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So welcome to this weeks edition of
'where the heck can I go fishing and actually have a prayer of catching
something other than hypothermia and losing a bunch of flies'. We
may or may not answer that question in the coming paragraphs.
Steelhead are about, but, alas, still
not enough to rival what is (hopefully) yet to come this winter.
Now that the days are finally getting infinitesimally longer, and
sunrise is backing away from 8am, we semi-morning people will see
increasingly better chances to spend some early time on the rivers,
sort of. The Sauk/Skagit has been pretty slow by most accounts.
The Sky and Snoqualmie have been in and out of shape quite a bit
over the last two weeks, and while some hatchery fish are in the
rivers, we have heard of a few natives being caught there. The mouth
of the raging often offers solace for fish on the move when the
water is high and dirty. Our best months are arguably March and
April, and La Nina may be brewing up more uncharacteristic weather
soups for us to chew on yet, so stay tuned. So to make a long paragraph
about nothing longer, not a whole lot has changed of late. The Peninsula
has produced some decent reports: the Hoh, Sol Duc, Bogey, and others
have been putting out a few fish to fly anglers willing to make
the drive. We've also heard about some fish down in the south end,
i.e. Olympia area, so all in all, while there are fish to be had
all over, the weekend warriors will need to put in some extra time
to get the payoff, which is pretty much par for the course with
winter fishing anyway, and who the hell are you calling a weekend
warrior.
Yakima River: We've had a number of people
come through the shop this past week singing the Yakima's winter
praises. Fishing the canyon with streamers and/or larger nymphs,
there have been some nice rainbows landed, among other lesser sought-after
Yakima residents which shall remain nameless. The river is a little
high, last I heard, but is in good shape and fully wadeable in the
canyon, as well as the upper reaches. (please check out water levels
by calling us or on the web before you go) Woolly buggers, sculpins
in larger (#2-6) sizes fished down and across have potential to
entice some strikes. The strategy is more akin to traditional steelhead
fly techniques than to what most of us are accustomed to…down
and across with the fly, covering the water systematically. The
water is something like 43 degrees, so needless to say, the fish
aren't going to move too much to your fly, and they won't fight
like the little scrappers do in the summertime, but it's a yank,
so don't laugh. Nymphs to use include, but aren't limited to stonefly
nymphs #2-6 in either black or brown (weighted so your little wool
hat has a blow from which to cushion your head), bigger prince,
pheasant tail and hare's ear nymphs (#8-10), the stoneflies have
a long lifecycle and live in the rivers for one to four years, growing
into the giant creepy-crawlies you see on bridges and riverside
vegetation before they break out and fly away to reproduce. Hence,
they're there all the time- but you knew that, and you also know
that the fish know, so knowing that the fish know affords you a
slight advantage. The moral of the story is that despite popular
practice, one can fish the stone nymph year 'round with confidence.
Incidentally, Chironamids are another favorite trout food that is
available to them all year, and hatches will occur in all of the
bodies of water from here to Mississippi, including the giant puddle-swamp
in my backyard which the dog is bringing inside bit by bit. Kissing
cousins to the beloved mosquito, chironamids undergo complete metamorphosis,
which means that they are available to the trout in three different
forms: Larvae, Pupae, and adult. The fly angler probably has the
strongest affinity to the latter two, as they are a more reasonable
fly to attempt to present given their proximity to the surface.
Not sure that makes sense, but I'm on a roll…There is another
very important 'stage' of the chironamid's life that's important
to us, and that's the period in between the pupal and adult stage:
the emerger. Don't overlook emergers!!! They're huge, and not just
in the context of midges…mayflies and caddis flies also (in
some species) are destined to be eaten by fish while they struggle
to break through the surface film of the water. This is much more
of a factor in still waters as there isn't any current to break
the surface, but it's an event to be recognized in any case. So
as I close this ridiculous stream of consciousness babble, don't
race to tie on a dry (adult) imitation every time you see, or think
you see, fish rising. Trout can still break the surface at regular
intervals while eating emergers either in or just below the surface
film. The midge discussion is the clever segway to the Lake Report.
Local Lakes have been pretty cold and
slow, (insert mother-in-law joke here), but a few brave souls have
donned their little fingerless gloves and inflated the tube for
a go. Pass lake is super cold- low 40's, which don't help the fishing.
Notwithstanding the funky weather moving through, to which Pass
is particularly susceptible. If I had to go fish a lake, I'd probably
try Sammamish, 100 yards off the boat launch on a very calm day
when I saw lots of birds and fish feeding on the massive Chironamid
hatches that happen out there in the wintertime. Or maybe I'd go
to Lake Alice, since it's so small by comparison and features the
same Chironamid activity. There are actually several viable choices
nearby, and someday, when I am all grown up, I'll turn into a website
with complete listings, directions, hatches, reports….can't
hardly wait. Anyway, most of the lake fishing for trout around here
now will call for mostly midge fishing, possibly interspersed with
a healthy dose of low, slow streamer fishing to break the monotony.
Puget Sound: When you can nail down a
calmish day, go for it. The fish are always there. Cruising the
shoreline for food. Fish small baitfish imitations with a slow-sinking
line, or floater with a longer leader. Anytime you can cast into
a little frenzied baitfish froth, you're likely on a pod of fish
and it'll pay off. The south sound continues to be the more popular
spot to go, although we've had some favorable reports from Lincoln
Park too, which leads me to believe that it doesn't really matter
much where you go, the south end just offers a little easier access
in general. Fish a moving tide. The low outgoing and incoming tides
will afford you more real estate to fish, as many of the best beaches
are under water at high tide.
Rocky Ford continues to fish well and
cold. Icy guides make long leader action even more problematic than
usual. Teeny tiny patterns have been the winning call for the most
part, big streamers occasionally being the exception. Midges, BWO's,
in adult and emerger stages will work, down to #24 or #26. Patience.
Also, the Nisqually gets a chum run in February (usually), which
doesn't get a lot of fly angling pressure…stay tuned for more
info in upcoming reports.
That'll about do it for me.....Please let me know if you need any
specific info and I'll do my best to respond in a timely manner.
My Therapist has advised me to cut down the frequency of the reports
to once every two weeks this time of year, being a little slower,
but we'll be sure to update you as things change, and, again, feel
free to drop emails our way anytime you need an update. Don't fret...when
spring rolls around we'll be all over it with more info than you
can choke down, and tasteless humor when applicable.
Don't forget to visit our highly modest booth at the International
Sportsmen's Exposition at the Stadium Convention Center coming up
February 9-13, 2000. E-mailing list readers will get secret previews
of some sale items that we'll be bringing down there before the
fact, so stay tuned. We actually have some Scott Rods in stock that
have been obsoleted by new offerings from Scott, so please stop
by to find out the scoop.
Thanks very much for reading and supporting the shop. Come see us
soon!!!!! Spring is just around the corner, sort of...
Hugh Pastoriza
© 2000 Creekside Angling Company All Righs Reserved
Creekside Angling Company
1180 NW Gilman Blvd. Suite C5
Issaquah, WA 98027
425-392-3800 (voice)
425-557-8928 (fax)
info@creeksideangling.com
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