Saturday, June 24, 2017

Summer Solstice Sizzler!


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

Summer has arrived!

    Ordinarily I would think of the Summer Solstice as only a harbinger of the summer to come, and usually that happens sometime after the 4th of July. And in the interim, between the Solstice and the 5th of July, we can expect almost anything to happen, including hail. But not this year. After a prolonged, rude, incessant spring of cold dark days, and record breaking rainfall, we have gotten almost three days in a row of summer weather, with two or three more sunny warm days predicted in the forecast.  After that, I can't promise you anything. I keep my rain gear in the truck all year.  

   In my last post here I mentioned "the fish of the last cast." And I have many stories of this happening. After that entry, it was only a few days until it happened again. We had fifteen minutes to get back to the parking lot to meet the wives. So when Rob said "This is my last cast", you can imagine my inner world lit up a little with the hope that the Fish Gods were listening. And once again, they did not disappoint. I love it when this happens. It is so interesting to watch the mood lift, the smiles, the laughter. Is there anything more lighthearted than catching a beautiful wild trout so serendipitously? 



Another last cast sea-run cutthroat trout!
We caught this one on a size 12 Wooly Booger !

    After this weekend the weather is supposed to cool off for the end of June and into early July. (I see this as a 50:50 probability.) One nice thing is that when it's 80 to 90 degrees in Seattle, it's usually significantly cooler out on the Olympic Peninsula shores. The cool ocean breeze helps too. If you're fishing the shorelines, or rivers, or lakes you need to pay attention to the water temperatures. When it gets this hot and sunny for more than a day, the waters warm up. Trout don't do well at water temperatures above 60+ degrees. In the case of river or lake run trout, they may have limited ability to seek cooler waters, or "thermal refuge." (Here's an interesting recent paper on this.

    Saltchuck sea-run cutthroat have more options, and they can move freely for miles in search of cooler waters. (You might have to do that too.) Early morning, at first light, dawn, etc., can still afford us some good fishing in waters that may be too warm to fish by mid-day. Some people will fish later in the day. However, the air may be getting cooler by sunset, but it could still take the water a much longer time to cool down. So focus on the early morning before it's getting hot and sunny in the middle of the day. With this new moon, we will see some of the lowest tides of the year this week. The sun will be baking the bare beaches for hours, and those beach stones, gravel and exposed mud flats will serve as a heat bank, storing the solar energy for hours. When the tide comes in, the water will gain heat from the shallow edges. You really need to be fishing in cooler, deeper water then. Go find it. A rowboat or small skiff, a thermometer on a long piece of string, and you're all set. The only concern with this may be that the cooler waters will be found outside of more protected shoreline areas, like up in the northern region of Puget Sound, off of the exposed points of land, like Point-No-Point, Marrowstone Point, Point Wlson, etc. So be mindful that the closer you get to open waters, the more influence there is from wind and shipping traffic on waves near the shore. In some conditions the breaking waves present  a danger to shore anglers as well. Have fun, but be safe. 

   The whole point of this is that if you don't get the fly in front of the fish, you aren't going to catch much. So, think "deep, cold and slow."  And there's no use in fishing over hot water. It is not unusual for the trout to get spread out by now. The fry are all out of the streams. And there's plenty of bait around. Go find them.


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, private and group fly fishing and fly casting instruction, for beginners through expert casters.  I would be happy to help you plan your Olympic Peninsula fly fishing adventure. I also do public presentations for civic groups, private gatherings, and fly fishing clubs, Naturalist guide, rowboat picnics, tide pool and river trail day trips. Please call, write, or email for booking details. Now booking fall 2017! 


And sometimes we row . . . One angler only.
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, Beach Watchers and Shore Stewards Graduate
U.S.C.G First Aid/CPR/BLS/AED/BBP/HIV Certified

Phone: 360-385-9618

Wednesday, June 7, 2017

"This Is My Last Cast"


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


This robust sea-run cutthroat took a Chum Baby fly on the last cast.

    Sometimes it happens this way. We had been fishing all morning on a softly ebbing tide. There was plenty of bait around, and the trout and sea ducks were feeding on them close to shore. We had caught a few nice smaller trout earlier in the day.  But by mid-day the trout stopped showing. And we felt like they had moved on in the currents along with the bait. It was a minor tidal exchange day, with only a few feet of difference between tide heights all day. So we took a nice lunch break, and waited for the tide to turn. Something that I really like is a fresh incoming tide, fishing it from the very beginning of the flood. That cold, plankton-rich water is so refreshing in the summer heat.  And it brings the food and the fish in close sometimes.  This makes a difference when the sun has been heating up the shallows and exposed flats between tides. The trout will avoid the warmer water areas. Once that cold water floods in again, it brings along with it the bait and the feeding trout and salmon. As we worked into the river-like  tidal flow, we saw a few feeders showing again. Birds, fish and seals all convening in the hope of a meal. We changed flies fairly frequently too. If you know that the fish are there, and they have seen your fly a few times, and they aren't taking the fly, Change flies. Often.   


"Waiting for the tide."
No one does this better than my friend,
Veteran Puget Sound Fly Fishing Guide, Leland Miyawaki.

     Even in the best of conditions, sometimes we don't always get what we want.  Most of us learn this fairly early in life. Some of us need a reminder. We fishermen seem to get frequent reminders. This entire afternoon session was torturous, with beautiful conditions, bait and feeding trout in front of us, and I was guiding a good caster who could put the fly in the game. We worked hard, changing flies, moving along the beach, using every presentation we could. There were a few light grabs, probably from smaller trout, or smolt. But no love. 

    Finally Thomas stopped and stared at the water for a moment. And then he announced: "This is my last cast."  And that's when the love came. 


Fish On!
As the Rolling Stones song says:


"You can't always get what you want 

You can't always get what you want 
You can't always get what you want 
But if you try sometimes well you might find 
You get what you need"
We'll take it!


Local conditions and forecast:

We have enjoyed plenty of warm sunshine and dry days recently. But all of that is going to change tonight, and for the week or so to come. It's going to cloud up here again, and we're going to get some real, good rain. The daytime temperatures will be in the 60's. It's going to feel like spring again.  I am looking forward to how this feeds into the estuaries and saltchuck. The cooling effect will help our fish, and our fishing. This is the upside of what we call the annual "June Gloom."  

Here's the latest from Cliff Mass weather blog: 
http://cliffmass.blogspot.com/2017/06/welcome-rain-is-on-way.html


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, private and group fly fishing and fly casting instruction, for beginners through expert casters.  I would be happy to help you plan your Olympic Peninsula fly fishing adventure. I also do public presentations for civic groups, private gatherings, and fly fishing clubs, Naturalist guide, rowboat picnics, tide pool and river trail day trips. Please call, write, or email for booking details. Now booking for spring through fall 2017! 


And sometimes we row . . . One angler only.
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, Beach Watchers and Shore Stewards Graduate
U.S.C.G First Aid/CPR/BLS/AED/BBP/HIV Certified

Phone: 360-385-9618