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Haven't had time to fish very much this year yet, but had time to fish for about an hour or so and since I was near the Stillaguamish River I decided to hit it up. Drove over the I-5 bridge to get a quick glimpse of what the conditions even looked like before I was going to head on down somewhere since all the recent rains had me worried it would look like chocolate milk since this river takes awhile to clear up and drop a bit usually. But as I headed over and sneaked a peek over the bridge I saw that the conditions were actually favorable. So took the next exit, turned around and got off at the Arlington exit and headed down to Blue Stilly Park. The area of river across from big rock where I grew up on the hillside in my early years and even caught my first Steelhead and first Salmon when I was 14... I'm 42 now... Haven't fished these waters since, but only a couple of times just because there are more favorable rivers and areas I prefer than fishing this river which isn't the best producer in my eyes, but I needed to get out and just the time on the water was what I needed and so I ventured out.

When I got down to the park at around 4:00 pm it was overcast, cloudy, a few sprinkles and 45 degrees. Only 2 cars in sight, and when I got down to the river only could see one gent way down to the leftside and off in the distance. Not a soul around... Quiet just the way I like it. Growing up here I remember where the fish liked to hangout and there wasn't much change from the way it use to be that was for sure. Didn't see anything surface down by the big rock or surrounding areas, but decided to go to where I knew the fish piled up and sure enough they were. In fact, the fresh rains had them surfacing on the otherside in the shallower areas which was surprising to me. But I was on the deeper side where the channel runs and my first cast produced me a nice bright female around 5 pounds using a #3 brass Mepps Aglia with a #2 Gamakatsu Octopus hook, which the ones who know me know that is my favorite lure of all time for many years and always will be.

Got her to shore, and without hesitation and on my second cast I had another one on. Set the hook good, and got the line tight and reached for my cell phone to capture some more pics while fighting the fish for some more action shots as I love to do, but after about a minute of fighting the fish it had shook itself free. But no worries I thought, as for me its all about having fun and taking some pictures and being out in nature... Most the time the fish are released, but since its been awhile since I've been fishing I had to bring one home at least for the barbecue. And that I did ! According to the river flow chart, its been dropping and so the fish seem to be there and it seems in good numbers if I was to guess for the short amount of time I was there.

When I got back to the car, there was now only one vehicle there, and the gent was just loading up. Talked with him for a bit and he also got a nice fresh Coho. And also a nice size King Salmon in which he released he stated. All in all, a good day on the river ;) Tight lines to all, and have fun out there !

goodtimesfishing

10/26/2012 11:52:00 PM

right on...stilly has been slow. I noticed under bait you list attractor, not sure if you meant scent or not but if you did mean scent, thought I would let you know the stilly is selective gear rules, so you don't want to be caught using scent as they will ticket you. Just FYI for the future. Looking forward to some action on the stilly!!

J-MICHAEL

10/27/2012 12:05:00 AM

Hey thanks For that info on the scent, didn't realize that. I didn't use any as I have gotten rid of most my gear including the Shrimp scent I had, hipboots, filet knife, etc as I'm moving to Maui in 18 days and so I went fishing with limited supplies and only a few lures but I know the lures still probably had some scent on them from last year fishing the Wallace and Skykomish Rivers and so checked the attractor on the form here. But good to know for the future in case I head out again ;) Appreciate the heads up... This evening seemed pretty active with fish, might want to check it out soon. Not sure if you are familiar, but when you get down there down by bigrock, walk around the bend upriver and try fishing around there. There are a few good spots where the fish hold.

LiveAsYouWill

10/27/2012 1:00:00 AM

Great write-up! long time to be away from your home....and to return briefly and nail two... nice work!

Steelheadin360

10/27/2012 9:55:00 AM

nice fish!!

tele_maniac

10/27/2012 1:58:00 PM

Great report and pictures. Thanks for sharing. I fished at Blue Stilly a few times last season. Thought about heading out last weekend to check it out. Nice to know the fish are in there now. Enjoy Maui!!

goodtimesfishing

10/27/2012 10:48:00 PM

Glad you hit some nice coho before you move to Maui!!!

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