Went out to see if there was anything other than Fisherman at the Pilchuck River today, another disturbing reality made me remember to not leave stuff in the car while away fishing.
first I ran into the "slingers" scattering carcasses in the river (good), then three guys sitting by their trucks waiting for the Sherrif to arrive. seems we have a theif roaming the river again this year, I guess we are not the only ones that get excited about this river opening.
just be carefull and keep the items you bring with you limited to what you plan on taking with you to streamside. These poor guys even had their lunches stolen, I was asked to keep my eyes open for a "green" lunch bag- hope the guys don't spot one in some kids hand walking along the road in that area......they were pretty hungry guys and wanted the food back!

i know alot of the guys in that area, and they are a bunch of dirt bags. no wander my girl told me to stay away from them. i've turned a couple of then in for breaking into cars along the river. they are probally the ones responcible for this theft too. i definetly wouldn't be surprised.

that was a bad deal for them. I have been wondering all night why they didn't get my window as I was parked just ahead of them. almost seems to be a "locals rule" kind of crap as they left the fishing poles in the truck. The guy I talked to said all they took was his lunch. go figure. A lame move in any case.

For those that care catching sucked, not there yet I guess. coolest part of the day was the river otters hissing at me from across the river.
until I saw the fish slingers then I was wondering, are the fish slingers just feeding the otters?? I've never seen them in there before and to see 5 sitting on a log just down river from the bridge..... are we asking for troble here messing with ma nature agin??

Seems as though we just never learn and will continue to screw with mother nature till she kicks us off of her rock.What a bunch of low-life scum bags.Screw with me and mine and pay the price!

1mtlhead - Where, approximately did this occur? I mean, was it closer to Granite then Snohomish? I have never heard of any problems on the Pilchuck before. I hit it for a couple hours yesterday as well....nada.

Ike

I know the area 1mtlhead is talking about. There's a group of kids that live in the cul da ac, near the bridge, that are complete pieces of crap and so are thier parents. The kids are responsible for stealing a nieghbors RV and burning it to the ground near the river.

A sting operation in this area would be so easy if things continue.

it was about mid way between getchel store and doc's tavern on the only bridge that crosses the river as you drive out the east side of the river.

About 10 years ago, a fisherman was murdered on the Pilchuck. A group of kids wanted to steal his vehicle, so they cut his throat.

The wife of a law school buddy was the assigned public defender for the case. Not sure how the case turned out.

Stay safe out there.

I hit the Pilchuck for the last 2 hours of daylight yesterday at the Lochsloy bridge. Had 1 takedown that I completely missed - one that I wasn't sure was a fish or not. Next cast - same spot - there she goes and I stung it hard enough to turn it and see it flash and that was it. Sure do need to tune up the reflexes. Didn't see anything else and my buddy didn't touch anything either.

Got back to my rig and discovered I'd left the hatch on the expedition unlocked. No one had touched it - felt pretty lucky - even more so after reading this post - there was a crapload of stuff in the back - several poles/reals, a big-cheif smoker, etc. I grew up fishing that river and really love it - hope the tweekers don't ruin it.

It was on the road that goes by machias elementary down at the old "one lane bridge" area. Can I still call it that after they widened it what 6-7 years ago??

OceanSun I did catch a silver that had enough chrome left on it to flash, hope yours was true steel as I love to fish the river and it is so close to home. but I have had a few bad years on it and lost a lot of confadance in its run size.

The granite falls/outer snohomish area is a "hot spot" for wackos. A couple years ago i parked my truck on a nice sunny day above Granite and was working my way downstream fishing all the pockets and small pools, when about a mile of river later i came around a bend and saw a guy laying on a sand bar about 50 yards away. I kept fishing while keeping an eye on the guy when out of the corner of my eye he raises his arm and exposes a machette commonly used to cut brush. I took two more casts and slowly walked upriver and when he was out of site i took off at a "fast pace" all the way back to my truck.
I rarely fish the river anymore, mostly due to increased pressure and the very obvious downward trend in fish numbers. Be careful out there!

Packing for a fishing trip means adding a little metal before the trip for me!

you mean copper and brass.