"If you look at 95 percent of the streams around, you're talking stream flows that are a fraction of what the Skagit is," said Nelson. "Guys fail to mentally break down the big body of water. If you want to catch fish, you have to break it down."

Forget about the middle of the river, he said -- and anything more than 10 feet deep.

Nelson said that boat anglers should look at the shore and find areas of reduced flows and current breaks. Forget about the fastest and deepest section of the river.

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. That's why so many anglers experience their highest levels of success close to hatchery operations.

Hatchery fish don't use structure the way wild fish do because they are in a hurry to get back to the hatchery.

"They are rockin' up that creek," said Nelson. "Where you'll find hatchery fish is most likely near the spot they were planted."

The wise hatchery fishermen will go to the state Web site and find out where the fish were released, Nelson said. They'll rear the fish in one area, and drop the fish in another area. Those steelhead will come back to those spots, he said.

The best steelhead spots on the Skagit are no secret. Grandy Creek, the vicinity of Marble Mountain Hatchery, Rockport and the Sauk and Baker River are some of the better hotspots. Endsley advises anglers to focus most of their time in the roughly 10-mile stretch from Marble Mountain to Rockport.

One spot that's always a given is the Marble Mountain Hatchery. Common sense proves that this area will be clogged with steelies simply because the majority will attempt to return here to spawn.

The fish start slowing down near the hatcheries at Barnaby Slough and Marble Mountain.

"You have to find places with high concentrations of steelhead if you want to do well," said Endsley.