Targeting the first area of legal fishing, around hatchery pipes and especially the soft water on the edges, is the most productive.

"Think about it," said Nelsen. "What's going to clear first? The smaller little creeks are going to clear faster than the main stream." He recommends that bank anglers use floats and jigs.

"You'll get a clear water plume that extends into the main river," he said. The "bankies" should stand below these streams and fish the clear water

The Skagit is a fairly large system, and that means there's a lot of water to cover. Although the big water can be intimidating, targeting steelhead on the Skagit is similar to doing so on most Pacific Northwest rivers. No one specific technique works here that doesn't work in other Washington rivers.

You can approach the Skagit from the bank, in a sled or a drift boat. Plenty of access is available.

DRIFT-FISHING
"It's just hard to fish," said Endsley. "The runs you are targeting are huge. You have to use a sweeping technique."

He said the best way to fish is to side-drift. Cover a lot of water to find the next push of fish.

"Groups of fish are constantly moving through the system. Sometimes you have to cover a lot of water to find them, but once you do, you can normally pull a few fish right away," he said.

During the hatchery run, there are no specific bait regulations. However, as the wild fish move in later in the season, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife imposes special regulations on the fishery. (To check for the updated regulations, log on to wdfw.wa.gov/fishcorn.htm. Specific regulations are implemented in mid-March or early April.)

Early in the season, an array of techniques can be effective. Running plugs and bait is a big part of most anglers' arsenals. Pulling plugs and drifting fresh eggs are always effective. As to which will outfish the other -- bait or lure? -- that's something that changes day-to-day. Your best bet is to come prepared with both and adjust to water levels, clarity and the amount of current in the river.

"A lot of guys, and the more successful guys, are going to be free-drifting eggs," Nelsen said. "It's tough to beat eggs."

He also uses sand shrimp and tiger prawns, too. "Later in the day, if the fish go off the bite and won't take the eggs anymore, you can use some red Fire Cured tiger prawns or the sand shrimp."

Free-drifting eggs, whether from the bank or in a boat, enables you to cover a lot of water. Plugs keep you confined to a small portion of the river. However, there are times when running plugs can generate strikes.

Unlike wild fish, hatchery fish don't tend to mill around as much on their spawning journey. Their goal is to get upriver as quickly as possible.

Nelsen recommends using plugs specifically when clarity and visibility are reduced. For instance, early in the season when the Sauk River pumps mud into the Skagit, many anglers opt to run plugs. Normally, this occurs in November after the season's first major storms pound the Pacific Northwest.

"Think about what's going on when you have 18 inches of visibility. The fish don't have a chance to see that bait. That's when I go to plugs," explains Nelson. "You are packing the plugs down at a reduced speed and you give the steelhead more time to bash it, especially when you run four plugs out of a sled at once."

As with any steelhead river in Washington, one of the most important concepts to master is homing in on portions of the water column where the steelhead are holding.

These aren't salmon. Don't expect to find them in deep holes.