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

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