Thursday, July 25, 2013

Mid Summer Wanderings



Olympic Peninsula Flyfishing Guide
Catch & Release, Fly Fishing Only.

Mid Summer Wanderings

Early summer Pink Salmon on the beach!
      It is mid summer here on the Olympic Peninsula and sometimes it is hard to decide where to go fishing first. Often the mornings can be quite refreshingly cool and foggy. And by noon we will be enjoying summer mid day temperatures in the 70's to 80's. The cooler overcast mornings can favor many options as the low light conditions offer us some stealth, even though the sun comes up so early now. If we can combine these low light mornings with decent tidal flows along our beaches, which is often the case, we can enjoy hours of morning fishing on the saltchuck without baking in the sun. By noon you will need your hats and sunscreen and long sleeved shirts though. This is a nice way to begin the day here. 

        Most of our salmon are beginning to show up now in this area, including a solid early summer run of Pink salmon headed up the Dungeness river this week. If you go over to the Dungeness River Audubon Center you can see them swimming home. No Fishing! For the most part the salmon are still feeding in the salt water and most of our rivers won't see any substantial numbers of fish returning for another month or more to begin with. There have been some very robust Chinook salmon caught around here lately though. And a few Coho too. We have months of good beach fishing ahead of us, and it is ON now. I like these late afternoon into evening high tides for low light conditions and shallow water fly fishing on the beaches.
  

Playing a Coho on the beach.

       With trout season open on our rivers and streams now we have some options. And one of my favorite things to do is to head down to the tidewater reaches on some lower rivers and fish for sea run Cutthroat right down to the saltwater. If we time it right we may end up fishing for upriver trout later in the day, having lunch in the cool mountain shade, and then heading off to a beach to fish the later afternoon hours, maybe into evening depending upon when we begin our day. That is a fun day of mixed streamer and wet fly fishing in an estuary in the morning, dry fly fishing on a mountain stream in the afternoon, and ending with saltwater fly fishing into the evening, maybe with the same rod and outfit all day. A very simple pleasure.

Working a shady edge in a lower tidewater reach.

     Summer Steelhead flyfishing here has slowed down a little in many of our waters as the flows have dropped to the normal summertime lows. Yet there are still some very good opportunities for the angler who is willing to work for the prize. The fish are there, and we have to find them. When we do, life is good. Typically some of the better fishing will be in low light, at dusk and dawn. But if these fish are holding in the shade, beneath whitewater, or tucked into a flow of deeper cold water somewhere, we just might be able to turn them on.

     Sea run Cutthroat are having no trouble at all finding food this summer, and much of the forage, bait fish and salmon smolt, have been maturing for months and have spread out all over the place. Now that it is often good and hot in the mid day hours here there are plenty of insects available as well, and saltwater Cutthroat will take a beetle, hopper, ant or termite fly as quickly off of a beach as they would in a stream. If I am working hard at surface fishing, especially under a hot sun, and I am not getting any takers, I will often shift to deeper presentations, with a weighted fly on a longer leader, and still using my floating line. Now is the time to include some very deep and slow presentations in your swing. Let your fly H-U-N-T down there. Some of the good stuff for this will include darker Sculpin and Muddler flys, Matukas, in natural tones of green, black, grey, brown. Just a little flash. 


Sculpin are a very common forage species for sea run Cutthroat.
A 3" long fly is not out of the question.

      It pays to be versatile in your presentations to sea run Cutthroat. Try to approach your day with an open mind, and be willing to try everything, fishing from top to bottom, to cover all of the water that you can, as creatively as you can. Your fly box should include some very small flies as well. I like the old school Partridge and Green, Partridge and Orange, Spiders, etc for the lighter fishing we may encounter. In very slow, gin-clear water, these fine old patterns are often just the thing that works. I won't hesitate to dead-drift a Chum Baby fly down through there too.

     Now booking summer fly fishing trips on the Olympic Peninsula waters. Catch & And Release, Fly Fishing Only. Celebrating over 30 years of fly fishing adventure. Please call or write for booking details. Beginners welcome, full instruction available.

Bob Triggs
Little Stone Flyfisher
P.O. Box 261
Port Townsend, WA
98368

Licensed Washington State Guide
USCG Cert/ BLS/BBP/HIV/CPR/First Aid
Trout Unlimited Aquatic Educator Award
Certified Fly Casting Instructor

Telephone: 360-385-9618 / Toll Free: 866-793-3595

Email: littlestoneflyfisher@mail.com

Like us on Facebook! www.facebook.com/LittleStoneFlyfisher

www.washingtonflyfishing.com/guides/littlestone


  

Wednesday, July 17, 2013

Sea Run Coastal Cutthroat Trout 101



Olympic Peninsula Fly Fishing Guide; Catch & Release, Fair Chase. 

Sea Run Coastal Cutthroat Trout 101

Angler and Guide Bob Triggs releasing a hefty spring sea run Cutthroat.
(photo credit Richard Stoll)
 Here on the Olympic Peninsula waters we may encounter the Coastal Cutthroat trout in some of our lakes and ponds, in most of the small streams and larger coastal rivers, in the tidewater estuaries, and just about anywhere in the marine waters of the state. The general pattern of migration is for the fish to move from freshwater into saltwater in the spring, after spawning, where they may go just about anywhere they please, feeding all summer on a broad range of forage species, and returning in later summer and autumn to the rivers and streams again. That is the general dogma regarding these fish. But there is so much variation in when some populations spawn, when they go out and return, and what goes on in between, that these fish are an extraordinary study in diversity and complexity on every level. Some of them spawn in the fall, and go back out to saltwater for much of the winter months, some of them never leave their freshwater environs, and some have been tracked covering dozens of miles in a day. As much as has been written and studied and published of their life history and range, there is yet more to learn. Once you get into fishing for these wild trout you just might become obsessed with them. They are a wonderful game fish, ounce for ounce one of the toughest you will encounter. Studying them can become a life's work. And they can keep you up at night.

Angler, Author Keith Stamm with a fat autumn sea run Cutthroat.
(photo credit Little Stone Flyfisher) 

 Since the 1990's Washington has protected the sea run Coastal Cutthroat trout from harvest in our saltwater areas. It has become a very successful catch & release fishery. And this is a major reason why we are seeing anglers enjoying such good saltwater Cutthroat fly fishing opportunity all over the region today. Another important contribution has been the ongoing efforts of the WDFW Regional Fisheries Enhancement Groupswhich have been working on the restoration of salmon habitats in many watersheds and estuaries around the state. www.wdfw.wa.gov/about/volunteer/rfeg

Spring salmon fry trap on a small coastal stream that now hosts over 100,000 juvenile Chum Salmon outmigrating to the estuary each spring!
(photo credit Little Stone Flyfisher)
 
 Some of these programs have had over 20 years of restoration projects running on our salmon waters, and they are getting impressive results. Our local program is the North Olympic Salmon Coalition, www.nosc.org/. Over the years that these fish habitat projects have been instituted, improving the natural, historic spawning and rearing habitats for wild salmon; improving natural flows and drainage, improving water quality, planting and supporting native plants and trees, removing invasive species of plants, improving soil quality, encouraging the natural processes of sedimentation and river meandering etc., some of the native runs of fish have returned and are spawning on their own. Once you begin to help these watersheds heal, on a natural and self- sustaining basis, remarkable things begin to happen. And it is not just about the salmon. The return of healthy native vegetation of all kinds, the improved flows and natural hydrology, the improved oxygen and nutrient quality of the water, all provide for the needs of the microorganisms, aquatic insects, terrestrials, birds, reptiles, mammals etc. And they return too. Along with them comes the stickleback, the sculpin, the lamprey, and a host of other forage species that fish thrive on. And along with the return of the salmon we see wild Steelhead, Bull Trout and Coastal Cutthroat too, thriving, spawning, succeeding, all sharing the same waters. The really inspiring thing about this is that all of the energy that it took to begin these projects has come from the local citizens and communities, and most of these projects tasks, surveys, sampling, monitoring etc., are still accomplished by volunteers. I credit this great work with having provided our region with a reserve of healthy, spawning, wild sea run Coastal Cutthroat trout. If you have one of these programs operating near your home waters, get involved! 

Is it any wonder that we use a Chum Baby fly?!
(photo credit Little Stone Flyfisher)
 One thing that I have learned about sea run Cutthroat trout fishing is that you have to take it one day, one trip, one tide, even just one moment at a time. It really is not that complicated to get into. A good trout rod of 5 or 6 weight, about 8 to 9 feet long, medium to fast action, is the foundation. Any good quality trout fly reel will do. And a floating line will be fine for beginners. A factory tapered monofilament leader will do nicely, 9 feet long, in 3X. For flies you can begin simply enough, with a few Wooly Boogers, Sculpin, Muddler Minnows, Clouser Minnows, Matukas, and general baitfish patterns. These do not have to all be saltwater flies. We catch these trout on dry flies in the saltwater too! I like Stimulators, Caddis Flies, Stone Flies, Steelhead Caddis, the Steelhead Bee, greased Muddlers etc. One fly that I have been very successful with is my Chum Baby fly, especially in the early season here, when the trout are feeding heavily on outmigrating Chum salmon fry in shallow water. And it works all year, sometimes. Other wet flies that work are so numerous as to be impossible to list all of them here. Just about any of the smaller steelhead wet flies will work on these trout in the saltwater at times. One thing to keep in mind is that your hooks should not be extra long shanks. Medium to short shank hooks, size 6 to 10, all barbless. By law- we are to use only barbless hooks on these wild trout in Washington marine waters.   

A pod of Chum Baby flies!
(photo credit Little Stone Flyfisher)
  
I like fishing on and near shell fishing beaches. And the more popular that these beaches are for clam digging the more that I like them. Sea run Cutthroat seem to like them too. No doubt there is an attraction to these places as the tides flood over them, especially after clam digging has been going on for hours between tides there. This activity will encourage many critters to feed in the freshly overturned soil, gravel and sand. Invertebrates and the smaller fish, including all of the important forage species here, will be attracted to the flooded clam beds as well. The basic idea is that the flooding tide will carry the scent of this terrain. Most of our regional beaches feature fairly strong tidal flows at some stage of most tides. You want to take advantage of this and work your fly in the shallow edges of the current, usually not very far from the edge of the beach, and not very deep either. Most anglers new to this game are surprised at how shallow the water was, and how close to the beach, when they caught a fish. This is one situation where human disturbances to the environment actually help our fishing. That scent, from a freshly dug clam beach, carries for miles in our tidal flows. 

        Low Tide Recon
(photo credit Little Stone Flyfisher)
 Don't wait for high tide! Get out there and scout those beaches at low tide, and at every stage in between. You will see how the bottom is shaped, how the water flows into things on the rising tide, where the likely places are that trout might feed as the tide increases through the day. And the walk will do you good. As much as I read about the importance of high tide, I have to say that some of the best fishing I have had, in some places, was at low slack tide. Watching an entire tidal cycle, from low to high tide, can teach you a lot about a place, and how the fish feed there at varying times and stages of tide. Especially if they begin feeding right in front of you.

These draining pools at the edges of a beach at low tide can often attract feeding sea run Coastal Cutthroat trout. Concentrate your efforts in the deeper water just outside of the drainage.

 Presentation is everything. Sometimes . . . The one key idea that will help you with these fish is that the fly needs to be active, alive, and moving. Nothing in nature will drift along, with no struggle or fear, when there is a chance that a big mouth full of teeth might gobble them up. This is just as true for surface flies as it is for wet flies, streamers, waking and floating flies, poppers or sliders etc. So get used to the idea that these fish have no respect for your drag-free drift. They want that fly to look paranoid, nervous, and struggling. Except when they don't. So when you know there are fish feeding there in front of you, and they have seen your fly go by a dozen times, without taking it- it is time to change flies. Often. Repeat until you get a bite. Don't think about it too hard. Just change flies quickly and proceed. And if that does not work, then you can set up a nice pile cast of slack tippet behind your dry fly, let's say a #10 Royal Wulff, and give them that sexy drag-free drift you have been dying to demonstrate all along . . . Bang! Sometimes it works. And don't get stuck. The trout do not live there on the beaches. They move. Constantly. So when you set up on any beach to fish, work a spot for a few dozen casts, then take a few steps, and work some more. You just might get a big one! 

Now booking summer fly fishing trips on the Olympic Peninsula waters. Celebrating over 30 years of fly fishing adventure!

For more information and to book a trip:

Bob Triggs
Little Stone Flyfisher
P.O. Box 261
Port Townsend, WA
98368

Certified Fly Casting Instructor
USCG Cert: BLS/1st Aid/CPR/AED/BBP/HIV
Trout Unlimited Aquatic Educator Award Recipient
Licensed Washington State Guide

Telephone: 360-385-9618 / Toll Free: 866-793-3595


Friday, July 5, 2013

Summer!


Olympic Peninsula Fly Fishing Guide
Catch & Release, Fair Chase!

Summer! 


The invitation.
Salmon, Summer Steelhead, Sea Run Cutthroat.

 What a difference a week of no rain has made on our coastal rivers, as we are now seeing the beginnings of normal summer time low flows. We were out on the west end rivers, fly fishing for summer Steelhead, just after the last rains of late June that had perked things up a little, and we fished on dropping flows. Always the best scenario. And even though people were frying eggs on the sidewalks of Seattle, we were enjoying mid day temperatures in the seventies out here, and very cool water temperatures, as the snow and ice melted in the higher elevations.

Summer Steelhead fly fishing with light spey rods.
One thing to remember when wading in the summer is that the rocks can be slippery! I did remember this, just as I was falling face first in the shallow chilly water. An unexpected refreshment under the bright sun. I should have been wearing felts or studs. Oh well, no harm done, and good for a laugh. I'm just not used to taking a bath this early in the year . . .

Go ahead and fish while your guide dries his laundry!

Fish On!

Exit Stage Right! A nice Resident Rainbow!

Working a good run in the afternoon.
Our summer salmon season opened up here on marine area #9 on the 1st of July. I have been seeing some early Pink salmon lately, when we are out sea run Cutthroat fishing on the beaches, especially up near Port Townsend and Marrowstone Island. With over 6.5 million Pinks expected to return to the Puget Sound regional waters this summer, the run should be getting better each week. Coho is also open here now, though it is a bit early for them to show up in any serious numbers locally yet. Still, I have caught some big ocean run Coho here as early as June, when we were out fishing for Cutthroat. These salmon will take our trout flies readily, so be prepared with a 3X tippet and a six weight rod. And please remember: I am not a harvest guide. On my trips All fish are released without avoidable injury! 


Summer Rose Hips in bloom on the beach.

 Our sea run Coastal Cutthroat trout fly fishing has been excellent this year! Several really good water years in a row, and another mild winter, may play a role in this good fortune. Of course it helps greatly that we still have state regulations that require us to release these wild trout back into our saltwaters without avoidable injury. But I have no doubt that the greatest reason is because of our local salmon restoration projects that have been successful in restoring some smaller local watersheds, and some estuaries, and they are bringing home good numbers of spawning endangered Summer Chum Salmon every year. If we have healthy salmon habitats, and we are getting the those salmon to come home, it will stand to reason that all of the related anadromous fish, and forage fish, eels, aquatic insects and invertebrates etc., will show up too. We have these people to thank for this: The North Olympic Salmon Coalition www.nosc.org/ It is an inspiring story of citizen activism and volunteerism in wild fish restoration. You might support them!

 Now booking Guided summer fly fishing trips on the Olympic Peninsula waters! Let me help you plan your fly fishing adventures here. Catch & Release Only! 

Call or write for booking information:

Bob Triggs
Licensed Washington State Guide
Certified Casting Instructor
USCG Cert/CPR/AED/BBP/HIV/1st Aid
Trout Unlimited Aquatic Educator Award

P.O. Box 261
Port Townsend, WA
98368

Email: littlestoneflyfisher@mail.com 

Telephone: 360-385-9618 / Toll Free: 866-793-3595

Web: http://olympicpeninsulaflyfishing.blogspot.com

Like This!: www.facebook.com/LittleStoneFlyfisher