Blog » Summer Kings & Steelhead on the Skykomish River
Summer Kings & Steelhead on the Skykomish River
I have given a few seminars at fishing clubs around the region for the past couple months and the requested topic has been fishing summer steelhead and summer kings. In Western Washington we can fish for something every day of the year, although there are opener dates for rivers as well as species of fish.
The Skykomish River opened June 1st this year and was once a legendary destination steelhead fishery in the Pacific Northwest and is often overlooked nowadays. An added bonus is hatchery summer kings.
While we do see wild steelhead and wild kings, the target are hatchery steelhead and hatchery kings. So far this year the Skykomish River has been giving up its bounty and anglers are having good success.
At these seminars I am asked “Is this technique going to work?” Or “I have used this or that and I did not catch anything.”
So rather than give a slurry of techniques which may or may not work, I just explain how I fish for summer steelhead and kings.
What I do is no secret. These techniques have been around for years. What I do, is make sure the clients keep their line wet, pay attention to their rod, maintain the proper boat position and read the water.
The two biggest questions I am asked are, “What equipment do you use?” and “What method do you use to fish steelhead and kings on the Skykomish.” My primary method for summer steelhead and kings is free-drifting. This is not to say I do not use other techniques, which I do. It is just that free-drifting is my primary method for summer steelhead and kings.
For free-drifting, or floating a jig I use G-Loomis 1141S UL rods matched Okuma Epixor spinning reels. It is important the rod and reel are matched. Read the Balanced System article. I use 10 lb mainline, which is Izorline. All of my terminal tackle matches the ultra light setup with size 10 barrel swivel and snap swivels. I also use 8 lb leaders. When I tie my leaders, I always tie 6 foot leaders. I may shorten the leader on the water, but tying 6 foot leaders makes it easy. I use the full 6 foot leaders for water with more visibility. If the water does not have as much visibility I will cut the leader down to 4 or 5 feet.
My leaders are tied with a double hook setup of #4 Vision fine wire hook w/ #10 cheater. In Washington if you are fishing from a boat you can use double hook setups. If you are fishing from the bank, you can only use a single hook setup. (Make sure you read the regulations)
Most importantly is how much weight is used when drift fishing or free-drifting. I use either pencil lead or slinkies for my weight. I used snap swivels, which are put on the mainline, which allows the weight to slide up and down the mainline if necessary. I only use enough weight to tick across the bottom about every 4 – 5 feet of drift. I want my offering on the bottom, but I do not want my weight dragging across the bottom.
With the aid of the kicker motor, I allow the boat to drift with the flow of the river close to parallel to the edge I am fishing. We keep our lines between 30 and 40 degrees upriver, and the boat operator has to maintain the throttle and speed of the boat so the lines drift though the water naturally and evenly.
If I am fishing a plug such as Kwikfish or using bait divers, I use a G-Loomis 981C (8’2”) medium weight rod with a matched Okuma Catalina line counter reel. The mainline is 17 lb Izorline. I still use size 10 – barrel swivel & snap swivels. The leaders are 12 - 15 lb Izorline.
When I am pulling plugs, I will either set the anchor in areas I believe fish will travel or hold fish or I will use the kicker to backtroll and area.
As I stated, my primary method of fishing the summer steelhead and kings is free drifting. My primary bait is cured eggs. I also free drift dyed prawn, EZ Eggs, and Dick Nites.
I do change it up and pull plugs, using Kwikfish / Flatfish (bait wrapped with sardine or herring), Wiggle Warts / Brad’s Wigglers.
When the water gets low I will float very small jigs. Rather than anchor up, I will still free drift the jigs, making sure I cover lots of water.
When you are free drifting, it is important you pay attention to your line. The biggest mistake I see anglers make is not keeping the slack out of their line and rod position. Free drifting requires you pay attention while floating the drift. If you run to the top of a drift and begin fishing, this is not the time to put your rod down and eat.
Pro-Tip: Pick a time you are going to eat. That way everyone takes a break at the same time. Put the boat on the bank or get on the anchor and set out a couple of plugs and have lunch. This also breaks up the day so anglers stay focused and in the action.
When you are free drifting, you need to keep your rod level and pointed at the line. If you have a balanced system and you maintain good rod and line position, you will increase your probability in catching fish.
You can rig everything up right and be focused, but you need to read the water appropriately. In reading water, we eliminate 90% of the less productive water and fish the 10% of the water that hold 90% of the fish.
If you are new to this, reading water is “The ability to look at the water, including the features that area of water displays, and predicting were the fish will be found within this area of water.” Learn how to identify areas that are more likely to hold fish and focus your efforts here, rather than fishing large unproductive areas of river.
Look for seams and edges. Edges can be areas of current break, depth change, structure influence or light contrast (shade). Seams are distinguished areas of current break where the fast water and slower water meet. For seams, fish the inside soft water inside the fast water. For edges, fish the inside of the edge. As an example; if you are fishing shade, work the water just inside the shade first. For drop offs or depth changes, hit the edge of the depth change first.
As with any river, the gauge height and the CFM (Cubic Foot per Minute) changes can also change the features of the river. Fishing the Skykomish River consistently will keep you apprised of the changes. The gauge height could change from 7.0 to 5.5 and it dramatically changes where you fish and how you run the river.
If you talk to anglers who have fished the Skykomish, they may refer to different areas by name. Some of the common names from Sultan down are; White Trash Hole, Taylor Hole, Two-Bit, Elwell, Humpy Rock, Thunderbird, Afternoon Hole, Ben Howard.
Each of these areas have their own features which can also change. Dependant on flow or gauge height, you may fish one side of the river at Two-Bit one week and the other side of the river another.
For boat ramps on the Skykomish you have High Bridge in Gold Bar (Drift Boats Only), Sultan, Ben Howard (Drift Boats Only), and Monroe Lewis Street Bridge.
If you are a bank angler, you need to get out there and drive some roads. Most of the land by the Skykomish is private property. However there are accesses spread throughout. You can start at Reiter Ponds, although this can often be a crowded place. Look at Reese Rd. in Startup to find access. Sultan both north and south side of river and there are various pullouts on Ben Howard Rd. giving you access to the south side of the river.
Hope this information is helpful. Good luck on the water.