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First trip to the Nookie since I've been back, and it was an interesting homecoming.

First off, the Nooksack River Valley is gorgeous. Splicing through tree covered valleys, dancing clouds around the hilltops, and golden fall colors complete with a brisk chill in the air, the grey-blue waters run cold and free. They also do not give up their secrets easily, but careful prodding and exploration can yield results to those who seek it.

I managed only a few fish, no salmon of any sort... just some of the ghosts of the Nookie: pale, wild, and aggressive rainbows and char. The largest was about 21", but seriously thick. I've never felt a bull of any size fight as hard as this guy did after putting the hammer on my offering. He took off like a steelhead, peeling about twenty yards of line, before porpoising and thrashing like a steelhead. I was shocked when the bull came into view. All in all, a great day of fishing.

Sidenote: Gillnets. C'mon, y'all. I found two derelict nets on the shore which had failed to be removed and were waiting for the river to rise and take them back into the current. As far as I know, it is illegal for the owner of these to not pick 'em up. So, I did their work for them, and picked the one up that I could reach and deposited it well above the flood lines. If the owner want it back, he can find it where he left it. I took a picture of the number on the buoy for reference.

I'm just doing my part to help our rivers out. Hopefully we can all step up our game and help ourselves by helping out our rivers & fish.
**Also included is a piece of political humor. I'm just making a joke, do not take this as a statement of my beliefs. Just laugh. Or quietly hate me- I don't care :)
Ian

RichieRich

9/26/2016 12:20:00 PM

Thanks for the report Ian and thanks for caring about nature enough to clean up the river

Cozmo4196

9/26/2016 1:01:00 PM

Can you suggest a place to launch? I'm new to that river system.

strider43

9/26/2016 1:51:00 PM

whatever dude

dj2loud

9/26/2016 3:25:00 PM

That net looks familiar, deming bridge or hwy 9 ??? I know they pulled nets from the river saturday morning up there and just sat them on the shore... Sure would be a shame if they had holes in em or they disappeared into the local trash where they belong... Fished the last 3 days thru the system with no luck... I walked the entire south fork from the confluence to the base of the hatchery there at saxon and there are fish in the system, you just cant fish for them yet.... I did manage a flash of chrome and a hook up saturday morning but threw the hook... Didn't see the numbers that Danny was stating at the hatchery, but they may have open up the hatch's and let fish in...... One more week and ts fish on the nooksack....

Ian Horning

9/26/2016 10:11:00 PM

@RichieRich Thanks, appreciate the comment! @Cozmo4196 I don't know the system much either, A lot of guys launch at Nugent's Corner fishing the Upper Mainstem (where currently legal), others... I'm not the one to ask. @strider43 ........ @dj2loud this were on the North Fork, just in a pile. Whether it was pulled out or not recently, it doesn't warrant it being left on the shore in a tangled mess. The fish aren't really holding much on the lower parts of the river from what I've seen and heard.

branweeds

9/27/2016 12:41:00 PM

Ian, north fork isnt open for salmon until October 1st if I believe.

dj2loud

9/28/2016 5:13:00 PM

I was down at the north fork walking today, 3 nets are confirmed in the water from the HWY 9 bridge, 1 at the bridge that IAN was talking about and 2 more up around the corner 1/4 mile up... Pretty shitty places to net, all having to use boat to access... POS netters...

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