Northwest Fishing Reports

I'm planning on trying bank fishing for sturgeon in Port Susan this winter/spring. I've worked out the tackle issue, and generally know where I think I'll fish, but don't have a clue about time of day, tides, etc. Any tips out there about how to go about this? Lots of fishing experience in AK salt, but am a "dim bulb" when it comes to sturgeon! Thanks.

call hook line and sinker ask for bob 360 651 7304 he'll set you up

Thanks, bassplayer17, I'll do that!

Great info Fish-Freak, thanks!

Is there shore access to the salt water portion of the Stilliguamish? I was up there yesterday (at the end of Boe Rd.) for unrelated reasons and didn't see any way to publicly access the delta from shore.

There is no public access to the mouth of the Stilly by shore...

I've been wanting to use my pontoon to get into those shallow troughs.
Just haven't got around to it yet...

Terry

It depends on what side of the mouth you want to get to, there is an access to the sloughs over by stanwood, and you can walk through the mud grass to the bay that way. Bring your waders, because that mud is very... muddy. We drive our kayak around through the sloughs there and several times have almost had a giant monster sturgeon run its back along the bottom of the boat.

Doesn't that slouogh go all the way North and into the Skagit River Delta? Pretty darned shallow too even at the high tide. I have always wished the city of Stanwood would put in a boat ramp someplace near town...

One of them does, I've tried to navigate it on a couple of occasions but I always seem to get over there at lowish tide and the channel is hard to find. Many places are only inches deep, I've gotten stuck with our 14' Sorenson everytime I've tried. So if you do try, make sure it's a good high tide.

When I fish it, I park under 532 on the wildlife access road to hike north to the estuary that meets with the skagit. Further down Eide road at the turn you can access the main stilly slough. When fishing in our kayak we have literally had sturgeon nearly scrape our boat bottom in a foot and a half of water. There is a very nice hole behind that mill or factory or whatever that thing is, and I've connected there with some big fish. Down the end of eide road you can walk down to the mud flats and the mouth of the slough. I fish this when the tide is going out, you can flow the tide as the water recedes.

As for the other half, if you park at marine view drive you can walk along the south bank of the slough reasonably well. Although it's two or so miles to the estuary, there are plenty of fish up in the slough. Right there behind the red barn is a nice trough, bring a rod that can cast to the other side with enough weight to stick though. There is a nice sand bar there when the tide is out. There are even fish caught as far up as the bridge and marine drive, and there are plenty of fish to get at. If you're looking to catch and keep, fish this month, because they changed the rule for retention for next season. Like bastards. Good luck!

natetreat wrote:When I fish it, I park under 532 on the wildlife access road to hike north to the estuary that meets with the skagit. Further down Eide road at the turn you can access the main stilly slough. When fishing in our kayak we have literally had sturgeon nearly scrape our boat bottom in a foot and a half of water. There is a very nice hole behind that mill or factory or whatever that thing is, and I've connected there with some big fish. Down the end of eide road you can walk down to the mud flats and the mouth of the slough. I fish this when the tide is going out, you can flow the tide as the water recedes.

As for the other half, if you park at marine view drive you can walk along the south bank of the slough reasonably well. Although it's two or so miles to the estuary, there are plenty of fish up in the slough. Right there behind the red barn is a nice trough, bring a rod that can cast to the other side with enough weight to stick though. There is a nice sand bar there when the tide is out. There are even fish caught as far up as the bridge and marine drive, and there are plenty of fish to get at. If you're looking to catch and keep, fish this month, because they changed the rule for retention for next season. Like bastards. Good luck!

Hi, i cant seem to find this red barn. You say Marine view drive, i cant find that on the map. Is it near the slough? Is the big mill or whatever it is on Eide road? Or used to be? Thanks.

It's downstream from the boat launch right below marine drive. I don't know what road it's on, but you can see it from the river on the right hand bank.

For those fishing for Puget Sound sturgeon, please be aware that as of May 1st of this year the retention season for sturgeon will not open until June. Check the regs for exact dates, it is now only open to retention for two short 1.5 month seasons each year. Fishing IS, however, open year round for catch and release in many areas, including the Stilli and the river delta in Port Susan. Also, be aware that the Snohomish river is CLOSED to ALL FISHING until June as well (above I5). I have seen many people fishing illegally above the bridge this season, just be aware.

Good luck.

Matt: Thanks for the quick, concise regulation update. As a newby to the area (and sturgeon fishing) such info is invaluable!

Unless something new has come down the pipe that I can't find on the WDFW website, the Snohomish is open for food fish, which includes Sturgeon. The emergency rule imposed in January only effects game fish. It is extremely confusing, but I emailed WDFW earlier this year for clarity and got confirmation that Sturgeon fishing was still legal. Stacie Kelsey had confirmed this in previous years as well.

The original emergency rule change stated that the river would "close to all fishing" which is clear to me that you may not fish, for anything. Although you are correct, some areas close to "gamefish" harvest and the harvest of "food fish" is still permitted, as is the case on the Stilliguamish which has no official season for sturgeon. The Snohomish ERC clearly stated all fishing.
The emergency rule change is no longer posted online, though, so it is possible it was lifted with the start of the 2012/13 season, on May 1st.

The person you really want to talk to would be the region 14 biologist, Brett Barkdull 360-466-4345 ext 270.

This is what i got..... As of may first the snohomish from the mouth up (train bridge) is closed to all fishing..Sturgeon will now fall under game fish rules..Catch and keep the month of june and again in sept thru half of oct. Catch and release the rest of the time.....The stilly and skagit open year around catch and keep the month of june and again sept thru half of oct the rest catch and release... Port susan open year around same reg as stilly and skagit.

It took me a long time to figure out what you're talk about, but it looks like you're right. As of this year's rule book, page 17:

Sturgeon - Freshwater Rivers:
Catch-and-release only during open game fish or SALMON seasons. Retention allowed only June
1 through June 30 and Sept. 1 through Oct. 15. Min. size 38" fork length. Max. size 54" fork length.
Daily limit 1. Possession limit - 2 daily limits. Annual limit 5 STURGEON statewide per license year
(April 1-March 31).

This does indeed have the effect of closing the Snohomish to Sturgeon angling from Feb 1st to May 31st which is a bit of a disappointment since there are limited opportunities for angling in the area that time of year.

Matt wrote:For those fishing for Puget Sound sturgeon, please be aware that as of May 1st of this year the retention season for sturgeon will not open until June. Check the regs for exact dates, it is now only open to retention for two short 1.5 month seasons each year. Fishing IS, however, open year round for catch and release in many areas, including the Stilli and the river delta in Port Susan. Also, be aware that the Snohomish river is CLOSED to ALL FISHING until June as well (above I5). I have seen many people fishing illegally above the bridge this season, just be aware.

Good luck.

The emergency rule update closed it for "Species affected: All game fish. " Not sturgeon, which were open year round for the Snoho, downstream of highway 2 and are food fish. I was out there fishing for them to get my keepers before they closed retention.

No, the action said "To close the Snohomish River to ALL FISHING" It did not specify game fish. That whole thing is just a loop hole, and one they fixed last year by rewording the emergency rule changes. You can see now they have permanently fixed the problem in the wording of the new regs as well. Many anglers were sited for fishing illegally last season, and the number of people still fishing this season has been a scant few. If you don't believe me, call Brett, he would be more than happy to clarify all of this information.