Skagit fishery expands for coho/chum

The Skagit's 79,794 coho run is expected to be comprised of 18,340 hatchery origin fish co-mingled with 61,444 naturally produced coho adults. Anglers may keep either in this fishery.

The vanguard fish of this silver horde are already trickling into the lower river with the bulk of the run likely to be in freshwater by the end of October.

On the chum side of the ledger, pre-season forecasts are calling for almost 131,000 wild Skagit chum adults with a smattering (about 1,000) of cultured chum mixed into the return this year.

The first of the wild dogs should start appearing in the lower river in the third week of October with the majority heading for spawning grounds well up the Skagit and Sauk rivers.

FLOW IS ISSUE FOR COHO

Coho coming back to Northwest river systems in the early fall face a predicament that chum usually don't have to contend with: low flows.

It's one of the reasons, large knots of coho can be found hunkering in deeper holes up and down the river, especially its lower reaches. They're waiting for flows to come up in many of the smaller tributaries sufficiently for them to make their final dashes upstream to spawn.

The Skagit has literally hundreds of these step-across sized watercourses that host the vast majority of its coho spawning population.

If it stays dry and cool for a prolonged period and creek flows don't return, these salmon have evolved the ability to bide their time. They can remain ensconced in main river holes in pre-spawn condition for several weeks to a month waiting for the inevitable opportunity to run up their natal creek to reproduce.

CHUM SEEK IN-RIVER SPRINGS

A good portion of the Skagit's chum population are mainstem or slough spawners, seldom showing in noticeable numbers in any tributaries except a few of the largest or in some floodplain watercourses recently abandoned by the river.

No matter the locale in the basin, chum often seek places where there is a strong upwell of perk or groundwater coming up through the gravels to join the surface flow. There the eggs can be assured of incubating successfully in relatively even-temperature water through the winter.

PROSPECTING FOR FALL SALMON

The Skagit's coho can be tempted to bite both still-fished and moving terminal tackle, according to Curt Wilson of Holiday Sports in Burlington.

Wilson suggests plunkers (who still-fish bait/lure combos) work the slower moving lower reaches of the Skagit at some of its renowned haunts including the Spud Bar down near the forks, Young's Bar at West Mount Vernon or Johnson's Bar between Burlington and Mount Vernon.

Above Sedro-Woolley, there are high bank options on the South Skagit Highway side above and below the PUD pipeline crossing.

His recommended plunker terminal riggings are wingbobbers baited with sand shrimp.

If the Skagit's flow is clean and clear, Wilson suggests size four or six bobbers in lighter colors such as pink and yellow.

When rainstorms sully the Skagit's flow and visibility shortens, increase the bobber size and go to green, blue or black liveries.

For anglers who like to stay on the move for coho, Wilson will arm them with Vibrax spinners.

In clearer water, size two and three blades will work, but if the river gets murky switch to the No. 4 and No. 5 models.

Last year the Vibrax spinners with one side of the blade painted in 'watermelon' (a color) were hot, said Wilson.

While the die is pretty much cast for plunkers who don't have the freedom of access to water and therefore have to wait for fish to come to them, boat-borne should exploit their mobility, said Wilson.

Between rain freshets, when the river is down, hit the deeper, slower moving pools and don't loiter if there's no action.

"Move quickly and don't waste a lot of time," said Wilson. "If you don't get a hit within 10-15 minutes pick up and take off (for the next hole)."

When the later-arriving chum come in, Wilson suggests working the edges of faster flowing water that is six to eight feet deep. For the hard-fighting dogs, terminal tackle need be no more sophisticated than a ruffle of green yarn tied onto an egg loop rigged hook.

SKAGIT FALL FISHING TIDBITS

? Wilson said the even-year salmon menu won't include pink salmon since they return en masse only in odd-years to Puget Sound streams.

Hardcore, everyday fishers shouldn't be completely surprised if they tie into a humpy, though. There is a small spawning population that often makes its presence known in the Lyman area.

? Anglers also should be aware that they could likely encounter fall chinook in the Skagit, especially in the mid-reach from Sedro-Woolley to Rockport.

By rule, all chinook hooked and landed anywhere in the Skagit are protected and must be released uunharmed.

? Besides fall rainstorms, the Skagit's flow is noticeably affected at lower volumes by hydroelectric generation from the two projects in the basin: Seattle City Light's Gorge Dam above Newhalem and Puget Sound Energy's Lower Baker system facility, Shannon Dam.

If you fish the Skagit below the Baker, Shannon's 'instant-on, instant-off' power generation can change the flow by as much as 5,900 cubic feet per second in as short a period of time as an hour.

These fluctuations pose no direct hazard to main river anglers, since the raises or lowerings don't translate instantaneously to the main Skagit giving attentive anglers more than enough time to react to them. However, wading fishers for several miles downstream should still pay occassional attention to flows around their feet.

And while mildly irritating to anglers, these changes in both water volume and velocity can provoke significant shifts in fish behavior, location or susceptibility to angler offerings.

At this time of year the Skagit flow gauge at Mount Vernon will register (delayed in time because of the distance) a shutdown or startup of discharge flows from the Baker.

? If you would like to get on the Holiday Sports e-mailed updates list, log on to holidaysportscenter.com and sign up.

? For real time Skagit River at Concrete flow reports, visit http://waterdata.usgs.gov/wa/nwis/uv/?site_no=12200500&PARAmeter_cd=00060,00065.