Skagit River

The Canadian Skagit is a different river from the one most anglers know. Above Ross Lake it is a small, clear mountain river in Skagit Valley Provincial Park, with old-growth cedar on the banks and wild rainbows that rise to dry flies. Ross Dam in Washington backs Ross Lake up across the border, and the lake cuts off the sea, so there are no steelhead or salmon here. Every trout and char goes back, there is a bait ban, and the river is closed from November 1 to June 30, so the season is July to October.

The rainbows run 25 to 35 cm with a few past 40, and bull trout and Dolly Varden hold in the deeper pools and near the lake. Runoff carries into early July, and by late July the river drops to clear, wadeable flows. Read the gauge above the Klesilkwa River: the water wades comfortably under about 12 m³/s and drops to around 3 by late summer, when the fish get spooky and a long leader helps. Small attractor dries, ants and caddis work through the summer, with October bringing caddis and the first fall colour. The upper river is walk-in water on the Skagit River Trail from Sumallo Grove on Highway 3. The lower river runs beside the Silver-Skagit Road, a long gravel road south from near Hope, with Silvertip and Ross Lake campgrounds.

The valley is here because of a deal: the High Ross Treaty of 1984 stopped Seattle City Light from raising Ross Dam and flooding it. It sees little pressure for a river two and a half hours from Vancouver, mostly because of the gravel road. Bring a spare tire, and expect no phone signal. The Washington Skagit below Ross Lake is a separate river and has its own page.