A place for readers to talk about river fishing in Washington.
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steelhead-hunter
- Angler
- Posts: 7
- Joined: Sun Jun 25, 2017 12:58 pm
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by steelhead-hunter » Sun Jun 25, 2017 1:09 pm
Hi everyone,
I just moved to Seattle from the Great Lakes, where I fished for "steelhead" in tributaries of the Great Lakes quite regularly for over two years. I know there is a quite a bit of information online for places to fish for summer steelhead (e.g. the Sky..) but I was wondering if anyone is willing for me to tag along for a fishing expedition? I brought my gear and cured steelhead roe with me
I can drive or will chip in for gas.
I went to Ballard Locks a few days ago and it was full of Sockeye. Seems like a fisherman's heaven here
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riverhunter
- Commander
- Posts: 416
- Joined: Thu Aug 15, 2013 8:02 am
- Location: Everett
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by riverhunter » Mon Jun 26, 2017 7:56 am
I fish the sky quite a bit. One thing is for sure though fishing for steelhead can be tougher here then in the Great Lakes!! These fish are ocean running fish and tend be skittish ( I think I spelled that right) once they hit freshwater!! I also fish for silvers on the Wallace but that's in the fall!!
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steelhead-hunter
- Angler
- Posts: 7
- Joined: Sun Jun 25, 2017 12:58 pm
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by steelhead-hunter » Mon Jun 26, 2017 9:58 pm
riverhunter wrote:I fish the sky quite a bit. One thing is for sure though fishing for steelhead can be tougher here then in the Great Lakes!! These fish are ocean running fish and tend be skittish ( I think I spelled that right) once they hit freshwater!! I also fish for silvers on the Wallace but that's in the fall!!
Your not the first one to say that catching steelhead here is tougher than in the Great Lakes. Seems counter intuitive because we are in native steelhead waters. Back in Wisconsin, I used to average 2-3 steelhead per trip when conditions weren't terrible (e.g. clarity, river flow.. etc) but I guess I should be happy if I even land one here.
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riverhunter
- Commander
- Posts: 416
- Joined: Thu Aug 15, 2013 8:02 am
- Location: Everett
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by riverhunter » Tue Jun 27, 2017 7:39 am
Steelhead around here are known as the fish of a thousand casts!! A lot has to do with the fact that steelhead are in decline here. Also from what I understand is steelhead in the great lakes behave more like land locked rainbow trout as oppose to here they are true migratory anadromous fish. These fish do not feed regularly in freshwater as they are just in here to spawn. Salmon is the same way. Dozens will pass in front of you without a single nibble. That being said there is ways to get them to bite and once you figure it out it really isn't that tough