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Welcome once again to the Creekside
Angling Company semi-regular fishing report for the general Western/Eastern
Washington Angler/Aspiring lip-ripper. We at Creekside take great
pride in our local fisheries and the life-enhancing make-ya-feel-a-little-better-overall-and-not-as-if-you're-wasting-time
exactly, but just getting the line wet and maybe surprising yourself
once in a while- type of thing. Whatever that means. Anyway, James
'Pugsley'St. Clair has been kind enough to take the time to share
his impressions of the local scene this time around, since the regular
author is entrenched in unrelated matters out of state which don't
allow for the type of time and attention the report normally warrants.
James gets out fishing almost every day…well, at least every
day he's not working, which, while an admirable, and clearly a desireable
goal, many (i.e. most) of us find it largely unattainable. So, we
can only sit back and try and scrape as much as we can from the
active die-hards so as to make better time with that which we have
on the water. Here's his current synopsis, with excellent intermingled
commentary on the Salt from Seth.
The forks of the Snoqualmie (North, South
and Middle), are starting to fish pretty well. The water has warmed
up considerably in the last couple of weeks which has made the trout
a little more willing to take some of those surface patterns (elk
hair caddis, royal wulff, stimulators, etc…) that everyone
has used in the years past and caught a huge amount of fish on.
Usually the forks of the Snoqualmie fish very well after the first
week of July, but for some reason this year it took a little longer.
Of course that is besides the point because it is not last year,
it is this year, and the time to fish is right now. So, along with
the patterns mentioned above, light colored mayflies such as a light
cahill or PMD will also work very well. As far as nymphs go it is
almost imperative to have Prince nymphs, Gold Ribbed Hares Ears
and Pheasant Tails. Something interesting that has been noticed
as of late in the shop is many people coming in and asking about
the size of the fish. The most popular question of course is: "Do
the fish grow any larger than the 5 to 7 incher I get every other
cast?." The answer is yes. Most of the fish in the Snoqualmie
are about this size, however, for every five people that come in
the store and ask this question, one person comes in and says they
have recently caught a fish between 14 and 16 inches.* So apparently
they are out there, but I have only been catching the 5 to 7 inchers
with the occasional 10" fish. The days are long and there is
plenty of time to fish after work or before. The weather has been
beautiful and the water is in great shape. If there was ever a time
to get out and fish the forks of the Snoqualmie, now is it.
Steelheading is basically on fire right
now. The water is pretty low in all of the rivers, but the steelhead
are making their way up to spawn. Some good rivers to go out and
fish are the Stillaguamish, Snoqualmie and Skykomish. Most of the
other rivers do have fish in them, but the three just mentioned
are the closest to home for us. In other words, we can easily get
to one of these rivers after a long hard day in the office which
consisted of looking at the weather outside and completely bumming
out because you can't be outside on the river enjoying this beautiful
weather. We must reconsider these thoughts though. On days like
we have been having the past week or two (85 degrees and clear blue
skies) the fish will be skittish and difficult to catch. Going in
the evening when the sun is off of the water may be a better bet
anyways. So, don't always look at the dark side of things, remember,
the glass is always half full, not half empty, be optimistic. Think
about it this way: Spending time at work is just wasting the time
you would have spent out on the river not catching anything. So
anyways, back to the actual "fishing report." Like I mentioned
previously, the water is low, so sparse, smaller, dark, marabou
patterns are a good choice along with egg sucking leeches in purple
and black, spades, and any other of your favorite low water patterns.
The fish are starting to stack up so get out there and give it a
shot. Contrary to the popular belief that steelhead wont bite "my"
or "a" fly, steelhead will readily take a fly if presented
correctly. And the number one suggestion for Steelheading any time
of year is to be confident.
The Yakima River is like many of us,
in 'summer mode', which means the water is moving along at a pretty
good clip, and it's hot as blazes midday. That also means that it's
hoppertime, my personal favorite as the fishing style you can effectively
employ is very sportif- when you float the river one can chuck one's
favorite terrestrial or other large, non-descript protein trout
snack right up against the bank. It's fun to try to really slap
the fly into a very narrow window and pray for an attack. With the
water moving so fast, any float you undertake will be significantly
shorter than it would be if the water weren't moving so fast….that
is to say that if you couldn't figure that out on you own you need
to come to Creekside immediately!!! We have some very important
items for you that you cannot live without. Bring your checkbook
and a large vehicle and some friends. Wading is tough pretty much
from the Cle Elum down, particularly Ellensburg down through the
canyon, but there are still some good access points from which you
can fish without risking sleeping with the fishes. Another good
facet of hoppertime is dapping: using the length of your rod to
allow for a semi-stealth 'presentation'. 9' flyrods allow us to
just hang a fly out there for a short drift along the bank, which
is where you want to be anyway as that's where most of the terrestrials
will end up (at least the ones that go for a little swim [of death]).
Dapping eliminates the need for any nasty casting and this brings
us to the distinction between a rod and a pole. One could use a
pole for this tactic. You'll need a rod if you want to do any casting…so
bring your pole and your rod down to the Yakima along with your
hoppers, ants, beetles, big uglies….midday is hot so there's
not a tremendous action, generally. Early and late in the day will
hold some better hatch activity…particularly evening time,
when there are many caddisflies and mayflies- PMD's, and I saw some
really long two-tailed mayflies flickering around the other day
when I floated the canyon, but have no idea what they were as my
split personality left the entomologist at home that day (and today).
If you really want to get results during the day over there, I believe
you best hope is to drag a big (#10) nymph under an indicator, or
dredge big streamers along the banks, stripping fast. It's not a
practice for the purists, but it'll hold you over until evening
when you can daintily cast dries to sipping trout….maybe. What
I'm trying to say is that the river is fishing pretty well. Not
great, not bad…some day are better than others. Oh, and the
upper river is low and clear and very wadeable and also in summer
mode in terms of tackle and tactics.'Kay?
Puget Sound: Hi again. This is Seth chiming
in with the word from the big blue. First off I'd like to thank
everybody who has taken the time to reimburse me with some of their
own estuary reports. The feedback has been inspiring to say the
least. This has been a truly spectacular beginning to a summer's
fishing in the sound. The cutthroat fishing sounds right on track
- good numbers of fish and respectable numbers of good sized fish
are being caught. The Coho opportunities are surprisingly many for
this early in the season. That is, both resident and some ocean
going fish are available in the sound right now. And it sounds like
more silvers are returning from the ocean all the time. I have to
be honest the Steelhead have been beckoning me to pursue them, and
as a result the rivers have been occupying most of my fishing and
tying time. But upon recent completion of a new fly tying book based
on the perception and construction of baitfish imitations the salty
life force in me has surged back into the forefront of my consciousness
and back onto the tying desk as well.
Thanks to a barge captain that recently engaged the Rte. 520 bridge
in a match of bumper boats my commute has been rerouted from the
purely utilitarian I-5 to the comparatively scenic Hwy. 99 and its
viaduct vista. The lengthened commute from Green Lake to the shop
in the morning has been worth every extra gallon of gasoline for
the pungent whiff of Puget Sound beaches that fills my car before
I exit for Safeco field and I-90 Eastbound. Now the estuaries are
calling to me. If I go I'll take some new flat winged streamers
tied in the natural colors of cutthroat and Coho bait. I'll let
my offering swing in the current as I would for steelhead occasionally
stripping some life into the fly. Perhaps a returning fish will
give my fly a yes.
*We have not seen any proof, i.e. pictures or actual fish, or even
a friend that was with them when they caught the fish. Conversely,
every Creekside employee has complete and utter faith in each customer
that comes in and therefore would never question the honesty of
these stories.
Hugh Pastoriza
Creekside Angling Company
1180 N.W. Gilman Blvd.
Issaquah, WA 98027
www.creeksideangling.com
email- crkside@nwlink.com
ph. 425.392.3800
fax. 425.557.8928
Copyright ©2000 Creekside Angling Company All
Rights Reserved
Creekside Angling Company
1180 NW Gilman Blvd. Suite C5
Issaquah, WA 98027
425-392-3800 (voice)
425-557-8928 (fax)
crkside@nwlink.com
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