Sauk River Steelhead

[Jake Dogfish]

Well done!
You can thank salmosalar and others who have fought to keep this fishery open.

[nwwanderer]

Pretty, thanks!

[ridgefire]

Nice fish 7mm. Thanks for sharing.

[cavemann]

Completely agree metalhead I appreciate the posts and reports. 

Sent from my Pixel 4 XL using Tapatalk

[ridgefire]

7mm. Did you catch your fish before or after the first couple of hours? We have been waiting for the masses to go and then have been picking the water apart behind them. A person should almost start showing up and launching around 10am to let some of the pressure die down and you would have most of the river to yourself.

[Dan-o]

Looks like a great float.

Beautiful pics. 

[Huckleberry]

Beautiful fish and day on the water. I love seeing pictures with hooks in the mouth. While no lures are secret its nice to see what's on the end of successful anglers lines. These posts are why I love this forum. Thank you.

[JBG]

Is this open until April 1?  Nice fish btw!

[7mmfan]

7mm. Did you catch your fish before or after the first couple of hours? We have been waiting for the masses to go and then have been picking the water apart behind them. A person should almost start showing up and launching around 10am to let some of the pressure die down and you would have most of the river to yourself.

I'm a strong believer in the late morning float. That wasn't in the schedule yesterday so we were in the thick of it. We caught both of those fish before 9 am but then definitely had a sense that we were just too close to back of the line of boats and the fish were either sore or spooky.

I believe it's open until April 15 this year. Saturday - Wednesday. Closed Thursday/Friday.

[WSU]

Back when fishing existed for steelhead in the harbor rivers, I used to launch late on the upper nooch.  I'd probably be the 20th or 30th boat down, but you could pick up fish and not get caught up in the boat race.  I thought it was actually better the later you launched.

[ridgefire]

My buddy hooked a couple more today. He’s getting them dialed in. He said the buck was pushing twenty pounds.

[ridgefire]

Another picture.

[HntnFsh]

Nice fish!

[2MANY]

A portion of the Sauk River to open for catch and release steelhead fishery
January 16, 2024

Action:  Opens Catch and Release steelhead fishing in an area of the Sauk River. 

Effective date:  Feb. 3 through April 17, 2024.

Species affected:  Steelhead.   

Location:  Sauk River (Skagit/Snohomish Co.), from the mouth to the Darrington Bridge (Sauk Prairie Road Bridge).

Steelhead Rules:

Open Saturdays through Wednesdays only, closed Thursdays and Fridays. Fishing for all other species remains closed 7 days per week.
Catch and release, except up to 2 hatchery steelhead may be retained. Wild steelhead must be released immediately and may not be removed from the water.
Selective Gear Rules (SGR) in effect. Night Closure in effect.
Fishing is prohibited from a vessel equipped with a motor.
Fishing for all species other than steelhead remains closed.
 Reason for action:  The Skagit River steelhead preseason forecast is 5,215 steelhead. In accordance with the Skagit steelhead Resource Management Plan, when the preseason forecast is 4,001 to 6,000 Skagit steelhead, there are enough steelhead impacts available to safely provide some catch and release opportunity. The fishery will be five days per week, Saturdays through Wednesdays. The two day per week closure is a conservation measure to provide steelhead some daylight hours, without fishing effort, for movement and migration to spawning areas.

Additional information:  The fishery will be monitored by WDFW to estimate impacts to Skagit winter steelhead as well as all incidental catch of other fish species. Anglers are asked to cooperate with creel personnel collecting catch information.

Information contact:  Mill Creek Regional Office, 425 775-1311

Fishers must have a current Washington fishing license, appropriate to the fishery. Check the WDFW "Fishing in Washington" rules pamphlet for details on definitions and regulations. Fishing rules are subject to change. Check the WDFW Fishing hotline for the latest rule information at 360-902-2500, press 2 for recreational rules. For the Shellfish Rule Change hotline call toll free 866-880-5431.

[pd]

My buddy hooked a couple more today. He’s getting them dialed in. He said the buck was pushing twenty pounds.

Holy Cow, Ridgefire.  That is one impressive bruin.  Beautiful.  We are so lucky to have such fish here.