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Originating from the North and South Fork, the Skykomish offers angling
opportunities for winter and summer run steelhead, humpies (pinks), coho, chum, summer
chinook, and searun cutthroat. Late November through mid February the Sky
receives its bulk of hatchery fish, while February through the closure (April
30th) native steelhead are present in respectable numbers. Summer kings and
native steelhead need to be released at all times.
Starting in early September
salmon begin to arrive in good numbers. In odd-numbered years humpies arrive in
early September or a little later depending on river level and precipitation.
Humpies spark the beginning of the salmon runs. They are followed by the
silvers, chums, and finally steelhead.
Hatchery fish and fisherman stack up
at Rieter Ponds in front of the hatchery creek located outside Gold Bar. For
those who seek solitude, a drive up highway 2 will point you to many famous
fishing spots. On the south side of the Sky the Ben Howard road will lead
fisherman to many pullouts and a boat launch. Below Rieter, boats can launch
at High Bridge and float to Gold Bar or continue to Sultan. The most popular
drift is from Sultan to Ben Howard or continue a little farther to the Lewis
Street bridge. The Skykomish joins the sluggish Snoqualmie and they form the
Snohomish River which flows into the Puget Sound at Everett.
-Overview by Cameron Dannar
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Mar. 28, 1999
Thanks to: Charlie Malmgren
Started out a bit late (7am) in Monroe, fishing one of the lower drifts. The early shift was already leaving without taking any fish. Having no luck either I headed up to Ben Howard to see how the boats had done. Talked to a couple of gear fishermen: One had picked up one (jig and float) and another had hit three (Plug, Float/Jig, Float/Jig). Finished the day up by Sultan with a small Native. The fish hit a black GP right at the end of the swing in some very soft water.
August 3, 1998
Thanks to: Clint Crookshanks
Arrived about 8 am at Reiter Ponds with my 8-weight fly rod. River was low and clear
but the sky was overcast. Saw three nice fish hooked and 1 other landed in the
morning. I moved downstream about 1/2 mile to get away from the people. After
lunch I had one nice fish spit the fly in my face before hooking into a nice 10-lb.
hatchery fish. He hit on a Purple Peril at the start of the swing. He took me well
into the backing twice before giving up. What a great experience!
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