[gknell9]

Fish the Stilly yesterday near Arlington. Very little action lots of pools but no action. Am I in the right spot or is there a more productive area I should try.
I saw a salmon take a leap out of the water quite impressive.
Direction would help me as I would like to fish it again.
Tony:beathead

 

[Brad Niemeyer]

My buddy and I fished the Stilly at Fortson last week and we only saw one small steelhead...That fish wouldn't move for any of my flies. Two other guys we talked to had no luck either (with the exception of a couple cutthroats...)

I'm guessing more fish are on the way

-P

 

[Old Man]

I forgot what I was supposed to remember.

Try driving up the river from Arlington to Darrington and you will find several spots along the road where the river comes along side it. If you want some better info get a Washington Atlas and Gazetteer and pour over it and then email me And I will let you in on a few places.

Jim

 

[papafsh]

I managed to get in a couple of hours on the NF this afternoon, at the Oso bridge.
Didn't get anything but a few small taps on my swung fly ( smolts I guess).
I did see a fish in the pool down stream of the bridge though.
I worked my way into a position to cast to it and as I made my 2nd cast toward the lie, a Bald Eagle swooped down from behind me and made a grab for the very same fish!
He missed it though and flew up to a tree on the other side of the river and sat there awhile before flying off.
Man I was really taken by supprise! I guess it must have been a good sized fish though.

LB

 

[BARTOLOTTI]

Tony,
Welcome. The Stilly is my favorite. My wife and I fish it often. The water is low low low. I talked to a couple of buddies getting ready to float 127th down to Haller Park (where the North and South come together), and they said Fortson was empty of water, anglers, and fish. I fished 127th and then had to see for myself... drove to Fortson for the first time this season and found out the hard way what they said was "true", but opted to stay and enjoy it all to myself. They are coming...
I was successful below Hazel on the 3rd. Two hook ups and play fight with ldr, but still fun. C-Post, now marked along HWY 530 has plenty of room up and down if you are willing to walk and explore. I hope we didn't have all our melt off. I am sure that would have a negative impact on our returns and season. But, I am not a Wildlife Biologist... I do think if you are fishing "pools" at this point in the game you are correct.
Stay Positive,
><> glen

 

[Guest]

And some cooler weather, with moisture, is on the way...

 

[BOBLAWLESS]

When I was a kid, my buddies and I thought that eagles carried off babies from time to time and therefore they were legit to shoot. I later was told that they can only lift about three pounds at most. Possibly your fish was over his limit and so he backed off at the last minute.
But what a wonderful sight to see!
Babby :thumb

 

[gknell9]

Thanks Mate for the info. We are going today to try our luck.
Tony

 

[troutman101]

Melt off isn't over to say the least. I've been up in the alpine the last couple of months almost every weekend and there is stil non-glaciated snow at about 6500' on South facing slopes and 5000' on North facing slopes in the North Cascades. What we need is the 4th of July weather adn a trip to our favorite fishing spots a couple of days later. Be ready for some really good fishing reports after 4th of July weekend.

 

[Old Man]

I forgot what I was supposed to remember.

What snowpack feeds the N/F is mostly gone except for White Horse mountain. And that comes in mostly thru Squire Creek,French Creek, and Bolder River. And they are not running out of their banks. The rest of the streams that feed the N/F are just about gone or are to small to create lots of water. No I think that the N/F will just get smaller as the season gets longer.

The only way that they will go up any more this summer is if we get a steady down pour that the ground can't absorb and then it goes into the rivers.

Jim

 

[Jeff Lyons]

I am planning on floating the North Fork on July 10th in Pontoon boats. Do you guys think that the river will be too low to do that on the 10th? And I was also wondering when you expect the bulk of the run to enter the river.

Thanks,
Jeff

 

[troutman101]

You need to hike up the Boulder river Jim. Runoff should stay steady until early August,not decline. The next rainfall (Alminac says next week possibly?) will produce the big run from the sound. The fishing should pick up the week after next.

 

[troutman101]

Jeff,

You might encounter a few thin sections where you will have to get out and walk but I think you should go for it. Perfect timing.

 

[Old Man]

I forgot what I was supposed to remember.

Me,hike up hill,you got to be kidding. No I don't do things like that anymore. If it isn't some what flat I just don't do it anymore. My body just doesn't respond like it used to. And right now the Bolder isn't flowing that hard And neither is Squire Creek. After my little outing yesterday,my legs are killing me and my feet's are telling me to stay off of them.

Jim