Steelhead

[eustace]

How was the overall season for steelhead this year over there. I used to live over there and I did a lot of steelheading. Now that I live back here in spokane area I usually fish one of two place the Grand Ronde ( which is a great producer for numbers of fish in a day not the size of the Fish) or the Clearwater of Idaho (Huge fish if there natives).

[kevinb]

The Puyallup River was ok. Not the best...

[Derrick-k]

Overall steelheading was a little below average sure there where some good and great days but overall the OP didn't do too well.

Humptullips River did get above the escapement amount they needed so things are looking up their.

Puget Sound rivers sucked as usual every time I went to the green no one had any fish or even claimed to have a bite.

However right before the Green closed a couple of men in a drift boat said they got a nice one a week before and that they had lost a "Huge" 10lber that day.

The Cowlitz had a good early season but the B run never was very good.

My personal favorite river sucked this year as it did last year.

Does anyone have an explanation for how a river that is not netted and is native release go down?

The Cowlitz had a good early season but the B run never was very good.

[eustace]

I used to live near orting from 91 to 97 and I fished that Carbon alot thats where I got my first King, Silver and Humpy. I finally caught my first Steelhead at the Humptulips and I was hooked. I started fishing the Carbon later on for Steelhead and I did alright did it finally get noticed. I never seen other people fishing for Steelhead back then everybody what hit the Puyallup. Note: it took me a couple of years to get that Steelheading down.

[Derrick-k]

The Hump was packed for kings and coho.

I will assume that the steelhead rune is packed too, especially when the hatcheries run.

[Anonymous]

I used to live near orting from 91 to 97 and I fished that Carbon alot thats where I got my first King, Silver and Humpy. I finally caught my first Steelhead at the Humptulips and I was hooked. I started fishing the Carbon later on for Steelhead and I did alright did it finally get noticed. I never seen other people fishing for Steelhead back then everybody what hit the Puyallup. Note: it took me a couple of years to get that Steelheading down.

I fished the Carbon until Feb. as often as I could and only a few were taken on certain days. The escapement report says only to end of Feb. 2008 were 23 fish. To Mar 2007 was 59 fish. To Mar 2006 was 47 fish. To Feb. 2005 was 71 fish. To Mar 2004 was 31 fish. I don't know about natives. I didn't get any in the winter. I caught one Oct. 13 2007. I did catch some white fish though.
A few people fish it for steelhead. Lots fish it for salmon.
Some people go where they can catch the fish the easiest. Unless you know what you are doing and where to go the Carbon isn't the easiest. I went because it is close to home and I know it. The steelhead I caught was not on purpose. So in my fishing for steelhead as a target I am at 0 still.

[eustace]

Toni, I rearly caught them in there and every fish I did catch was a native. I don't think they had hatchery fish in there back then. What sticks out in my mind about fishing the late winter Carbon, is if I could see the fish, it would frustrate me because they would swim back with the bait and then move aside.

If memory serves me correctly they were just starting to raise Steelhead at the hatchery up stream of Orting.