Snohomish/Skykomish get screwed
- Thread starter skyrise
- Start date
They only planted 50k in 2021. I suspect that has more to do with it than anything else. Also they are still around. They just aren't sitting in front on the outlet right now. There are plenty of runs that fish well in low water that don't fish in high and vise versa. Just got to put in the leg work to find them. Although I'd say there are only 4 runs I like to swing between N & S confluence and the high bridge.
I would usually agree, but no green heads and a dark color that made me question if they were just redder Summer runs. (I've seen a few of the Summer runs at the hatchery have a slight red tint) But they were all in the 5-8lb size range with square tails
Paige
Wishing I was fishing the Sauk
The NF Sky has a summer coho run. Maybe it was some of those staging up right there.
Summer run fishing the Puget Sound streams looks like it was a very unique experience and I am sad I am too late to experience it
I didn’t know we had summer coho besides the ones on the Duc, that’s really cool
If anyone is interested, you can volunteer to count summer chum in the Union River.
It’s pretty cool to stop by there and talk to the people doing the work. I think last year they had of 5K fish come back. They put a sign out near the road with a total so you can see it when you drive by.
SF
Union River Summer Chum Project - Regional Fisheries Coalition
Ever since Summer Chum were listed as threatened by the Endangered Species Act in 2000, community volunteers, student interns and HCSEG staff have monitored the return of Summer Chum on the Union River. We install a fish trap in mid-August and remove it mid-October, and the trap is operated 24/7...
regionalfisheriescoalition.org
Kashf -
While I will not be surprised that the Wallace hatchery ends up with a surplus summer Chinook however currently (the August 17 hatchery escapement report) they have 3,245 adults on hand. That is still short of the number needed to meet program egg take requirements (recently increased in the "feed the orca" effort). My guess is that need at least another 2,000 adults to assure the program goal.
The question of summer coho is pretty interesting. Historically the wild coho population of the north Puget Sound region was quite diverse that included early returning adults and a wide range of spawning timing. In the famed Deer Creek on the North Fork Stillaguamish the coho had a run timing that was similar to that of its summer steelhead. At this time of year (mid-August) in my travels in those North Sound basins I have found adult coho in a several tributaries. In every case those fish tend to be smallish (2 to 5#s) and what could be called chrome bright, generally brighter than co-existing summer steelhead. Today in those basins the wild coho peak spawning is typically around Thanksgiving, beginning in early October and continue in some tribs. through March and in some years into April.
While we probably can say with certainty what those Wallace red fish were in the last 50 years on the North Sound rivers the dozens of times, I have encounter reddish salmon this time of year they have always been sockeye. More specifically the riverine subgroup of sockeye which appear to be the pioneering sockeye populations. They typically found in small pods (a handful to maybe 100) often returning to the same reach of a river to spawn for several years in a row and at other times a number will show up in odd places only to disappear in a year or two. Those sockeye mature and spawn earlier in the year (mid/late August to October) that the typical local lake (eg Baker Lake) populations.
A side note to date the Wallace hatchery has only captured one summer steelhead. Remember local summer run steelhead are still more than 6 months of from spawning and this time of year their coloration is much like what we would see with our resident rainbows this time of year.
Curt
While I will not be surprised that the Wallace hatchery ends up with a surplus summer Chinook however currently (the August 17 hatchery escapement report) they have 3,245 adults on hand. That is still short of the number needed to meet program egg take requirements (recently increased in the "feed the orca" effort). My guess is that need at least another 2,000 adults to assure the program goal.
The question of summer coho is pretty interesting. Historically the wild coho population of the north Puget Sound region was quite diverse that included early returning adults and a wide range of spawning timing. In the famed Deer Creek on the North Fork Stillaguamish the coho had a run timing that was similar to that of its summer steelhead. At this time of year (mid-August) in my travels in those North Sound basins I have found adult coho in a several tributaries. In every case those fish tend to be smallish (2 to 5#s) and what could be called chrome bright, generally brighter than co-existing summer steelhead. Today in those basins the wild coho peak spawning is typically around Thanksgiving, beginning in early October and continue in some tribs. through March and in some years into April.
While we probably can say with certainty what those Wallace red fish were in the last 50 years on the North Sound rivers the dozens of times, I have encounter reddish salmon this time of year they have always been sockeye. More specifically the riverine subgroup of sockeye which appear to be the pioneering sockeye populations. They typically found in small pods (a handful to maybe 100) often returning to the same reach of a river to spawn for several years in a row and at other times a number will show up in odd places only to disappear in a year or two. Those sockeye mature and spawn earlier in the year (mid/late August to October) that the typical local lake (eg Baker Lake) populations.
A side note to date the Wallace hatchery has only captured one summer steelhead. Remember local summer run steelhead are still more than 6 months of from spawning and this time of year their coloration is much like what we would see with our resident rainbows this time of year.
Curt
JACKspASS
Life of the Party
The earliest I have ever caught a Sky coho was late Aug. Many years ago I did run into a large school of chrome bright coho during labor day weekend. There was two steelhead laying infront of the coho. The latest I've caught a coho was a nice bright small one in mid January.
I’ve caught several coho in the Silvana area in the first week of August back in the early 2000’s
Throw in a few nice bulls as well
All fishing spinners
Throw in a few nice bulls as well
All fishing spinners
Boot raises hand slowly and keeps head down avoiding eye contact.....mutters under breath "only when open....beware the tides.... they are not exactly the same as the tide chart.... and beware of wood in the water... and....and well I've had better luck in water that isn't that froggy"
Has there been any further notices? I thought I read the river was opening today (9/1/23) but can’t find it and maybe it was regarding a different river. Only lower Snohomish is what I can figure out. Rest of Snohomish system including Sky and Snoq are closed corrrect? It’s hard to view straight answers from WDFW sometimes, MHO.
Check the Emergency Rule Changes for August for the specifics.
September 16th for the next stretch to open, but keep your eyes peeled.
Revisiting this thread trying to read through all the very detailed information here and better understand it all. With the ESA allocations that began this year, how would one calculate the minimum escapement of Chinook to the Snohomish that will leave us with a chance of avoiding this mess again?
