Sockeye Skagit River Fishing Techniques

Alright, to deliciousness, that sockeye was about 6 pounds. Pretty much average as I understand, at least in this area. as early as I filleted that fish and saw that smart red flesh I knew now my 1st preparation was going to be. I had to attempt some straight up, sashimi me style. Some of my friends in the ‘brotherhood’ offered their concerns about eating fish, particularly fish that has spent any time and freshwater, raw like that. My take is that you may want to look at the fish closely, check for any observable parasites or degrading in the flesh and so long as the meat looks great do not worry and enjoy. (bait2plate.com)

The Skagit River is a big river that goes through Skagit County and can supply some excellent salmon fishing opportunities. The Skagit river splits near the mouth and subsequently has two mouths. One mouth is just south of La Conner and the other is some miles south. From there the Skagit goes upriver through Mt. Vernon, past Burlington, Sedro Woolley, Concrete, Rockport and up more as it follows Highway 20 into the mountains. (fishwhatcom.com)

On 7/20/15, WDFW and co-managers met by conference call to update the Baker sockeye run size for 2015. In-season update models predicted run sizes alike to the preseason forecast of 46, 268. All parties agreed to keep the run size at the preseason forecasted abundance but will continue to watch Baker trap counts closely over the next week before meeting again to discuss updated in-season models. (wdfw.wa.gov)

The June first opener of the Skagit River starts off our Salmon Season every year with the return of our Spring Chinook or King Salmon. The biggest of the 5 salmon species our early summer Chinook are most likely one of the most sought after for their good table fare value. Mid summer in the Pacific Northwest signifies the return of our other 4 Pacific Salmon species as they make their way back to their home rivers to spawn. In late July we start seeing the return of our Sockeye Salmon to many of the Puget Sound Area Rivers. On odd years our Pink Salmon runs return to our area rivers in August. (johns-guide-service.com)

Today was the opening of the lower Skagit sockeye fishery. The says that we received was that the fishing was slow. We heard that there were three checked at Youngs Bar and three at Gardner through the early afternoon. Not hot by any means but at least there are some fish! We didn’t have high hopes for todays opener as we usually don’t see a good push of fish till the end of the month. The water was low but had a couple feet of visability with a good glacial green color. (tedssportscenter.com)

Puget Sound Summer Chinook create lots of buzz as the kick-off to Puget Sound s salmon season. South Puget Sound receives the 1st amount of action, since it opens earlier than North Puget Sound or Central Puget Sound. Typically opening day is filled with a few of true Summer Chinook and lots of smaller, inhabitant feeder Chinook. Summer Chinook make their way into the Sound in July and August, now fishing turns hot. From Midchannel Bank near the entrance of Puget Sound to Point Defiance in Tacoma, Chinook are caught by anglers of all skill level during the summer. Summer salmon fishing really is Puget Sound s recreational pastime. (riptidefish.com)

Baker Lake seems a bent finger, pointing toward the east, and the best fishing last year was on the upper ‘joint, ‘ between the bend and Noisy Creek, over the old river channel. Kevin John at Holiday Sports in Burlington said a rule of thumb is to start at a depth of 15 or 20 feet and to drop deeper at 10 feet per hour. He said that for the 1st couple of weeks, most of the fish will be caught between 20 and 60 feet, on a slow troll. (nwsportsmanmag.com)

In the south west front, the Cowlitz was predictable, with a steady push of spring Chinook and a building number of summer steel, the trick to break that cold spell can on occasion be throwing something new that the other guys have been neglecting. Eggs and shrimp tails under a float work well around the barrier dam area, and more and more we have picked up moving fish more downstream. This is certainly a jet ship fishery 1st, however bankies have generally been able to pull a successful haul out of the river at times. Another fishery that we have been aiming at is the Cispus above Lake Scanewa. (natetreatfishing.com)

Low tides virtually dry up Tulalip Bay also as Mission Bar. When this occurs throughout noon you may be able to rest guaranteed that it’s certainly outside trolling time. The edge of the bar is just too shallow, bright and warm to hold kings in the mood to bite. So, look for ‘pods’ of Chinook suspended in the deep water. I have caught Tulalip kings with 250′ of wire out in over 300′ of water. The point is that now of day and tide they may be about anywhere. But, take heart in the fact that once you find them there’s quite frequently more that one. Attempt to stay over the school and if you stop marking them keep your gear at the depth you last observed fish. (salmonuniversity.com)

Recreational ocean salmon fisheries for chinook and hatchery coho will be open daily beginning June 14 in Marine regions 1-4. Anglers will have a daily bound of two salmon in Marine regions 3 and 4. Those fishing Marine regions 1 and 2 also will have a two-salmon daily bound, however can keep only one chinook per day. Marine Area 4 will close Sept. 21 while Marine regions 1 and 2 close Sept. 30. Marine Area 3 closes Sept. 21 but will be open again Sept. 27 through Oct. 12. (portofilwaco.com)