Early season Olympic coast

Since the end of winter, fishing opportunities have been few and far between in large part due to circumstances out of my control (a totaled car and family health issues to name a few things).  My last outing was for winter steelhead and it is hard be believe that several months have already passed and here we are at the beginning of June with the trout opener already. This trip was the result of some odd circumstances as well, and when my wife accidentally reserved a campsite at Kalaloch in Olympic National Park on a weekend when her and my daughter were already planning on going to the ballet a family camping trip turned into a fishing trip for me instead. With it being really early for the Olympic coast, I landed on trying out a tributary stream to one of the larger rivers on the first day, then trying one of the rivers in Olympic National Park the next day. When I invited Dyllon to join me on the trip he was all in and our buddy TJ was said he could meet up for the second day.

With plans set, we hit the road and arrived at the creek on a beautiful sunny and warm spring afternoon. As we didn't know what to expect, we decided to go with a little bit of everything and with several rods in tow we headed for the stream. 

The stream

This stream ended up being a bit of a conundrum, as while it looked good with lots of nice holding water and plenty of signs of recent spawning activity there just didn’t seem to be any fish around. We covered able a mile upstream into a canyon tossing streamers, nymphs and dries and didn’t get a single take. I had expected that there would at least be some Cutthroat or parr around but other than some juvenile Coho in the shallows we didn't see any fish at all.

Time to turn around in the canyon

After going got hard in the canyon we decided to head back downstream and try our luck below where we had started. Once again we were met with over a mile of fishless water until we came to some extremely snaggy water in a slide area. As I climbed over a log, I finally spotted what looked to be about a 15” Bull Trout holding on the  inside seam. While it was tricky getting in position, I did so without spooking the fish and on the first cast it charged over and swiped at my streamer but didn’t take and then was gone. I don’t know if the fish saw me or what, but after 30 minutes of fruitless casting neither Dyllon or I could entice it to look again and with the weather shifting and the daylight starting to fade we decided to head for camp. Kalaloch was beautiful as always, but by the time we got there, the wind had kicked up and the skies were grey with a look of rain about them.

A wet morning at Kalaloch

Sure enough after our fruitless first day, we awoke to a rainy morning on the Olympic Coast, but had the good fortune to end up with a gap in the rain just long enough to break camp and make our way to the river. This day couldn't have been more different from our first day, but was a rather classic day on the west end of the Olympic Peninsula, with low clouds and a driving mist that seems capable of penetrating the toughest rain gear. So with that as our back drop, we met up with TJ at the river and made our way for the trailhead and a few miles of hiking through the rainforest to what we hoped would be a beautiful and productive stretch of river.

A rainy morning in the Olympic backcountry

On the way upstream we came across a great looking hole where a couple of braids came together and had to try a few casts. While we didn’t find any fish, I noticed something odd along the bank and when I went to investigate I found a drone (and not a cheap one) tangled up in some woody debris. The use of drones is illegal in Olympic National Park and it appeared that someone got an extremely expensive bit of karma for acting as the rules didn’t apply to them and I had gained something to pack out on the way back. After the fishless drone hole, we made our way directly up the trail to our next spot meandering along the river and through ancient forests.

A rainforest Banana Slug

A beautiful little tributary stream

By the time we reached our destination a little over three miles up the trail, we were all soaked due to a combination of rain and humidity, but were ready to start fishing. Unfortunately, there just didn’t seem to be any fish around and the several holes we covered showed no signs of life. One top of that the river was just to high to ford still and much of the good looking holding water was just out of reach. At this point we had to decide whether to hike even further in or just head back and the miserable weather and lack of fish convinced us that it was time to cut out loses.

After returning to the trailhead from our fruitless morning, the weather had at least improved and we decided to head downstream to a good run to see if we could still salvage our day. While Dyllon and TJ headed to a hole upstream, I started working the edge of a riffle and within a few minutes I got a solid take down but missed it, but at least there was finally a sign of life in the river.

The run

For the next ten minutes, my indicator kept going under or hesitating in ways I was sure were not due to hanging up on the bottom, but every time I set the hook there was nothing there. However, finally I set the hook and this time finally had a fish on the end of my line. This fish put up a good fight, but stayed down and deep and when I brought it in I finally saw why I had missed so many fish - it was a Mountain Whitefish. 

A native Mountain Whitefish - the savior of the trip

Until Dyllon and TJ came back downstream it was fast action for Whitefish and by the time that they arrived about 20 minutes later I had landed three more of these underrated native fish. After they got there TJ when back through where I had fished and picked up a couple more fish before the bite stopped and we moved further downstream. 

Once we reached the tailout, we spotted a steelhead redd that appeared to be rather recent and there looked to be a fish that wasn't a steelhead holding nearby. Dyllon made a cast with his streamer and as TJ and I watched, what turned out to be about an 18" Bull Trout darted over and engulfed it. Unfortunately, Dyllon didn't feel the grab and set too late and the fish moved back to where it was holding. After that the fish showed no interest in Dyllon's fly and when I tossed one over it came moved over to look at it, but refused to take it before it finally shot upstream into deeper water.

With the next run hard to reach and too far downstream, we opted to hit the road and try one final spot before heading out. This next spot ended up being yet another Whitefish extravaganza and both TJ and I landed several of them on our nymph set ups, while Dyllon's streamer went completely ignored.

The descending over the valley once again

While the Whitefish certainly saved the trip, the clouds were starting to move in again and with a long drive back and our prospects for the rest of the day a bit bleak, we decided that it was time to hit the road. While it may have been a bit of a slow start, the Mountain Whitefish were a welcome addition and it is certainly great having the stream season open once again and hopefully the rest of the summer will hold some better fishing.