There is really only one option available to those who want to fish the rivers of the Puget Sound for winter steelhead and that’s the Snohomish River system, of which the Skykomish River generally has the larger steelhead return.
The Skykomish River drains the northern cascades, with the river winding westward along highway 2 until meeting the Snoqualmie River to form the combined “Snohomish River”.
The demise of steelhead in Puget Sound rivers is truly one of the tragic outcomes of ignoring land use impacts and a multitude of other factors over decades of decline. The Skykomish River is one of the last remaining bastions where one can catch and keep a steelhead due to the hatchery fish raised on the river and enough “sport impacts” available from the wild populations to allow the fishery.
Let’s take a look at a couple of new features I’ve got up on the blog to help you understand run timing and how many steelhead are returning at the hatcheries
- Automatically updating graph of the Escapement Report for the Skykomish River
- Historical run timing graph providing a visual of when steelhead normally return to the Skykomish River
Updated Status of returning hatchery Winter Steelhead on the Skykomish River
Once steelhead start returning to the hatchery and get reported by WDFW, this graph will automatically update, typically on Thursdays.
Historical Run Timing of hatchery Winter Steelhead on the Skykomish River
Winter Steelhead will typically be caught from the Skykomish River in late November, but the run won’t peak until right around New years.
Fishing Regulations for the Skykomish River 2022
| SKYKOMISH RIVER – SNOHOMISH CO. | ||
| from mouth to 2,500’ downstream of the boat ramp below Lewis St. Bridge at Monroe CRC (844) | ||
| All species | Aug. 1-Nov. 30 | Night closure. Anti-snagging rule. |
| Dolly varden/bull trout | Sat. before Memorial Day-Jan. 31 | Min. size 20”. May be retained as part of trout daily limit. |
| Other trout | Sat. before Memorial Day-Jan. 31 | Statewide min. size/daily limit. Except: Cutthroat trout and wild rainbow trout: min. size 14”. |
| Other game fish | Sat. before Memorial Day-Jan. 31 | Statewide min. size/daily limit. |
| Salmon | Sat. before Memorial Day-July 31 | Min. size 12”. Daily limit 4. Up to 2 adults may be retained. Release all salmon other than hatchery Chinook. |
| from 2,500’ downstream boat ramp below Lewis St. Bridge at Monroe to the boat ramp CRC (844) | ||
| All species | Aug. 1-Nov. 30 | Night closure. Anti-snagging rule. |
| Nov. 1-Jan. 31 | Fishing from any floating device prohibited. | |
| Dolly varden/bull trout | Sat. before Memorial Day-Jan. 31 | Min. size 20”. May be retained as part of trout daily limit. |
| Other trout | Sat. before Memorial Day-Jan. 31 | Statewide min. size/daily limit. Except: Cutthroat trout and wild rainbow trout: min. size 14”. |
| Other game fish | Sat. before Memorial Day-Jan. 31 | Statewide min. size/daily limit. |
| Salmon | Sat. before Memorial Day-July 31 | Min. size 12”. Daily limit 4. Up to 2 adults may be retained. Release all salmon other than hatchery Chinook. |
| from the boat ramp below the Lewis St. Bridge in Monroe to Wallace River CRC (844) | ||
| All species | Aug. 1-Nov. 30 | Night closure. Anti-snagging rule. |
| Dolly varden/bull trout | Sat. before Memorial Day-Jan. 31 | Min. size 20”. May be retained as part of trout daily limit. |
| Other trout | Sat. before Memorial Day-Jan. 31 | Statewide min. size/daily limit. Except: Cutthroat trout and wild rainbow trout: min. size 14”. |
| Other game fish | Sat. before Memorial Day-Jan. 31 | Statewide min. size/daily limit. |
| Salmon | Sat. before Memorial Day-July 31 | Min. size 12”. Daily limit 4. Up to 2 adults may be retained. Release all salmon other than hatchery Chinook. |
| from Wallace River to 1,000’ downstream of Reiter Ponds outlet CRC (844) | ||
| All species | Aug. 1-Nov. 30 | Anti-snagging rule. Night closure. |
| Dolly varden/bull trout | Sat. before Memorial Day-Feb. 15 | Min. size 20”. May be retained as part of trout daily limit. |
| Other trout | Sat. before Memorial Day-Feb. 15 | Statewide min. size/daily limit. Except: Cutthroat trout and wild rainbow trout: min. size 14”. |
| Other game fish | Sat. before Memorial Day-Feb. 15 | Statewide min. size/daily limit. |
| from 1,000’ downstream of Reiter Ponds outlet to 1,500’ upstream of Reiter Ponds outlet CRC (844) | ||
| All species | Sat. before Memorial Day-Feb. 15 | Fishing from any floating device prohibited. |
| Aug. 1-Nov. 30 | Anti-snagging rule. Night closure. | |
| Dolly varden/bull trout | Sat. before Memorial Day-Feb. 15 | Min. size 20”. May be retained as part of trout daily limit. |
| Other trout | Sat. before Memorial Day-Feb. 15 | Statewide min. size/daily limit. Except: Cutthroat trout and wild rainbow trout: min. size 14”. |
| from 1,500’ upstream of the Reiter Ponds outlet to confluence of North and South forks CRC (844) | ||
| All species | Aug. 1-Nov. 30 | Night closure. Anti-snagging rule. |
| Dolly varden/bull trout | Sat. before Memorial Day-Feb. 15 | Min. size 20”. May be retained as part of trout daily limit. |
| Other trout | Sat. before Memorial Day-Feb. 15 | Statewide min. size/daily limit. Except: Cutthroat trout and wild rainbow trout: min. size 14”. |
| Other game fish | Sat. before Memorial Day-Feb. 15 | Statewide min. size/daily limit. |
Emergency Fishing Regulations for the Skykomish River
Please refer to WDFW’s emergency rules page for a full list that are in effect until I can get the e-rules automation working fully again.
It’s your responsibility as the recreational angler to know ALL of these rules, not just what is discussed here on the blog.
Forecast for 2022 Skykomish River Winter Steelhead
Note: Smolts planted in the 2021 year will predominantly return as 3 year fish in the 2022-2023 winter steelhead season or in the case of summer steelhead, the 2023 summer steelhead season.
Smolt plants have declined in recent years, but let’s take a look at the escapement history trend as well:
While there were for sure a difficult stretch of years return wise due to ocean conditions and other factors, 2022 represented a modest bounce back…With steelhead smolts plants being reduced, are we looking at an escapement of less than 400?
