Surely there are a lot of chum in the upper Skagit, but I think you'll find fresher ones lower down. I'd consider launching at Birdsview or Hamilton and fishing up and down from either launch.

They'll eat any sort of chum candy, but I've had them hit any color marabou streamer and simple green yarn flies. And the damn things hit every steelhead pattern I've tried to drift through a run. It's annoying when you're trying to fish for steelhead and the chum won't leave your offering alone.

Good spots are usually where the run includes a gradually sloping and deepening bottom from the shore toward mid-river and where the current speed clearly gets faster with the increasing depth of water. And if you find a run with a sharp current line between a decidedly fast current and a softer shoreward current, well stop the boat and get out and fish!

Of course, the fishing gods will award you a demerit for every chum you hook on purpose, but that 's another conversation entirely. t.i.c.

Sincerely,

Salmo g.