Has anybody ever caught anything over 20in? I had a big boy on but he snapped my leader right in half last summer. Another question has anybody fish the beaver ponds and caught something? those are some big ass beavers!
A 20" fish on the MF would be a monster and very much the exception to the dinks that are the rule. For whatever reason, I've never managed any fish much bigger than 12" on the MF, although I've had nicer fish on the SF and the NF (see photos below.) I'd love to see photos of any big fish from the MF if anyone cares to share. BTW, remember that all beaver ponds in this state have a season that runs from June 1 to the end of October. Unlike the nearby MF that's open year 'round, the beaver ponds aren't and can land you a citation for fishing in closed waters. The WDFW now regards all waters as CLOSED unless specifically indicated as OPEN by a listing in the rules pamphlet. If a particular pond is not listed in the regs as being open, it falls under the statewide season above. K
Kent, my experience is the same. Can't say I've ever caught anything bigger than 12" in the MF and that's rare. Nonetheless, a fun fishery.
I believe that some of those Beaver ponds are open. Some of the feeder creeks are open and the ponds on some of them are open. At least it used to read that way. I have fished some with ChadK. He used to live on the Middle fork and he had it pretty dialed in.. Also there are some pretty big Suckers on the Middle fork Along with White fish. If you go to that park where the Middle and North's come together. There are some pictures there showing some big fish caught out of those river in the early years.
Nice pictures, Kent. I have hit fish bigger than 12", biggest was 15-16" but that was few years back. It was a surprise! I had one BIG shadow come up and inspect the fly twice but never hit it. MB
In regard to beaver ponds and taken from page 26 of the sportfishing rules pamphlet: RIVERS, STREAMS, AND BEAVER PONDS that do not drain into Puget Sound or the Strait of Juan de Fuca are open to fishing for game fish (except Dolly Varden /Bull Trout and GRASS CARP) the first Saturday in June - October 31. Beaver ponds that drain in Puget Sound and the Strait of Juan de Fuca are closed unless listed in the Puget Sound and Strait Rivers - Special Rules section of the pamphlet (pages 33-48).
How do the upper forks of the Snoqualmie fish this time of year? I'd like to hit the SF before runoff, but don't want to waste the gas if it's too early for dry fishing.
Don't waste the gas. The rule of thumb for all the forks is that they don't even start to fish until after the Fourth of July. A better choice would be to wait until the beginning of August. In years past I've gotten so itchy to fish I've headed up there right around now. On a pretty spring day with warm temps and clear water, it's like the lights are on but nobody's home. I ended up practicing my casting and mending. One of the great questions is where exactly do the fish go during winter and spring. Since both CTs and RBs are spring spawners, one theory holds that they head un into the tribs to engage in fish nooky. Another suggests that they all move downstream to bigger water with more spots for cover and wait out the melt. Regardless, it's a very rare day you'll find a fish before mid-summer. K
I'm not sure who was more surprised: the fish, when he fell for my dry fly; me when I hooked up; or you when you looked downstream and saw the big bend in my rod. Any way you looked at it, that was a respectable fish. K
Sadly, WDFW doesn't see it that way. I'm on their IFPAG citizen review committee (along with fellow WFFer Freestone). Several of us keep asking that very question every meeting. The department's position is that beaver ponds provide valuable rearing habitat for anadromous smolts. Keeping them closed until June gives the young fish a chance to grow enough to improve their chances of surviving their trip downstream to the salt. When we remind them that there's no anadromous fish above barrier falls and that it's ridiculous to close ponds in the Snoqualmie system for that reason, they murmur 'Hmmm . . .' and scratch their chins like they've never thought of that. Their inevitable response is that it'd be too hard to split out every beaver pond in the regs, especially since many don't even have names. So we keep bringing it up. A couple meetings back, there was some talk about listing an exemption for the Snoqualmie watershed which would have made it into this biannual rules cycle. But once again, it doesn't appear to be on their radar. K
Well thank you for that info. I don't live and fish there anymore. But it is good to keep up on the regs. It helps the newer people out.
Kent You might want to touch base with Wild Fish Conservancy regarding anadromous spawners in beaver ponds in the Snoqualmie watershed. It was a primary focus of theirs for a number of years. They may have more current first hand information on that subject than anyone else. TC
Thanks for the suggestion Tim. To be clear, the focus of the question about opening beaver ponds on the Snoqualmie watershed has always been above the falls, not below. But I'm learning that it always helps to have allies in the politically-charged give and take when dealing with WDFW. K
The largest fish I have ever seen on the MF was about 13in at the end of a perfect run. But... I have had takes from fish that I know where bigger but couldn't make the hook up. And I would argue there are some fish left this time of year, you just have to be patient and work the water, wait for those rare days when the water is low and nymph the hell out of the runs.
I don't disagree with Kent too often, but I do with respect to fishing the Middle Fork pre-runoff. I've had some great evenings in April fishing to March Brown spinner falls on the MF. The fishing can be quite good at last light and moderately so in the hour leading up to that point. Carry a headlamp for getting back to your car. The water typically will be high and cold and the fish not quite as willing as in the summer. D
I fished the MF above the falls for about 20 years from 1978 to 1998. I have caught many hundreds of six to 8 inch Cutts. I caught 1 12 inch, 2 14 inch and one almost 16 inches. I caught all four of these larger Cutts between 1978 and 1981. In the later years fish over 8 inches were exceptional. Maybe the fishery has improved after many years of tighter restrictions but habitat degradation seems to keep this stream from improving much. Perhaps your mileage has varied and been better than my experience but I know I am a competent fly fisherman and do well at more famous rivers in the west. I have always considered the Middle Fork to be a hard stream to do well on. It is such a promising appearing stream that it is a shame it doesn't fish better.
Apistomaster, I've fished the MF off and on since the 70's. In my experience anything over 10" is a grand fish in that river. Yes, there are a few bigger, but they are few and far between. Simply not enough food in the river to sustain and grow many bigger fish.
I've read that the small fish size has to do with the lack of food produced in the coastal maritime climate. Any comments?
