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| Your Olympic Peninsula Fly Fishing Guide. Catch & Release, Fly Fishing Only! |
Poached Trout
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| Please pay attention! |
More record breaking heat over the last few weeks has caused many rivers to run low in flows and high in temperatures. The Washington Dept. of Fish & Wildlife has enacted some restrictions and closures on some waters around the state. Most of the concerns are for the rivers to the east of Puget Sound, which appear to be more immediately affected by drought and heat. You can see these restrictions here: http://wdfw.wa.gov/news/jul1615b/
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| The upshot of all of this heat has been that I have not had much to say here over the last weeks. It was too frigging hot! Out on the beaches we enjoyed cooler ocean breezes, and wading in cold tidewater is refreshing. But once you get away from the water . . . |
Our Olympic Peninsula rivers are running low now too. Much too low for my kind of fly fishing. Ordinarily I would be swinging and skating flies for summer steelhead on our rivers. Yet there is still some pretty good stream trout fishing to be had here on dry flies, if you are willing to work for it- hike in, get up early, fish at dawn, and be done with it by noon. And the drought is not hitting us as hard here as elsewhere around the state, especially as far as much warmer water temperatures or fish kills. Yet for the most part the drought has limited our realistic opportunities to the saltwater fishing. No one is complaining: Since opening day of salmon season the reports have been consistently good for Coho, Pink and Chinook salmon. Last weekend a 20 pound salmon took fifth place in the Chimacum Salmon Derby. That's pretty cool beans around here, where more recent derbies have been won by fish that were considerably smaller. It's been some of the best fishing, for the early weeks of salmon season, that I have seen in years. I'm sticking with the cold waters of the saltchuck. That's where the action is. That's where the fish are.
Playing with the locals. For the last few months we have been seeing some good numbers of Resident Coho here, which we are catching while sea-run Cutthroat Trout fishing, using the same flies etc. This is not entirely unexpected, but it is notable that they are so consistently feeding locally now. Normally we might see them in the spring and fall as they wander through our area. My hunch is that the warmer weather, and record breaking heat at times, has caused the bait, and the bigger fish, to move northward in Puget Sound in search of cooler waters. My friend Jack Devlin has been keeping his smoker running nearly full-time. he shared a few nice pictures below.
I was out with a friend fishing for sea-runs this morning, and it was so refreshing to be out there in the cool, misty, wet air for a change. Everything was dripping wet and the light breeze gave us a good chill. You could smell the pungent cedars again. Even the dirt smelled good. It was autumn-like. We had fish feeding in front of us all morning. They were hammering the herring. Lots of sea birds feeding too. And we caught a really nice resident Coho along the way. With over 6 million Pink salmon expected this year, and a strong forecast for coho, and with all of these spunky resident coho around too, on top of our usual sea-run Cutthroat trout fishing, we are having a great summer season on the saltwater. And for the week ahead we seem to be getting a good break from the heat. So let's get out there!
Your Olympic Peninsula Fly Fishing Guide and Instructor.
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| Fly fishing for sea-run Coastal Cutthroat trout from a traditional Swampcscott beach dory. Guided trips, Rowboat picnics, Bird watching. By appointment only. |
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 Cutthroat 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 through advanced casters. I would be happy to help you plan your Olympic Peninsula fly fishing adventure, for all levels of ability. 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 through October and beyond.
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.Beach Watcher
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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