Summer time sea-runs

If I had the rank my top ten favorite places to fish, I am really not sure what all I would put on the list. However, I am sure that one of my sea-run Cutthroat haunts at a local estuary would make it. This fishery is not going to be listed among any "famous" waters, but that is the beauty of it, as it offers solitude, beautiful surroundings and native fish. Like other saltwater Cutthroat fisheries, things are driven by the tides and a such it requires time to figure the fishery out. Luckily over the years I have paid some dues at this spot and have learned a few of its secrets. As the general rule with this and other estuaries goes, the fish are most active once the tide starts moving and the bulk of the fish tend to follow the incoming tide in, then ride the outgoing tide back out again.

Low water at the estuary

With tides ideal for the day, my buddy Jonathan and I arrived at the estuary about an hour and a half after low tide and started looking for fish. With the low water, this didn't take too long and I spotted a few smaller Cutthroat and one really nice one that was having fun harassing some spawning Shiner Perch. With the fish spotted I moved into position and on my second cast over a bit of deep water I felt a tug, set, and fish on. The Cutthroat put its all into the battle, jumping five or six times and even brought spectator along that seemed set on following its buddy right up to the net.

Not bad for two casts into the day

Next it was Jonathan's turn and a few casts later, he got a good tug but no hook up before things slowed a bit. Before long I went to some high ground and tried sighting the fish for him. After a minute I spotted a school of 8" to 14" Cutthroat for him to cast to, but they didn't seem to like his offerings and spooked before long. After that Jonathan switched flies and we headed to another spot.

Calm water at high tide

We spotted some fish at the next spot upstream, and but they were a bit spooky with the low water and it wasn't until the tide really started flowing in that they let their guard down. Jonathan was the next one to hook into a fish and got a scrappy little Cutthroat that was probably about 12", but it still put up a good fight and a bend in the rod. Fishing never really got super productive, as the Cutthroat seemed to more finicky than normal, showing selectivity and spooking rather easy.

A beautiful native sea-run Cutthroat

We did get a few more Cutthroat as we worked our way up the estuary with the tide. However, as the tide slacked off the fishing slowed to a halt and as we both had places to be in the evening so we decided to call an end to a beautiful day on the water.

A great day on the water