I want to get my feet wet, any king county area suggestions?

[gian]

I've been counting down the days until June 1st when I know most of the rivers open up to fishing. Can any of you seasoned anglers give me some advice on where to start, what type of fish to expect, what type of line weight should I run, what's the average size fish to expect? My experience with river fishing comes from northern california, where the average size fish is only a few pounds at best, I've seen some pictures on this site of some huge fish and don't want to lose lures because I was running to light tackle. Thanks for any advice.

[Derrick-k]

I hate to tell you but I don't think the local rivers are going to be fishable until mid june. The green has been flooding so much that it will be awhile until it is fishable. Basically the only king county river with summer runs is the green and fishing there is usually lousy I have traditionally gone there every opening day and got skunked. If you want to fish for trout you ca have decent success in the green using small egg clusters worms, or even better crawdads. Average size for a summer run will be 6-8 lbs the trout will run an average 9 inches with a few getting up to 14-15 inches. IF you are fishing for steelhead use 10lb mainline, and 8lb leader for trout I still wouldn't go below a 6lb leader since you might hook a steelhead, chances are slim but possible. Good luck!

[gian]

thanks for the info on green. I thought I saw a warning somewhere about eating anything that came out of that river. I was actually going to head further east in king county, maybe out by duvall. I see a lot of rivers and creeks on the map, but not all of them are listed in the WDFW pamphlet. I did get some tips on the snoqualmie forks, but I was hoping to find something closer. I'm in Sammamish and the forks are a good 45 to an hour away. Are there any favorite rivers you go too? I will probably have to do some driving to find an ideal river. I'll just have to make a day of it.

[Jake Dogfish]

I wouldn't worry too much about the fish in the green. The polluted area is in the lower Duwamish and the steelhead move through that area pretty quickly. The upper river is actually pretty pristine fish habitat.
But like Derrick said the river is pretty much unfishable down low because of all the mud thats moved down from the floods...

[gpc]

Derrick pretty much covered evrything you need to know about the green. The salmon fishing gets pretty hot there though, right before the river closes for the month of August, there are allready salmon running up the river. Not may but they are there. Then when the green re opens its in its prime.

Dont worry about eating fish out of the green. It might not be the cleanest water, but they wont hurt you if you eat them.


Another place you might want to look into is the Cedar river. I am not sure what the condition of the river is, but there are a lot of big fish in there. I know its not as bad as the green though

[gian]

thanks guys for the info. wheres a good place to set up on cedar?

[A9]

Skykomish system is another option. It ain't that far of a drive....but it is in Snoho County....

[kutthroatkilla]

thanks guys for the info. wheres a good place to set up on cedar?

The Cedar River was more less my home turf for the last 5 years. The river when I last checked it last night was near 1900 CFS. That's insane for this time of year...well not quite insane, but UNSAFE. Advice -- wait and fish a lake for the next 2-3 weeks. The Cedar is much better around 500-800CFS. Knock 1K off those numbers. It's amazing for large cutts 15-22" and that's about all I can say! As far as MFSR is concerned, that is a prime area with the fly rod. It, as well, it flowing quite high. The South Fork is more or less useless, some small brookies up toward exit 45/47 Tinkham, etc. I would focus on the Middle Fork where access is the best, and the North Fork, if you can get back in there and pay the fees. These are too dangerous to frequent right now, so stay clear. My days of fishing these rivers are just about over...

Cedar River, Renton, WA
1,000 c.f.s.
Internal Alert

2,800 c.f.s.
Minor Flooding
Jones Rd near 156th SE may overtop.

3,500 c.f.s.
Moderate Flooding
Lower Dorre Don and Byers Rd may overtop.

4,200 c.f.s.
Extreme Flooding
Some residential areas may experience dangerous high flows and home flooding.

[christopherbeebe]

thanks guys for the info. wheres a good place to set up on cedar?

yes i would like to know too, cause i always thought the entire cedar river was closed year round. any info will help always like to try new systems thanx

[gian]

I finally went out to check the cedar today. I stopped at a small park by the renton airport. Limited/ no shore access and the water was right up to the bank. Fast moving and 3ft deep at the shoreline. plus the shore was overgrown so I decide to check further south on the river. Got lost driving downtown renton, with all the 1 way streets. Finally made it back to cedar river park, but some event was going on and parking was nowhere to be found. Moved down SE maple valley to riverview park, 1st lot, but could not find shore access. Just a bridge across the river and a grassy area with picnic tables. Drove down to the next exit and found shore access underneath a metal foot bridge going across the river. Watched someone fly fish from the bank for a few minutes, watched the current, looked for fish, and then left without getting my gear out. Water still seems way to fast for me to fish. Had about 4' visibility. I'm going to keep going further south along the river until I can find a place to fish without having to be teathered to a tree. LOL