So its Fathers day. Couldn’t hit the river with pops this morning which is too bad. But for the middle of June the river has been pretty non-forgiving as of late. June is the time of year on the Sky where usually a skunk doesn’t happen let alone three in a row. But today I finally got out of the foul odor of the skunk. It wasn’t a banner day on the river didn’t see anybody else with a fish. Hopefully this warm weather stretch will bump the river up to big and get those fish that have been hanging out deep in the lower river moving up and into the fly water.

With the river on the rise the last two days figured it was time to get out and give it hell again on the river. Typically I stay off the Sky during the weekend because of the boat traffic that is on it typically. And there were a few out there today that re-affirmed that for me. The fishing gods however were with me and not them. Hope Karma keeps kickin their a$$es for the stunts that they pulled today. I’m not one that thinks they own the river when I’m out there but common courtesy goes a long way. Most fisherman would come unglued had I or anybody else fished the way they did on the river. Please respect the water of others when you are out fishing it goes a long way.

With that vent over sorry about that; we can get back to fishing. for the most part I was able to get first rod thru the water that I intended to fish today which is always a confidence booster. The first spot one of the most productive spots on the river for me this year yielded me nothing. Figuring my fly was the problem I ran through it 2 more times with different patterns seeing if something completely different would turn the fish that wasn’t there. The next piece of water probably would have had a good chance but as I took the time at the top of the break to tie back on the dark water fly the two boats of who I spoke of earlier made there first appearance. Both proceeded to put their boats in the sweet spot of the run and then step on the oars through the entire run. Normally this wouldn’t bother me too much but the water that I am fishing is only about 2ft deep the damage was done and I wasn’t about to wait around for the water to rest so. skipping the next spot trying to get away from those guys proceeded on the the last scheduled spot on the trip this morning.

With the moron twins in the rear-view started in with the light tip swingin the shallows. Half way through them, boom goes the dynamite, and a nice 7ish pound hatchery buck explodes from the water after 15 mins it found its way to the beach and in a couple of hours from now the BBQ. Ive done my part now its time for you to go out and give our wild steelhead a chance and get yours for the dinner table.

Tight Lines, Joe Ewing PFF, Northwest Steelheading

After a 6 month hiatus for most of our local rivers they are all finally open to fishing again. That means no more traveling to the coast or the Columbia River trips to get my fishing fix in. After a brutal winter fishery with the wonderful weather we had this fall, winter and most of spring, this weekend finally showed signs of summer.

That means summer run steelhead are in full swing on a few of our local rivers. The Skykomish opened up on the first of the month and with it being at a fishable level for the majority of anglers in the state, they all showed up en mass. For as crowded the river was there should have been more fish caught. Which tells me that the low water levels we have had for the last month or so has yet to bring in the bulk of the run.

Do not fret though this warm weather weekend should help jump start the run. As it stands now the Sky is running at about 11,600 cfs a large jump from the 7,500 cfs on the opener. With that size she is carrying quite a bit of color and hopefully in the coming days quite a bit of fish.

As for the fishing the first three days as said it was slow, a very late start on the opener avoiding the heavy early morning traffic yielded us one fish only to be lost as the fight drew near to the end. After a senior moment at the take out with a pair of my rods it left me day two with really only one option of fish finder for the river. It worked as it found two but they didn’t want to stick around for a picture and just as they were there they were gone, but hey that’s fishing. That day was cut short due to driving rains and the fact that some honest people who found two of my rods found a way to get them back to me. A big thumbs up and thank you to all the guys on piscatorial pursuits for helping me find those things.

After having to go back to work on Friday I was forced to an afternoon on the river. With the proper tools in hand and only a few hours of fishing to be done off to the river for round three. With the rain and the warmer weather the river was up almost 2K cfs from the opener. Getting a little closer to perfect for these bright sunny days. Hit the first spot which has yielded 2 fish so far this year with great optimism even though it was 69 degrees and hardly a cloud in the sky.

It took about 15 casts into this spot to feel the slight tap of a fish. Giving pause waiting for it to come back a brief moment later a large heavy presence was felt on the other end of the line. The 9wt fish finder had done its job now it was my turn. Little did I know at the time it was to be a battle of brawn and little wit. Only being able to make out a shadow in the murky water after 10 min I was beginning to think that I had found a summer king that had wandered up river. After about 20 min I was able to get it close enough to see the rosy red cheek and the stripe down the side indicating the presence of a big winter steelhead. For a fish this late in season it had remarkable strength and stamina. Unlike many of the winter runs that I have hooked in June this one had not spawned at this time. To give you a better indication of the size of this fish. My right hand was unable to grasp the wrist of the fish the picture gives a nice illusion but my fingers are not on the bottom of the fish. As for the girth my left hand has a much of the fish as it can handle. For those who don’t know me in person who read this 6‘4” and able to barely palm a basket ball makes me wish I found this fish in April when it was a full, plump, fresh weight. I would have easily taken over largest steelhead of my life but for now its a tie for second. Why may you ask are we talking about a dark winter run in June, because it was a toad, thats why. And its the reason why I fish 8,9, and 10wts in early June as opposed to 6 and 7wts, along with 12 to 15lb test leaders. Shortly after releasing the fish and on the phone while fishing of course I got a similar but more agressive bump of the fly and giving brief pause again felt the line start to slide off the reel and get heavy and just like the day before, but just like the day before came back to nothing but the tension of the current. Bummer . So as the month progresses the fishing will only get better as long as we keep some decent flows in the river to continue to entice the chrome summer runs back to their home streams.

Don’t miss out on a great fishery because the water volumes are intimidating come in to the shop or book a trip to learn how to fish these things this time of year.

Tight Lines, Joe Ewing PFF, Northwest Steelheading