Does fishing in Seattle suck or do I suck?

[steelhead-hunter]

Hey guys,

I moved to Seattle for the summer from Chicago and thought I would pound on some salmon. The opposite happened: I struggled to catch fish. I want to know if this is what one should expect or am I not that good? (I am considering going back to Seattle for a job).

Here is my experience: I caught a bunch of little pinks from Lincoln Park, tried many times for a King with no luck, and went to the Sky for summer steelhead and saw people catch but I didn't hook up myself.

In Chicago, I usually have no trouble catching trout and salmon. In fact, two days after getting home to Chicago I hooked up into two nice Kings from shore.

What's the deal here? Is Seattle not good for fishing? If I get a boat will I be able to catch considerably more fish?

[jonb]

Im doubtful that "you suck" as a fisherman in the area, perhaps not yet acclimated to the fishery. And hell yes a boat would help particularly for coho out on the sound in early fall (if its open) and also for winter chinook

I was a transplant from upstate NY when i moved to washington state. Yes adjustments needed to be made before i started catching any real numbers of fish. New techniques and understanding of the environment were helpful factors.

It takes time on the water to understand the little nuances that make the difference between getting your ass handed to you or having 10+ fish days.

Washington states salmon fisheries right now aren't great to be honest. BC and alaska are fishing way better in recent years. Steelhead fishing used to be available in many more waters than it is now so youll find crowding can be an issue.

The one caveat though is that steelhead caught in washington state are ACTUAL steelhead, meaning they migrated into the salt, their bodies processed salt water, then came back to fresh water to spawn (anadromous) as opposed to rainbow trout that migrate to a fresh water lake, undergo no physilogical changes regarding salt inttake then return to their natal rivers as adfluvial rainbows, still good fish but NOT steelhead.

[dj2loud]

I'm a transplant from Maryland, fished a lot in north carolina and the outer banks for tuna, the potomac river in DC, Maryland and VA for bass, crappie, catfish and the famous SNAKEHEADS.... Moving to washington was a serious learning curve, it's taken me almost 5 years and i have yet to catch a steelhead.. Of course it's one of those fish that have eluded me, however lack of fishing time and more overtime at times than i could handle may be the real reason... Salmon on the other hand I've had a blast to catch and eat ! Pinks and chums seem to be the easiest to target as they mainly like certain lures and baits.. Chum for whats its worth are some bad ass fish compared to the rest of the salmonid family.... Kings and sockeye taste the best and close 3rd is coho... Finding them takes practice and patience... Also its best to fish when the run is the strongest, dont get me started on the tribal commercial netting that goes on on our local rivers.....

[steelhead-hunter]

Thanks guys. That makes sense. I may have needed more time to adjust to the fishing in Seattle.

But let me tell you, I tried pretty hard to catch fish. For a few weeks, I would go almost every day after work. I got the impression that the water was very big for the amount of incoming fish. Meaning that in Chicago, the number of salmon and trout were not in crazy large numbers but they were confined to smaller rivers and in predictable areas. In Seattle, I struggled to find the fish (especially kings and steelhead). (I did find a bunch of kings in the Sky but they were illegal to fish so not counting those)

As Jonb said, maybe having a boat is key. Do you need one of those big boats to catch reasonable numbers of fish? I don't have much money to spend on a nice boat.

[jonb]

You dont *need* a boat to catch nice fish but it certainly doesnt hurt. Steelheading is definately a walk and wade thing for sure. Weeks of effort just isnt enough. You need seasons of effort under your belt before you will start reliable catching those fish with any amount of consistency.

You could always hire a guide for a day or 2 to shorten the learning curve. If you have money for a boat, then you could afford a guide too. IMO the knowledge you get from a guide will help shorten your learning curve more than a boat. Guide > boat. Dont hire any young kid guides. Hire a guide whos been in business for at least 10 years to get your full bang for your buck.

[fisherman92]

It can be real hit an miss around here. Don't get discouraged. I've had great years and bad years fishing salmon. Sometimes it's all about timing. I've learned alot through forums on here and talking to locals who are having success. Most but not all fisherman tend to be friendly about sharing especially if you are fishing in person next to them. Find the person catching the fish. Mimic them and keep trying. It takes a while to get used to the water and every river is different. And yeah min has a point of maybe trying with a couple guides to help as well.

[BARCHASER]

I'm 73 and first moved to Seattle in 1980. Back in the 80's and 90's it was pretty good around here. But it has gone downhill a lot in the last 10-15 years. There are a lot of reasons, too many to get into, but Steelhead and Salmon wont get better and probably will get worse.

I was born and raised in Portland and left there in the mid 70's. I'd like to move back there but for family reasons I wont although I still fish in Oregon 3-4 times every year. If you want to live in the northwest and like to fish, move to Portland. Again, for lots of different reasons, SW Washington and NW Oregon is the place to be for fishing. Its gone down a little there too but it is still much better than here. No Indian Treaties for one reason, the Columbia River system is simply the biggest river system in the world with Salmon and Steelhead and their coastal rivers (Wilson, Trask, Nehalem, Nestucca etc) are still very good.

Check out Ifish which is a Portland based fishing website and read through it to get an idea.

[steelhead-hunter]

Thanks everyone. Solid advice. I'm planning to hire a guide and then buy a small boat (per the guides recommendation).

John B, do you know any good guides for the Snohomish, Skagit etc. systems?

[jonb]

Pm sent