Salmon top freshwater options now

DOUG HUDDLE

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Besides a full card on the hunting side of the program, anglers will find a broad array of angling opportunities in September.

Joining an already open saltwater venue for salmon and trout or bass fishing in cooling lowland lakes are a selection of local rivers that have salmon coursing their way upstream.

Also the briefest of trout seasons is unfolding in Washington's high country where last winter's thick snow and ice accumulations have, in some cases, just melted off.

Here's a rundown of the latest salmon and mountain lake options.

FOR SALMON:

Portions of all north Puget Sound rivers are now or will be open for salmon fishing by Tuesday, Sept. 16.

The Skagit is currently open downstream from Gilligan Creek for salmon (coho and chum) with chinook being the only throwbacks. Access points include: River Road south of Sedro-Woolley, the Gardner Road launch at Burlington, the Railroad Bar between Burlington and Mount Vernon, Young's Bar at West Mount Vernon and the Spudhouse launch just above the forks.

In anticipation of a decent coho return this fall, the Skagit above Gilligan Creek opens Tuesday, Sept. 16.

Other options for fall chinook are the lower Samish (between Bayview-Edison and Thomas roads) and the Nooksack River from the Lummi Reservation Boundary upstream to the yellow marker behind the school bus yard at Deming.

On the Samish, egg clusters under bobbers are popular on the last of the ebb and the first of the flood tide. Samish kings drop off by mid-October. In the Nooksack, both bait and hardware (Vibrax spinners, Wells spoons or some other large bladed offering) can be productive in its more expansive waters. In two or three species streams, the 'fishable options will run to early December.

FOR HIGH LAKES TROUT:

Given the late snowpack, some of the highest elevation waters in the North Cascades are reported to still have some ice cakes on them.

But the stage is set at most for a frenetic five- to six-week fishery for some mighty hungry cutthroat, rainbow, brown, eastern brook or golden trout and even grayling in one or two choice waters.

Today's ultra-light spinning or fly fishing set-ups mesh well with a belly or pontoon boat for getting at the lunkers that are usually the last to bite in most mountain lakes.

Take a well-rounded selection of your favorite type of terminal tackle (flies, spinners or bait).

Some suggested destinations include the Watson-Anderson lakes cluster in the Baker River Valley or the lakes south and east of Marblemount (Falls, Jordan, Granite or Found clusters of lakes). Singleton water bodies in the mountains are too numerous to mention, but many that require a strenuous hike to get to pay off handsomely with trout.