Out of the 60 - 75 fish my boat landed last year fishing the Skagit only one was a winter brat. I know the river pretty well on the upper stretch and fished it hard in Dec with a sled so it wasn't for lack of covering the water. I LDR'd a couple at Illabot that were probably brats cuz there wasn't as much fight or weight as others but for the most part there aren't many brats I came in contact with. Nates were another story though