take it all the way to Lewis Street if you have lots of time. This drift is fairly straight forward although there are some small "pockets" that consistently hold fish that a first timer might pass over. The upper river is from High Bridge (big eddy) to Sultan and there is even another drift above that from "the cable hole" to High Bridge however this last one is not for first timers espically in low water. My suggestion to you for learning new water fast is to go with one of the guides who specialize on the Sky and tell them the type of technique you want to learn/use. Sam Ingram, Steely Dan and Rod Bush are just two of many guides who really know this river. Sam might have some openings now if you can fish mid-week. If you don't like pulling plugs I would definitely use small drift baits or floats/jigs or floats/pink worms due to the current low water situation however Sunday might be another matter if we get a lot of rain on Saturday. If you need more info on the Sky or Rod or Sam's phone #s give me a call or come to one of our meetings. We have a club that meets usually the third Tuesday of the month in Monroe.
Gary Bee
President, Sky Valley Chapter of Trout Unlimited.
360-794-6378