Northwest Fishing Reports

Hi Everyone,

So I'm new to Salmon Fishing. My friend and I are going to fish the Skykomish this coming Friday and I was going to go buy some tackle for this trip in the next few days. I thought i'd list the gear i'm looking at purchasing and if any of you more seasoned fishers have any tips on gear to add for this fishery i'm open to any/all the help I can get. From reading various websites, and this forum it looks like I should get :

Dick Nite Spoons (Size 2?)
Marabou Jigs (1/4oz or 3/8oz?)
Aerojig Humpy Death Jig (3/8 oz)
Vibrax Spinners (Size 4 or 5)
Wiggle Warts (Fire Tiger)
Mepps (Size 4)
Floats, Barrel swivels, and pencil lead weights if we drift.

We will also be fishing from the bank since we do not have a boat.
Also, I have been getting some great advice for Fisherman92 Thank you big time for all the help so far.
Anyways, thanks to all for taking the time to read this and provide any feedback you might deem necessary.
Looking forward to trying out this river for the first time and enjoying our awesome wilderness around Seattle!

Thanks,
Austin

If you dont have a boat dont bother with the wiggle warts, and that is more of a snohomish thing than a skykomish thing. Id also skip getting the humpy jigs. And stick with 3/8oz jigs. Definataly also get the spinners too. Another set up you should try is 1/8oz jigs under a float tipped with shrimp. Good luck.

Ah ok 3/8 oz Jigs, and Spinners for sure. I'll try to find a float setup so I can use those shrimp on a Jig as well. Thank you JonB!!

I second ditching the wiggle warts. I bought a handful and just never use them. They get snagged a bunch from the bank especially if you don't know the depth of your holes. They are supposed to dive a certain depth and most will go 8-10 feet which sometimes are just too deep for bank fishing.

I would just stick to float fishing and drift fishing gear and give those a shot with different offerings (spoons, bait, etc.). Good luck!

No expert here but with the Monday - Wednesday weather forecast # 4 and 5 Vibrax spinners may be your best bet. Off-color water = loud and noisy presentation.

Gettin snagged up was my main concern with the Wiggle Warts so that makes a lot of sense. Thanks again for the replies guys, helpin me out and helping the wallet by not buying unnecessary gear. Looks like the focus will be drifting,floating, and spinners.

Don't bother with size 2 dick nites. I would use size 0 or the wee version. The 2 smallest sizes that they have at the ones that I use. Jigs work great and so do eggs under float. In my opinion there is not a go to setup but others can probably chime in on this.

riverhunter wrote:I would use size 0 or the wee version. The 2 smallest sizes that they have at the ones that I use.

Today I learned that you can use the smallest DN sizes for coho! I could have sworn based on my own logic those were just simply too small to be effective or would catch just a bunch of small fish or wouldn't hold up well on a bigger one. Today I learned!

Going to pick up some tackle now.. Thanks again guys for all the help! Much appreciated and good luck out there!

Riverhunter is right about there not being 1 go to set up. The conditions dictate which will work better (as rseas mentioned about spinners in low vis vonditions)this is correct too.
If water visibility is lower than 2 feet, youll need to either use bait (roe or shrimp) under a float or plunked, or use a brightly colored (pink/chartreuse)size 5 blue fox spinner, as fish can hear that regardless of clarity. If the fish cant see as well, key in on their other senses, smell and hearing.
If the visibility is 3 feet to 6 feet twitching jigs starts to become the best method (IMO) other methods will also workin in these conditions, ie spinners, bait under a float and Spoons also start to see success in this visibility range. I prefer bc steel spoons in 2/5th oz and 2/3rd oz half&half and white being my favorites.
In conditions with visibility above 6 feet (low and clear conditions) fish tend to become stale faster and spooked easier. In these conditions going small and gentle is key. Fish will be aggressive during the first and last 30 minutes of the day, outside of that time window youll be relegated to floatfishing. You can still pick off a fish or two using the other techniques, but float fishing becomes vastly more productive. Roe and 1/8th oz jigs tipped with prawn are "go tos" in a low and clear river. You can also run colorado blades under a float aswell as pink steelhead worms.

I hope this helps, good luck.

Dont hesitate to try throwing some plugs.. we always plunk them in off color water either with a bait wrap or just smear some scent on them.. losing gear is just a part of river fishing so dont get discouraged if you lose a few setups.. Best of luck to yall

Thanks again for keeping the suggestions coming guys!
I ended up getting a few vibrax spinners sizes 4 and 5, A bunch of 1/8oz hot pink jigs for floats (1/2 oz), they didn't have any 3/8 oz jigs at the store so i picked up some 1/4oz ones, 1/2 oz slinky weights for the float setup. So mostly Jigs and Spinners is what I went with. Might go to a different store in a couple days to pick up 3/8 oz jigs and maybe some shrimp to tip them like you guys have suggested... All this rain right now is a good thing right?

Rain is good.

Thanks for the Sagely advice JonB. Nice work on those fish that you posted that report about yesterday! Looked like fun, Friday can't get here soon enough!

Dont listen to people when they tell you the river is blown, go look for yourself. Its very rare that 0% of the river system is fishable. There is always somewhere to fish. The estuaries tend to hold up well and are good early in the season. Smaller tribs blow out and come back in shape in a matter of hours. If its not completely dumping down, odds are the tribs will fish not only well but at their best. 3 feet of vis is optimal 2 feet is ok too. Just because one part of the river is blown or someone sais its blown doesnt mean there isnt anywhere to fish. My 2 cents on rain.

Agreed. I had my best fishing day this year during that weekend that was the "big storm" a few weeks ago and never saw a fisherman the whole day!