RIVER FISHING

There are five rules of fishing, whichmost successful fishers follow, even if they are unaware they are following them. Fishing a river for salmon, steelhead and trout, require an understanding of these rules and how they relate to rivers.

1. Fish where they are, not where they ain't: In a river this rule has more than one part. You must know at what times of the year the fish will be in the river and in what parts of the river each species will be. For example, it would be foolish to fish a local river for sea run cutthroat trout in June. The rivers are open then (June 1st) but the sea run cutthroat does not start to move up the river until August or September (they are called "harvest trout" for this reason). The task is to find out when your targeted fish species enters the river system and then determine where in the river they tend tohold.

The following is a partial list of fish species found in the river and most productive waters in which to locate them in.

Steelhead: Winter hatchery fish enter the system generally from late October into January or February, with the majority of the fish in December and early January) for their spawning in late February or March. The native run comes in starting about the same time but the majority seems to come in late February and March. Summer steelhead start coming as early as March or May with no real major run. The season opens June 1st and there is Summer Steelhead available at this time. I feel it peaks in September and October just in time for the start of the winter fish. These fish stay in the river system all summer and winter, spawning in February with the Winter Steelhead (I don't know how they tell each other apart). Steelhead tend to hold in 3-6 feet of water, at the head of holes or the tail outs, in front of or behind large rocks and on specific travel routes. They will go to deeper water to hide during sunny weather, low water or when disturbed but hang on the edges of this deeper water. They prefer to have foam or swirling current above their head or some other cover to protect them from above.

Chinnok Salmon: Spring Chinook enter the local river systems in May and June into July, with the majority of the fish in June to July (the Columbia River fish enter sooner due to the distance they must travel). Fall Chinook enter the system in September and October. They tend to prefer the bottom of deep pools where they challenge each other on a constant basis for the females. They spawn in the larger gravel in shallower water and you can often observe them fighting over the nests. Take a drive to the Wenatchee River in October for this show.

Humpies or Pinks: These salmon enter the system in late August into September and early October in massive numbers. They are an odd year fish (2007, 2009, 2011, etc.) but there is a growing population of even year Pinks in the local rivers. Pinks cover the entire strata of the river, high and low, and let you know when and where they are in the river. They tend to be more aggressive at the top of a hole where they wait to make their next move up the river. Concentrate in the deeper water but expect them anywhere in the river.

Coho or Silvers: Coho enter the river system around September into October and November, with the peak in late September and October. There are Coho present in the river well into November and early December in some years. They perfer deeper water and will occupy top to bottom but the majority of the biters I find closer to the bottom in the deeper holes. They will not compete with the Chinook for the deeper holes, so if Chinnok are present look for Coho at the tops of the holes or in slightly shallower spots.

Page 1