The spring has been fairly dry with rivers low and clear which makes the threat of blowouts non existent but fish a bit spooky. It is nice to get out and get some sun and not have to layer up or dry my jacket each time out. The beauty of our local rivers are pretty amazing too with killer mountain backdrops. The Skagit and Sauk do have a decent number of fish but you got to get up early, hit fresh water and put in work under lower light conditions to get better results. It has been work but a little bump of rain really turns things on and the forecast looks good for that.  Johnathan has been putting in more hours than me. We have been hitting the Sauk more and will put a little more time on the Skagit as the water level rises. He had a pretty good day the other day. Ge...

Here are a couple 2018 shots for inspiration. We guide year round so get at us to see where we are fishing and availability. We are mainly fishing the Skagit right now for steelhead and bull trout.  

Steelhead season is underway. Great dates available still. Booking now for the Olympic Peninsula and Skagit/Sauk (depending on openings)

Wdfw is a mess. The Director has resigned, the Wildlife commission has had to step in and change resource management plans. The Skagit/Sauk is supposed to... who knows. There has been lots of time to figure it out. Not sure why we don't have a decision by now as the river is set to close at the end of Jan. There will most likely be at least a couple weeks of a spring season, possibly more.  The Skagit and especially the Sauk will be busy so find separation by less popular times/spots. They can be a great back up to blown out O.P. rivers though.
I was at the Skagit steelhead meeting in Sedro Wooley.  WDFW had given the excuse that there...

Update: The Skagit and Sauk Spring steelhead will open Dec 16th!!! Big win for Anglers. We are booking for trips now. We plan on limiting our impact by fishing part of the time on the Olympic Peninsula and part of the time on our home rivers Skagit/Sauk.

Locally we are fishing on the Skykomish River and down south on the Satsop, Humptulips or nearby

rivers. The main target is coho but Chum salmon and sea run cutthroat are available also and hatchery steelhead will start to show after Thanksgiving. This time of year can be the best time of year for multi-species action. On most systems chum salmon need to be released. We tied into a bunch last weekend on the "Hump" and man they always surprise me how well they fight... just shear craziness and half of them either broke us...

It's been a busy summer but my favorite time of the year is the fall. We are mostly fishing the Skykomish/Snohomish right now. Coho is the game. I usually fish them on the Skagit or Stillaguamish, but of course they are closed. The Skagit may open if test fisheries show enough coho. Last year they had to reopen the river, little late but at least they opened it. The Sky/Sno silvers came in a couple weeks ago and are showing in good numbers. Big tide swings this weekend should bring in some more. The coho can finicky. The lower the light on the water, cooler the water, fresher the fish the better they will bite. It can be tough fishing on a sunny day in the afternoon. The bite has been getting better lately with cooler mornings. I have been using small flies in various...

Weather's nice, rivers are in shape so what's happening?

It's a pink salmon year so we are gearing up and in a few weeks they will be hitting our local puget sound
rivers. Typically they are one of our largest runs of salmon. We will be doing most of our Pink salmon fishing on the Skykomish and Nooksack with some prime dates still available.

We have a pink salmon full day class on how to fish for and catch these suckers on August 26th on the Skykomish. Early enough to find fish in the river and give ya time to get back out and have a few weeks to go get
them on your own.

Unfortunately for the first year ever the Stillaguamish and Skagit will be closed (don't get me started on how lame that is) Wdfw will be doing some test fisheries and if they determine enough pinks...

Just Quick report from last weekend.

We headed over the pass to hit some East side lakes. First on the list was Blue lake.
Fishing was ok. Along with bows they do have some nice brown trout that are always a treat. Most fish hit on chironomids. The lake and drive in was worth the drive. Such a beautiful area.

Omak lake was a bit of a bust. We killed it last year expecting to get back to where we left off only to find the lake much higher with some dirtier water due to some feeder creeks with dirty flows. The thing that makes Omak Lake so much fun is sight fishing to cruising cutthroat in the shallows. We did manage to get a few fish from shore but did better trolling with our boat.

We had some buddies with us that left Omak and hit up Aeneas Lake. Apparently they had...

Spring steelhead is done. Overall it was a good season. Info on that season is at the bottom.

Update: partner needed for steelhead trip june 26-28th any day

 So what's coming up on the scene.

The pink salmon are lower returns this year but those lower returns are still bigger than any other salmon run we have. There should be plenty of fish to catch if you know where to look. It looks like the Snohomish system will have the most fish in the N. Puget sound.

We will start our fishing for them Aug 15. with the bulk of the run flooding in around September. This one books up early - We are filling prime dates now. I just talked to one of the head fisheries managers and should have details on the specific regulations soon. Anglers should be allowed to keep 2 fish depending...

I'm just getting back from a trip to Thailand for some much needed sun and fun. Johnathan was running trips while I was playing hooky. I'm back now ready for winter/spring steelhead on the Olympic Peninsula.

Open seats and guys looking for partners to split guide trips: March 2nd and 3rd, 24th. If those dates don't work shoot me some dates and I'll hook you up $225 pp. We try to fish the best river available but we will have a park permit to fish the Queets river, if you haven't ever fished the Queets it's got great fly water, less pressure and good fishing when in shape. Also I do a $50 discount per day for multiple full days booked, mention "winter special". Contact Mike 425-330-9506 or Streamsideflyshop@yahoo.com

Fishing has been great so far. Our top Rivers for hatch...

2017 steelhead season is underway. O.P. steelhead dates are starting to book up!

Fishing has been great so far. Our top Rivers for hatchery steelhead have been the Humptulips, Bogachiel and Queets and wild fish are starting to show now in all the rivers. The early wild bucks can be some of the biggest. If your interested in getting over there let me know now.

Our other Guide Johnathan will be out there with me running trips and helping with bigger groups too. If you put your own group together we give ya a discount.

Our full day Peninsula Steelhead schools are $169 pp. Booking March 11th (3 spots have availability). Up to 3 people per guide. We go over equipment, spey casting, reading water, presentation and fish!

Open seats and guys looking for partners to split guide tri...