This gives anglers who don't mind bucking the odds a chance to fish in relative solitude.

As in most major Skagit River tributaries, a handful of wild fish also drift into the Cascade, though they are protected from harvest -- and in fact, are listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. In recent years, the section of the Cascade from the mouth to the Rockport-Cascade Road Bridge has been open through February to any type of legal bait or gear. There's a limit of two hatchery fish.

Through February, the water upstream of the bridge is managed under selective-gear regulations.

During the winter season, the portion of the river below the bridge is -- in addition to steelhead -- also open to bull trout, also known as Dolly Vardens. But the water upstream is catch-and-release.

Actually, most Skagit Basin anglers release those Dolly Vardens that they hook incidentally while fishing for steelhead.

THE ELOCHOMAN
You'd never know it from looking at it, but every few years, southwest Washington's Elochoman River actually cracks the list of the Top 10 winter steelhead rivers in the state.

Located a few miles west of the Columbia River hamlet of Cathlamet, it's a brushy, murky low-gradient river. You can cast across in many places. How can it compete with heavyweights like the Cowlitz and Bogachiel and Skykomish?

Well, you can answer that question with two words: hatchery fish!

Year in, year out, the Elochaman's Beaver Creek Hatchery releases upwards of 80,000 steelhead, and it has some of the best returns of any WDFW hatchery.

As with most rivers that contain hatchery fish primarily, the bulk of the run arrives early.

This is especially true of the Elochoman, because it's one of the first rivers that winter steelhead encounter after leaving the ocean and migrating up the Columbia River.

During 2006-07, for example, it gave up 34 fish in November, another 196 in December, 117 in January, 13 in February and 4 in March.

But don't let those low February and March numbers discourage you. The year before, anglers caught 246 fish in January and 112 fish in February. The numbers jump around from year to year, but there are nearly always some fish available in February.

"It depends on the water," said Bob Sherard, of Bob's Sporting Goods in Longview. "It can be good, or it can be high and muddy and have a lot of logs and debris." For good late-season steelheading, Sherard said to look for lower, clearer water.

The season on the Elochoman runs through March 15, longer than most rivers its size. Bait and all the other standard winter steelhead tackle are legal. Float-fishing with jigs is the favored rig.

"Corkies and yarn and eggs used to be the way everyone fished," Sherard said. "But now, I bet 80 percent of the fishermen use bobber and jigs."

In spring, a jig called the Nightmare is really popular. It has a white head, red body and black tail. Sherard said that purple and bright-pink jigs are also productive in the winter.