Eagle Float
Printed From: ProfessorPaddle.com
Category: General
Forum Name: Whitewater Forum
Forum Discription: Open Discussion Forum. Whitewater related subjects only
URL: http://www.professorpaddle.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=7824
Printed Date: 03 Nov 2025 at 6:34pm
Topic: Eagle Float
Posted By: James
Subject: Eagle Float
Date Posted: 05 Feb 2009 at 10:59am
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Could anyone give me some good beta on when the best time is to go float the skagit on an eagle filled weekend? I have heard that the last 2 weeks of Feb are prime but I have no personal experience. And then as a second question. Would anyone be interested in making a trip up there? James |
Replies:
Posted By: franzhorner
Date Posted: 05 Feb 2009 at 2:02pm
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I've done lots of bald eagle trips. Prime time is usually right around New Years up until about the middle of Jan. By the middle of Feb most of the eagles are gone. I'd say from the middle of Dec to the middle of Jan is the best time. Also, consider doing the Upper Skagit instead of the Marblemount to Rockport section. The Upper Skagit won't have as many eagles but the setting is much more intimate. You won't see many other people and there are no motor boats powering up and down the river. Also there are people and houses everywhere on the Rockport section. Can you tell that I have become disenchanted with the Marblemount to Rockport section? It does have the sanctuary which adds to the eagle count but its so dissappointing to me due to the number of fisherman with motor boats, tourists, and rundown homes along the river. Its absolutely absurd that the forest service has a rule that no rafter sor kayakers are allowed to put in at Marblemount before 11 so we don't disturb the eagles feeding while there are about 20 motor boats powering up and down the section starting at daybreak..... ------------- MORE RAIN PLEASE |
Posted By: Wiggins
Date Posted: 05 Feb 2009 at 5:02pm
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James,
The eagles are almost all gone. I have been driving SR20 to Marblemount everyday at work since early December. This year the best time was actually mid December. I counted 33 of them one day eating lunch by the river. Now I see one or two a day.
If you go bring a fast boat. There is no play and I have had the wind actually blow me up river on the faster flowing upper Skagit!
Kyle ------------- I smell bacon |
Posted By: James
Date Posted: 05 Feb 2009 at 11:36pm
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I was actually planning to take a raft, but from the sounds of it I might have to nix this one until next year. The whole point was to take a few older friends down a mellow float looking for eagles and photo opps. Thanks for the beta, that probably saved me a trip right there! I had no idea it was so much earlier in the season. |
Posted By: Yotes
Date Posted: 06 Feb 2009 at 9:55am
| Another thing, flooding will reduce the number of bald eagles along the stretch as the salmon carcasses they feed on are washed away. When this happens they tend to spread out along the Skagit and other area rivers instead of concentrating in the Marblemount to Rockport section. There will still be eagles in the normal stretch, just not the huge concentrations of them that you normally would see. |
Posted By: JoesKayak
Date Posted: 06 Feb 2009 at 9:56am
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Originally posted by franzhorner I've done lots of bald eagle trips. Prime time is usually right around New Years up until about the middle of Jan. By the middle of Feb most of the eagles are gone. I'd say from the middle of Dec to the middle of Jan is the best time. Also, consider doing the Upper Skagit instead of the Marblemount to Rockport section. The Upper Skagit won't have as many eagles but the setting is much more intimate. You won't see many other people and there are no motor boats powering up and down the river. Also there are people and houses everywhere on the Rockport section. Can you tell that I have become disenchanted with the Marblemount to Rockport section? It does have the sanctuary which adds to the eagle count but its so dissappointing to me due to the number of fisherman with motor boats, tourists, and rundown homes along the river. Its absolutely absurd that the forest service has a rule that no rafter sor kayakers are allowed to put in at Marblemount before 11 so we don't disturb the eagles feeding while there are about 20 motor boats powering up and down the section starting at daybreak..... I agree with Horner on all points. I did a trip there 2 weeks ago and there were still a few eagles but not like in the prime of the season. The eagle migration to the Skagit is timed with the chum salmon run which is in Dec-Jan. Once the salmon are gone, the eagles move on. Usually the best time to see alot of eagles is on a cloudy day, as they stay close to the river then. On bright, sunny days they will be up soaring high... which is cool to see too, but you don't get so many close ups. Be sure to spot out all the different species of Eagles to your passengers too. I always point out the dwarf eagles (crows) and "white eagles" (you can probably guess what those are)  |
Posted By: Wiggins
Date Posted: 06 Feb 2009 at 12:59pm
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I am not so sure the Forest Service enforces that rule anymore. I see float trips putting in before 11AM all the time, but assuming they do there are other options.
You can put in a few miles east of town at the NP 213 Rd access most years, but it is currently under about two feet of snow. If you continue up Cascade River Rd from the boat ramp and take a right onto Rockport-Cascade Rd. Stay on Rockport-Cascade Rd for about half a mile and the road will come to a very tight bend where it comes back to the Skagit River. This will be the confluence with the Cascade River. There is a decent trail down to the river that is big enough to carry/drag a raft. If you really wanted to be sneaky you could come up from Rockport.
Kyle ------------- I smell bacon |
Posted By: franzhorner
Date Posted: 06 Feb 2009 at 5:09pm
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Also people should know that you will be charged to take out at Howard Miller Steelhead Park which is baloney. ------------- MORE RAIN PLEASE |
Posted By: Wiggins
Date Posted: 06 Feb 2009 at 5:30pm
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There is a boat launch accross the river from Howard Miller Park.
There are also several turn outs just east of Rockport on SR20 that have fisherman trails leading down to the river. I would not want to carry a raft down them, but it would be a easy carry for kayakers.
If you don't mind extending the trip a little there is a fishing access boat ramp off SR20 between Moen Rd and Sauk Connection Rd.
Kyle ------------- I smell bacon |
Posted By: refried
Date Posted: 10 Feb 2009 at 6:16pm
| A few weeks ago we counted 35 on the way up 542 to Baker, a week after the flooding they were all gone, now I'm lucky if I see 2 or 3 on the way up. I've seen more earlier in the winter than later but there's always some around. |