Sunday, March 19, 2017

Spring Fever


Your Olympic Peninsula Fly Fishing Guide. 
Catch & Release, Fly Fishing Only!


"One last look"
Cutthroat Trout
More fine sporting art by Bob White available here:
www.bobwhitestudio.com
Spring fe·ver

spriNG ˈfēvər/
noun
  1. a feeling of restlessness and excitement felt at the beginning of spring sea-run coastal cutthroat trout fly fishing season.

    
      By all accounts we have had one of the wettest winters on record here in the Pacific Northwest. And with this spring solstice I am really appreciating the few sunny dry days we have had. Once Daylight Savings time comes around, I begin to get that itch about spring cutthroat fishing on the saltchuck again.  And there's been all of the good little things going on here outside my cabin window too; the eagles are pairing up in their new nest, just yards from the porch. The nights are getting milder, the days sunnier, the clover is blooming, buds are opening up everywhere, everything green is so much greener, the frogs are peeping, and I can smell the exposed tide flats again. I would mow the lawn, but the yard is a swamp right now. I even saw a mosquito. I have been tying cutthroat trout flies, especially the spring patterns. We don't really have an opening day here. We can fish year-round for the sea-run cutthroat, but I like to lay off of them for most of the winter. I know they  are getting that much fatter and stronger. Wild fish need that. I think that good cutthroat fly fishermen need that too.



"6 X 6 Cutthroat"
By Bob White

  
   The Chum Salmon fry are pouring out of the rivers and into the estuaries now, and will be for weeks to come. The recent warm spring rains and mountain snowpack melt water will push them along too. The sea-run cutthroat trout will be feeding heavily after their spawning, usually by mid April here. 

     And the chum fry are one of their most available prey species now. You'll do well to fly fish for sea-run cutthroat with smaller flies now, like salmon fry imitations, sizes #8 and #10. I usually tie my Chum Baby fly with a 1/8" to 5/32" gold bead. But in the early weeks of spring I will tie some without the bead, and on smaller hooks- size #8 and #10-, with the fly being not longer than one inch. It pays to have some very small flies in the spring. Rolled Muddlers too are a very good pattern for this fishing. As the weeks go by, and the salmon fry are growing every day, you can begin to use larger flies, up to size #6, with longer wings, and with toppings up to 3 inches. Flatwing sandlance flies can be longer still, though you'll still use a shorter shank hook, like the Gamakatsu SC-15. Don't hesitate to use your classic trout streamer flies; the Mickey Finn, Muddler, Hornberg, Adams, Humpy, Stimulator, etc. Just about any trout fly pattern will work on sea-run coastal cutthroat trout on Puget Sound waters at one time or another. Be creative. 



 Squeezing the sunlight

from each ripening spring day

Vernal Equinox 

          No doubt we will still be getting some wind, cold and rain, and maybe even a little snow. But the worst of this winter is over now. And we've got an entire fishing season ahead of us. And now it is spring.  


"First Fish"
     We will be back on the water this spring! Just in time for the beginning of another beautiful season of wild sea run Coastal Cutthroat trout fly fishing on the saltwaters and rivers of the Olympic Peninsula, Hood Canal and Puget Sound. Drop me a note or give me a call for details. All trips, casting instruction sessions, presentations, and rowboat picnics must be booked in advance.

Your Olympic Peninsula Fly Fishing Guide and Instructor

  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 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.  I would be happy to help you plan your Olympic Peninsula fly fishing adventure, for beginners through expert anglers. 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, May, and more! 
This is the way to go fly fishing for sea-run Cutthroat!
SSShhh!!!
Listen to the quiet . . .

                                    

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. Water Watchers and Beach Watchers Graduate
U.S.C.G First Aid/CPR/BLS/AED/BBP/HIV Certified

Phone: 360-385-9618


Facebook: www.facebook.com/LittleStoneFlyfisher

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