Skook Lately?

[schu7498]

Chehalis went almost up to 30000! I took a trip down there when it blew out the last time at around 20000cfs. It was pushing trees then, I wish I had the time to go down and check it out at 30000! Must be an absolute mess! Which is great, that would give us now 2 extra net free days, and I dont think it will be nettable tomorrow either.
As for skookumchuck locals, theres not too many that are actually local. Theres the typical drunk, flossers up by deadline, but youll run into a few true locals that have fished the river for as long as they can remember and theyre decent people. Youll usually find them fishing the fields, and once in awhile a few certain holes up by the hatchery. Truthfully many many of the people are not actually local. And if you really want to avoid the whackos fish the fields.

[jd39]

So far I've had good luck with the locals on the skook, no issues with most being welcoming and helpful. Not to say as it gets more crowded it'll stay that way but I've got no complaints so far besides the trash/litter and the other stuff we all know about (not sure that can all be pinned on local anyways).
One local started going into his life story after meeting me for 5 minutes, meth and coke additions in his younger days, infidelity on both his and his wife's part, disabled and unable to work, family members in jail.....still struck me as a nice guy but with a "colorful" history, just didn't know why he was sharing all of that personal stuff with me, I certainly didn't solicit it, after awhile the biggest challenge was getting out of the conversation (it was time to head home) without being rude.

[Bodofish]

So far I've had good luck with the locals on the skook, no issues with most being welcoming and helpful. Not to say as it gets more crowded it'll stay that way but I've got no complaints so far besides the trash/litter and the other stuff we all know about (not sure that can all be pinned on local anyways).
One local started going into his life story after meeting me for 5 minutes, meth and coke additions in his younger days, infidelity on both his and his wife's part, disabled and unable to work, family members in jail.....still struck me as a nice guy but with a "colorful" history, just didn't know why he was sharing all of that personal stuff with me, I certainly didn't solicit it, after awhile the biggest challenge was getting out of the conversation (it was time to head home) without being rude.

Pretty normal for a "Local" in many economically depressed areas. It might as well be the Skagit or the Sky.

[natetreat]

So far I've had good luck with the locals on the skook, no issues with most being welcoming and helpful. Not to say as it gets more crowded it'll stay that way but I've got no complaints so far besides the trash/litter and the other stuff we all know about (not sure that can all be pinned on local anyways).
One local started going into his life story after meeting me for 5 minutes, meth and coke additions in his younger days, infidelity on both his and his wife's part, disabled and unable to work, family members in jail.....still struck me as a nice guy but with a "colorful" history, just didn't know why he was sharing all of that personal stuff with me, I certainly didn't solicit it, after awhile the biggest challenge was getting out of the conversation (it was time to head home) without being rude.

Pretty normal for a "Local" in many economically depressed areas. It might as well be the Skagit or the Sky.

You talking about me

Unfortunately there are a lot of lost people out in the boonies.

[Bodofish]

So far I've had good luck with the locals on the skook, no issues with most being welcoming and helpful. Not to say as it gets more crowded it'll stay that way but I've got no complaints so far besides the trash/litter and the other stuff we all know about (not sure that can all be pinned on local anyways).
One local started going into his life story after meeting me for 5 minutes, meth and coke additions in his younger days, infidelity on both his and his wife's part, disabled and unable to work, family members in jail.....still struck me as a nice guy but with a "colorful" history, just didn't know why he was sharing all of that personal stuff with me, I certainly didn't solicit it, after awhile the biggest challenge was getting out of the conversation (it was time to head home) without being rude.

Pretty normal for a "Local" in many economically depressed areas. It might as well be the Skagit or the Sky.

You talking about me

Unfortunately there are a lot of lost people out in the boonies.

No, no, no, Nate, while you spend a lot of time at the river you do not live out near the river. Just make a wrong turn down any number of streets from Monroe to Stevens and you may see the trailers and abandoned houses that are being squatted in. Big hungry dogs, no power and maybe heat via kerosene. OK maybe heat via too much meth and a lot of vibration.

[natetreat]

Oh I know. I grew up out there, and it's rough. They make a lot of movies about living in the ghetto, but there's a reason why Deliverance resounds so much.

[Bodofish]

Oh I know. I grew up out there, and it's rough. They make a lot of movies about living in the ghetto, but there's a reason why Deliverance resounds so much.

Yeah, it's scary out there. The WDFW spot on the river just past Goldbar, you have to walk past a bunch of meth houses. Pit Bull crosses and the people are even scarier. I make it past them and walk out to the island and who is there? Mr. Cougar, I think he was as scared of me as I was of him, he just hauled @ss. Glad I had my friend strapped across my chest. It's just that warm and fuzzy feeling. Especially on the way back to the truck.

[natetreat]

Whoa! I ran into a cougar hiking lakes out by North Bend, and that was unnerving. I didn't even see it, just heard it and saw the signs. If you want to know what life is like out there, look at Wikipedia for the census data. There is not a lot of money out there. Centralia isn't as bad as say, Marblemount, but poverty breeds scary crime meth people in the woods.

[natetreat]

We're talking about racists locals that were at the Skook, and the reasons why some of them are so unfriendly. Wikipedia does the work so you don't have to.

[Bodofish]

Whoa! I ran into a cougar hiking lakes out by North Bend, and that was unnerving. I didn't even see it, just heard it and saw the signs. If you want to know what life is like out there, look at Wikipedia for the census data. There is not a lot of money out there. Centralia isn't as bad as say, Marblemount, but poverty breeds scary crime meth people in the woods.

What does this have to do with the Skookumchuck? And why would anybody use Wikipedia for research?

I would be more inclined to ask what doesn't it have to do with the Skook and the people fishing there. Yet the even bigger question begs, why wouldn't you use a Wiki for research? It's a great place to start and all the information is easy to vet with the foot notes and bibliography.

[natetreat]

Whoa! I ran into a cougar hiking lakes out by North Bend, and that was unnerving. I didn't even see it, just heard it and saw the signs. If you want to know what life is like out there, look at Wikipedia for the census data. There is not a lot of money out there. Centralia isn't as bad as say, Marblemount, but poverty breeds scary crime meth people in the woods.

What does this have to do with the Skookumchuck? And why would anybody use Wikipedia for research?

I would be more inclined to ask what doesn't it have to do with the Skook and the people fishing there. Yet the even bigger question begs, why wouldn't you use a Wiki for research? It's a great place to start and all the information is easy to vet with the foot notes and bibliography.

It's an interesting topic. There have been a lot of studies on the reliability of wikipedia, and the conclusions are that it is on par with Encyclopedia Britannica in regards to scientific accuracy. It's accuracy is pretty darn good. The Wikipedia pages I mentioned are the easiest way to get to the census data for the areas that I was talking about. They are lifted straight from the latest census data, and for anyone who has tried to use government data as a reference knows how cumbersome government databases and websites are. As far as research projects are concerned, wikipedia is an amazing resource. It groups relevant data together with its sources, and the talk pages are full of useful commentary on the reliability of the data. I know this, because I spent a lot of time in undergrad writing research papers for my political science degree, as well as art history. Most inaccuracies on a Wikipedia page don't last very long, on important pages, they usually don't even last an hour. I'm not going to pay for a subscription to academic databases, I'm familiar with them from school. We do have more access than most at my house, we're UW alumni so we get to use their library. When I was in school 10 years ago, it was a different story. We were justifiably skeptical of the information on a crowd sourced encyclopedia. One of the problems with the internet in general is the lack of access to good data, google is a money game, and news sites use twitter and facebook more often than not to source their stories. Scientific studies too are unreliable, money is behind them and more often than not they only aim to prove what they were paid to prove. Nowhere is this more evident than the limited amount of research that goes into fisheries management on our rivers in the west.

But I'm getting off topic. We were talking about the characteristics of the locals at some of the out-of-the-way places that we fish, and I pointed out that it's not surprising when you look at the census data. Poverty and education have a strong correlation with crime, drug use. When you look at the bureau of justice and FBI stats on crime compared to these areas, it supports what I said. Many of the locals fish every day because they're unemployed. Most of the negative interaction I have had on the river is from locals that have a bad attitude, angered because people from far away come to their river every season and invade their "usual and accustomed" fishing grounds. For whatever reason, these folks seem more likely to lack same moral compass that most people have stops them from harassing, fighting with, or otherwise maligning other anglers. It's not surprising, Monroe is host to the prison, and inmates are likely to stay close to that area, halfway houses, case workers and probation officers tend to be more closely located around the prisons. Same thing applies to the Forks area. That, coupled with poverty, and the seclusion that the wilderness provides leads to an environment that allows for their misbehavior. There isn't even cell phone reception on the Cascade, where I have seen more violence and harassment from the locals than on any other river. The solution however, is not letting them bully you out of a fishing hole, it's standing up to them, reporting criminal behavior and letting them know that it isn't tolerable. If they're doing it to you, than they've done it, and will continue to do it, to others. I'm talking about this in response to the experience that our fellow angler had with the racist bigots. It's unacceptable that fishing can escalate into this type of thing.

[Bodofish]

Hehehe Good one Nate! I gotta get out and do something, it's not raining, maybe a little pedaling this afternoon. Rather cast......

Regardless of whether a Wiki can be changed or not has nothing to do with the information presented. What is of importance are the footnotes and bibliography for vetting the information presented as stated earlier. Now refresh me, as I don't want to be off topic, are we discussing "research" or "writing a research paper" ? Lot O difference there. Research being a studious inquiry, examination and or investigation about a particular subject. Writing a research paper is creating a document that is an expanded essay presenting your own interpretation, evaluation and or argument of a theory, subject, statement, conjecture or any other. You can surely see we need to be careful when mixing terms.

Yes I agree the Skook most assuredly looks significantly different from a high water perspective although I'm not sure it's something I'd be betting on. Whether the river is full of fish remains to be seen and the amount of lice is another story altogether, they will be quite a ways from the salt, yet I've seen lice on salmon a hundred mile from the ocean on the Yukon river. I really feel it's more time spent in the fresh water than the depth of the water. I am excited at the prospect of a good push of fish in the river and I need to get myself on the bank or out in the drifter. It's been far too long and the weather just nasty last couple of weeks.

And to continue the other side of the discussion, the scary locals, yeah it almost seems like the worst of the druggies and low life's have moved away from the cities. They've moved out where it's quiet and the per capita law enforcement has dropped below single digits. Not to mention it's a lot easier to squat or set up a camp in the woods than it is to hide from the cops in parks or empty buildings in town. It's really a bonus we get to deal with them as apposed to the hunters. They aren't to afraid of a fishing rod where they are afraid of a rifle. I think I'm a lot more at ease with just about any four legged locals than with any of the two legged variety. I've even seen some with pretty darn nice rods and reels. Ya just gotta wonder who they were stolen from and how long it will be before they make a trip to the fence so they can fuel the fire. Sad.

[schu7498]

I am also very curious to see how the holes and slots on the skookumchuck have changed from the high water. Hopefully a few extra fish took advantage of the high water and netless days.

[Bodofish]

Yep, yep.

[natetreat]

Hehehe Good one Nate! I gotta get out and do something, it's not raining, maybe a little pedaling this afternoon. Rather cast......

Regardless of whether a Wiki can be changed or not has nothing to do with the information presented. What is of importance are the footnotes and bibliography for vetting the information presented as stated earlier. Now refresh me, as I don't want to be off topic, are we discussing "research" or "writing a research paper" ? Lot O difference there. Research being a studious inquiry, examination and or investigation about a particular subject. Writing a research paper is creating a document that is an expanded essay presenting your own interpretation, evaluation and or argument of a theory, subject, statement, conjecture or any other. You can surely see we need to be careful when mixing terms.

Definitely a big difference between writing a research paper and actual research. It depend on your science as to whether wikipedia is useful or not. In political science, which I majored in, theorizing and making policy relies on data collection and and analysis, and then debate. Wikipedia is a great place to start for that. As for collecting information on the genetics of hatchery steelhead in the Cowlitz river, wikipedia is useless. There isn't enough information out there on that stuff for wikipedia to reference.

[natetreat]

I am also very curious to see how the holes and slots on the skookumchuck have changed from the high water. Hopefully a few extra fish took advantage of the high water and netless days.

It won't change very much, they're pretty much the same since I was a kid. Trees will move around a lot though. Lots of sticks litter the bottom after high water like this, so there will be a lot more snags :(

[fishindude]

So, it's running at about 1200 CFS. Where does it need to be at for fishing? I have plans on fishing it next weekend but not sure due to the last high water. It would suck to drive 4 hours south to find out its unfishable. Thanks for any help!

[schu7498]

Skookumchuck is almost never unfishable. Water level right now isnt bad. Id go sooner if i was you.

[chrome_chasin]

Skookumchuck is almost never unfishable. Water level right now isnt bad. Id go sooner if i was you.

Gotta agree with Schu... plus there will be fresh fish moving in, wait to long and they will be tight lipped on ya. Get em now while fresh and hot.

[fishindude]

Good to know. Thanks. Unfortunately I can't make it down until next weekend. Hope you guys leave one for me!