NF Stillguamish Salmon

[natetreat]

So, we picked up this coho today in the north fork, and it was really spawned out, not much of a fight on the 8 weight rod, but I snapped a quick pic of it anyway. I got to thinking that the thing looked pretty weird for a spawning coho, none of the black that coho have at all, and a little bit humpy. Looking back at the picture and it really does kind of look like a sockeye. I've never pulled on out of a river that wasn't supposed to have 'em in it, so that seemed strange to me. What do you guys think?

[schu7498]

Wow that's awesome! Looks like a nice sockeye! How big do you think it was? Good thing you had a camera!

[Sthao92]

Yup definately looks like a sockeye to me as well. When the wallace opened near the hatchery i went out there a week later after it opened and i swear i saw a dead one when i was walking around. Maybe these systems will have a good sockeye run some day?

[beachbum97]

I am 100% certain that that's a sockeye. I know salmon sometimes stray, so it could be from another system.

[Mike Carey]

sockeye, no doubt. Was that the fly rod you had on the Hump Nate? I'm tempted... it really cast nice.

[natetreat]

Yea, it was my St. Croix swith 8wt. It's a nice little rod, but a little heavy for the littler fish. We got a 15 pound coho on it the other day though and that was pretty awesome.

[natetreat]

I figured as much that it was a sockeye. We found him at the end of the day, but we were fishing a slot where there was a whole school of them. I think that the other fish rolling were sockeye too. Very cool! Wouldn't that be something if someday we got a river run on the Stilly!

[fear_no_fish]

That would be a sockeye, theres a run on that system, just small. From what i've heard its gaining in power the last few years so maybe it will grow big enough.
Theres also a few that go up the wallace (I haven't seen them for a couple years now though), and then even some more that venture up past gold bar on the sky.

[Matt]

In general, salmon runs experience stray rates of around 2.5% per run.

[Brat Bonker]

isn't there a creek that comes from a lake on the stilly, but I can not think of which one it is maybe deer ck or something idk. good catch though.

[natetreat]

Well anyways, it's a neat little catch. This guy was probably a little lost. Not too often to see a sockeye running around like that!

[racfish]

Maybe its a Coho wannabe?

[Dan Boone]

I`m going to say sockeye. I know there`s Cavanaugh Lake that drains into Pilchuck creek, but that`s farther downstream. Maybe some planted kokes got washed out of the lake and came back to start a population. Is that possible?

[Brat Bonker]

there is no lake by like squire or deer ck? could be baker lake fish doing a detour but relized the stilly does not go into the sauk...

[BARCHASER10]

Does look like a Sockeye. But I always thought that Sockeyes only ran in a river system with a lake. The life cycle for Sockeyes is they hatch in the stream but at a very early age they run down to the lake where they stay until they are big enuff to run down into the salt. When I fish Lake Wa for cutts it is very common to see schools of fingerlength Sockeyes on the surface. Must be a stray not the start of a run.

[Steelheadin360]

Not the first sockeye ive seen on the northfork, seen a school of 5-6 of them 2 years ago in Fortson. and the only lake that dumps into that river system is Cavanaugh Via pilchuck creek. My guess is they just took a wrong turn and headed up the wrong side of The island and shot up the river. With the good return we had on the skagit im suprised more didnt get lost. Ive seen them on the northfork of the sky too, past skyko 2 before the road got all effed up

[Ghanilorn666]

So thats what a sockeye looks like! Ive seen some of those in the newaukum river. Very few but ive seen em.

[stillyfisher]

This is an old thread, but why not chime in anyway. I was fishing on the NF some years ago and ran into a wdfw fish counter coming down the river who was counting chinook. I was fishing near hazel, and there were a number of sockeye sitting in a deep pool. The counter said he had counted dozens of dead ones. According to this guy, "river" sockeye are not uncommon in the north part of puget sound... especially the sky, Stilly and Nooksack. The counter said it is believed that some sockeye reproduce without the use of a lake system. Other people think they are simply fish that are strays from the Frasier, Skagit, or Lake Washington. There are sockeye counted at sunset falls every year. I have caught several fishing for steelhead on the NF since.

[natetreat]

I've caught quite a few of them up there since then.