We are only a couple of weeks into 2021 and the early winter steelhead season is winding down already. I like to think of the winter steelhead season as broken down into thirds: Early, middle, and late.
Check out our dedicated page for fishing for winter steelhead to learn more about fishing techniques, rigging up, and finding steelhead.
Early Season Steelhead Runs
The early steelhead season is comprised of almost all hatchery fish returning to rivers on the coast like the Bogachiel and Humptulips and the Puget Sound like the Skykomish and Snoqualmie. These steelhead runs have really struggled in the last few years, but there are still fish to be had if you put the time in.
2021 has had a few bright spots on the coast for hatchery fish, but with all the rain and high water, you really have had to hit it right to get in on the productive steelhead fishing.
While these early returning steelhead runs will often go all the way into the 3rd week of January, I believe they are quickly winding down with the amount of water that has been dumped into these systems, it’s really brought the steelhead run in earlier.
According to legendary PNW weather scientist Cliff Mass’ latest blog post, we’ve got this atmospheric river thing going on, which is causing rivers to really surge as of this writing.
As the above photo shows, this river is quite un-fishable at present, and probably won’t be back into shape until later in the week, perhaps even the weekend.
Middle Season Steelhead Runs
Alright, if the early season is winding down early, we have to talk about the middle steelhead season picking up earlier as well.
I consider the middle season to be the Chehalis River system and its tributaries like the Wynoochie, Satsop, and Skookumchuck. This middle run picks up in late January and will go strong even into early March. The Skookumchuck in particular can go into mid-late March.
On the coast, it’s a transition period as the bigger wild fish start to trickle in throughout February, transitioning to the peak of the run typically in March.
The late steelhead runs include the aforementioned Skookumchuck as well as the Cowlitz. From the above screenshot, you can see that the Cowlitz already has fish returning.
In terms of what people have been using to get fish, the special restrictions this year precluding the use of bait, beads, beads, and more beads have been the key to putting fish on the bank this year.
Soft beads like the pro pack from BnR presented either via bobber dogging or under a float can get it done. Consider bobber dogging with a bigger bead on higher off-color water, and downsize with more finesse / natural presentation when water is lower.
Orange is my favorite color, but red/pink are good changeups.
Curious about what else there is to do on the 2021 fishing calendar? Check out my latest video on the entire 2021 recreation/harvest calendar.
Have a question about any of this? Feel free to drop a line in the comments below. I will tailor content to what you want to know about.
Anything to help you be successful this season, except for drawing maps to fishing spots (Sorry!).