WSFR Rivers Reports (Snoqualmie) - http://www.nwfishing.com

	-Thanks to Ann McElvain for the photo.



	Below the falls, anglers catch chinook, coho and pink (in odd-numbered years) salmon, steelhead and sea-run cutthroat. Above the falls, resident rainbow, cutthroat and eastern brook trout are caught. Check the pamphlets for special regulations and restrictions. -Overview by WDFW Current Conditions - Graph format of flow rates of the Snoqualmie near Snoqualmie from the USGS Current Conditions - Graph format of flow rates of the Snoqualmie River near Carnation from the USGS Current Conditions - Graph format of the Snohomish River Basin from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

	Dec. 1, 2000 Thanks to: Tyler Laurenti I hit Tokul Creek on the first day of the steelhead season. I found a lot of fishermen, but not a lot of fish. What I did find was a wonderful situation for flyfishers. If you take the road up the Snoqualmie River from Tokul Creek, you will find a parking lot for the powerhouse. There is a nice paved path the leads to the River. Once there, before you will lay hundreds of large slabs of basalt portruding above the river. You can easily walk from boulder to boulder and access some great waters. Ample backcast area and deep pockets make this location on the Snoqualmie a smart bet. Nov. 1, 2000 Thanks to: Officer Macrae Fishermen and women, Please read the regulations. Salmon season is NOT open on the Snoqualmie River this year. There is a selective gear rule in effect thru November below Snoqualmie Falls. Regards, L. Macrae June 5, 2000 Thanks to: Patrick Hines The river is running a bit high, but not too fast. I flyfished a few holes above the Fall City bridge without any luck. Speaking with other anglers, there hasn't been much action yet now that the river opened. I fished a #4 Blue Fox for an hour and a half in the evening also producing the same result. I checked out Tokul creek to see if any hatchers were returning, but Tokul is real low right now and I didn't see anything holding. Off to a slow start. Mar. 10, 2000 Thanks to: Tyler Laurenti I fished north and south of the Fall City township bridge. I used a rattler and orange blue foxes (both gold and silver blade) and had absolutely no luck catching steelhead. Though, some bait fisherman was landing AND KEEPING...[report ended, the bait fisherman must have caught up with Tyler before the whole story could be sent?] Mar. 3, 2000 Thanks to: Douglas Knight I went to the park just outside of Carnation and found a slow moving pool of water on this side of the river. I first fished the upstream side for about a half an hour, then I started fishing the downstream end and whamo! A nice 127quot; Dolly Varden trout that I put back. I got about 2 or 3 more bites but wasn't quick enough to hook them. I didn't stay much longer as the sun was going down, but it was some fun. Feb. 19, 2000 Thanks to: JOKER Boodogged orange corkie and eggs from bridge to bridge no takes, pretty slow NEED RAIN. There's also a pretty good bite at cotton junk at 4:20. Feb. 7, 2000 Thanks to: Jeg gray Got skunked! No one caught a dam thing and no one in any other boat or on the bank had s*t! Jan. 23, 2000 Thanks to: Jeff Sturgeon It was such a beautiful afternoon for this time of year that I had to be on the river. Started at Carnation and Mcdonald park where the Tolt empties. Several fisherman were up and down the river. Saw one nice steelhead caught from a boat. Went back upstream to Fall City where several guys were fishing the area and the mouth of the Raging. I had found a a nice stretch of water on the upper Raging on a previous outting and so I hit it right before sunset on my way home. I used a Mepps spinner and on my second cast down through this run, it was slammed by an eight pound hatchery hen. She came screaming out of the water in three beautiful leaps taking line downstream before I turned her back upstream and five minutes later landed. To see those leaps in that small river was breathtaking. I have talked to several fisherman over the last week, there are fish out there if you work a little. Jan. 15, 2000 Thanks to: Rick Mueller Floated the upper river to Neal Rd. This was my first run to this river. I was not to happy with the vis. 1-1.5'. We ended up with two good take downs and one hatchery hen about 5 lbs. We picked up the fish just below the golf course. Everthing we touched was boondog'n. We could not buy a fish on plugs. To the solo guy in the willie boat at the plum launch: just because you fish solo doesn't mean you can short hole everyone on the river. You may want to get up sooner to get "your hole". Last I checked it was still first come fist serve on most rivers. Maybe this river is different. So for my ignorance I guess I'm the one who is wrong. Tokul Creek - Jan. 11-13, 2000 Thanks to: Gabe Miller I fished Tokul twice this week. Tuesday I fished at the mouth with a bead and yarn. I landed one and lost one. Thursday I got to the creek about 2:00. By 2:15 I had my first fish on the bank. Unfortunatly it was a little too dark so back he went. It only took about another hour to catch my second and last fish of the day, a bright hen. All in all, not a bad week. Tokul Creek - Dec. 12, 1999 Thanks to: Gabe Miller I got down to the creek at about 3 in the afternoon. I managed to hook and lose four and land one summer run still in good shape before it got dark. I was using just a little bit of yarn and a bead. It was not too bad of a day. Dec. 11, 1999 Thanks to: Mike Carey My friends and I put in at the boat launch downstream from Tokul Creek at daybreak. The water was up a bit and moderately off-colored, visibility about 1 1/2 feet. As the morning progressed, we had a light rain come down. We drifted eggs and pulled plugs. By 10:30am the water had come up and turned noticeably dirtier. We bagged it at 11am and returned to the boat launch. The water was up about 6-12" and much dirtier. No fish seen caught, not much going on today. After checking the River Levels reports, I noticed the stream flows went from 5,500 cfs at 6am to 9,000 cfs at 11am. Guess that explains all the debris in the water! Dec. 10, 1999 Thanks to: Michael Parker Justin Guse and I tackled the stretch of water from Plum Landing to the take out above the Raging River. Although at the start of the morning the water was running fine with visibility at around 2', the river rose throughout the day and visibility dropped to almost zero. We managed to release one old summer buck, a handful of 12" hatchery smolts, and an old bow-wow before the waters were out of shape for the weekend. Other boats on the river had no luck, or so they said. At least the high waters should bring in some chrome brats for us in the very near future! For your viewing pleasure: http://staff.washington.edu/parker/pictureoftheweek.html Dec. 2, 1999 Thanks to: Bill Bailey Arrived at Tokul creek at about 9:00 am hoped to to fish the big eddie where the creek comes in but the river was high and coming up. Thought about going home but there was not a soul fishing down at the mouth so I decided to give it a go made a couple of casts into the seam between the fast and slow water using eggs and was rewarded with a nice buck about 8#. Fished about another ten minutes and got another nice hen close to 10#. Sure am glad I didn't go home! Sept. 2, 1999 Thanks to: Glenn H Got on the river about noon, water was nice and clear. Put on a black jig and landed a nice 14-lb. buck. I would like to thank the nice people who gave me a hand getting this fish to shore. Couldn't have done it without you. This fish was caught at furpond hole Aug. 25, 1999 Thanks to: = Glenn. H Fished the Snoqualmie on the 25th [for] only the 3rd time. Was having no luck, sun was out and the falls look good from down here, when my guide gave me a black jig, 2nd cast, the show was on. After a few tense ear fulls from my guide, I had landed my frist steelhead, a 13-lb. buck off furdog rock. Cannot wait till next week. Mar. 24, 1999 Thanks to: Ron Bob Fished From Fall City to Richters today caught two nice ones. 10-lbs. and 16-lbs. drifting eggs. We talked to the biologist and was told that the summer steely program for the Snohomish system is all but shut down. It seems a shame that a great recreational resource as this is being closed down for a mere $80,000.00. Please call your nearest district office and e-mail your representives and ask them to keep this program open before it is too late. Mar. 12, 1999 Thanks to: Marc Le Poullouin I stopped by the Snoqualmie on the way home from work on Friday for a few hours of fishing. It was raining hard, so I decided to plunk and take some shelter from the hatch on my SUV. Using eggs that I just cured, I was able to tempt a nice 8 lb. native buck into having a snack. After 5 or 6 nice arial shows I was able to get him to shore and then release him. Can't think of a better way of spending a Friday afternoon. Good luck to all. Feb. 22, 1999 Thanks to: Marc Le Poullouin Catching my first Steelhead was better than I dreamed of. Going out with guide Eli Rico who runs "HotShot Guide Service" made all the difference for me. I learned more from him in a day than I had reading books and going out on my own. After a full day of pulling plugs, boondogging, and drifting, I hooked into a nice 11 pound native hen while drifting eggs and a corkie. Trying to keep her out of the raging current and back into the slack back water was the fight of a lifetime. I had the time of my life that day. If you want a full day's fishing with one of the nicer guys around, I would sure recommend going out with Eli. His number is (206)469-0567. Tight lines and good luck to all. Feb. 20, 1999 Thanks to: Brett Wedeking On Sunday I fished the Snoqualmie without luck. I fished near Carnation Farms and on Neal Road; the river looked good and was dropping nicely. I saw lots of people and at least six boats but I didn't see anybody else hit anything either. The wind really picked up though about 11 o'clock and basically blew me off the river. So instead of fighting the wind I packed up and went over to a friend's house in Fall City. Feb. 9, 1999 Thanks to: flunker Went over the bridge at Fall City took a left toward Carnation, took first left at ballfields, park at backstop. Walked into bottom of bar. Nice big hole, fish stack up, locals think they own it, get there early. Jan. 24, 1999 Thanks to: Tuck Harry We met before daylight and had the boat in water at 6:45 am. Jim and Chris are long time clients who have several nice fish hanging on their walls. Lots of boats and fisherman so we looked for small spots nobody else was hitting. Third hole down we had a pretty good strike on shrimp but missed it. The weather was a little frosty but the sun came out and warmed things up Chris was commenting how on such a nice day you really ought to catch a fish, besides his wife was waiting at home with barby in the ready state. Several holes later we were discussing the merits of Massage therapy and Chris's rod takes a violent dip we knew it was a nice fish when it nearly jumped into the boat. A few minutes later we landed a chrome bright 12lb hen. Relieved we had satisfied his wife's expections we proceeded to the final hole. We watched a fish roll off to our right and I slid the boat over there, two seconds later Chris's rod goes down again. We saw the bend in the rod and Chris commented that this was a much heavier fish. After a pretty good fight we released a beautiful all red 15-lb silver. Its always good to be on the river even if the fish aren't biting! Jan. 8, 1999 Thanks to: Matt Sturza When we reached the Snoqualmie around 6:00 AM we saw there were at least 20 anglers near the mouth of Tokul Creek. We went downstream only to fnd more anglers in the good water. Me and my Dad finally got to a good spot and stopped. We fished white cheaters with red dots on them and orange, pink, and red yarn and roe. In a tailout I saw a spawned-out steelhead barely alive. We hooked nothing. When I checked the reports in the times I read that 300 anglers caught 27 steelhead. That's about 1 fish for every 100 anglers [new math?]. But the report people gradually check so they don't get all the fish. Any suggestions? E-Mail me at mszr@GTE.net. Snoqualmie River - Jan. 6, 1999 Thanks to: Spoony Fished for two hours (3 to 5 pm) just upstream of the Fall City bridge. Dirfted a corky & shrimp tail, yarn, & flies in a variety of colors with no luck. I even threw some other gear but still no takers. Lots of plunkers on the south side of the bridge and I didn't see a fish taken down there either. I am somewhat new to this river so don't know if the river level is all the way back yet but it looked pretty good with the kind of color I like. I will surely try again at this spot and elsewhere on the river once I learn where to fish. Speaking of where to fish, anyone who would like to point me in the right direction can send me an e-mail. I would greatly appreciate the help. Later... Snoqualmie River - Jan. 3, 1999 Thanks to: Spike Brandt Arrived late at the mouth of the Tolt. Already at least 10 other people fishing. I was there about 20 minutes and not a strike. I was drifting with a small corkie/yarn combo. Lots of fog and cold water but good to be out trying. Dec. 20, 1998 Thanks to: Jere Crosby www.premier1.net/~jcrosby I guided a fly angler, Richard Newton, from England, Sun. and we survived! It was 16 degrees when we put in at Plum's Access, but things warmed up in a hurry. Jeff Poth's and fishing partner Ray Gombiski, a 300 lb, Univ. of Western lineman, had just launched ahead of us and were already wooping it up with their first steelhead on. With no chance of flyfishing, I lined up with Jeff not 10 ft off the launch site and let out a plug rod for Richard. I poured and handed him a cup of coffee and down went his rod tip. A great fight pursued and a 6-7 lb steely was landed and released. (Richard is headed back to England for the Holidays and has no interest in keeping steelhead) A boat on the other side of the river desided our side was where the action was and pulled anchor and moved ahead of us. I told Richard that the other side usually was just as productive and pulled anchor and moved over to where that guy was fishing. Down went the rod tip! The fish hit so hard Richard couldn't get the rod out of the holder. Fish lost, but we were pumped...all but the blood in Richard's feet! I had to let him out and run up and down the David Powell road and get some feeling back in his feet. Richard landed and released one more wild fish in the 10 lb range after lunch and we took out at Richter's with some fond memories. Dec. 19, 1998 Thanks to: Brian Mahoney I arrived at the upper portion of the Snoqualmie before sunbreak. It was very cold and lightly snowing. I fished for 4 hours drifting eggs and shrimp with no luck. I saw 2 small winter runs and 2 summer runs caught while I was there (out of 15 or so fisherman). The Snoqualmie was still running a bit high, 4000 cfs, but was dropping nicely. It's shaping up to be a great year to steelhead! Dec. 18, 1998 Thanks to: B.K. Ammenwerth I fished the Snoqualmie today near and around Big Eddy up by Tokul creek. Tokul creek wasn't producing so I decided to fish the main river. I was drifting eggs and ended up hooking 4 for the day. 3 chrome winter fish and a dark summer run. A couple other guys had a good day too, with 3 or 4 taking their limit. The Snoqualmie was running a little dirty with about 2-3 feet of vis. Should be more winter fish pushing up too! Dec. 15, l998 Thanks to: Jere Crosby www.premier1.net/~jcrosby After teaching school today at Englewood Jr. High, I stopped in on the group of guys fishing below the Fall City Bridge. Today was a "hot" day, the best so far this winter season. There were a number of limits taken by "plunkers" and float fishermen also caught a few. All in all, there were about 15 steelhead taken in this small area today. It's become the most productive area on the river. Winter fish look very healthy and larger than normal. Crosby Tackle Co. has a flyfishing guide trip Sat. and I hope they leave a few. Dec. 4, 1998 Thanks to: Brian Mahoney I fished the river Friday evening, Saturday, and Sunday with the same result, "lots o' chums and no steelhead. I worked corkies and yarn with shrimp and eggs and even a pink plastic worm with no avail. The river was in fine condition and many anglers were also trying their best. I saw no fish except for chums caught by anyone else. I heard tales of so many fish already up the Tokul that they were releasing them downstream. Hard believing stories like that with such poor luck! I'll be back next weekend. Dec. 2, 1998 Thanks to: Jere Crosby The Snoqualmie is quite high, but plunkable. There are quite a few fish below the Raging River and on down below the Fall City Bridge. I just stopped down there after teaching today at Redmond Jr. Hi and there were 4 steelhead caught, all summer-run and 2 dark chum. All of these fish were kept! Use good discression. Thin, colored up summer fish do not make very good table fare, are fun to hook and land though, and will spawn in the river if given a chance. "Sportsman" should be looking for the nickle bright winter hatcheries that should be in anytime now. Those chum are another story. Put those ugly things back! Before the high water, Crosby Tackle had some fun days hooking summer-run on the fly in the upper river. There were a few 3 salt hatcheries that are prime, big, hatchery fish. One broke me off after first flashing silver in my face by coming way out of the water! There are lots of summer fish and some chrome winter fish that have already crowded into the hatchery stream off of Tokul Creek. This year is going to be a big one for using floats with jigs and rubber worms. If you want some good tips on how to rig up, give us a call at (425)222-7556. Jere Crosby jcrosby@premier1.net www.premier1.net/~jcrosby Snoqualmie River - Nov. 17, 1998 Thanks to: John Kruse I was fortunate enough to go fishing with my Dad (Thomas Kruse) on November 5th out on the Snoqualmie River near Carnation. We were not being overly specific in our fishing. We used #3 to #4 gold colored spinners in the hopes of finding a summer steelhead or perhaps a feisty Chum Salmon to play on the end of our lines for a bit. Our efforts were rewarded pretty quickly when I looked downstream to see a BIG fish go airborne in the middle of the river at the end of my father's line. I waded down to watch Dad land what I assumed to be a Chum Salmon and what he was guessing to be a late Chinook Salmon. We were both pleasantly surprised when he got it in close enough to see that we were both wrong and that it was a very, very nice native buck summer steelhead. We measured it out and found that it was 36 inches in length and had a 16 inch girth. We guesstimated it to be about 15 to 16 pounds. (Neither one of us is current in the measurement to weight ratio but if anyone is, e- mail me at Ncwmallard@aol.com and let me know how big this fish was!). After a short period of adulation, adoration and big smiles, Dad let the fish go to spawn or perhaps be caught again by another lucky angler. No other strikes during this short mid-afternoon trip but it was definitely a fishing day for the two of us to remember. Nov. 11, 1998 Thanks to: Chuck Davis I hiked to my favorite bank fishing area on the Snoqualmie and started tossing small homemade spoons. First fish was a 19 inch cutthroat, then 3 silvers, two more large cutthroat and one more silver; all from the same spot without even moving upstream or down; all within two hours. The fall was great in this area with an 18 pound king, lots of jacks, silvers and cutthroat. Everything I catch in this river I release. However, I still haven't connected on any steelhead in quite some time and never did see any chums. August 29, 1998 Thanks to: P. Hines Launched early Saturday morning and floated the river and as I passed over a small 10 yard long stretch of fast water I hooked a summer run steelhead. The hatchery fish fought well, jumping and splashing and measured in at 30 inches and weighing 6.5 lbs. The steelhead are there, but you have to work for them as they spooked by the low water level. July 13, 1998 Thanks to: Bill Wells I floated the Snoqualmie on Sunday from Fall City to the Neal Rd takeout. We were the only boat on the river. The weather was perfect for fishing- with overcast skies it stayed fairly cool all day. With the bait fishing restriction in effect we fished mainly hotshots with a single barbless hook. About the second or third hole we came to my #30 purple hotshot got nailed and my rod nearly flew out of the boat (I had forgot my rod holders). The fish was charged and took about 6 nice runs complete with the typical summer-run aerial show. It was a nice bright 8lb hatchery hen. And my apologies to the catch and release advocates, but this one hit the barbecue when I got back that afternoon (My in-laws were in town, and I was on the hook for providing dinner). We had one other nice takedown about midway through our float, but the hook didn't stick. We got off the river about noon. July 8, 1998 Thanks to: Jere Crosby Crosby Tackle Co fished a father and his two daughters on Wed. and had a great time. This was there first float trip and the girls, age 7 and 9 yrs. had great imaginations. Boulders were the backs of Hippos, stickups were snakes and an alligator or two made me feel like I was floating the Amazon. Dad did catch a trout or two before I convinced him that his chances of a steelhead on the fly were very limited. I rigged him with a float, Bait Bands, and a blubble gum colored rubber worm and in a classic steelhead tailwater, the float went under and the flight was on. Steelhead run and fight different when pulling against the resistance of the float and after an exciting battle the hook came free, or so I thought. When he reeled up, a swivel had broke. I am constantly amazed at the success with using the rubber worm. That has been the hot lure on the river. Jere Crosby, Crosby Tackle Co. June 5, 1998 Thanks to: B.K. Ammenwerth I fished the Snoqualmie for about an hour on the evening bite! It was my first time out since April so I was really checking it out not really fishing hard. Saw one nice chromer hooked and slayed. Still seems a bit early, but there are a couple fish in. In a week or so the summer run should be going strong! Good luck, and submit a report if you go out! River - Mar 20, 1998 Thanks to: Robert Reyes I had nothing else to do that day. So i decided to head up to Neal Rd. (again). I was drifting a worm. I thought i was snagged at first, but after a nice pull I unsnagged and I brought in a very small, but finicky 10 in. steel. If anyone wants to know a good place to go for info, go to Buffalo Bills and/or Creekside Anglers in Issaquah, WA. They have excellent service and advice. Mar. 19, 1998 Thanks to: Chris Flores If you read my report dated March 14 you will know that I and my son had a pretty good morning, one native each. My wife told me that our 7 year old daughter awoke to disappointment at our absence and our activities without her. She told her that she wanted waders and a steelhead rod for her next birthday, "so that daddy will spend time with me". Today my wife and son had an afternoon engagement so what the heck, my daughter and I headed out to carnation for some much anticipated action. We arrived at the frog water at about 4:30 PM and within about 30 minutes my pink worm disappeared. I set the hook and was rewarded to some fine aerial moves by the 9-10 lb native hen. I handed her the rod and she loved it [although] she tired and gave it back after a few minutes. I released the hen unharmed. Another child hooked on steelhead! Mar 17, 1998 Thanks to: Robert Reyes After school I jetted up to the Snoqualimie (Neal Rd.) I decied to drift a night crawler under a bobber today. The water clarity was not too bad, but not that great. From shore, again I came to some frog water. I tossed my line out for 40 min.; I felt a bite, but missed. I casted up from the same spot, another bite, but this time I landed a 19 cutt. Not too much of a hassel since I brought my steelhead rod this time. I took a nice picture and decided to throw her back. I seriously throught I was going to get cheated that day, but it turned out fine. Mar 16, 1998 Thanks to: Jason Witte Hit the water about 8:30 am where the Tolt runs into the Snoqualmie near Carnation. Fish there a while but not a thing. A little snaggy in there for driting but I did O.K. Only a few people fishing here and I seen no fish caught. Drove back to Fall City and fished around the bridge area there (herb farm???). Tried my luck there also but had no fish. Many people fishing there and also saw no fish being caught. Not to hot up there on Sunday, at least the rain held off. Mar 15, 1998 Thanks to: B.K. Ammenwerth Fished the Snoqualmie above Fall City, where? I'd rather not say. Fished with 2 other guys; between us we hooked at least 12 fish. Many of them were nasty and fought like boots. This is the best I've seen the Snoqualmie all year. I hooked into 3. Two were natives and one was a hatchery fish that was all but dead. I fished half the day with a dink and either jigs or worms. The rest of the day I tossed corkies and yarn. Mar 14, 1998 Thanks to: Chris Flores I woke up my 8 year old son early and headed out to the Camp Gilead Drift at first light. We fished the upper portion of the drift with no takes on sand shrimp (myself) and pink worm (son), both fished below a dink bobber. We worked our way down river and still met with no sucess. We hit the frog water and the river was fairly low and clearing up rather nicely. A fellow fisherman was leaving this part of the drift and reported no takes. In parting he remarked to my son, who was about 20 yards behind me that "it's just plunking water anyway". Well he left and my son made a few short casts. Then he made a cast and let it free spool for an honest 100 yards. The bobber dove under as a mint bright 9-10 lb. native hen tried to devour the pink worm. About 10 minutes later he had her to the bank, we took pictures and set her free. I,m not too proud so I started rigging up a pink worm for myself. About that time he fell into the river. I took him into Carnation fed him and dried him off. We went back to the same drift I made a cast and let it free spool while I helped him untangle his rig. Well no sooner had I placed the rod in my armpit when a 10-12 lb. buck slammed my worm. We took pics and let him go. Needless to say it was a pretty good morning. It was my son's first native steelhead. You don't need a barb if you keep a tight line. River - Mar 15, 1998 Thanks to: Robert Reyes Well, I got a late start on that day but it did not turn out that bad at all. I fished Neal Rd. from shore, my boat was in for a fixing, but I was drifting fresh roe (is this still legal? -ed.). At about 1:00 pm I felt a little tug on my rod. Soon I set the hook and my little trout rod with 6lb line had a working. But after 20 min. I had a nice 8lb. native. but I had to throw him back. -I appreciate Robert's report and I believe that it is inevitable that we will be seeing more and more catch and release fishing in Washington. In fact I believe we may well have seen the last native kill and keep fishery for wild steelhead. A permanent statewide C&R fishery for native steelhead is likely if not immediately, at least within the next few years as it has been successfully practiced for many years in British Columbia. I hope that as you release these wild steelhead you will soon start to appreciate how you are contributing to the further survival of these magnificent fish. It is an acquired reaction, but one that hopefully will catch on with all sportfishers, many who might not have previously even considered releasing any fish they caught. - Editor Feb. 8, 1998 Thanks to: Jeff Hale Today I took Jere Crosby down the river in my boat, giving him an opportunity to fish instead of row (which he rarely gets being a guide himself). Today was Crosby's day; he hooked himself a chrome bright, 8 lb hen on his 9 weight sage flyrod and his new head system. Nailed the fish on a scissor wing marabou tied in hot orange and red on a #2 hook. The fish fought hard and Jere had a blast. He played the fish expertly and had the fish subdued and ready to be released in good shape. Crosby's a first rate flyfisherman and I learn something new everytime we fish together. Always seems I'm learning. That's what makes it fun. Feb. 19, 1998 Thanks to Jere Crosby for the following report: I had the day off and spent most of it in Creekside Angler in Issaquah talkin fishin instead of doin it! The weather was terrible when I got up, but turned nice when I headed home to Fall City. As I turned at the Fall City Bridge I saw a fellow playing a fish and quickly pulled off and ran over the bank to watch him land it. He had it in the shallows and then like most natives off it went and goodby. He told me it was a "nice big native, and by the way, do you have to let them go?" When I told him "yes" and numerous reasons why, he told me it was a good thing it came unbuttoned, because he wasn't going to release it! I raced home and grabbed my flyrod and gear and returned to the scene of the near crime. Bango, and I was hooked up. After quite a fight, and no more room to follow, a plunker helped me land it, a native of about 10 lbs. Another fellow told me he'd floated the Sky the day before and saw two flyfishermen land fish below Sultan and at the takeout at Ben Howard, 8 boats had caught 6 fish. It's beginning to pick up. For info on our service or more info on a new, great pattern that I tied to catch the above mentioned fish. call (425) 222-7556 or checkout our site on this pg. Jere Crosby, Crosby Tackle Co. Feb 17, 1998 Thanks to Brett Wedeking for the following report: This is my fish report for all the fish that weren't caught, by anyone. I fished today at the Tolt/Snoqualmie confluence and didn't hit a thing, and neither did anyone else down there. Later I headed downriver near Carnation Farms but didn't do anything except practice my casting. I talked to one guy down there but he hadn't seen anything either. It was raining then so I packed up early and went home. Maybe people on the Sky had better luck? February l2, 1998 Thanks to Jere Crosby for the following report: I fished a fly fisherman from Detroit today. He had but a half day to fish and had never flyfished for Steelhead before. I armed him with a 13ft. high D sink-tip and off to the Big T, down where the Tolt comes into the Snoqualmie. This area is one of the main spawning areas for Steelhead on the Snoqualmie. With lots of rain lately I was surprised that the river has held up so well; good color and not much wind. This area often is calm when the Fall City area is windy. Fishin a flourescent red Marabou fly on a #2 red Gamakatsu hook we managed to snag one sucker during the first hour. Fighting sideways, we were sure we had a steelhead until the lack of a major run tipped us off. Ahead lay my "leaning tree" hot spot that has produced over time and today did not disappoint. I picked up the anchor and "boondogged" his fly through the spot to get it down good and when the line swung upriver he reefed and out of the water came a small, bright hen that put up an incredible fight. We did everything we could to lose it; under the boat, in and out of the net; finally I put the net away and rowed cross river where we could get out and we beached it. We got a good picture and he got his first steelhead on a fly. Prospects look good for native returns. Flyfishin's Crosby's specialty and anyone interested in learning to flyfish, we'll be having 5 flyfishing schools beginning May 1, or booking a trip can contact my at: jcrosby@premier1.net and our site is www.premier1.net/~jcrosby February 7, 1998 Thanks to Jere Crosby for the following report: Drove around, talked to fishermen, surveyed a few boats, and did a somewhat accurate fish check before loading up my pram and heading to a local, year round open, trout lake. Not much happening until I stopped at Tokul Creek. I stood and watched the guys fishing the Big Eddy for awhile and a fellow that had been there before me said nothing had been caught; then I stood on the bridge at Tokul Creek. I watched a young fellow tell his dad that he just had a strike. Thinking "sure buddy" the guy immediately below him got a hook-up and landed a pretty nice fish. Then the guy across creek from him hooked and landed a fish and then another guy; all nice fish. A number of fishermen just standing around and watching headed for their rigs and their equipment. A late run had to come in. I saw a number of guys that don't normally fish the Creek breakin' out the gear. Today was the first day of reopening the hatchery area and the word got around fast; there were quite a few fishermen out. Jere Crosby Crosby Tackle Co. Email jcrosby@premier1.net http://www.premier1.net/~jcrosby Feb 1, 1998 Thanks to Scott Fierst for the following report: I had two clients today. We fished the Snoqualmie River, which was looking good at 2620cfs / 6.14 feet and three feet of visibility. With the wind far calmer than the day before, we launched at 7:00 am, ten minutes latter the right rod tip was dancing, the hook was set and the fight was on. About five-minutes later the fish finally broke the surface, executing acrobatics maneuvers only seen on the river, at that time of morning. The fish was netted after a few more minutes, producing a smaller five pound, nice Winter Hatchery fish. We moved out of the hole and proceeded down stream. We fished the next hole with out success. We entered the third hole, looking quite nice today, let out the plugs and diver and began fishing. Half way through the hole the right rod slammed down hard, the hook was set, the other two lines reeled in, and again the fight was on. This fish fought hard, used all the river allowed and again showed exhilarating acrobatic maneuvers. Ten minutes later the 32'" Chrome Native Hen was photographed in the water, and released. We continued without further success. The wind picked up to what I would guess was the forecasted 40mph and the rains began as we were packing up at 2:00pm. Again not a bad day on the river, especially when you get your first Steelhead ten minutes into fishing and your next a half-hour later, as did one first time Steelhead fishing client today. We saw a guy carrying a Winter fish and heard of a driftboat getting two other fish that day. If you would like to book a trip on the Snoqualmie, Skykomish or Sauk Rivers we are offering a special for the Month of February. Give us a call or E-mail for the details. Good fishing. See you on the River. Scott G. Fierst Drifting Fly Guide Service Toll free (888) 204-5327 E-mail: DRFTINGFLY@AOL.COM January 22, 1998 Thanks to Crosby Tackle Company for the following report: Put a full day in on the Snoqualmie. We floated from Plum's Ramp to Ricter's Ramp, the entire upper river run. Our winter hatchery run of fish has been a disaster, the worst I'm sure on record. In December we caught a number of fish, mostly summer-run that provided some fun action but not the chrome-bright, winter fish we were looking for. Thurs. provided some excitement and I want to pass along this tip for our readers. Crosby Tackle Co., (my co.) manufactures Bait Bands, a leader tied yarn fly with a latex band designed to hold shrimp or other baits on the hook. It's been a big success for our Co. and anglers for some years now. Well, to get on with the story. Paul Stocke, a realtor from Tacoma, has ordered Bait Bands, from us for some time now and raved about his success with them, but the last time he called he told me he had just returned from a very successful trip to the Quinault and told me that I just had to try Sammamish Tackle Co.'s Steelhead rubber worms in bubble-gum color (pink). He said the steelhead just inhaled them. The only downside that he mentioned was that you're probably only going to catch one steelhead per worm because they chew them up! Wow, what a problem. I love to experiment with steelhead lures. I'll wake up in the middle of the nite with an idea on rigging up a new hot lure. Jan. 22 was test day. I used a pink Bait Band and stretched the band and put in the big end of the pink worm and then buried the hook in the big end. I also secured the tail end of the worm to the hook. You want the worm to hang just an inch - 2 inches below the hook. You should use a long leader and go light on the lead. You only want to tick every so often and you want the worm swinging in the current several feet off the bottom. The worms float and they are very visible. My riggin rotated slowly in the water like a saltwater, King bait! Fish on! We scored twice with few other fish caught that day and I'm excited to use it for the big, hard fightin natives that are starting to show already. This should also be a dynamite summer-run rig. You can fish this bubble-gum worm on a float like the Canadians so often do. For more info on our guide service or just where to do it on your own call us @ 425-7556 (Fall City) Our new Email address and Web site will be coming soon from Premiere 1. December 30, 1997 Thanks to Scott Fierst for the following article: Large numbers of Steelhead have recently been spotted off the Washington Coast, in the Strait of Juan de Fuca and off of Whidbey Island's Bush Point. The next stop is the Rivers for these Steelhead. This means January and February should be RED HOT Steelhead months. Even the Rivers on the West Side of Vancouver Island got their Winter Steelhead a month late. This all points to our Snohomish River systems, Snoqualmie River, as the place to be in January and February for these Late Running, Winter Hatchery Steelhead. The Snoqualmie River ranks in the Top for Winter Steelhead returns, and out fishes any other River in the System. The Snoqualmie has an incredible Winter Native Steelhead Fishery in February and March with Fish in the high teens and mid-twenties. Last year we saw many fish in the high twenties, during March. The Snoqualmie River goes Emergency Catch and Release on Winter Native Steelhead usually in early February, although, the regulations show Catch and Release beginning March 1. Remember: It is a good idea to Release all Native Steelhead, even when it is legal to keep them. Today I didn't fish, however I went out to the Snoqualmie River to have a look. Sunday, with the snow level rising and heavy rains in the Cascade Mountains the Snoqualmie River rose to 8200cfs. Monday the flow had dropped to 7270cfs and today was down to 3970cfs. This River can blow out and drop back into shape in just a matter of days, as you can tell. Today alone the Snoqualmie dropped a foot. The optimum flow for drifting the Snoqualmie is 3000cfs down to 1000cfs, and dependant upon color and visibility. The way things look now, the Snoqualmie should be back in prime shape by January 01, 1998. Just in time to break in the new 1998 Fishing License and Steelhead Punch Card. Scott G. Fierst Professional Northwest Fishing Guide December 23, 1997 Thanks to Scott Fierst for the following report: Today I had two clients. The Snoqualmie on the drop again-falling from 2200cfs Monday 12-22-98 to 1900cfs today. The color again was excellent with four to five feet of visibility. On the drop, with excellent visibility and the weather so far holding off without any precipitation. Today there were many boats milling around the Fall City area. We launched at Plumb Landing and pulled plugs for about two hours without any luck. We did however see one Steelhead landed. We free-drifted eggs through the next drift several times. Here we hooked into two Steelhead, but lost them. We did Catch and Release several Cutthroat here, however. We fished the remainder or the day with plugs and free-drifted eggs, with no further Steelhead hook-ups, but many Cutthroat Catch and Releases. Scott G. Fierst Drifting Fly Guide Service Toll Free at (888) 204-5327 or (206) 609-5327 E-mail DRFTINGFLY@AOL.COM December 22, 1997 Thanks to Scott Fierst for the following report: I had two clients today, December 22, 1997. Today we did a float on the top stretch or the Snoqualmie. We started at Plumb Landing and took out at Fall City. The River flow had dropped from 2500cfs Sunday to 2200cfs today. The River again looked great with about 4 feet of visibility. We saw only two other boats on the River. One was strictly fly-fishing and the other pulling plugs near the launch. We opted to pull plugs in the first drift, with no luck. We proceeded to fish the next four drifts, again with no luck. Finally, in the next drift we had a hook-up. After the battle, we landed a 10-pound Hatchery Steelhead. We pulled plugs through two more drifts and finished the day free-drifting eggs. Although we had no more Steelhead hook-ups, we did Catch and Release several Cutthroat. Scott G. Fierst Drifting Fly Guide Service Toll Free at (888) 204-5327 or (206) 609-5327 E-mail DRFTINGFLY@AOL.COM Dec 21, 1997 Thanks to Scott Fierst for the following report: I had two clients today. With the Snoqualmie was on the drop, after reaching 13,700cfs on 12-16, the flow dropped remarkably fast to 2,500cfs by this morning. The clarity looked equally as good, Steelhead Green in color, with about 4 feet of visibility. With all of these conditions at hand, I figured the River would be loaded with fish. We decided to do a float on the mid-section of the River. This float gets less pressure than those up higher and gets you into Steelhead from the Tolt, Raging and the Snoqualmie Rivers. We pulled plugs most of the day, as this is perfect water for them. We hit two fish. The first was an 8-pound Summer Hatchery and the other a 9-pound Winter Hatchery Steelhead. Both fish fought well taking about 10 minutes each to land. We landed both fish by Noon and had no other takes for the day. Hopefully more Steelhead were on the way, as earlier in the month we had a nice push before the water dropped and rose again. Only the coming days will tell. Scott G. Fierst Drifting Fly Guide Service Toll Free at (888) 204-5327 or (206) 609-5327 E-mail DRFTINGFLY@AOL.COM December 3, 1997 Thanks to Scott Fierst for the following report: The River has been on a steady drop the past week and is currently at just under 2000cfs (as of Dec. 4 ). I had two clients on Wednesday, Dec. 03. The weather was outstanding for December, although I remember the first week of December last year as being equally as nice. The Snoqualmie had been on a steady drop and looked great. The water clarity was excellent and flow just about perfect. With the bait restriction lifted December 01, we opted to go with plugs and bait divers with sand shrimp for the day. As this was a good choice. Within the first 10 minutes we had a fish on. This ended up being a Summer Run Steelhead weighing in at 8 lbs. About a half-hour passed before any more excitement. This time the middle rod, rigged with a bait diver a sand shrimp, went down. After about 10 minutes a 10-1/2 lb. chrome bright Winter Run Steelhead was brought to the boat. Within the first hour we netted 2 nice Steelhead (Hatchery Fish). It was now about 8am. We drifted to another of my favorite early December holes, let out the lines and got about 3/4 of the way through the drift before the left rod slammed, and I mean slammed HARD!!! The fish fought really hard for about 15 minutes and then came unbuttoned. This fish appeared to be a Native Steelhead, and I would guess was about 15 lbs. Nice fish for early December, although last year we released a 14 lb. Native on Dec. 01, in the same spot!!!! We continued to fish...... We fished what I consider one of the best slots on this particular drift, when we got to a location I consider the "Hanging Tree" the right rod went down. After 5 minutes a 6 lb. Summer Steelhead was boated. I rowed back up River to position so we could fish this slot again. We did so again but had no further luck there. Two slots down the middle rod, bait diver and sand shrimp, went down. This ended up with a 10 minute fight and 10 lb. Winter Steelhead boated. WOW!!! What a great day on the Snoqualmie. I explained to my clients (both visiting from the mid-west), the River always produces in December as long as its in shape, and it is not uncommon to hook into mid-teen Early Winter Native Steelhead, even in December. This River has an incredible Winter Native Steelhead Fishery in February and March with Fish in the high teens to mid-twenties. This river goes Catch and Release on Winter Native Steelhead usually in early February. Remember: It is a good idea to Release all Native Steelhead, even when it is legal to keep them. If you would like to Book a Trip and Experience the Finest Steelhead Fishing Washington has to offer, receive more information, a 1997 / 1998 Schedule or just talk fish give us a call or e-mail us. * We also offer Trips on an exclusive River in the Olympic National Park. Scott G. Fierst Professional Northwest Fishing Guide November 2, 1997 Thanks to John Cooper for the following report: Sunday morning, I took a trip to fish the Snoqualmie river, unfortunately I found out that it was running high and muddy. So I decided to check the Raging river to see if was at all fishable, to my surprise it was running a little high but water clarity was perfect. I decided to start at the Old Sawmill Hole which is on the lower river, my first cast didn't bring any bites but retrieving my second cast brought up a chrome bright summer run that boiled the water like a largemouth bass, I missed the bite! I sharpened my fly and tossed again, this time I hooked her good!! 15 minutes of hard fighting and a couple of beautiful jumps I landed a CHROME BRIGHT hen!!. I flipped back out and slam I nailed a buck, it had color to it, but boy did he fight hard, after about 10 minutes the hook came unbuttoned, frustration got the better of me. I tied on a new setup, casted again and got freight trained by a 12 pound buck!! 15 minutes of pure joy and I landed my second fish, it wasn't even 7:00 am and I was already going home!!. These types of days are unheard of with all the netting going on these days. But don't overlook small rivers, there the best!! October 23, 1997 Thanks to Mike Thompson for the following report: O.K.O.K. I've been reading the reports and not reporting. The Snoqualmie is loaded with silvers right now. Most are small but a few have been reported up to 14 lbs. If you have a car topper, driftboat, raft, etc. Launch at the Tolt Hill Road put in and head up river. 400 yards up river begin trolling plugs, the colors are whatever you like, bronze and painted red are favorites of many anglers. The real fun is throwing lures such as bronze or brass mepps and foxes. It's a lot like bass fishing because many of the fish are holding against the banks, under structure. Sight cast for them, look for the splashes and fire away. If you have a motor go up past the golf course where the fish seem to be holding. Editor's Note: We've gotten several nice reports on fishing in the Skykomish and now the Snoqualmie systems. Its a great time to get some silvers before the season comes to an end. We should be seeing more Chums coming in now as well. Mike Carey September 27, 1997 Thanks to Rod Bush for the following report: Attempted to fish the Skykomish river on Saturday only to find it muddy and high. Floated down to the Snoqualmie and managed to find some cleaner water- not normally the case. The Snoqualmie usually blows first. We managed to find our four silvers but worked hard for them. The average seemed to be around one or two per boat. (Rod Bush) River Otter Guide Service (206)399-7145 or rvrotter@gte.net http://www.greatnw.com/riverotter July 13, 1997 Thanks to Chad Keller for the following report: I finally ventured out to try some fly fishing on some of my favorite spots on the upper branches of the Snoqualmie. Unfortunately the river is flowing at a volume that I am more used to seeing in early June. There are still more kayakers than fishermen up there still. The visibility was decent and exceptional above the Pratt river confluence. The water temperature was was still very cold in the middle fork and seemed to be warming up on the South Fork. The action was very slow wherever I went. I am really hoping that we have a long fall season! March 1, 1997 Thanks to Michael Thompson for the following report: Pouring rain at 7:00 a.m. but the river was still low and clear. My friend Rusty launched his boat first while I waited for my friend to arrive. Rusty had 3 hook-ups before I got in the water using shrimp and eggs. I pulled bait divers with shrimp through plumes landing. Had what I thought was a snag that suddenly turned up river with a vengeance. I regretted having 10 lb. line on at that moment. It was a hog I couldn't stop. I played him for about 10 minutes until he went into the rocks and broke off. Rusty heard me yell from way down river. We had no other fish that day but, Rusty ended up with 6 hookups and landed 2 fish. Rusty had a big one almost spool him, but it broke off also. He said it was the best day he had ever had on the boat. February 22, 1997 Thanks to Dean Albertson for the following report: After fishing all winter I finally got one today. A native 33 inches long and about 15 pounds. Fished between Fall City and Carnation. River flow was 4520 and green in color with about 2 feet of clearance. Used an orange corky with yarn. Now I know there is steelhead in the river because I put it back. We all thank you Dean for putting it back. Like a lot of things in life, it is not always easy, but it always makes you feel better for doing it. - Editor February 10, 1997 Thanks to Kevin Kent for the following report: I did the Fall City to Neal rd. drift Sunday 2/10 on the Snoqualmie. The river was running around 2100 cfs, just about perfect for the Snoqualmie. My fishing partner Steve and I put in at day break and fished until 3pm. There were probably another 5-6 other driftboats on this drift as well. I had a solid takedown on a bait-diver but lost the fish on the hook set. That was the only fish we came across all day. It was slow. There have been reports on Friday and Saturday that the driftboaters did very well, the fish are there! Word of warning, 3 driftboats have been flipped in the section below the Buffalo Hole this year. Tell people to be careful and when going through that shoot, go right and row like hell! It's actually very easy to get through, if anyone has any questions about that drift, they can e-mail me at: kkfishing@msn.com. January 26, 1997 Thanks to Charles Rudorfer for the following report: Headed to the Snoqualmie early AM. After meeting with my buddy, we both had high hopes of putting a fresh steelhead in the boat today. But as the hours slipped away, our hope begain to fade just like the sun. Heard of a few caught, but the main river is not the place to fish. I guess.........tomorrow is another day. January 10-11, 1997 Thanks to Palo Tung for the following report: Fished the Snoqualmie at Carnation and at Fall City (flyfishing from bank) several times during the January 10-11 weekend, and a couple of afternoons during the week. The water was falling and still a bit cloudy and the fish were there, though only a couple of anglers had any success. Generally, those that had success were the ones who knew what parts of the pools/runs to fish in high water. Later in the week, when the water cleared, the fish seemed to have moved up river. Thankfully so, since the bait fisherman who had the most success was in the habit of slitting the fishes' gills and letting them thrash on the bank until suffocated or bloodless or both. Editor's note: I know the idea of slitting the throat is to let the fish bleed, but if you knock them over the head the heart still pumps out blood. It only seems right to dispatch a caught fish quickly. It's sad to hear of the above treatment of a cherished resource like a steelhead. Mike Carey, Editor, Seattle Region Steelhead/Salmon Tokul Creek - January 14, 1997 Thanks to: Mike Carey I got a chance to fish the creek today after work for about 1 1/2 hrs. The flow of the river has changed dramatically, in particular where the Tokul flows into the Snoqualmie. I had no luck today and didn't see anyone else catch one either. I did walk up the trail to the holding ponds and saw just a few steelhead in the creek. The ones that were in there were dark. Mike Carey - Editor Steelhead/Salmon, Seattle Region January 12, 1997 Thanks to 1wikan for the following report: I went back to the Snoqualmie's Big Eddy hole again this morning. I pulled in just before light, and my thermometer was reading 18 degrees. I knew I'd be fighting more ice on my rod, but I was determined. I began throwing a bobber and jig standing in waist high water holding my rod under water every few casts to clear the ice build up on my guides. At around 8:00 I finally saw my bobber take a dive in the middle of the hole. As I answered the call, a nice bright Steelhead exploded out of the water and attempted to run upstream. After an enjoyable 10 minutes I worked myself and the fish on the other end of the line to shore, and I managed to land a nice chrome 7 pound hatchery fish. It was only fish caught in the hole this morning. Editor's note: Nice to finally get a report of someone catching a fish! - Mike Carey, Seattle Steelhead/Salmon Page January 12, 1997 Thanks to 1wikan for the following report: I went out Sunday morning with my partner, Dave Lane. It was around 20 degrees and the water was just getting back into shape with around 3 feet visability. As we stood in waist high water for nearly 4 hours (with one coffee break up at the truck), we saw 3 nice Steelhead landed. The Big Eddy should be producing more than that after high water, but it was at least encouraging to see a few fish. It was a beautiful morning, even though we were clearing the ice out of our guides and reels every few casts. January 11, 1997 Thanks to Charles Rudorfer for the following report: Saturday afternoon, NO new fresh fish to be found. Out of 27 anglers checked, only two (2) summer runs were caught. Water level is dropping. Currently at 4830 cubic ft...... January 5, 1997 Thanks to Larry Wigan for the following report: I spent the morning on the Snoqualmie yesterday. Finally the high water is beginning to subside, and it had about 3ft. visibility. Because of the storm and high water, the mouth of the Tokul has actually moved about 100-150ft. upstream on the Snoqualmie. It gives the Big Eddy quite a different look. The fishing was slow, and the hole was crowded. I only saw 2 fish caught, and neither of them were by me. I'm still waiting for this run to heat up. I spent the rest of the morning at the mouth of the Raging River on the Snoqualmie to do some fly fishing. There's a lot more elbow room for fly casting, and the water is pretty good there. I didn't see any fish caught there. Good Fishing!