The Breach

A Great film, centering around the Elwah, is in development. More details Here.

Boy am I excited for this one.

THe Little Brown Creeks

When people come to my neck of the woods to fish, they usually busy themselves on the big rivers. The Hoh, Queets, and Quinault offer steady flows and the hatchery plants in the Humptulips, Hoh, and Wynoochee concentrate the steelheaders. I find that for stream angling this time of year, nothing beats the small water. 

I fish the Quinault for summer steelhead from June on, but I save the Queets, Clearwater, Humptulips, and Hoh for later in the year when more wild summer runs and sea-run cutthroat move in. This time of year I focus on the cedar creeks. The small independents that drain the foothills and cedar swamps. The brown, dertius filled water is much richer than the clear snowfed streams that play tributary to our larger rivers. The  brown water and tight brush offer good cover for fish and I have taken monster trout from streams small enough to jump across. 

Some of the larger of these systems actually hold great populations of resident cutthroat year round, and the smaller ones usually have a beaver pond or two that make exploring them worth while. You won’t find numbers, but the coloration of the fish more than makes up for it. The Cedar stain turns the fish a glowing golden yellow, heavily spotted and with bright crimson splashes, they are my favorite piece of natural art in my locale.

I don’t sweat technique to much on these streams. Fish wet flies down and dries up, hit cut banks and log jams, never pass up a beaver pond and above all have fun. I usually carry five flies. The Royal Coachman dry, the Elk Hair caddis, the Spruce, A small muddler minnow and the Partidge and Orange. I never have anything more than a floating line, double taper because roll casting is essential, and the smallest rod I have. 

The deadliest technique is to dead drift a muddler tied on a heavy wire hook up in a cutbank. I caught my largest cutthroat of the year this past summer with this technique. A heavy shoulder 22 incher. 

You probably noticed I haven’t named a creek. That’s because all the streams I fish regularly where ones that I found myself. These fish are much more special because I discovered them without intel or suggestions from others. I think you will enjoy your small creek more if it doesn’t have a name on the map and you never see anyone else there. Especially when we are talking about smaller fish, and few of them, discovery is half the excitement at least. 

A Good Read

Every once in a while I stumble Upon an article that takes what I want to say from the convoluted thought language in my head and puts it in breathtaking, inspiring english. This is one of them.

On Steelhead Fly Selection

When approaching a trout stream, even those clear, easily spooked chalk streams, the fly you choose is based on sound, observational logic. You select the food item most likely to take the trout. If the water is covered in mayflies, you tie on something that approximates their appearance. Even if the water is blank, a good nymph or a juicy terrestrial presented in a lifelike manner will take fish. The trout angler, often armed with a knowledge of entomology sufficient to teach it at the college level, can almost always choose a fly that is logical. The trout eats stonefly nymphs, so I will choose a fly that imitates a stonefly nymph. I will work the fly in the water to the best of my ability to further imitate that stonefly nymph. If all goes well my fly will look and move like the real thing, thus inducing a strike.

Steelhead are far less cut and dried. Why steelhead take flies is one of the great mysteries of the natural world. Convincing an animal to put something in his mouth when he no longer has any interest in feeding seems like a fools errand, however it is precisely this unlikely venture that makes steelheading the great sport that it is. This begs the questions, what fly do you choose to make a fish eat that has no interest in eating? What is appetizing to the anorexic? That is obviously a facetious and silly question, but its a question the steelheader must ask himself on each and every trip to the river. 

Steelhead Report

I've spent the last couple weeks doing my best to land an early wild fish on one of the West End rivers. I've managed to rise two in the five days I was on the water, and for wild steelhead in June, that isn't terrible. One rose to a purple soft hackle, the other to a Glasso pattern, the Gray and Orange.

The first fish came while fishing the lower reaches of the Quinault, there is a portion of tribal water that just begs to be fly-fished, and I granted it that one week ago. I have to say that I believe I would have done better had there not been so many parr present. A more responsible angler would have fished a deep fly after contending with the babies for a few swings, but I want a steelhead in the surface film rather badly. The fish rose short to the fly, never to be seen again.

The second fish came in one of my favorite runs in the world. This run is in the upper reaches of a nearby river, and out of the reach of roads. A creek meets the river and the two currents fight the merger to create an island and a dream of a steelhead run behind it. The water was still a little bit high, so I didn't expect much. I worked the pool diligently though, and towards the end of the first pass, in the glassy tailout and just behind a submerged boulder, the Steelhead took. I held him for five seconds before he made seaward in the high current and did a quick job of separating my 3x tippet.

I must say I have felt very unmatched with my 9' 5wt thus far. I really wish I still had my switch rod, the worst part is that I know whoever stole it from me probably isn't putting it to good use.

Secret Spots and why the Quinault is my Perfect River

Recently I received an email from a man I consider a role model. He cautioned me that I should be careful of giving away my spots on this blog, he was referring to steelhead spots. I do sympathize with him. He fishes the Hoh and Qillayute systems frequently and the winter crowds there make me sympathize with european management practices. I’ve never been a “secret spot” guy. I’m not a name dropper by any means, and my father would probably beat me to inch of my life if he ever read specific directions to one of our runs on this blog, but if someone I judge to be an honest fisherman, loose lips or tight, asks for fishing advice, I give it freely. 

My mentality has always been that here in the Quinault system, a little more angling interest will only increase awareness of the management needs of the watershed. When I stop using the word “interest” and start saying “pressure” that mentality will probably change. I doubt that will ever happen on the Quinault system. 

Monday Tibits

Chester Allen has a very good read on the Dechutes

RIP Harry Lemire

This Guy knows how to take a photo

Most of the time I am perfectly content to stay in the three rivers adjacent to my home and bother cutthroat and steelhead, but between Tom Chandler and Chester Allen, I'm dreaming of the Columbia and Sacramento systems today.

Even more Columbia eye candy over at Oregon Flyfishing and Ethan Nickel

This brought a tear to my eye.

Oregon groups fighting Gillnets which we should support wholeheartedly

This looks like an interesting Book

I want This movie

Taking a Break

I got robbed this Weekend. 1,000 dollars worth of belongings where stolen, including the camera that has been used to take all the pictures on this blog. Posting will be sparse this week as my internet router was also stolen. Should be back to normal by next week, with lots of new posts.

I have been absolutely knocking them dead on the Lake the last few days. The first good push of early sea-runs are in and the water is boiling with Sockeye and Coho Fry, Steven's streamers and Silver Borwns are working but I'm ashamed to say that nothing has produced like an Olive Wolly Bugger.

I'm also going to wet a line for those June Steelhead when I get a free moment. May hit the Wishkah or Wynoochee tommorow as I have business in Aberdeen.

Friday Tidbits

Great video of the Metolius River and hey, while your over at Orvis take their Trivia Challenge

Ms. Cantwell doing her Part with the Bristol Bay issue

Save WIld Salmon a cause worthy of your support.

Now that's a Pretty Fish

A great article on "Foreign" Carp

Oregon River Report

Report form the Pebble Mine Meeting. And Another over at Orvis.

Oild Spills are never any fun.

Beautiful Piece on Cutthroat Trout