The North Cascades in Washington State are some of the most beautiful and rugged peaks to be found anywhere and are also home to some rather unique trout. However, the watershed is also highly altered, with three dams (Gorge, Diablo and Ross) inundating a large portion of the waters and debate currently raging about providing anadromous fish access past the dams to the upper watershed.
What researchers are finding though, suggests that the upper Skagit River is an isolated zone of contact between several species of salmonids including Bull Trout and Dolly Varden, Rainbow and Redband Trout and possibly even the only native population of Westslope Cutthroat on the westside of the Cascade Mountains (this is still a matter of debate though that will only be settled with genetics). What we do know about the geology of the upper Skagit River is quite interesting and indicates that the river historically flowed north into the Fraser River following the path that Silverhope Creek in British Columbia follows today. As a result, the Bull Trout in the upper Skagit River are more closely related to Bull Trout in the Fraser River than they are to those downstream in the lower Skagit below the dams. It is believed that sometime during the last ice age, the upper Skagit River cut a course down through the granite formations of Diablo gorge under what is now Diablo Lake. This appears to have been during a period of contact between Coastal Rainbow Trout and Interior Redband Trout it is believed that the the cascades in the Diablo Canyon presented an insurmountable barrier to downstream populations of anadromous fish in the lower Skagit River and as such this zone of contact become isolated. While the genetics are still being sorted out, the current results indicate that the Upper Skagit Rainbow Trout represent an intermediate form between the Coastal and Redband lineages, but have diverged from both and are as distinct from each as Coastal Rainbow Trout and Columbia Basin Redband Trout are from each other and could possibly represent a new undescribed subspecies of Oncorhynchus mykiss.
After learning about the Upper Skagit Rainbow Trout, I have been looking for the opportunity to get up to the North Cascades and find some. That chance finally came when my wife Alexis planned a family camping trip to the area for my birthday. While this would be primarily a family trip, we were going to camping on the Skagit River and only a short distance from the streams holding the Upper Skagit Rainbow Trout, so we planning on mixing some native trout fishing with family time.
As always the trip snuck up on me and the rush getting out of the house with the family and our two dogs was hectic to say the least. Despite the rush, we found ourselves on the road not long after the time we were shooting for, but the drive ended up being a painfully slow go, as traffic getting through the Seattle area turned a 3 1/2 hour drive into a 5 hour drive. Once we were out of the Puget Sound lowlands though, we were able to breathe a sigh of relief and as always the drive though the Stillaguamish, Sauk and Skagit River valleys was a beautiful. Upon arriving at the campground, we immediately got to setting up camp, (except for Valerie who zoned in on the huckleberry bushes), but as I was wrapping things up I got this sinking feeling that something was missing and when I went check in the car my suspicions were confirmed. It turned out that in the rush to get out of the house I had somehow forgotten to put my fly rods in the ca, although my waders, reels and flies were all accounted for. This was a massive disappointment, but after talking to Alexis , we decided that we would make a day of my mistake the next day by driving over the North Cascades Highway to Winthrop to have lunch and visit the fly shop then hit the creek on the way back.
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| Diablo Lake on the North Cascades Highway - with Diablo Dam in the distance near the former barrier |
As with other trips along the North Cascades Highway, the views did not disappoint and we even caught the often breezy Diablo Lake during the morning calm, which was stunningly beautiful. Upon arriving in Winthrop I headed straight for the fly shop and luckily they had a reasonably priced 4 WT Redington Classic Trout rod available and I was back in business. After getting the rod, lunch and spending a little time in Winthrop, we were back on the road and headed for a tributary to Ross Lake.
The stream that I selected is a rare piece of water that contains Rainbow Trout, Westslope Cutthroat in the headwaters, Bull Trout and Dolly Varden and while my hope was that I might find more than one of these species, the Upper Skagit Rainbow Trout were my focus. We arrived at the trailhead at around 1:30 PM, and after a short hike we found a nice gravel bar where Alexis and Valerie could enjoy the stream while I tried my luck fishing.
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| The stream |
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| My first fish of the day, a clear hybrid with a Westslope Cutthroat |
Upon netting the fish, I was surprised to see it was clearly a Rainbow x Westslope hybrid. My research on the stream had indicated that the section I was fishing was in the transition zone between the Rainbows and Westslopes and that hybrids were a possibility, but I was still a bit surprised to see one. While hybrids are generally a serious concern for native trout conservation, natural hybrids are actually relatively common where the native ranges of Rainbow and Cutthroat Trout overlap and are generally less successful than pure strain fish and as such typically don’t hurt the long-term viability of either species. Even so, I was here looking for genetically pure Rainbows and as such the hybrid was worrisome. Luckily when I hooked another fish a few casts later it ended up being a beautiful Upper Skagit Rainbow Trout. These first couple fish were particularly special as I got share the experience with my daughter Valerie who was able to come over and help me release them.
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| A beautiful Upper Skagit River Rainbow Trout |
After those first couple fish, I had to head a bit further upstream to find some more holding water, but quickly got in a rhythm of targeting every slow pocket or seam and picking up a handful of small Rainbows as I went. This continued until I came around a corner and spotted a beautiful hole.
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| A great pool on the creek |
Upon reaching the tailout of the pools, I made a prospecting cast with my dry dropper and just as I was nearing the end of my drift a 14” to 16” trout slowly rose from the depths to inspect my fly before sinking back down. Unfortunately a dozen or casts into the same spot got no further attention and I continued working upstream. As I neared the head of the pool, I watched another trout rise from the depths, but this time it slowly and deliberately inhaled my dry fly and I was hooked into a hard fighting Rainbow of perhaps 10”. For its size this fish put up a solid fight, with several jumps and runs, but it was nothing the new 4 WT couldn’t handle and landed the beautiful trout.
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| My largest Rainbow of the day |
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| Working a great pocket on the stream |
Sure enough the pocket water produced a few more decent Rainbows and one more hybrid, but it was the last fish of the day that really stuck with me. This fish wasn’t the largest of the day, but it’s coloration was just outstanding and made for the perfect fish to wrap up the day with.
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| A great fish to end the day on - a flawless gem of a Rainbow |
It was a great day on the water and the rest of the weekend was an absolute joy camping with my family and enjoying the great outdoors. Our drive home went was much smooth mer as we skated by with only a few minor slow down, and sure enough when we got back there were my rods piled up right where I left them.
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| There they are… |
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