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If you had to pick just one river?

  • Thompson

    Votes: 5 11.1%
  • Kispiox

    Votes: 1 2.2%
  • Bulkley

    Votes: 2 4.4%
  • Sauk/Skagit

    Votes: 3 6.7%
  • Snake/Ronde

    Votes: 4 8.9%
  • Clearwater

    Votes: 6 13.3%
  • Skykomish

    Votes: 1 2.2%
  • Dean

    Votes: 6 13.3%
  • Hoh/Sol Duc

    Votes: 5 11.1%
  • Other

    Votes: 12 26.7%

One River

3K views 24 replies 19 participants last post by  KerryS 
#1 ·
If you only could fishfor steelhead in one river a year and then only for a two week period, what would it be? And why?
 
#2 ·
I came up with this question and then pondered my answer for a long time. I settled on the Snake because it is such a tradition for me. Having grown up near the confluence of the Clearwater and Snake, my earliest memories of fishing for steelhead are of these rivers. To miss a year just leaves me feeling incomplete.

Honorable Mentions:
The Sauk/Skagit was a close second as I surely love these rivers in the Spring. I can also not imagine being able to not fish the Skykomish. If there was still a spring season on the Sky it would have been number one. I am still stinging form the loss of that fishery. Finally, the Bulkley and Kispiox will always call out to me but for now, I am content to head their way every other year.
 
#5 ·
I will vote for the Sky. Though not the best of the rivers mentioned by a long shot it is my home river, it is my living room, kitchen and back yard garden all combined. It is where I can escape early in the morning after having a bad day at work the day before. Being able to fish it it on short notice It fills evening time often by getting gear ready to fish the next morning. Knowing it well means the enjoyment of noticing every little change every little pulse of the few fish left entering the river and where they may be holding on any given day. Like all of our Sound rivers there is something very sad going on there, maybe no matter how hard we try and make things better it will continue to decline and die. But still I feel it is part of me, I mean that not in a selfish way but like a family member that is there for another loved one who is terminally ill. It is life and where we are in not so healthy of a world. The Sky is dying but she sure still is a wonderful person to be around even if there is little pulse left. I feel for our brothers North of the border who may have hit rock bottom with there loved river lost. We down here only live because of the sickness called Hatcheries. Hatcheries are like life support they sadly just prolong the suffering for the entire clan. As much as I love to visit her and fish her runs there are many days also I wish she would just die so I could, would not prolong the agony I feel for her health.
 
#6 ·
strange results imo. if i had to choose of the places i've fished, the dean from aug 1-14 would win hands down, with the skeena mainstem coming in a distant second. then it would be a tossup between another dry-line fishery such as the thompson (got my butt kicked my only trip) or a winter-run fishery (and then timing those weeks would depend on water condition variability, because i might choose some off-peak times where fishing is good if conditions work... which rarely happens).

chris
 
#8 ·
Sinktip,

This is not a fair question. I choose the Sol Duc and the time would be the last week of October and first week of November. This is my favorite Washington Steelhead river and one which I do not get ot fihs nearly as often as I wish since moving to Mount Vernon from Port Angeles 9 years ago.

The Skagit/Sauk are home rivers, which Iove in winter/spring; however, they are not like the Sol Duc in late fall when you can catch steelhead, coho, and late kings.

The Sky holds a special place in my heart also in the late summer and fall. Especially the elusive summer natives. Yes, OC, it has been hurt; but I still find myself being drawn to it.

The Wenatchee was not on your list I assume because it has been closed for the past 5 seasons. It was my favorite river any time between mid-September and mid-November.

The Thompson holds a special place in my heart for its majesty and the comaraderie found on its banks.

Damn, you make it tough for us who fish almost exclusively for steelhead.
 
#9 ·
Of course I chose the "Other"...

The not listed "Other" is my year round favorite (when in shape)!
I hate these types of questions but I always answer them. First off I am pretty sure that I would be suicidal and maybe even successful, as being able too only fish a couple of weeks a year would be the most depressing verdict I would have gotten since the IFQ's.
Maybe if I could get those 14 days scattered over the 12 months I could get by.
My second choice would be another river not on the list.
 
#10 ·
Hmm the list of rivers though a great list sure seems biased regional and seasonal bias. The river I would pick has chrom2 24/7/365. and is 500 miles from the nearest river on the list. it boasts an average 5000 summer runs, mix of brrod stocks and wild and about the same winter runs which are 100% wild. other forks of this river boat of runs of 100% wild steelhead in the 15,00-20,000 range. The Umpqua....
 
#12 ·
My apologies to those whose river was excluded. I was limited to 10 choices and will admit that I limited it to rivers I have fished or hope to fish soon. With another 5 choices I would have included the Deschutes, Wenatchee, N. Umpqua, Cowlitz and Babine. Give me another five and you get the Sustut, Copper, Stamp, Trinity and Salmon. But what about the Queets, Suskwa, Ancor, etc. You see my problem.
 
#13 ·
Well from those choice provided my vote is for the following:

Little reality: 1st choice, Dean, due to lottery system and location

Semi reality: Queets, 4hrs away, Beautiful, but is soiled by intense tribal netting and wild steelhead kill.

Reality: Skykomish, local water, wild steelhead responsive the the fly but is currently a good looking gal stuck in the bar without a date.
 
#14 ·
ST, " I feel your pain...." Another river not on the list.

was the Rogue. Over the entire population of the southern half of Oregon (in raw numbers) is probably driving around in King County as I type. Probably why our runs of fish are getting larger every year .. while others are in the tank.

Yes, you can come south in less time than it takes you to get to most places in centeral BC. just don't tell anyone else.
fae, et. al.
 
#16 ·
Blasphemist!!!!!!!!!!!!

How dare you put the Hoh and SolDuc as the same. Man, would you put the Nooch and Sop as the same? They may dump in the same body of water, but are not the same. Man, I outta come over there and ring your neck. :D :hehe: :p

Ok, rants over. LOL. That was tough for me really. I have fished alot of the rivers mentioned once or twice in my life. But I was raised to focus on rivers you enjoy, and fish the HELL out of them. So, I fish different rivers at different times for steelhead. I can narrow it down to three though. But I won't give those away, but say they all are over on the OlyPen :D
 
#17 ·
SH69,

Come and wring away but be careful, I know you are injured and I wouldn't want you to re-hurt your back. Oh and I wring back :razz:

My apologies on the grouping though. How do you think I felt grouping the Skagit and Sauk together? They are very diff. rivers. Or even the Ronde and the Snake? Those two have two very seperate characters to them.

'tip
 
#20 ·
N. Umpqua tops 'em all.
Great beauty
Huge variety to the holes
Free-rising summer fish of reasonable-to-good size
All-wild winter fish of good size
Great beauty
Superb accomodations available, whether you want indoor
comfort or unimproved camping
Terrific regulations
Storied traditions
Excellent bank access
Great Beauty
World-class meals available on the river
Boating restrictions
Tough wading
Fantastic fly shop on the river
The better you know it, the more you love it
Did I say Great beauty?
N. Umpqua tops 'em all (well, at least of the rivers I've fished, which excludes much of your list)
 
#22 ·
`the happiest lot of any angler would be to live somewhere along the banks of the Rogue River,most beautiful stream of Oregon.Then,if he kept close watch on conditions,he could be ready, on the spot, when the run of steelhead began',,,,,a quote ;from Zane Grey,,,et al,,,i know no other river that always has steel,,i've foregone traveling,,,for that reason:D
 
#23 ·
I grew up on the

Rogue River. Caught my first steelhead on the Rogue when I was just a pup. It was my favorite river until the Army Corp of Engineers decided to build a dam right on top of the best steelhead water of the upper river. It my opinion they ruined the Rogue. Moved away because of that dam and I will never come back until it is removed. It is to painful to look at.
 
#24 ·
Yes Kerry,i know of what you speak,used to fish Laurelhurst,,remember spring chinook breaking three foot in front of me,moving up to spawn,,and of course nobody around,those genetics are gone to the hatchery but ,it's still the Rogue,,fantastic amount of fish,,all year,numbers that blow other's away,probably because they've used native stock,plus, the lake gives people someplace other than the river to go,,she'd really be a jungle in the summer,,,,just real steelheader's out there now ,,guess you'll be missing her forever!!!?????,,,,if you wanna ride,,,,she's waiting:razz:
 
#25 ·
Enjoy your Rogue Hammer. For me there is more to a river then the number of fish that are artificially produced in a hatchery. The Rogue River will never be the Rogue River again until the dam is removed. Maybe someday I will visit the Rogue again but I don't think it will be anytime soon.

The last time I was there was to scatter my dad's ashes on her waters in the same place he scattered my mom's ashes. The Rogue River is a place that is sacred to me and for ever will be.

I was raised on the Rogue. I caught my first fish out of the Rogue. My first salmon and my first steelhead. I spent countless days with my family fishing, floating, and enjoying the Rogue River. I spent countless hours fighting the dam on the Rogue as well as the one on the Applegate. I find it sad that her natural wild state has been stolen from her.

The river Zane Grey spoke of no longer exists.
 
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