Monday, December 4, 2017

A Gift From The Gods!*


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


A Gift From The Gods!*


Image may contain: sky, night and cloud
Last moon of the year- "The Cold Moon"
Photo credit: Chuck Rondeau

(*The weather gods, that is.)  

    Last Friday, Pacific Northwest weather Guru Cliff Mass posted this astonishing forecast for the week or more ahead:


    And on Sunday he followed up with this even more inscrutably good forecast:



     After all of the wind and high dirty water the beaches, estuaries and rivers have been getting over the last month, and after too many fishless days, this weather.com forecast looks like some kind of Karmic reward for doing something really good in a past life: 

(Trust me here, Nothing that I have ever done in this lifetime has ever warranted this kind of payout. And who knows how many lifetimes it is going to take to ever get this close to Bliss again!?)


Note the wind forecasts! 
If you want to fish for sea-run coastal cutthroat trout on the Puget sound regional beaches, this will be the sweetest winter news you've ever seen!
        
     The west-end Olympic Peninsula river flows too are falling into sweet walking, wading and fly swinging shape, just in time for the winter-run hatchery steelhead slugfest. 

Also, WDFW sent us an early holiday present, with this brief extension on the hatchery coho fishing in the Sol Duc River: 


Have flies, will travel!

     So, I am looking forward to getting out on the saltchuck in the dory this week. Maybe even for the next few weeks! With all of that dirty runoff water the local streams have been getting, many of the cutthroat have moved back out on the beaches to feed. And there's plenty of bait around now too. With the wind forecasts looking so good, I can row just about anywhere. Oh sweet!  Catch me if you can! 

    Winter sea-run cutthroat fishing tip: Use squid flies!!! 



This is a classic wooden Swampscott Dory. Fully restored. We row the beaches, casting for sea-runs. This is the most traditional, salty and relaxing way to fly fish for sea-run coastal cutthroat trout. One angler only. Call or write for details.

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, or row along the shorelines in the dory, fly fishing for sea-run Coastal Cutthroat trout in the saltwater, and in the rivers for Cutthroat trout and summer steelhead. This is all strictly catch and release, traditional, barbless single hook, 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, beginner to expert. 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
2006 W.S.U.Beach Watcher / Water Watcher graduate
U.S.C.G First Aid/CPR/BLS/AED/BBP/HIV Certified

Phone: 360-385-9618

Saturday, October 28, 2017

Ya Snooze, Ya Lose!


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

    I will keep this one short and sweet. It's not like I didn't try to warn you. You have had ample time and notice to stop cleaning your gutters, stop washing your windows, stop waxing your cars, and get your selves out on the water now.  We almost never see weather and fishing conditions this good this late in the year, on the western Washington rivers, and on the Puget Sound saltchuck.  All I can say is that if you don't get it, and you aren't fishing now, you can't be helped. In a few days, everything is going to change. Here's the upcoming weather "radical change" forecast: 



Dude, Kill your lawn mower!


P.S. You are on your own. I am unavailable until further notice. 

 
This is some of the best sea-run cutthroat trout fishing on the Olympic Peninsula- the summer "tourons" are gone, and the fish are on the feed.




This is a classic wooden Swampscott Dory. Fully restored. We row the beaches, casting for sea-runs. This is the most traditional, salty and relaxing way to fly fish for sea-run coastal cutthroat trout. 
One angler only.  Call or write for details.

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, or row along the shorelines in the dory, fly fishing for sea-run Coastal Cutthroat trout in the saltwater, and in the rivers for Cutthroat trout and summer steelhead. This is all strictly catch and release, traditional, barbless single hook, 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, beginner to expert. 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
2006 W.S.U.Beach Watcher / Water Watcher graduate
U.S.C.G First Aid/CPR/BLS/AED/BBP/HIV Certified

Phone: 360-385-9618

Sunday, October 22, 2017

Fishing Through "The Window."


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

A fair weather window is opening up here now!

   If you have been paying attention this past week, you know that the west-end Olympic Peninsula rivers are getting a series of warm fronts, and rains that have the flows spiking up and up.  And the entire region has gotten some heavy winds on and off most of the week. Yet here on the east side of the mountains, near Port Townsend, and down into Hood Canal country, in the Olympic Mountains Rain Shadow we are  seeing some beautiful sunny breaks, less rain and wind, and even some nice mornings, and a few afternoons too, when the water was beautiful and the fishing was great. Good enough for some solid outings. It is amazing how fast the water cleans up here after the winds lie down, and the bait comes back into the shallow waters, with the trout right behind them. After a rough weather week, those trout are going to feed again, in close. 

   After this stormy weekend is over, Starting today, (Sunday 10/22), and through the entire week ahead, and even into next weekend, there is an inscrutably nice weather window opening up here, with fair light winds, milder temperatures, and no rain. An entire WEEK! How sweet it is! This is what makes October so refreshing and fun. These brief storms really get things moving, the rivers come back to life. even if they do get high and dirty. And it is still my favorite season for fly fishing sea-run coastal cutthroat trout on the saltchuck. And now is the time that we see some of the biggest sea-runs of the year.

  Speaking of catching bigger trout. The Cortland Line Company has come out with a new tippet material that I have been trying out in a variety of situations: Cortland "Top Secret" Ultra Premium fluorocarbon. So far this stuff has been remarkable. In situations where I have been using 3X mono tippet, and the fish have been refusing the fly, All we did was change over to this new fluoro tippet, (same 3X designation), and the fish took the fly. No hesitation. With all of these rocks and barnacles and shells, eel grass etc., we need strong tippets that we can count on. And all of my knots are working well with this new stuff, even when I'm tying it into mono leaders.This represents a significant development in tippet materials manufacturing technology, and the chemistry of diameter and strength ratios. Great for us fishermen. Sucks if you're a trout, though.


Cortland "Top Secret Ultra Premium" fluorocarbon tippet material comes in sizes 0X through 8X, in 30 yard or 100 yard spools.

    Now go call your boss and let him know that you're too well to be working in these conditions. It's going to be that good. Give me a yell, and I will get you out in the dory. This won't happen so often this time of year. Seriously. I'm tying some flies . . . Operators are standing by . . . 


 This is some of the best sea-run cutthroat trout fishing on the Olympic Peninsula- the summer "tourons" are gone, and the fish are on the feed.




This is a classic wooden Swampscott Dory. Fully restored. We row the beaches, casting for sea-runs. This is the most traditional, salty and relaxing way to fly fish for sea-run coastal cutthroat trout. 
One angler only.  Call or write for details.

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, or row along the shorelines in the dory, fly fishing for sea-run Coastal Cutthroat trout in the saltwater, and in the rivers for Cutthroat trout and summer steelhead. This is all strictly catch and release, traditional, barbless single hook, 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, beginner to expert. 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
2006 W.S.U.Beach Watcher / Water Watcher graduate
U.S.C.G First Aid/CPR/BLS/AED/BBP/HIV Certified

Phone: 360-385-9618

Saturday, October 14, 2017

October Tease



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

This is Andy, taking his morning nap.


This is Andy, fishing.


This is Andy, catching a sea-run cutthroat trout.

Andy caught a lot of nice fish here last week.

Be like Andy!
    

     It has been uncommonly mild and pleasant here over the last few weeks, more like the "Indian Summer"weather of September, than a typical mid-October.  The mornings on the bay have been cool, foggy at times, even damp and drizzling. But by later morning the sun has been coming out, the winds very light, the 60 degree warmth has been a blessing, the sea-run cutthroat trout have been biting, and no one is complaining. We have had some truly stellar days of fishing this month. We have even gotten a little sunburn, in October!!! And since the coastal rivers have been running too low for weeks, and some of them have even been closed to fishing under emergency rules, here, and also here, we are enjoying the sea-run coastal cutthroat trout fishing on the saltchuck all the more this fall.

    According to the Northwest River Forecast Center 10 day forecast, The rivers will be getting some much needed rain relief soon, as heavy rains are expected to move in on the coast and Olympic Mountains next week. But if it gets really heavy, the flows may be high and dirty for a while. These saltwater beaches will clean up fast after a storm. And the cutthroat fishing will usually go well through November and December.

 This is some of the best sea-run cutthroat trout fishing on the Olympic Peninsula- the summer "tourons" are gone, and the fish are on the feed.




This is a classic wooden Swampscott Dory. Fully restored. We row the beaches, casting for sea-runs. This is the most traditional, salty and relaxing way to fly fish for sea-run coastal cutthroat trout. 
One angler only.  Call or write for details.

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, or row along the shorelines in the dory, fly fishing for sea-run Coastal Cutthroat trout in the saltwater, and in the rivers for Cutthroat trout and summer steelhead. This is all strictly catch and release, traditional, barbless single hook, 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, beginner to expert. 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
2006 W.S.U.Beach Watcher / Water Watcher graduate
U.S.C.G First Aid/CPR/BLS/AED/BBP/HIV Certified

Phone: 360-385-9618

Saturday, September 23, 2017

Autumn Equinox


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

Summer is officially over.
  Yesterday was the Autumnal Equinox. The end of summer and the beginning of fall. Okay, I surrender. I accept it. And there's plenty of evidence to support this decision. Not just the astronomical data, or that bit about the day and the night being equal at one precise point in time that Equinox day. It's really cooling off. We got a little rain a few days ago. The nights are coming on earlier. The mornings are crispy cool. There's wood smoke in the air, and it's not that crummy smoke from the forest fires this time.  



Dusk on the saltchuck.
  

  But aside from all of that, there's a mildness about things right now, the air is stable, no big winds or heavier rains in the short term forecast, just some sweet light soakings periodically, and the water is just a bit cooler now. I am seeing the sea-run cutthroat trout feeding more heavily in the shallows, and on the surface. The afternoons have been very mild, even sunny and warm. Warm enough to row the dory in my shirtsleeves most of the day on the saltchuck. In nine hours of fishing the other day we saw fish, and caught fish just about everywhere that we went. They were even feeding on the surface, right in front of us, while we were sitting on the beach eating our lunch. That was a good day. I would like to be fishing out on the west-end Olympic Peninsula rivers now too, but we're still waiting for some real rain to bring them back up to decent flows. And why in the world would anyone want to ignore that things in the saltwater game are beginning to seriously heat up around here?! With the waxing moon ahead, we'll see some good tides get even better, through the end of the month, and into the first week of October. 

The only hard thing about fishing this time of year here is making up my mind which direction to head out into, the beaches are going to be great for the next few months, and so are the rivers. It helps to be flexible. But I would much rather be fishing the saltchuck for sea-runs now myself. I know what can happen.



The next two months of fishing here are what we look forward to all year!


This is a classic wooden Swampscott Dory. Fully restored. We row the beaches, casting for sea-runs. This is the most traditional, salty and relaxing way to fish for sea-run coastal cutthroat trout. One angler only.  Call or write for details.

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, or row along the shorelines in the dory, fly fishing for sea-run Coastal Cutthroat trout in the saltwater, and in the rivers for Cutthroat trout and summer steelhead. This is all strictly catch and release, traditional, barbless single hook, 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, beginner to expert. 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
2006 W.S.U.Beach Watcher / Water Watcher graduate
U.S.C.G First Aid/CPR/BLS/AED/BBP/HIV Certified

Phone: 360-385-9618

  



Thursday, September 14, 2017

September's Cool


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

Cooler mornings on the saltchuck.

 We have been getting a nice late summer cool down here. And thankfully, the air has cleared, giving us blue sky days and starry nights again. The mornings are refreshingly chilled, and by noon we are back to shirtsleeves in the sun. The sea-run cutthroat that we have been chasing all summer have gotten fatter and bigger. This last week of cooling is turning them on, and we're seeing them slashing bait in the shallows again. The trout that were 12 to 14 inches in the spring, when they came back out into the saltwater, are several inches longer by now. So it's no wonder that I am itching to get out onto the saltchuck now. 



A robust September sea-run coastal cutthroat trout.
I caught him on the surface, on this ginger deer-hair muddler.

    We had a bit of rain here last weekend. It was just enough to dampen the earth, and overnight the river gauges jumped up a few hundred c.f.s. in many places. And now, just as quickly, the flows are receding. You could almost hear every living thing breathing a deep sigh of gratitude. This was a good thing for the insect life, especially the aquatic insects, and caddis in particular. Every late summer we watch for the first signs of the beginnings of the October caddis hatch, which in some years can be extraordinary. This year looks to be promising, as we are seeing the caddis cases everywhere, in dense concentrations. So it's not too soon to be thinking about the west-end Olympic Peninsula rivers and streams again, and the summer steelhead and cutthroat trout that will be feeding heavily on the pupae and adult caddis for many weeks ahead. Les Johnson once told me that fly fishing the Olympic Peninsula rivers for cutthroat and summer runs in the fall was one of his favorite times. 

 Speaking of rain. We are expecting some more serious rainfall here by Sunday. And the whole weather scheme here will be changing to cooler days and nights, and a wetter cycle ahead. This should be really good for the fishing. It's not the kind of heavy weather we can expect a little later, like in October. But it is enough to throw the switch on better river flows, and good fishing on the beaches too. It looks like it will be a brief soaking, followed by milder weather again. I am loving this!  Almost to the day, a year ago, Cliff Mass forecast a similar pattern of weather. Here's his recent forecast for the near future:  

http://cliffmass.blogspot.com/2017/09/the-northwests-summer-drought-will-end.html


    The only hard thing about fishing this time of year here is making up my mind which direction to head out into, the beaches are going to be great for the next few months, and so are the rivers. It helps to be flexible. But I would much rather be fishing the saltchuck for sea-runs now myself. I know what can happen.



The next two months of fishing here are what we look forward to all year!


This is a classic wooden Swampscott Dory. Fully restored. We row the beaches, casting for sea-runs. This is the most traditional, salty and relaxing way to fish for sea-run coastal cutthroat trout. One angler only.  Call or write for details.

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, or row along the shorelines in the dory, fly fishing for sea-run Coastal Cutthroat trout in the saltwater, and in the rivers for Cutthroat trout and summer steelhead. This is all strictly catch and release, traditional, barbless single hook, 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, beginner to expert. 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
2006 W.S.U.Beach Watcher / Water Watcher graduate
U.S.C.G First Aid/CPR/BLS/AED/BBP/HIV Certified

Phone: 360-385-9618


Sunday, August 27, 2017

It's Still Summer, Dammit!


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

Conservation Alert! 

Please take a look at this link, and  send a note to our governor, to demand that the open water salmon net-pen farms be banned from Washington Marine Waters:

https://www.oursound-oursalmon.org.

Then go to this Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife link:

http://wdfw.wa.gov/news/aug2217b/


Have fun! But seriously, get rid of these things.  

Okay . . .

It's Still Summer, Dammit!



Closer to the Equinox

      Despite some pretty extreme heat days this summer, these late summer nights are growing ever longer and cooler.  Stepping out into the evening darkness, under the starlight, I can smell the deep scent of the cooling air and falling leaves already. Much of this is due to the recent drought that has caused some of the leaves to fall early. But it's also true that autumn is taking hold now. Without looking at the calendar you could feel it. And the fruit and vegetable crops have been way ahead all year. Some of the insect hatches here, like the termites, have been a little ahead of the normal times as well. The Autumn Equinox is less than a month away now. So even though we may get some more hot days ahead, it won't last long. That full moon, coming on the 6th of September, will set the stage for some great tides and fishing this month too. However, it is till summer, and it will be for the next month before the solstice.

 So, I am getting tired of people claiming that it is "the end of summer", the "dying days of summer", early autumn", etc. Nonsense! It's 80 frigg'n degrees out there today, and that sun will scorch your hair off! We have months of good beach fishing ahead! And we will be heading back to the rivers once the rainforest rivers perk up, with a little cool rain. This usually starts around Labor Day, with some rain at night, in the higher elevations of the Olympic Mountains, and the October Caddis hatches begin around the September solstice. Big fluffy stimulaters and Elk hair Caddis, Skaters, Steelhead Caddis. Summer Steelhead and Cutthroat Trout on dry flies. That's some good stuff.  

    Ordinarily I would be haunting the beaches from dawn to dusk at this time of year, fly fishing for the ocean-run coho that have provided me with so much good fishing for years here. We didn't get much of a season this year. And it's been a down year for the pink salmon and coho salmon again so far. But there have been enough optimistic fishing reports in other areas around the region this year to give me the impression that these fish can rebound, given time. I still feel that the closures last year helped put many more spawning coho on the redds upriver. That's a good thing. Maybe we should do that more often.

Coho on a Miyawaki Beach Popper.
This is something worth protecting.


     We can be grateful for the cooing weather ahead, as it will improve the fishing on the lakes and streams, and even on the saltchuck. Most of our rivers are still running low and warm, but this autumn cooling will help all of that too. Even so, we need those first good autumn rains to get things moving on the rivers again. Check the fishing regulations and emergency rules updates before you head to the beaches, or the coastal rivers this year, as some of the waters will close early to protect returning coho salmon. Marine Area 9 will close to all salmon fishing on September 4th., (See page 3, item #5). Trout fishing on Puget Sound is still open year-round, catch and release only. And you will find coastal cutthroat trout and summer-run steehead out here on the Olympic Peninsula rivers in the fall. 

    One of the many things that I am grateful for is our wonderful, wild sea-run coastal cutthroat trout. And autumn is prime-time for these truly tough fish.


At over 24 inches this is the biggest autumn sea-run cutthroat I have ever caught here.
But I have seen two others caught, also in the fall, that were bigger.

  The next two months of fishing here are what we look forward to all year!


The most relaxing way to fish for sea-run cutthroat.
One angler, maybe two,  Call or write for details.

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, or row along the shorelines in the dory, fly fishing for sea-run Coastal Cutthroat trout in freshwater and saltwater, and in the rivers for Cutthroat trout and summer steelhead. This is all strictly catch and release, traditional, barbless single hook, 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, beginner to expert. 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
2006 W.S.U.Beach Watcher / Water Watcher graduate
U.S.C.G First Aid/CPR/BLS/AED/BBP/HIV Certified

Phone: 360-385-9618