Saturday, August 31, 2013

Summer's End, and a new beginning.



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

 Summer's End, and a new beginning.


Another fat sea run Cutthroat in bright shallow water.

 The end of summer is upon us, and I am rarely prepared for it; Shorter days and longer nights, a cooling trend, and just a little rain last week. Enough rain to tweak the rivers back into life. And as is typical of these Olympic Peninsula rivers, the response in flows was immediate. After months of low water, and with only a little misting rain on a day here and there since July, we got a solid day or so of some real rain. This is just what our Coastal Cutthroat trout and summer steelhead and salmon needed to stimulate better conditions, renewed foraging opportunities, cooler and more oxygenated water, and river flows to ride home on. Just as quickly as the rivers came up, they dropped back toward summertime flows again. But with that event, everything has changed. Even brief spates such as this one will help to move the salmon and steelhead that are migrating through saltwater on their way back to their natal streams. And for cutthroat and summer steelhead fishing, the freshet will stir resting fish into movement. The "October Caddis" hatches should be excellent ahead.

Andy Hill has been catching fish all week!

 9/14/13 Update: We have been enduring more beautiful summer weather around here. The rain and wind that passed through here last week brought a huge lightning storm across Western Washington and, in some places, a lot of rain. Out here on the Olympic Peninsula we were spared any serious impacts from heavy rainfall or storms as everything drifted south or north of us. The rivers never came up here. And even in lower river flow rates the summer run Steelhead and Sea Run Coastal Cutthroat trout dry fly fishing is superb here now. The beaches are fishing very well, for Coho and Sea Run Cutthroat. We will be fishing the saltwater beaches here through October at least. Some years we get decent saltwater fishing conditions through November. The week ahead is looking wet, as cool wet air is moving up from the southwest.

Forecast: We expect rain off and on from Sunday sometime through Wednesday here, but it looks very light, with little wind. We will be fishing. A friend asked me the other day if a bright sky would slow down the fishing. I told him about all of the great fish that we have caught in the noon day sun, in shallow water or on the surface, in the middle of the summer. He had that vague look of someone who was politely doubting what his guide had to say. A little while later, by around 9 a.m., we caught one of the biggest sea run Cutthroat that I have ever seen, well over 24 inches, just beneath the surface, maybe fifty feet from shore. To put this in context: I have spent thousands of days on the water here over the last 13 years, and I have only caught or seen a few fish over 19 inches. My new experimental baitfish Clouser Minnow seems to be working, as we caught several more fish on it in the next few hours. Things are looking good here right now. Bring your rain jacket!

One of Andy's beautiful wild sea run Coastal Cutthroat trout, caught at noon under a bright sun in shallow water.  


Autumn sea run Cutthroat.

My version of the October Caddis, and these will work very well in saltwater too.


Summers end, and A good sign. 

 Even though autumn is still officially a few weeks away, we are already seeing the signs. The pink salmon run will be winding down around here by the end of September, although there are still plenty being caught on our beaches. And the Coho run is just coming on. We catch some pretty nice Coho from these beaches in October too. And we are encountering some of the fattest and meanest sea run Cutthroat of the year now. Not surprising when you consider the kind if water years we have had recently, with milder winters a few years in a row, plenty of snow pack to carry us through the summer, and all of this adds up to more forage as well. The bait and insect life has been plentiful. Around the beaches we are seeing some of the early termite hatches, with more on the way. And for some reason we are seeing more tent caterpillars this year, so we can expect to see those light buttery colored moths on the water pretty soon as well. And the trout love them. I do love dry fly fishing in salt water!

Keith caught a nice Pink Salmon on a pink fly!
 September is looking pretty normal so far as our forecast for the week ahead shows continued on and off cloudy weather, cooling temperatures, light winds and a real chance of rain through the week. The beach fishing should hold together very well no matter how the rivers react. The next week of tides is going to be softer, generally the late afternoon into early evening tides will be the "best" ones, as far as swinging flies for Coho is concerned, and the greater tides resume toward the end of the week. A full moon is coming on. But don't let that stop you today. Get out there at dawn and dusk, and in the low light conditions of the misting cloudy days, and fish with confidence. Especially for cutthroat. I see all of this as the beginning of really good autumn Cutthroat fishing on the beaches, and on the rivers too. This will only get better. It is often very difficult to decide what to do or where to go when there is so much happening all at once out here. The beaches are my preference through October. But then again there are rivers to be fished . . . And if we continue to get these light rains and reviving river flows, this fall could shape up to be a good one indeed. I guess we'll just have to go fishing to find out!

Jered's robust wild coho, caught and released, on a fly. 9/4/13


Get Some!

 We'll be walk and wade fishing these beautiful Olympic Peninsula saltwater beaches right through autumn, with September and October offering us some of the best guided fishing opportunities of the year. If you would like to plan a fishing date with me- do it well ahead of time! Remember: Catch & Release, Fly fishing Only! 

Beginners welcome. Full instruction available. Complete support assured. Use of equipment available. Picnic lunch and soft beverages provided. Celebrating over 33 years of international fly fishing adventures!

Please call or write for booking details:

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.
U.S.C.G. Cert?BLS/BBP/HIV/CPR/First Aid.
Private and public presentations.
Row Boat Picnics on a local salmon estuary.

Telephone: 360-385-9618 / International Toll Free: 866-793-3595

Email: littlestoneflyfisher@mail.com

Web: Little Stone Flyfisher

Like us On Facebook! www.facebook.com/LittleStoneFlyfisher



Saturday, August 17, 2013

The Tides



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

The Tides.


The August Full Sturgeon Moon.

You have heard me say this before: "Don't get stuck in the High Tide mentality!" A very good example of this would have been this last week of tides, where we had very little overall height change between tides during the middle of the day, and slower incoming water, on the highest tides, into darkness toward the end of the week. Many people would not take seriously a mid day, broad daylight, high tide of 5 to 6 feet, losing only about one foot or less at low tide but a few hours later. They would have been looking at the later, major high tide for their opportunity. But what if that particular major high tide was scheduled for 10:52 p.m.?! On Thursday of this week that is just what happened.

"But for a few venturous souls . . ." (Jack Devlin photo)
 But for a few venturous souls it was a perfect set up for hours of opportunity. Of course it did help that we had overcast and cloudy, drizzling, autumn cold, foggy conditions for a day or two preceding this particular tide cycle. We had silver salmon and pink salmon rolling in front of us for hours, right through the mid day high tide, often just a few yards from the beach. We fished the earlier morning incoming tide for sea run Cutthroat too, very successfully I will add, and the mid day high tide for salmon. Predictably, once the tide topped out- at about 2 p.m.- like quitting time at the factory, almost everyone left the beach all at once. Except us. And we had fish in front of us for another two hours, even into the dropping tide. Then it got quiet.

 We took a break and had a late lunch. Then we hit another beach for the beginning of the next incoming tide just a few hours later. With no serious signs of working fish there, we jogged back to our earlier spot, on the theory that there was not enough overall tidal exchange that afternoon to change the pattern of returning fish in that vicinity. That they would likely get right back up on the shallow bars and flats again, as the evening tide began to move in. And that is exactly what happened. And so we had fish running on that beach again, in shallow water right in front of us, for several more hours into dusk. Later on, upon my guest announcing his "last cast", a big fish rolled right in front of him. So very Inspiring! . . . We quit when it was almost totally dark. Cool Beans. Sometimes it pays to leave your watch at home. There is a pulse to these things. A rhythm. You can't find that in a book, or a magazine article, nor in a blog. You have to spend your time on the water here. And each location has its nuances.  


A misty morning sea run Coastal Cutthroat trout session.

 And to what do we owe this day of magic? The waxing Full Sturgeon Moon! And beginning tomorrow, Sunday August 18th, we will again be enjoying morning minus tides, and afternoon to evening extreme high tides. This is looking especially good around the 20th and 21st. In fact we have Wicked Good tidal times and conditions ahead for the rest of this month! Many anglers would tell you to fish only around the period of a full moon, and only around high tide. They like the stronger currents and longer time period of flows. And in some places this is indeed an advantage. But some of these softer tidal days are not to be missed. Pay attention to the conditions!


Low light, shallow water, incoming tide.

 One great thing about weaker tidal exchanges is that the forage fish and invertebrates etc., are less likely to be swept away in strong tidal flows. They can hang around in quieter back eddies and pools etc. And with enough water around between tides this can keep the predators- (like those big, fat sea run Cutthroat trout that we want to catch!)- hanging around to feed, or . . . Just hanging around. They do that you know. Nothing going on; just hanging around, under a dock, along a ledge or in a trench, in deep water, in shallow fast moving water, just sort of doing nothing. I have often seen these wild trout suspended, amid a school of chum fry, or herring, smelt, perch, absolutely not doing anything at all. Not feeding. Just snoozing. You might wake these malingerers up with a well placed soft hackle fly, like a Partridge and Orange. Or maybe you'll trick one up on the surface with a lightly skimming Muddler Minnow. The quieter the water the lighter I will present the fly, and sometimes the smaller the fly as well. Try a dry fly too. I notice that with this recent bit of moisture we have had here on the west side of the state, and the humidity increase of the last week, and now with the return of summer-like temperatures, the Termites are everywhere here again. Try a rusty colored # 6 Stimulator. Yes! In saltwater! 


The pressure was just too much for this man.

 We'll be walk and wade fishing these beautiful Olympic Peninsula saltwater beaches right through autumn, with September and October offering us some of the best guided fishing opportunities of the year. If you would like to plan a fishing date with me- do it well ahead of time! Remember: Catch & Release, Fly fishing Only! 

Beginners welcome. Full instruction available. Complete support assured. Use of equipment available. Picnic lunch and soft beverages provided. Celebrating over 33 years of international fly fishing adventures!

Please call or write for booking details:

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.
U.S.C.G. Cert?BLS/BBP/HIV/CPR/First Aid.
Private and public presentations.
Row Boat Picnics on a local salmon estuary.

Telephone: 360-385-9618 / International Toll Free: 866-793-3595

Email: littlestoneflyfisher@mail.com

Web: Little Stone Flyfisher

Like us On Facebook! www.facebook.com/LittleStoneFlyfisher




Tuesday, August 6, 2013

It's supposed to be fun . . .



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

This man has a fishing problem.

It's Supposed to be fun . . .

 Leave it to the human race to screw things up! And this includes all of us. Our modern lives are often too busy and too stressed to get away for the break we need to recharge our souls with some light on the water, some fresh air and solitude, a tug on the line. It is like smoke under the door; You get busy with life, career, family concerns, bills, obligations, property, etc., and pretty soon it just swallows you up. You are married to the clock and the plow. Fishing becomes the distant, dim light that you hope to see one day, out there on the dark horizon, as you trudge down the next furrow. We are bombarded daily with all kinds of images and communications, advertising, etc. Everyone is selling something. And if we really want to keep up with the world, and the news, it becomes a nearly full-time job. And so our lives become heavily informed with a barrage of information, and a lot of it is not very good or positive. Almost none of it is really going to help you go fishing. One thing that stands out is that it all amounts to a kind of noise of background chatter in our minds. Our society has become obsessed with being informed, being with the trend, and having the next new best thing. Even if what we have already is good enough. And we only might go fishing again, someday. But it gets harder to do as you dig yourself ever deeper into the maze of complexity. Frankly, I am worried about you.

Could you take this kind of pressure?

  I have to ask myself if what I already have is good enough? Have you ever found yourself in that place of contemplation? I look back on all kinds of ambition I have had over my life, and all of the adventures and hopes and aspirations I have experienced, the success and failures, and all of the things that I have held as important to have, to gain, to strive for. What have I ever gained or acquired, especially materially, that has made my own life so much better? And all that I can come up with is the relationships and experiences, and the lessons that I have learned from- This is what has been worth keeping. It seems like it cost me a lot of years of my life to get to that point of understanding. There have been many times in my life when I wanted more. But the truth is that I now know that I had more than enough. And to think that I could have been fishing . . . Materially, compared to many others,(well, except for most of the guides whom I know), I do not have much. But I do not miss much either. Somewhere along the line I decided to simplify my life as much as possible. Not that having some nice things, enough money, a decent place to live etc., is bad or wrong at all. I might even do that myself one day. . .  But most of us, including me, already have more than we need. And most of us do not appreciate it. There is an awful amount of waste. Think of all of the good fishing times you could have had, instead of working for, buying, wearing out, and eventually throwing away all of that cheap plastic crap! See, It's all about the fishing . . .


What more do you need?
 And speaking of "crap" . . . Is anyone else amazed at all of the stuff we can buy to go fly fishing with now? When I got into this game there were a handful of decent lines out there, most commonly the simple double taper fly line. There were just a few nice rods, most of them cane and fiberglass, and a space-age new one or two called "carbon graphite". It was a really big deal if you could afford a pair of Ranger canvas and rubber waders, even if you did have to grind off the lug soles and glue on the new felt bottoms yourself. Most of the flies you could find were tied by hand in America, often in the shop where you bought them. And there were just a few really nice reels, and a few decent working class reels. Even though some of the best tackle was very expensive, there was still something for everyone. and enough for everybody. And honestly, in most places back then, there were a lot more fish to be caught, even if all that you had was a Shakespeare Wonder Rod and a Pfleuger reel. Even closer to home. And we caught them. It was cheaper, and simpler. Today there is more stuff than ever, most of it cheap, imported plastic crap with a big price sticker. And there are more fisherman- rods, reels, lines, doo-dads etc.- than there are fish now in some places too. Just saying . . .


Free Psychotherapy.

 Don't waste your time on guilt. Or the internet, or the magazines etc. Really! So what if the yard is not mown, the roof is not patched, the garden is not weeded? It is not going to be the end of the world if you let those things go for a few hours or a day or two. All of that pressure and stress that you are carrying around in your head is creating friction. And before you know it your mind will be on fire! I'm only trying to help you here. Seriously, you just need to go fishing for a little while. It is much cheaper than doctors, hospitals, psychotherapy, strokes, heart attacks, ulcers, medication, penile enlargement surgery or chronic alcoholism. And more fun too. Someday you will thank me for saying this to you!



The Doctor Is In!

 Things around here are going pretty well this summer. The salmon are on the run, from Neah Bay to Puget Sound, the run is really on.  Coho and Pink Salmon are being caught just about everywhere right now. And our sea run Coastal Cutthroat trout are still showing up in all of the usual places, (and some other places that I won't mention here). The rivers are at their typical summer low flows now, not the best opportunity, though there are still a few nice little spots for small trout, and even summer steelhead, if we play at it a little. But I still feel that your best bet will be to get out to the beaches and work the tides. Autumn and the rains will be here soon enough.


Andy Heeds The Call.

Please, leave the stress behind for a day; Change your plans, Call the boss and tell him that you are too "well" to be working under these conditions, lie unashamedly to your wife, abandon your responsibilities, deny your guilt . . . and embrace your inner fishiness! This takes a little getting used to, I know. I have paid my dues. I had to spend two very shaming years in the fifth grade while, as a bona fide Truant, I worked out the riddles of a nearby large mouth bass pond. In later years this tendency to heed the sirens, those inner voices of fishing, had a similar limiting effect on my relationship to material society; Like I said, I don't have much, but I'm happy. Right now, while you are sitting there reading this, I am likely headed out the door for an early evening tide, to swing some flies, ones that I tied myself, on some nearby salmon beaches that I like to fish around here. I didn't mow the lawn today. Drop me a note if you would like to come fishing. It would be really good for you. I'll be praying for you . . .


Kill your cell phone and come fishing!

 Now booking summer fly fishing trips on the Olympic Peninsula waters. Catch & Release, Fly Fishing only. Celebrating over 33 years of fly fishing adventures. Please call or write for booking details. Beginners welcome. Full instruction provided.

Bob Triggs
Little Stone Flyfisher
P.O. Box 261
Port Townsend, WA
98368

Telephone: 360-385-9618 / toll free: 866-793-3595

 Email: littlestoneflyfisher

 Like me on Facebook!  www.facebook.com/LittleStoneFlyfisher

Licensed Washington State Guide
USCG Cert/BLS/BBP/HIV/CPR/First Aid
Trout Unlimited Aquatic Educator Award 
Certified Fly Casting Instructor

Thursday, August 1, 2013

What's in Store: It's a cutthroat business out there

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

Releasing a wild sea run Coastal Cutthroat trout.
 Here is a link to an interview I did last year.

 This is by Jan Halliday, of The Port Townsend Leader newspaper. This was a lot of fun. It turns out that Jan has had quite a remarkable Pacific Northwest fishing life of her own. And she is a very good writer as well. Check out her weekly column. Thank you Jan!

What's in Store: It's a cutthroat business out there - ptleader.com: Whats In Store

 I hope you like it!

 So far it has been just another boring Pacific Northwest summer- You know, all the usual tedious stuff; day after day of beautiful blue skies and sunny warmth, soft cooling ocean breezes all day, glorious sunsets, refreshingly cool evenings and mornings, and a huge run of Coho and Pink salmon coming into Puget sound waters now. . . And we are catching some Wicked Good sea run Cutthroat out there too. Ho Hum. Only the strong survive. A very nice cooling trend settled in here over the last few days, and we even got some light rain and fog today all morning into mid day. I'm thinking that this weekend is going to be just flat good for Cutthroat and Coho on the beaches. The long range forecast for Admiralty Inlet shows very stable weather; clear nights and mild days, very little wind. Unfortunately this little trickle of rain has not made a perceptible impact on the normally low mid-summer flows on our coastal rivers.

 MMM... Some really good evening tides coming up now around this new moon cycle. Don't miss the evening tides on our beaches!

 Now booking fly fishing trips on the Olympic Peninsula waters. Catch & Release, Fair Chase, Fly Fishing Only. Celebrating over 30 years of fly fishing adventures! Please call or write for booking details. Beginners welcome, full instruction available. 

 Bob Triggs
 Little Stone Flyfisher
 P.O. Box 261
 Port Townsend, WA 
 98368

 Licensed Washington State Guide
 USCG Cert/BLS/BBP/HIV/CPR/First Aid
 Certified Fly Casting Instructor
 Trout Unlimited Aquatic Educator Award Recipient

 Email: littlestoneflyfisher@mail.com

 Telephone: 360-385-9618 / Toll Free: 866-793-3595

  Like us on Facebook! www.facebook.com/LittleStoneFlyfisher