Funny you should mention that Joe, I brought Curt Kraemer up to the December meeting of the Wildcat Steelhead Club and on the way back we discussed the Skagit king run. I too grew up fishing those lunkers and Curt was guardedly optimistic about a fishery in the not too distant future. The main obstacle in the way -given harvestable numbers- is the ESA listing of Puget Sound kings. Currently we are allowed a 2% impact on wild fish during a hatchery run harvest. The North of Falcon process determines where the 2%impact takes place i.e. Westport, Sekiu, or the Skagit itself. Needless to say I'm going to NOF in Portland and Seattle this year to argue for a river fishery.
The possibility exists for a June/July king fishery this year on the Skykomish but only if we can fight it through the NOF process. Can you imagine Summer-runs and Kings on the Sky!!! I don't need to tell you where the Thor Built will be living if that happens.
Drop me a line Joe, I've got a fish story for you. Later, Tom