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Fly Fishing for Skagit River Chum Salmon

by Michael Bennett
Jordan Rae with a tough Skagit River chum salmon

Chum salmon enter the river and sport their spawning colors and fighting teeth after just a few days. A fairly fresh chum like this nice buck, are impressive both in appearance and in fighting spirit. 

Fly Fishing for Skagit River Chum Salmon

THE RUNDDOWN

  • From the town of Sedro-Woolley to Rockport, WA
  • Chum salmon from the end of October through mid-December
  • Watch regulations closely for which sections open on certain dates. 
  • Bank access is limited once the river levels come up in the fall, but it is still available. Walk-in access is usually available near boat ramps on the Skagit River.
  • Floating the Skagit River in a raft, drift boat or pontoon boat is very easy in almost all areas of the river.
  • The river can run high and dirty much of the short season when chums are in the river so hit the river when the conditions allow or you may miss it until next year.

WHEN TO GO

  • State fishing regulations change every year so keep an eye on how those regulations may change the following dates.
  • Late October thru mid-December – Chum will begin entering the river as soon as early October but prime time is usually the month of November. By mid-December, most of the chum salmon are usually on the spawning beds, dying, or dead. It is a short season for chums.

TACKLE

Single-hand rods in 8wt or 9wt. Two-Handed rods of 7wt,8wt or 9wt. Use sink-tip lines and slow to medium sinking rates are usually all you need.  A multi-tip line system is great to have for either single-hand or your two-hand rods. Leaders should be about 6ft long for sink-tips. Most anglers like 15lb to 20lb leaders for chums. It is a good idea to have at least 150 yards of 30lb backing for these big, mean dudes. 

Other recommended equipment: waders and boots, rain jacket, pliers, hook sharpener, polarized sunglasses and flies. 


FLIES

Unlike silver salmon, chums are known to take flies with enthusiasm most of the time. If you find a bunch of fresh chums in a run that fishes well with the fly, you're likely to hook a few fish on most days.

Best Flies for Skagit River Chum Salmon
Chum salmon will hit a wide variety of flies but they are usually bright colors and can also incorporate a lot of flash. Our favorite chum salmon fly colors include black/chartruese, purple/pink, but also UV Black. Click HERE for a wide variety of great flies for chum and other Pacific salmon. 

Flies for chum salmon can come in a wide variety of colors, sizes and styles. Despite the large size and ferocious appearance of these bad dudes, smaller fly patterns can be quite effective for chums in addition to stereotypical larger, more flashy fly patterns. Here are some proven winners and still be sure to experiment with colors if the fish aren't immediately hitting your offering. 

Some of our favorites: Polar Cobollero – Pink, Pay Dirt – Pink/Purple, Starlite Leech – Black/Chartreuse, Hareball Leech – Aleutian Queen, Egg Sucking Leech Barbell Eyes – Black, Hot Shot Comet – Chartreuse, and Hareball Leech - Black

Skagit River Fly Fishing for Chum Salmon
Chum salmon enter the river only weeks from when they will begin to spawn. Fresh fish will already have some markings on their side and their ferocious teeth will already be beginning to appear on the bucks. A fresh chum like this plump Skagit River buck will have you wishing you checked your backing knot.


WATER SELECTION

When chum salmon are in the Skagit river, the river flows have usually come up from late fall rainstorms. Chum salmon enter the river and begin spawning almost immediately. When chums are spawning, it is common to see them in shallow water on riffles. These are not the fish we want to or should be targeting. Let those crusty dudes and dudettes finish their lives in peace. We want to find the bright, fresh chums that are still in the river but holding in deeper water, not yet ready to spawn. These are the fish that will show you why chums have a reputation as rod breakers.

Chum Salmon Fly Fishing
Chums will hit a variety of flies but sometime small flies are the most effective. Here, this big chum buck took a size 4 Christmas Island Special bonefish fly. A nice side benefit of the bonefish flies, most of them are tied on strong, stainless steel hooks so they have strong hooks despite being fairly small flies.

Chum salmon like to hold in modest currents and, in the typically more colored-up water of Nov-Dec, will hold quite close to shore on the inside seams of the river’s currents. Water that is 3 to 6 feet deep with a rocky bottom, a modest current, and just below a shallow obstruction like a shallow riffle can be a great place to find chums. They can also pile up below major creeks entering the river, where they will wait to eventually go up the creek to spawn. Like pinks and silvers, even in these slightly deeper runs, the fresh chums often jump or swirl on the surface and show you where they are stacked up. This can certainly be an easy way to locate good chum holding water. Unlike pinks and silvers, chums seem to avoid completely slack water areas and like to be in moderately paced water.

Skagit River Chum Salmon Fly Fishing
Structure in the river like this mid-river gravel bar often create ideal holding water below them. In this case, the gravel bar creates moderate water speeds and depths of 3-6 feet of water below it. An upstream obstruction like this is a spot where chums will often stage and be susceptible to fly presentations. 

 

TECHNIQUES

When chums enter the rivers, water conditions are usually quite different than when the pinks did. The rivers are typically higher and can even be off color. The salmon guide their way along inside seams of the river to avoid strong current flows. Or they avoid those strong flows by sitting in mid-river depressions below a shallow riffle. Either way, they can enthusiastically take a swung fly when everything goes right. We like to swing the fly just like we would for steelhead, with a moderate paced swing on a sink-tip line, trying to keep the fly 2-3 feet off the bottom. Incorporating a mid-swing strip to hop the fly can also worthwhile to trigger a strike. Also, beginning a slow strip retrieve before the fly reaches the hang-down is often ideal. If for nothing else, finishing the swing with a slow retrieve can help keep the fly from getting too close to the bottom in the shallower water near shore and snagging fish as a consequence. Because chums are so big and can get pretty packed in one pool, snagging fish can be an issue. Especially the old, crusty ones that aren't moving around as much. Keeping the fly higher in the water column really helps and results in much more fun when a fresh chum crushes your fly. Chums are hard enough to land when they are hooked in the mouth!

Jordan Rae admires another brute chum salmon from the Skagit River
Jordan Rae admires another bad-ass chum salmon from the Skagit River, WA. This buck is showing his full spawning teeth and colors but still had a lot to say about a fly swinging in front of his face. November is the prime month for chum salmon, enter the river and spawn in only a matter of weeks. 


SUMMARY

Fly fishing for chum salmon is just another unique fly fishing opportunity we have in Western Washington and the greater Puget Sound area. Chum salmon only return to Washington and the northwest portion of Oregon in the contiguous U.S. so they are a sportfish few get to enjoy tangling with.

The Skagit River embodies what we think of when we think of chum salmon. Large fish in a large river on a cool, fall morning with the rivers given new life by fall freshets. The mighty chum salmon, rarely given the respect it deserves as a sportfish, quietly ascends the river during the strongest flows of the year. A small percentage of fly anglers will take the opportunity to intercept them during their short time in the river. Those that do are quickly aware of their robust power and the excitement and thrill the chum salmon has to offer. 


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