Friday, November 23, 2012

Fecal Matters

 With our Olympic Peninsula winter steelhead fly fishing on hold during this period of high water, though there may be a few smaller areas to fish here and there, most of us are waiting for the bigger rivers to come back into shape; the Hoh, Bogachiele and Sol Duc in particular. Thanksgiving day was pretty rough around here for wind, and the bay was white capped and blowing, by evening it was a full on gale. So the hoped for alternative of a sea run Cutthroat fishing Thanksgiving day morning was out of the question. This morning was not too bad, and by mid day it had softened considerably, so a few hours at most would be possible in some locations. Overall the weekend forecast is kind of rough, making planning very hard. But this coming Monday looks like the perfect brief window for weather, wind and sea conditions, tides etc, and I am hoping to be on a beach by then, soothing my fishing starved nerves. With the "Olympic Mountain Rainshadow" being what it is around here, many forecasts do not have as much impact on us locally as much as they do on places just outside of that protection. So one thing we have learned around here is to watch local conditions closely. Often we have a decent fishing day when everyone else is blown off of the water. This offers us a respite from the winter storms that have torn up our rivers.

 One thing that saltwater fishers do not seem to talk about much is the hazards of water pollution, especially in the less developed shoreline areas around Puget Sound. But there are some significant health risks associated with surf and wade fishing our beaches- the same dangers that threaten surfers, divers, shellfishers, crabbers and swimmers. Most often we hear of Public Health warnings and Beach Closures during the warmer months, and these are often Red Tide warnings, Shellfish Poisoning and fecal coliform hazards, and  oil, fuel or other possible chemical spills. Even wearing modern fabric waders and protective clothing, you can be exposed to unhealthy levels of contaminants at times. Someone enjoying a mild winter day on the beaches, maybe because the rivers are too high to fish for now, fly fishing for sea run Cutthroat or Chum salmon, probably does not give water pollution dangers a second thought.

 Of course our winters are rainy here in western Washington- especially during November- the wettest month. And this gets our rivers running high, sometimes flooding etc, and this can happen repeatedly throughout the entire winter. Storm water runoff from streets, parking lots, rooftops etc is one hazard of toxicity, and we know now that this can be a significant danger to shellfish, marine life, fish and wildlife. Additionally there can be combined outflows and overflows of treated and untreated sewerage and storm water from many sources. And obviously more urban or developed areas may be at greater risk for this. But even in rural areas this can be an issue, especially with regard to agricultural runoff, regional airports, highways, shopping areas, housing developments etc. And some rural areas are less financially able to upgrade or reconfigure their sewerage systems to avoid the impacts of very high storm water flows. During the winter months the ground can become saturated with water and older, defective or less effective private septic systems can simply leak out raw untreated contamination directly into the groundwater, the streams and marine waters. This can create unhealthy conditions for beach fishing.

 A good resource for staying abreast of  regional beach fishing health and safety hazards is via the Washington Department of Ecology Beach Blog, which can also provide you with an email notification of warnings and closures on regional beaches and shorelines as they are discovered. People actually sample water quality all year round here. And there are some pretty ugly events during the wintertime, usually during periods of high water in the rivers due to heavy rains. And this is usually our same time to go beach fishing. It only takes a moment to check in on the Beach Blog for recent notifications, or you may get an email subscription for free. The blog is updated often and they also have an active Facebook page. In either case there is a wealth of information there that many beach fishermen will benefit from studying. Those of you who may be familiar with the Surfrider Foundation will appreciate the value of this kind of real-time information.

Washington Dept of Ecology Beach Blog

Wa Dept of Ecology Beach Program on Facebook


Friday, November 16, 2012

A Few Nice Days, A Little Sunshine, and A River In The Sky!


A Few Nice Days...


Morning Commute Coffee Break
These are native cedar carvings.




Guardians of the Jamestown S'Klallam Longhouse Market



Good Morning Hoh River Spirits!
                     
This is a lovely shade of jade green. We like a little color to the water.




A Little Sunshine...
By early afternoon the sun has had an impact on the snow and glaciers upriver.





Another Green water Morning

Jim came here from Texas for a few days.




After lunch, no cigar, no nap...
Yes, I can sleep standing up, hip deep in ice water!


                                                         
                                                       The White Mouse, Skagit Style.






Working tight to a bank



Winter Green



Back To The Saltchuck!

Tom came over  for Sea Run Cutthroat




Sweet ending to a beautiful day.





A River In The Sky!

Heavy November Rain!  http://cliffmass.blogspot.com

NWRFC  NW River Forecasting Center 10 day Forecast

 Actually, this is good news for our rivers and fish, and not at all unusual for November hereabouts. These rains and expected increased flows may be just what the winter runs of Steelhead need to come home upon. Eh, once the trees, mud and debris clears... When it rains here it often pours! Seems like a month's worth of rain in a week or so. 

 Let us hope that the freezing levels in the Olympic Mountains can stay at low enough altitudes to buffer the impacts of the melt water and runoff into the rivers. Right now the soils are saturating and it won't be long before the rains hit. This weekend will likely get slammed, and I'm not optimistic about a Thanksgiving steelhead trip either. Were still catching sea run Coastal Cutthroat in the salt on area beaches and the Chum Salmon are coming home now too. Once the storm breaks that may be all of the fishing that we will have for a time. Happy Holidays!

And you can visit me on Facebook: Little Stone Flyfisher- Guide







Tuesday, November 6, 2012

Things are shaping up!

Just another Monday at the office.


For the past few weeks it has been touch and go as far as river flows and fishing conditions here. A few small areas here and there were fishing, though most reports were slow. Our beaches had some good breaks in the weather and winds and sea run cutthroat are robust and strong this time of year. On the milder days we will fish for them this winter, certainly through November. And the Coho and Chum are offering some unique beach fishing challenges too, especially on a six weight. But it is not unusual at all that we experience winter warm fronts, extreme high altitude freezing and snow levels above 8000 feet, and high river flows. These cycles will melt any accumulated snow, and even ice and glaciers, and the waters can become very turbid.

 Happily these days pass on and we get a return of cold arctic air from the northwest, pushing down from Canada and Alaska, and our freezing levels drop to lower altitudes, the rains freeze up into snow and ice, and the rivers come back into good fishing shape quickly. This is what is occurring here now, and by the end of this week the west end Olympic Peninsula coastal rivers and streams will be in beautiful shape, flows and color should be near perfect, and we are due for a sunny and drier break out here too.

Note: With freezing levels dropping from 11,000 feet to 2000 feet in just a few days there is a good chance of black ice on our roads. Be extra careful!

 This NOAA forecasting tool is very accurate to within a few days to a week. And although I usually hesitate to rely on it for anything more than 72 hours, I have to say that it is looking very good ahead. Take a look at it, learn how to use it. It will become another good tool in your winter steelhead fishing planning toolbox.

Northwest River Forecasting Center

See you on the rivers!