I'm going to broaden my horizons and investigate the pinks in the Stilly next week. Any suggestions on bank access? I've heard of folks fishing the sandbar below the I-5 bridge but I've never tried to get there.

Is anyone flyfishing the pinks? Hopefully the water will clear up, I don't really fancy bait fishing too much. Not a moral issue, just prefer the finesse of a fly or the SMACK! of hardware.

I think the Stilly doesn't open until the 1st of Sept.

Jerry, are you fishing with Tom this weekend? South end or west side of the island? Thinking of trying the Skagit for some humpies.

The Stilly doesn't open for salmon until Sept 1st, and then only for pinks and chum; all chinook and coho must be released. Foot access is easy from Blue Stilly Park or from a trail upstream from I-5 on the south side. The Pilchuck Creek channel is accessible from the first Pilchuck Creek bridge (assuming you're northbound, take the first right past the Arlington junction, take the first left to what used to be called the Kackman Road, cross back over the freeway and park at the bridge and wade downstream to the river). To reach the main channel (once called Koch Slough), go west at the Arlington junction, turn right at Gulhaugen Road (sorry, I don't know the current numerical designations of these roads) and go north to a 90 degree right under a big maple tree, continue east to a gate on your left (if you continue north to the end of the road you'll find the trail that takes you to the bar just east of I-5 on the south side) and walk north then west to the river below the dam (no fishing for 400 feet below the dam). You can cross and re-cross the river below there almost to Silvana. There's plenty of access from the Silvana area, near the Town Tavern, down to the point where Koch Slough and the Pilchuck Channel come together. From there down to the Bodel bridge on the Stanwood-Warm Beach road there are only a few places to get to the river and I don't think I can describe them very well. Humpies respond pretty well to almost any pink fly. Strip the fly and don't bother trying to cast to them if they're on the move. Look for them when they're stacked up in the pools. Hope this helps some.

[ 08-24-2001: Message edited by: Preston Singletary ]

I thought they opened it early because of the great pink run. I heard they opened it on the 15th and the fishin' has been pretty good.

I'll double-check, but I'm pretty sure there was even an article about it the Snohomish County Herald.

Thanks for the info.

Lightweight,
I just checked the WDFW web page and found nothing about a change in the opening date for salmon on the Stilly. That said, I know they aren't very prompt about updating their page. I was also judging from the fact that, when I finished a float from Cicero to Arlington for cutthroat a week ago Sunday, the usual elbow-to-elbow crowd of snaggers was missing from the big hole at the confluence of the forks.

Lightweight,

The Skagit opened on Aug. 15 so that's probably the opener you heard about. The Stilly is still slated to open on Sept. 1 and don't forget that it is under selective gear rules meaning single barbless hook and no bait. It think that the selective gear ruling is really stupid considering that the main stilly runs the color of chocolate milk most of the time. I could catch a helluva lot more fish in that mud puddle with sandshrimp but I guess the WDFW wants to protect ESA nooks or something. Anybody know the reasoning for the selective gear ruling on the main Stilly? Thanks

Usually the slective gear ruling on any given stretch of water is to protect the spieces that have to be released. I.E, They tend to take bait down deeper than regular drift gear and then are more difficult to release unharmed. ESA is really changin my game too.

Kid Sauk,
I think you'll find that the main Stilly runs pretty clear from about August until the fall storms blow it out. It provides some of the best fly fishing for sea-run cutthroat in the state during that time.