 |
| Your Olympic Peninsula Fly Fishing Guide Catch & Release, Fly Fishing only! |
"Sleep When You die"
 |
| Smoke on the waters. |
I am not a "morning person". Which is kind of ironic, since on many mornings I have to get up well before dawn for our fishing trips. We are in the middle of beach fishing season here on the Olympic Peninsula now, and it has been a great season so far. We have been getting up early to fish at dawn on some days lately. And on other days the later evening high tides have kept us out there well into dusk. With so many Pink Salmon running right now it has been almost impossible not to catch them on our beach trips. As the season is progressing we are catching bigger pinks now. They have had more time to feed during their migration here. And of course the coho are coming now too. Some of them are pretty big. The sense of expectation is enough to get me out of bed early. And there is something about fishing into dusk, with the first stars coming out, and that sunset chill in the air.
 |
| A nice wild Coho caught on a fly. |
Cohos on top! Despite so much tradition around swinging deeper running and weighted flies, sinking fly lines and and sink tips, sinking leaders etc., for beach fishing, I still manage to use a floating fly line and catch these fish. Not always, but often enough for it to be a proven technique. I can still use heavier and weighted flies to get down beneath the surface, sometimes quite deep, when I want to. On thing I love to do is to fish on the surface, with flies like the Gartside Gurgler, the Deer Hair Muddler, and especially with the Miyawaki Beach Popper. I catch a lot of cutthroat and salmon on that popper. This last weekend we had a softer mid-day high tide on Saturday. And even with the smoke and haze low in the sky, it was sunny and bright by early morning. We fished until about noon, and I caught a nice coho on a popper, not more than 30 feet from the waters edge, in about six feet of water. I am so glad that I didn't have a heavy sinking line and deep running fly out there at that moment.
 |
| A pretty little pink salmon on the fly. Caught incidentally while sea-run Cutthroat trout fishing. It happens! |
Here's one good tip for you- No matter what fly or line you are using, and with or without a current to swing your fly- Once the fly hits the water don't put any tension on it or strip it in at all. Just let it sit there for a few seconds. If you are using a weighted fly or line etc., it will sink a little. If you are using a surface fly, like a popper, it will just be sitting there. There's lots of theories about why this can work so well, none of them proven. One thought that I have about this is that when a fly and line, leader etc., hits the water, no matter how quietly you landed it, the fish can be either startled by it, distracted by it, or attracted to it. In any case, allowing it to stay motionless for a moment seems to help. So if you drop a fly on the water with a cast, and hesitate a little before you start stripping it back in, that can trick a fish into taking it. This works on many species of fish here.
 |
| Wild Coho on a Miyawaki Beach Popper! |
 |
| "There will be sleeping enough in your grave". Benjamin Franklin |
Your Olympic Peninsula Fly Fishing Guide and Instructor
 |
| Fly fishing for sea-run Coastal Cutthroat trout from a traditional Swampscott beach dory. Guided trips, Rowboat picnics, Bird watching. By appointment only. |
I am guiding fly fishers on the Olympic Peninsula beaches, rivers and streams. We walk and wade, fly fishing for sea-run Coastal Cutthroat trout in freshwater and saltwater, and in the rivers for Cutthroat trout and summer steelhead. This is strictly catch and release, traditional fly fishing only. Lunch, snacks, soft beverages, and use of some equipment is included. I also offer personalized and private fly fishing and fly casting instruction for beginners through advanced casters. I would be happy to help you plan your Olympic Peninsula fly fishing adventure, for all levels of ability. Public presentations, Naturalist Guide, rowboat picnics, tide pool and river trail day trips. Please call, write or email for booking details. Now booking for April through October and beyond.
Bob Triggs
Little Stone Flyfisher
P.O. Box 261
Port Townsend, WA
98368
Licensed Washington State Guide
Certified Fly Casting Instructor
Trout Unlimited Aquatic Educator Award
W.S.U.Beach Watcher
U.S.C.G First Aid/CPR/BLS/AED/BBP/HIV Certified
Phone: 360-385-9618
Facebook: www.facebook.com/LittleStoneFlyfisher
No comments:
Post a Comment