[FlyFishNoob]

Hi, I am new to freshwater fishing and especially new to fly fishing, and I am planning a two day trip to the town of Stehekin in mid-April. I plan to fish the Stehekin river and its tributaries by myself (without guides). However, I am really confused regarding the regulations on that river. According to the WDFW rulebook, Stehekin river opens Saturday before Memorial Day, which means it will be closed when I get there.

According to the National Park Services website, however (I believe the Stehekin river is located inside the North Cascades National Park), there is a catch-and-release season from March 1 to June 30 on the lower stretch of the river.

I also called the guy at the lodge we will be staying at, and he said I can fish while staying in Stehekin (although he did not specifically mention the Stehekin river), which made me even more confused. My questions are: 1) Will the Stehekin river (or its tributaries) be open by mid April? and 2) Is it possible to catch a fish there? If possible, are there any general flies I should use? (I am happy with catching one thing that moves for this entire trip, whether if it is trout, pikeminnow, sucker, or even just a crawdad, since I have been skunked for all of my previous attempts at trout) Any info will be appreciated, thank you!

P.S. please take this post down if my question is inappropriate. I found several threads on this forum about the Stehekin river so I figured it is probably not someone's secret spot.

Edit: I have emailed WDFW about the regulations but so far they haven't responded yet

 

[smc]

Hi, I am new to freshwater fishing and especially new to fly fishing, and I am planning a two day trip to the town of Stehekin in mid-April. I plan to fish the Stehekin river and its tributaries by myself (without guides). However, I am really confused regarding the regulations on that river. According to the WDFW rulebook, Stehekin river opens Saturday before Memorial Day, which means it will be closed when I get there. View attachment 274016
According to the National Park Services website, however (I believe the Stehekin river is located inside the North Cascades National Park), there is a catch-and-release season from March 1 to June 30 on the lower stretch of the river. View attachment 274018
I also called the guy at the lodge we will be staying at, and he said I can fish while staying in Stehekin (although he did not specifically mention the Stehekin river), which made me even more confused. My questions are: 1) Will the Stehekin river (or its tributaries) be open by mid April? and 2) Is it possible to catch a fish there? If possible, are there any general flies I should use? (I am happy with catching one thing that moves for this entire trip, whether if it is trout, pikeminnow, sucker, or even just a crawdad, since I have been skunked for all of my previous attempts at trout) Any info will be appreciated, thank you!

P.S. please take this post down if my question is inappropriate. I found several threads on this forum about the Stehekin river so I figured it is probably not someone's secret spot.

Edit: I have emailed WDFW about the regulations but so far they haven't responded yet

Hey Noob.

According to the NPS site: https://www.nps.gov/noca/planyourvisit/fishing.htm Fishing anywhere in the park complex is subject to all WA State fishing regulations

and... also from the park site

Know Before You Go!
In order to protect spawning fish populations, it is necessary to comply with special regulations including closures, seasons, catch limits and gear restrictions. This information is available from the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife.

Still, if the lake is open for fishing you might have some opportunity. At any rate, the valley should be beautiful as it blossoms into spring. Enjoy!

 

[Freestone]

It will be closed while you are there. There is no C&R season for 20/21. If you look at the header at the top of the page where you saw this information, it says this is summary of what the "usual" regs are but to see WDFW for the real regs, which it also says on the specific NPS page about fishing the Stehekin.

When fishing in WA and trying to decipher the Regs, I find it most helpful to start out assuming that the river or lake is closed then try to prove myself wrong. If I start out assuming or hoping that is it open, it can lead to confusion as I try to prove myself right.

 

[FlyFishNoob]

Thank you for all your help! Are there any other body of water except for lake Chelan that is open by mid-April (nearby streams that feed into lake Chelan, alpine lakes, basically anything that is open) I can't seem to find any info. I am not asking for secret spots, but just public and well known spots that is open for fishing. I prefer not to directly fish Lake Chelan since I have absolutely no idea how to fish a lake that big

 

[Freestone]

Thank you for all your help! Are there any other body of water except for lake Chelan that is open by mid-April (nearby streams that feed into lake Chelan, alpine lakes, basically anything that is open) I can't seem to find any info. I am not asking for secret spots, but just public and well known spots that is open for fishing. I prefer not to directly fish Lake Chelan since I have absolutely no idea how to fish a lake that big

In short, No.

If a river or stream in WA is not specifically listed as open, AND, the date is not during the General Stream Season, then it is automatically closed.

Again, it is easier to just assume something is closed unless you find specific information that says it is open.

 

[EBT]

Noob,

My advice (take it for what it's worth) is to think post - runoff on the Stehekin. The longer you wait, the better it'll be, ditto for its tribs. Flows can be very, very high from April thru early June.

 

[MGTom]

The lake can be worthwhile, but not really newby friendly. I've done downriggers for big fish with friends from wenatchee, and picked around creek inlets with a fly rod on canoe trips. Was glad to go with folks who knew the area. Check the regs, be careful, and good luck.

 

[O. clarki]

It may not work out for flyfishing on this April trip but it is gorgeous country and you will want to return some time. In lieu of fishing there are tons of hiking opportunities and the local bakery is amazing!

 

[FlyFishNoob]

Yeah I might plan another trip there in the summer to actually fish the stehekin river, which I wanted to do for some time. Thanks to all the help I received!

 

[FlyFishNoob]

I also have another question, and I will really appreciate it if someone can help. I saw some reports from back in December about people catching cutthroat trout off the boat docks at lake Chelan. I do not really know the specifics of how to catch these fish (which dock they fished from, what kind of flies they used, etc.) Will it be possible to catch them off the docks at Stehekin in April? Thank you!

 

[Chic Worthing]

I have a cabin 8 miles down from the mouth of the Stehekin River would not recommend your original plans. I fish downstream from the mouth but the lake is not very accomodating to downstream or upstream travel. My son-in-law and daughter fished this stretch once and traveled up-lake by bicycle and had a great time.

A guide is the best way to go and I understand you are not interested. The Stehekin River has a strong current and the shoreline is very brushy and mostly private property. Have rarely seen a private property sign, but that doesn't grant access. The only good way to fish the lake is by boat but I have had good days with a pontoon boat casting to shaded areas along the shoreline. The lake itself can get very rough and whips up things up in a hurry. And it is in a very narrow and long canyon and the wind is common The depth is about 1500 feet deep and the bottom is 388 feet below sea level.

 

[J3000]

The depth is about 1500 feet deep and the bottom is 388 feet below sea level.

I didn't know that. Crazy!

 

[junkie]

I

I didn't know that. Crazy!

I'm on some gear fishing forums. I read one report where they were catching mackinaw at 500 ft. Thought it was a typo and they meant 50 ft. Nope. The guys that fish it hard use downriggers, and specialized gear to get down.

 

[junkie]

Can you fish the mouth of the stehekin in the actual lake itself? I mean right at the mouth?

 

[Freestone]

Can you fish the mouth of the stehekin in the actual lake itself? I mean right at the mouth?

The mouth is very wide and the town side of the mouth is all private property so one would have to have a boat/kayak/canoe to get there from town or one could float down to it about 4 miles in a pontoon boat (which you need to somehow get to Stehekin and then get to the upstream put-in). The other option is to go up the road about 5 miles, cross a bridge and hike 4 miles back down to the mouth. Bottom line is that there is no super easy, fast way to fish the mouth without a boat (which isn't so easy to get to Stehekin).

 

[Mel King]

Last time I fished the lake at the mouth the river was braided and tons of floating tree parts all over from the bridge to the open water. Not at all fun in a float tube. Like chic Worthing said you've got to really pay attention to the wind. In the spring it can be dangerous. The river is one of the clearest rivers I've ever seen though. Great hiking and xcountry skiing. I used to get the ferry to drop me off on the east side and hike the ridge line to Stehekin and ride the ferry out. Beautiful views.

 

[FlyFishNoob]

I do have a small inflatable kayak. I will probably try to fish the mouth of the river and also the docks at the town of Stehekin for cutthroat trout probably if there is minimal wind. Does my plan sound feasible? Is it possible to catch Cutthroats in shallow water during spring? I think I will just scout out some spots on the river without bringing my rod if I dont feel comfortable about the lake's conditions. I didn't have much hope from the start to be honest xD. This forum is super supportive and thank you to everyone who helped me!

 

[Chic Worthing]

I do have a small inflatable kayak. I will probably try to fish the mouth of the river and also the docks at the town of Stehekin for cutthroat trout probably if there is minimal wind. Does my plan sound feasible? Is it possible to catch Cutthroats in shallow water during spring? I think I will just scout out some spots on the river without bringing my rod if I dont feel comfortable about the lake's conditions. I didn't have much hope from the start to be honest xD. This forum is super supportive and thank you to everyone who helped me!

I have fished this lake for over 40 years have rarely, as in count on one hand, caught cutthroat from docs. I have caught them at the mouth of a creek close to spawning. I have caught a lot more along the shore in the shade of trees.

The state of Wa has a hatchery on the Columbia upstream from the outfall that is dedicated to the original lake Chelan Cutthroat. Feds
have another hatchery in Colorado dedicated also to Lake Chelan waters (west Slope) Cutthroat.

In the 1900s, the federal government decided to use Lake Chelan as a Cutthroat breeding lake. They installed weirs on all the tributaries of the lake and yearly would collect virtually all the eggs and milt and use it to populate west slope cutthroat. After a large number of years, they noticed a large drop in the available returning fish. No one said they were rocket Scientists and they proved it. In more recent times, Wa fisheries planted salmon, kings and silvers. the salmon were supposed to grow up, spawn in the tributaries and when the fry hatched, they would enter the lawn, swim down to the end of the lake at chelan and then go down stream to the Columbia and then to the Pacific ocean. Seems the silvers followed orders but the Chinook decided to hang around and began spawning in The Stehekin River. So now we had reident king salmon.
Then a dipstick from washing fish and game planted Lake trout. It was common knowledge what had happened in Yellowstone Lake and what happenned to the resident fish which coincidentally were Cutthroat Trout.

The resident fish in the lake Chelan were rainbows, cutthroat and Kokanee which are offspring of landlocked Sockeye salmon and also freshwater burbot. The Lake trout were devouring the locals and still are. But we are not done. Our fisheries folks decided to plant Mysis shrimp as a feed source for kokanee and their fry. There were 5 or 6 lakes in Idaho and Washington that planted shrimp. warm water lakes and Chelan is definitely not one, the shrimp did prosper. In cold water lakes like chelan the shrimp lived but their main food source a certain plankton that the kokanee fry normally fed on for their first rew weeks of life. So now we have a much diminished Kokanee numbers. All from the minds of our paid experts

The hatchery in Colorado is an attempt to right federal errors.

A bunch got cutoff. I will put it back shortly.

 

[BriGuy]

I have fished this lake for over 40 years have rarely, as in count on one hand, caught cutthroat from docs. I have caught them at the mouth of a creek close to spawning. I have caught a lot more along the shore in the shade of trees.

The state of Wa has a hatchery on the Columbia upstream from the outfall that is dedicated to the original lake Chelan Cutthroat. Feds
have another hatchery in Colorado dedicated also to Lake Chelan waters (west Slope) Cutthroat.

In the 1900s, the federal government decided to use Lake Chelan as a Cutthroat breeding lake. They installed weirs on all the tributaries of the lake and yearly would collect virtually all the eggs and milt and use it to populate west slope cutthroat. After a large number of years, they noticed a large drop in the available returning fish. No one said they were rocket Scientists and they proved it. In more recent times, Wa fisheries planted salmon, kings and silvers. the salmon were supposed to grow up, spawn in the tributaries and when the fry hatched, they would enter the lawn, swim down to the end of the lake at chelan and then go down stream to the Columbia and then to the Pacific ocean. Seems the silvers followed orders but the Chinook decided to hang around and began spawning in The Stehekin River. So now we had reident king salmon.
Then a dipstick from washing fish and game planted Lake trout. It was common knowledge what had happened in Yellowstone Lake and what happenned to the resident fish which coincidentally were Cutthroat Trout.

The resident fish in the lake Chelan were rainbows, cutthroat and Kokanee which are offspring of landlocked Sockeye salmon and also freshwater burbot. The Lake trout were devouring the locals and still are. But we are not done. Our fisheries folks decided to plant Mysis shrimp as a feed source for kokanee and their fry. There were 5 or 6 lakes in Idaho and Washington that planted shrimp. warm water lakes and Chelan is definitely not one, the shrimp did prosper. In cold water lakes like chelan the shrimp lived but their main food source a certain plankton that the kokanee fry normally fed on for their first rew weeks of life. So now we have a much diminished Kokanee numbers. All from the minds of our paid experts

The hatchery in Colorado is an attempt to right federal errors.

A bunch got cutoff. I will put it back shortly.

They messed up Flathead Lake in the early 80's by introducing Mysis shrimp.

https://www.hcn.org/issues/46.2/the-great-flathead-fish-fiasco

I lived there just before this happened and the lake was full of Kokanee and Bull Trout. Not any more.

 

[Chic Worthing]

I go uplake on The Lady of the Lake and I am sure you will also as the air service is no longer available and there is no road. I have put a 10 foot pontoon boat on the Lady of the lake as baggage with no issues. The boat was broken down to parts packaged up. They run into things like that all the time. It is a big boat.

https://stehekin.com/