Forecasters continue to predict “spectacular runs” but so far, steelhead fishing on Whidbey Island has been spotty at best.

David Low, a fish biologist for the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, said a string of cold days on the west side of the state could help bring rain-swollen rivers under control and dramatically improve conditions for steelhead fishing.

“Anglers are getting pretty antsy,” Low said in the WDFW Weekender report. “Steelhead fishing could be spectacular if the forecast holds and the waters keep dropping. Anglers should be able to find fish anywhere they go.”

However, the Island’s weather forecast hasn’t turned out as predicted — which is nothing unusual the way the 2006-2007 fishing season has been so far for local anglers.

The string of cold, dry days never came, the rain continues to fall and, like the salmon, the steelhead haven’t arrived in the predicted numbers.

Wednesday afternoon was rainy and cold on the beach below the old gun emplacements at Fort Casey, but that didn’t deter Mike Noreen from surf casting for the elusive fish.

The Lopez Island resident said he had been fishing without success since about 10 a.m.

“I used to come up here all the time and catch fish every time,” he said. “Hopefully, I’ll get one before I go home.”

Noreen was casting a fluorescent orange hoochie-type rig into the chilly water just before high tide.

“The lure looks just like a sand shrimp and that’s their favorite food,” he said. “Maybe I can hook one if they’re hungry this afternoon.”

Thursday morning Richard Bartlett, one of the fishing gurus employed by Ace Hardware in Oak Harbor, said he received a report that the fishing has been good around Bush Point.

“I talked to one customer yesterday and he told me it was real favorable down there,” Bartlett said. “He was looking for a specific type of a lure, a little spin and glow corky. He said he and his friends had been out there and had caught some pretty nice, heavy ones.”

Bartlett said people should make sure to reel their lines all the way up to shore.

“Steelhead are feeding all the time,” he said. “They’re after those ghost shrimp and anything that resembles a ghost shrimp. They’ll grab your line right up next to the shoreline, so don’t skip your lure the last 15 to 20 feet.”

The best times to try your luck off the shore is about an hour before high tide to an hour after high tide.

“The Keystone area as well as Bush Point have been two favorable areas because you have certain spots where you can find a good riff real close to the shoreline and a little bit of current out,” Bartlett said.

Bartlett said sometimes it is a hit and miss thing when fishing for steelhead.

“You can go out there and cast several hundred times and get nothing, and the next time, bam, you get two hits right off the bat,” he said. “That’s what’s unique about steelhead fishing.

“The fishermen are willing to spend a thousand casts or more per fish because once you get one on, there is nothing like it.”