Second chance steelhead

After my first fishless steelhead trip of the season, I planned on a second outing in early March with my buddy Chris, but as so often happens a winter storm descended on the coast just a few days before the trip and we were forced to cancel. It wasn't until a couple of weeks later that I was finally able to break away for another trip, this time with my neighbor Dyllon. As the trip approached, flows bumped then started to drop and when the day approached it looked like the stars had aligned, as the flows were right in the sweet spot and better yet, it was supposed to be a rare warm late winter bluebird day.

After an early morning departure and a long drive in the dark, we arrived at the river and started our morning on one of my favorite stretches of one of my favorite rivers. The first run we hit had some good swing water, so while Dyllon nymphed the top end of the run, I swung a fly through the lower end. A couple casts in I got a decent tug but didn’t connect, however a few casts later I got another grab and this time hooked up with the fish. After a couple of headshakes, it was readily apparent that this wasn't a steelhead as the fish was completely outclassed by my 6/7 WT switch rod and after a quick fight I brought a beautiful 14" native Coastal Cutthroat to hand. It looked like the day was already off to a great start!

Morning on the river

After that first run, we headed upstream to the main stretch of river were were planning to spend the day on. This section of the river has always been special to me, as it was here that I encountered my largest steelhead to date and with a series of several good holes in close proximity it has always been a solid producer. It was my turn to take the first shot at the water with my nymph rod, so I got in position and started working the run. While there is a lot of water to pick apart in this run I started in a stretch of whitewater at the top, with a nice seam down the middle that slows to a rocky glide at the back. After a few casts I got a particularly good drift, and just as my indicator neared the front edge of one of the boulders it shot under and when I set the hook I was rewarded with a big head shake. This time I definitely had a steelhead on and my 8 WT was hard pressed to control the fish as it peeled line off the reel and put on a fine aerial display. Luckily I was able to keep the fish in the run after a few tense minutes we were able to bring the gorgeous buck to hand.

My first steelhead of the season

After releasing my first fish Dyllon wanted to cover the rest of the hole and the next hole upstream, so I decided to go downstream to the next piece of holding water. This next hole was once my favorite piece on the entire river, but over the years it has filled in and the flow has shifted for the worse and at this point it had been about five years since I last hooked a fish here. Needless to say I had low expectations. While the run didn’t look much better this year, after working the water for a bit I spotted some fishy looking water just in front of a boulder where some fast and slow water met. It was some tricky wading and a long cast with to get the right drift, but after a few tries I finally landed a cast right in the sweet spot. Sure enough as my line went past the boulder my indicator went under and I hooked into another steelhead. I immediately realized that I had a couple problems, first was that this was a much trickier location to land a fish, as it was deep right off the bank with a fast water below. Second was that Dyllon was out of ear shot so I was on my own. I tried my hardest to keep the fish in the hole, but it didn’t take long for it to head for the fast water to try to make a break for it. My only saving grace was that this steelhead was much smaller than my first one and I was able to turn it before to got too far downstream and after a bit of tug of war I was able to bring it to hand.

Fish #2 a smaller buck steelhead

At this point the day was already shaping up far better than I could have imagined as we had only been fishing about an hour and I already had two steelhead and a Cutthroat to hand. To make things even better, I was pretty sure that I had seen another steelhead move when I hooked my last one, and with it clearly being Dyllon’s turn I ran and grabbed him.

I found Dyllon still working the hole upstream to no avail and he was all too happy to come down to see if there was another fish there. Just like me it took a few casts to get the right drift, but as soon as he did, I watched a shadow moved out from behind the rock just as his indicator shot under. At first Dyllon seemed to be in control and managed to keep the fish in the hole, but it soon became apparent that this was a much larger fish and when it decided to head downstream there was little he could do to stop it. To add some additional stress to the fight, shortly after Dyllon hooked the fish another angler showed up and started fishing where Dyllon had just been and it was clear to if we wanted the first shot at the next hole we had been heading towards he would have to land this fish quickly. Unfortunately this fish had other ideas and Dyllon’s 7 WT was completely out gunned, next thing we knew we were chasing the fish downstream, passing his rod around trees and doing our best to keep the fish on. After traveling a few hundred yards downstream and fighting the fish for at least 15 minutes, I got my hand on its tail but it kicked off again. I figured one more run and we would have it, but just like that Dyllon’s hook came loose and the fish had won.

Upon heading back upstream, the other angler was fishing where Dyllon had hooked his fish and I caught my last one, but our hopes of fishing the next hole upstream were dashed we we noticed that a second angler had arrived and was already parked there. I don’t think I have ever encountered another angler on this piece of water so to have two show up before we could cover it was disappointing, but after talking, Dyllon and I decided to push upstream about a 1/2 mile to another good stretch of water. 

After a short bushwhack upstream, we came to our first piece of decent holding water where a tributary enters the main flow, but after thoroughly covering the water there didn’t appear to be any interested fish around so we pushed further up to a spot that has never failed to produce a steelhead for me yet. Dyllon took point on this spot and sure enough after a few casts he hooked into a fish, but unfortunately it was a brief encounter as the fish managed to toss the hook after a few head shakes and a short run.

This was about as far up as I had gone on this stretch, but as Dyllon wanted to cover the water a bit more I decided to head upstream to see if we could get to a couple runs that I knew where just around the corner. The run we were at and the next one upstream was separated by a stretch of fast water that had a few nondescript pockets here and there and after verifying we could indeed continue upstream, I decided to try a couple of the pockets on my way down to Dyllon.

The first spot seemed to be vacant, but on my third cast in the second pocket, my indicator shot under and I had another steelhead on my line. Although it was not too big, this was a hot fish and I had my hands full, especially with a log in the middle of the pocket and a bunch of woody debris at the end. Sure enough on of the first things the fish did was to head straight for the log and dive under it. Of course my line got hung up when it did, but luck was on my side and somehow after a couple of minutes I coaxed the fish back out from under the log and shortly after landed a beautiful chrome bright hen.

My pocket water steelhead - a dime bright hen

After releasing the hen to continue her journey to the spawning grounds, I continued downstream to let Dyllon know we could reach the next few runs. However, they next couple hours upstream proved completely fruitless, so it was time to head back downstream to where we started.

On our way back downstream we figured it would be worth trying the water where the other anglers were fishing on our way up. With Dyllon’s turn to catch a steelhead far over due, he took the first run at it. The upper part of the run where steelhead often hold was vacant, but when Dyllon started to work the often overlooked back of the run, sure enough his indicator went down and he had a solid fish on the end of his line. 

Dyllon fight a steelhead

This time Dyllon got a good hook set and was able to keep the fish in the run, so after a few minutes of back and forth fighting we finally brought the beautiful buck to hand.

Dyllon's beautiful double redbanded steelhead

With Dyllon finally on the board, we quickly covered the couple downstream holes from earlier in the day just to make sure that we hadn’t missed any other fish, then we headed down river to try out a new stretch of water.

A quite stretch of the river

Getting to this next stretch requires fording the river, which can only  be done at lower flows. We were right at the edge of the doable levels so I figured that if we could cross it was highly unlikely that we would run into anyone else. Sure enough we made it across and had the one of the better pieces of water on the river all to ourselves. At this point it was midday and the temperature was rising necessitating losing some layers and going with a tee shirt and that combined with the mayflies hatching made it hard to believe we were still fishing for winter steelhead. 

Despite some good looking water, the first few bends didn’t seem to hold any fish, but when I came to a run with a log on the nearshore I briefly hooked a steelhead. A couple of casts later and fifty feet downstream my indicator once again went under and this time I got a better hook set and had a nice steelhead on. The steelhead gave me a few good runs and jumps, but after a few minutes I brought yet another buck to hand.

Yet another steelhead buck for me

After releasing the buck, we moved downstream into some great looking swinging water where I was able to break out my switch rod again and ply the depths with an intruder. However, after covering the water my fly failed to entice any steelhead, but when Dyllon came though with his bead and hit the best piece of holding water in the run sure enough there was a steelhead there and Dyllon managed to hook it. This was a hot fish and quickly was in the backing and unfortunately for Dyllon after a couple of minutes his line went slack and it was gone.

After Dyllon's fish came loose, we moved on downstream and came to the to the top a canyon full of pocket water. Right at the top end I got another take down but this time I had a light weight on that turned out to be another beautiful native Coastal Cutthroat.

A chunky Coastal Cutthroat

We had hoped to find some good holding water in the canyon, but as is often the case most of the best water was just out of reach at the far side of the river and about a 1/2 mile into the canyon we came to a small set off falls and couldn’t go any further downstream. Just upstream of the falls there was a nice piece of holding water, that was once again on the far bank, but looked like a perfect place for a fish to rest after ascending the rapids. Dyllon commented that there was no way to reach it, but I took that as a challenge. I waded out as far as I could then made the longest cast I could without snagging up on my back cast and sure enough it was just enough to reach the nearest seam. My indicator had only drifted a couple of feet when it shot under on a steelhead came hurtling out of the water. Unfortunately with all of the line out and the quick take, I didn’t get a good hook set and that jump was enough to send my hook flying back at me. We spent a few more minutes trying to see if there was anyone else home before finally deciding it was time to head out. Before closing out the day and the season though there was just enough time to swing one more run and while I didn’t touch any fish in the run it made for a great way to end the day.

A great end to the day

I think more than any other day I can remember this outing was one of the best for winter steelhead I have had. The confluence of the fishing and the weather was unparalleled and it is a day that will certainly be ingrained in my memory for years to come.

Slow start steelheading

Being a steelhead angler in the Pacific Northwest is full of highs and lows, and the last few years have been particularly challenging. A confluence of poor ocean conditions, habitat loss, predation and outdated fisheries regimes, have resulted in some of the lowest returns of steelhead on record. These low returns have resulted in more and more closures over the years and exacerbating the problem steelhead fishing has never been more popular, meaning that more anglers are packed into fewer places. As a result fisheries in places like the Skagit River and Olympic Peninsula have reported significant increases in angler pressure in recent years. With all of these pressures facing steelhead and being an angler that appreciates solitude, I have found myself fishing the big name rivers less and less and instead have increasingly focused my attention on the lesser known, more out of the way spots.

This season started out with a rocky start and after having to cancel my first two outings due to high flows, my neighbor Dyllon and I had planned on heading out to the coast to finally kick off the season. Unfortunately, the night before we were set to go, Dyllon got sick and it was back to the drawing board. Luckily my fellow Trout Unlimited coworkers Greg and Alexei invited me to join for a morning on the water. My main objective this trip was to dust off my two handed rod and shake out some casting cobwebs, and get some input from Greg who is an accomplished Spey caster on a better Skagit line for my 7/8WT which has never quite felt right. With swinging flies being the primary interest Greg had a good run in mind, but despite arriving at the river just as the sun was starting brighten the gray winter sky, there were already two anglers gearing up and we had to go with our plan B run instead.

Ready to roll

After a gearing up and a quick bit of bushwhacking, we found ourselves on the water at a beautiful run. However, I have always found that this spot fishes best at higher flows, and despite a small bump in the water overnight, the river was still running low and clear making the odds of encountering a steelhead here a bit more of a long shot than usual. However with the low flows, I was able to ford the river to try the next run up, while Alexei and Greg took the main holding water. The run looked great, with a perfect seam down the far side, but after an hour of working the water we hadn't had the slightest bump and when another angler rived and started fishing right between us we decided it was time to relocate.

An eagles net overlooking a nice piece of water

Just like the first spot, our next one had some great looking runs. Once again, Greg and Alexei worked the downstream water, while I scouted out three good runs upstream with both my nymph and swing rods. However, a couple hours of effort failed to produce any signs of fish so we decided to move on once again and see if the run we had originally planned start at was free yet. Sure enough it was and as it was an excellent looking swinging run we all grabbed our two handers and got to it. This time it didn't take long for someone to connect with a fish, with Greg hooking into something at the top of the run. However, the fight was all wrong and a short tug of war, Greg reeled a sucker in.

After the three of us had covered the entire run without touching anymore fish, I took the opportunity to get Greg's input on what was going one with my Winston Spey Rod. Being a bit older, this rod wasn't designed with the modern Skagit compact lines in mind and after a few casts Greg had some thoughts on a couple of  intermediate length heads that would be worth try. Now it will just be a matter or ordering them, then getting the rod back out on the water to see which one casts best.

A beautiful end to a fishless day

While the fishing may have been slow, that is part of steelhead fishing and even if we didn't touch and steelhead, it was great to dust off the gear and share some great water together, and I am also excited to invest in a couple new Skagit heads so that I can finally get my Spey dialed in, something that I have been meaning to do for years...

2023 Winter Steelhead Wanderings: Part 3 - End of the Season

Despite the overall low returns, my first three outings of 2023 had not disappointed. Even though conditions had not been ideal, we had found fish on each trip and when my friend (and coworker) Jonathan and I had to attend a conference on the Oregon coast, we found ourselves within striking distance of some great steelhead water. 

Blue skies on the Oregon coast

While torrential rain and snow the day before we left meant that we couldn't fish on the way down, we were able to carve out a little time after the conference to visit a couple of coastal streams. The first stream that we decided to fish was new to both of us, being one of the numerous rivers cascading down from the Coast Range. Although, the rains earlier in the week meant flows were still up, it was a rare blue bird day on the coast and we were both eager to check out some new water. The first challenge though was getting to the stream as we had pass over a coast range ridge fish that was still blanketed in snow from a storm a couple weeks earlier, but luckily it had melted out just enough to get over the ridge and we were able to descend into the valley below.

A snowy drive in

As we came upon the stream, it was just one of those spots that I just could help but fall in love with. The beautiful steelhead green water snake through a heavily forested valley that still held some of its monolithic virgin Sitka Spruce and Douglas Fir. After briefly scouting out the water, which was clear but indeed still looked pretty pushy, we rigged up and made our way upstream in search of some good holding water. After a short hike through a thicket of Salmonberry bushes, we spotted a couple decent runs and made for the river. Both runs looked great, but I ended up taking the first run, while Jonathan went upstream to the next one.

The run wasn’t too long and a log across the top end made the fishable section even shorter so I spent about a half hour covering the water before I convinced myself that nobody was home a headed upstream to see if Jonathan was having any luck. However, on my way upstream in noticed a bit of slow water behind an island above the head of the run I had been fishing. While it was pretty nondescript, it looked like a great resting spot for any fish moving upstream so I decided to check it out.

Steelhead holding water behind the island

The pocket wasn't very big, was full of seams and after putting in a dozen or so casts a my indicator shot under and I set the hook on what felt like a nice fish. The fish certainly had some weight behind it, giving me a couple of good head shakes but just as it started to take off downstream the hook came loose and it was gone. After losing the fish, I worked over the pocket with a fine tooth comb, but there were no other willing takers so I had to acknowledge my lose and move on.

Jonathan working a great piece of fishless holding water

I caught up with Jonathan at the next run and as he had no luck we continued upstream, covering nearly a mile before we were hemmed in by the canyon and high flows and we were forced to turn back around.

Given that we still had a decent amount of daylight, we decided to fish the river downstream of the car as well. This section of river was full of nice pockets and runs, but just no fish. It wasn’t until we came to a pool with a small tributary coming in well downstream that the river showed any signs of life. I managed to get a perfect drift along a seam under some branches and right in front of some branches when my indicator shot under. Right when I set it was clear that this was no steelhead and my 8WT made quick work of the fight with a small but spunky Coastal Cutthroat.

A small but beautiful native Coastal Cutthroat Trout

After the Cutthroat, I continued to work downstream and hooked one other similar sized Cutthroat that popped off near shore, but there didn’t appear to be any steelhead around. By this point the light was starting to fade and it looked to be a good distance to the next piece of good water so it was time to call it a day.

Half light on the river

The sun was fading fast when we finally made it back our way back to the car and while there were no steelhead landed this time, the beautiful surroundings and surprise native Coastal Cutthroat still made the outing an absolute delight!

The next day saw us on another river, once again we were treated to beautiful weather and the extra day had given the river time to drop into perfect shape and had a tone of steelhead green that was just to die for. The first spot that we fished was a perfect swinging run, with lots of structure and a little chop on the surface to help and steelhead feel safe. I decided to toss a blue string leech and quickly feel into the rhythm of two head casting and swinging the fly. About halfway down the run that rhythm was abruptly disrupted when I got a solid grab. I put in several more casts in the same spot, but the fish didn’t want to come back and the rest of the run showed non sign of life.

Swinging flies on the river

After covering the first run, Jonathan pointed out that there was a good spot at the tailout, but he expected that it would be tricky to get to at these flows. I figured it would be worth giving it a shot anyways and after a trick bit of wading I found myself on the edge of a deep trench. The single hander was the right rod for this spot and after just a couple casts my indicator plunged under the surface. This fish had some weight behind it and initially held in the trench going deep and trying to break me off on the over hanging ledge. However, after this strategy didn’t work, the fish decided to get up and go, charging upstream and into my backing. The fish was well into my backing before I was finally able to turn it and and slowly started to gain some ground again. The battle was far from over but had now turned in my favor and after a few minutes it was just a matter of navigating the rock garden on my way back to shore to find a spot where I could land the fish. When I got the fish close enough, I was surprised to see it was a big rebrighting kelt, that probably would have been nearly 20 lbs prior to spawning and was still in the mid to upper teens.

The big kelt

After watching the big kelt swim back into the depths, I headed back upstream and caught up with Jonathan to go swing another run. This was another picturesque piece of water, with a riffle that tailed into a deep salmon tank. After fishing through most of the run, I got a solid grab, but this time hooked up. Upon hooking the fish, it quickly became clear that it was much smaller than the previous fish and I was guessing that it was either a jack steelhead or a sea-run Cutthroat. When I landed it, my guess turned out to be right on both fronts as it was a cutbow hybrid.

A steelhead-cutthroat hybrid caught on a swung fly

 While Cutthroat/steelhead hybrids do occur naturally it is hard to know whether this was such a result or influenced by hatchery steelhead releases in basin which often result in the natural mechanisms that isolate the two species breaking down. After turning the Cutbow loose, it was back to fishing as we covered all the water on our way back to the first swinging run. We didn’t touch any fish until we got back to the run and when Jonathan threw a cast where I’d had my grab he was immediately rewarded with a hook up. This fish didn’t put up nearly the fight that my earlier on had and when tailed the fish, the reason became clear as it was a hatchery kelt that was looking worse for wear after spawning.

After Jonathan got his spawned out hatchery fish, we moved on to another stretch of river further upstream, but after covering several holes and not touching a fish it was time to move on once again. We moved a few miles down river this time and after a short walk found ourselves at a great looking run. Always being sure to observe the river for a moment before wading in this time, as we spotted a redd with active fish on it in the shallows near the top of the run. As the last thing w wanted to do was disrupt them, we stuck to the bushes until and headed downstream until we were well clear of them.

Luckily there was plenty of good holding water nearby and the next two runs downstream both looked good. Jonathan took the lower one, while I took the upper and after working through almost the entire run I was rewarded with a hookup in the tailout. I fought the fish for about a minute and got a good look at the 4-5 lb fish before it spit the hook. Having found one fish in the area, I decided to give a deep slot on far bank a few more casts and sure enough, my indicator went down and I hooked into another steelhead. This one was a bit bigger than the last one and ended up taking me almost all of the down to where Jonathan was before I was finally able to bring it to hand. Jonathan was gracious enough to offer to snap a picture for me, but hit a slick spot on the way up and ended partially filling his waders in the process.

A flawless native hen

With Jonathan wet and the day wearing on after I released the hen, it was time to call it a day. However, on the way we back upstream stopped to watch the fish on the redd for a bit. Instead of the standard pair of fish, we spotted a male and female on the redd, as well as at least four additional satellite males holding around edges of the redd. While I love fishing for steelhead, seeing these fish successfully completing their journey and spawning the next generation was one of the more memorable experiences on the river this winter and was the perfect way to bookend the season.

A steelhead redd with two fish paired off (dark spots in the middle) and at least 4 other satellite males

2023 Winter Steelhead Wanderings: Part 2 - Early March

As the winter steelhead season wore on this year, reports up and down the coast were quite variable. Overall, returns in Oregon especially on the south and central coast appeared to be coming in at startlingly low levels, while populations from the northern Oregon coast up to the Olympic Peninsula appeared to be a mixed bag. For coastal Washington, the 2023 run seemed to be a bit better than the previous years meaning no additional early closures, but numbers were still far below what they should be. Even with the challenging conditions on lower than normal runs a couple well timed trips meant that the season was off to great start for me at least. As such, I was hoping that March would continue pace and started looking for days when I could get on the water.

As it would happen, Chris was able to join me for another trip in early March and while we had planned on revisiting the streams we had fished together in February, the weather had different plans. Just like my first two trips a rain storm was coming in overnight and the rivers were projected to go from low and clear to high and off color by the end of the day. Luckily our backup plan river still was in good shape when it was time to leave and despite a very wet drive the rain started to die down when we arrived at first light. 

We started out at a spot that has been a solid producer at low flows on the river. This spot is where steelhead meet their first real passage challenge after entering freshwater and as such they tend to stack up there waiting for higher flows. We agreed that Chris would take his favorite water, while went to the next run downstream. I got in position and started working the water and had only made a couple casts, when I looked upstream to see Chris already hooked into and nice fish. As such I reeled in and as the fight naturally brought him and the fish down to me, I was there waiting when it was time to tail the native wild buck. After landing the fish, Chris happily reported that it had been on his first cast and promptly headed back upstream to see if he could find another fish. I made a couple more casts, when I looked upstream to see Chris hooked into yet another fish, but this time it popped off on this trip downstream. I was about a third of the way down the run, when the scenario played out yet again. This time Chris had a good hookset and once again fought his steelhead down to me and we landed another nice wild buck, which had a notable scar between its pelvic and anal fins.

After Chris had hooked three steelhead in less than a half hour, he insisted that I come up and give the spot a try as he thought it was likely that it would still hold a few more fish. I wasn't going to pass this up, so I went back upstream with him and started working the water. After about a half dozen casts, I got a good drift along where a seam met an eddy and was rewarded with a savage take. This fish had some serious power and thrashed on the surface for a moment before immediately heading upstream toward a rapid. Right as things were starting to heat up though, my line went slack and the fish was gone. While it was certainly a let down to lose the fish, instead of dwelling on it, I through another cast in the same spot and was immediately rewarded with another grab. I was ready for this one and got a good hookset and like Chris' previous fish the fight took us downstream to the run I had been fishing and after a couple minutes I brought my first steelhead of the day to hand.

An early morning hook up

Success! A beautiful bright wild buck

With how the productive the spot had been Chris and I went back upstream and covered the water for another 20 minutes before it became apparent that nobody else was willing to grab  so we decided move down to where I had started the morning off. I opted to continue from where I had left off before moving upstream, while Chris started at the top of the run. Once again, luck was on Chris’ side and he hooked up with yet another steelhead. Unlike the earlier fish, this one didn’t put up much of a fight after tailing it we saw why, it was the fish with the scar that Chris had caught just 45 minutes earlier.

Chris' native buck that couldn't help but come back for more

With Chris’ steelhead released again, we continued working our way downstream but the next couple runs were completely dead. However, in the third run we ran into a pod of small but feisty Coastal Cutthroat smolts that were eager to eat egg imitations and we were hooking into one on almost every cast.

A native Coastal Cutthroat smolt

The Cutthroat bite lasted about 30 minutes before it settled down and as there was a long distance to the next good run and we were confident that we had fully covered the water at our first spot, it was time to move on. Given the similarities in conditions to my trip with Dyllon earlier in the season, we decided to try the same stretch to see if we couldn't recapture the same magic.

A snowy walk into the river

Despite not being off the river for more than an hour as we moved between spots, the change in clarity from the earlier rain was striking. However, while the river was no longer low and clear, it was certainly still fishable so Chris and I each picked a run and got to it. It turned out that Chris had once again chosen well and after only a few minutes he was hooked into a nice fish. I reeled up and joined up with Chris just in time to watch the end of the fight and then tail the beautiful 8 lb. native hen. While we had planned on snapping a quick photo of this fish, it clearly had other plans and shot back into the run before we got a chance.

With this stretch of river clearly holding fish, I headed back downstream to finish covering my run, while Chris decided to try a small piece of holding water just upstream. Just as I had finished covering my apparently vacant run and started working my way up to Chris, I heard him shout that he had yet another steelhead on. However, after a short fight, this fish was able to get the upper hand and tossed the hook.

Chris hooked up with a steelhead

After that hook up things slowed down as we worked upstream through a stretch of small pockets that often hold traveling fish, but didn't seem to be producing today. Once we got to a couple more solid runs, Chris decided to fish them, while I headed upstream to try the spot that I had gotten my big buck out of on the last trip. It only took one cast this time before I was hooked into a nice steelhead. This one didn't take me for quite the same ride that the buck had, and I was able to keep the fish in the run I had hooked in and after a short fight Chris tailed the beautiful native hen for me.

My second steelhead of the day, a bright hen

After I let the hen going, Chris tried a few casts in the run but by there didn't seem to be anyone else home and as we had some dark clouds brewing we decided to start working our way back downstream. On the way back down, Chris made a few casts in spot we had decided to save for our return journey and sure enough after a cast on the inside seam, he hooked into another steelhead! This spot was less than ideal for landing a fish though as it rapidly dropped off and was full of woody debris and while we did get a good look the the colored up perhaps 8lb buck it threw the hook after a few minutes.

Dark clouds rolling in over the river

After Chris' fish came unbuttoned, the looming dark clouds let loose and for the next 20 minutes we found ourselves dealing with a combination of snow, rain and hail as we worked our way downstream and hiked back out to the car. By the time that we reached the car, the sun was out again, and the river was really starting to look colored up but we had saved on last spot for the end of the day and figured we might as well give it a shot. If focused on the near shore while Chris did his best to hit a seam on the far side of the river. After just a few casts, I got a decent grab, but with the way it was pulling on my 8WT I could tell it wasn't a steelhead and after a short fight, I brought a pretty little heavily spotted Coastal Cutthroat to hand.

A surprise Coastal Cutthroat

Just after I let me Cutthroat go, Chris' hot streak hit again and he was hooked into a nice fish that popped off after a few headshakes as his hooked had unfortunately gotten wrapped up while casting. However, one the very next cast he hooked up again and this time with his gear in order got a solid hookset. The big buck immediately came shooting out of the water, and continued to put up and acrobatic show on for the next few minutes. There were a couple moments where the fish almost got into some woody debris, but Chris was able to keep it out and finally brought a nice 12lb or buck in its spawning regalia to hand.

Chris' colored up buck

After that last fish, we made a couple more casts and I had one more grab, but with the river coming up and a very successful day already we decided to call it a day. While conditions may not have been ideal, this outing was an absolute treat, with great company and excellent fishing. All told we ended up hooking into 10 steelhead between us plus one caught twice (3 for me and 7 for Chris!) as well as a bunch of native Coastal Cutthroat and were still home well before dinner time!

2023 Winter Steelhead Wanderings: Part 1 - Early Season

While winter time is when most native trout anglers hunker down, restock fly boxes and dream of summer, in Washington it marks the return of our state fish, the steelhead. While I had hoped to get out earlier in the season, a mix of bad weather, illness and just being busy meant that me first chance to get out wasn't until early February.  Like many steelhead trips the weather was going to make things challenging, but neighbor Dyllon also able to join me so we decided to go with it, what ever the weather through our way.

Upon checking flows first thing in the morning, we were surprised to see that our first choice for the day was still in shape and with that we loaded up the car and were on the road in short order. While flows were holding, the torrential rain on much of the drive out to the river indicated we were going to be dealing with a rising river. While we had hoped that the conditions would thin out the crowds a bit, when we got to the river, there were already two rigs at the first spot we wanted to fish despite the fact the sun still wasn’t fully up yet so we had to divert to another spot. This time we were in luck and had the spot to ourselves.

The river

After a short walk we made it to the river found that it was still in shape, but starting to show some color so we got straight to prospecting for steelhead. It was on of those days where it didn’t take long for the river to show some signs of life and Dyllon hooked into a powerful fish within the first half hour. One thing that I have noticed with big steelhead, is that their instinct when hooked is often to head upstream. Dyllon’s fish did just that and quickly moved over some rapids into the next run and headed straight for a log jam. While Dyllon and I both thought he was done for, somehow he was able to thread the needle and kept the fish from snagging up on the logjam and got it to come back down into our run. From there it was just a tug of war until I was able to net his fish, which was a beautiful bright wild hen.

Dyllon starting the day off with a beautiful native hen

As it turned out, Dyllon was on a roll, and in the next run upstream he hooked another fish. This time it was a much quicker fight and after a couple minutes he brought a wild jack (small male) steelhead to the net.

Dyllon's second fish a wild steelhead jack

Following Dyllon’s back to back fish, there was a long gap in the action as we covered nearly a mile of great looking but fruitless water. However, the last run before we ran out of bank access on our side of the river was an absolute fish trap (piece of water fish will only move through when flows are up) and although there was some tricky water on the inside to contend with, I was able to wade out and get into casting position. It took a few casts, but as my rig passed through the middle of the run I got a savage grab and hooked into a hefty fish. Initially the fish didn’t want to move out of the hole, but after a couple minutes of back and forth, it decided that it had had enough and rocketed downstream. By the time I navigated the tricky fast water and slick rocks back to shore the fish was already in the next run and well into my backing. Back on shore, I was able to give chase and quickly regained my backing and but I found myself two runs downstream by the time the fish was ready to be netted. It took a couple scoops, but we were finally able to net the fish and I was able to admire the beautiful buck.

My first fish of 2023 a beautiful native steelhead buck

Having caught my first steelhead of the year, we worked the area a little longer, but didn’t find anymore willing fish so we started heading back downstream. At this point the river was noticeably starting to rise, so we decided to try the two runs Dyllon caught his fish in earlier in the morning again to see if any fresh fish had moved in.  Dyllon took the spot that held the jack, while I took the other run. Luck was on my side again, and after make a cast that stretched my ability to its limit I was immediately rewarded with a solid take. Shortly after hooking into it, a beautiful steelhead shot into the air. Luckily I had a good hook set and while the steelhead made a few solid runs, it stayed in the hole and I was able to bring it to hand after a few minutes.

Steelhead number two for me - a native hen

After I got my second fish for the day, worked a little further downstream before deciding to relocate to another run further upstream. The water upstream proved to be more typical of steelheading and while I did get one more solid grab, after covering around a mile of river we didn’t hook up with anymore steelhead . On top of that the morning rain was starting to catch up with us and the river was rapidly rising and losing its clarity, so we decided to recognize our success and move onto another stream.

Our next spot was a small tannic coastal stream that has a robust Coastal Cutthroat population that should hold its flows and color despite the rain. The stream was absolutely gorgeous and meandered through lined alder meadows and stands of Sitka Spruce and Western Red Cedar. However, the air still had the strong scent of decaying salmon, signs of a strong run earlier in the season and hopefully there would still be some Cutthroat interested in eat egg imitations.

The Coastal Cutthroat stream

While it was running a bit high, the stream still had good clarity and we started working our way downstream to prospect for Coastal Cutthroat and some possible steelhead. The first few holes didn't produce anything, but at a log jam about an 1/8 mile downstream I finally hooked up with something and after a short fight I landed an beautiful Coastal Cutthroat (with some possible hybrid characteristics).

A beautiful Coastal Cutthroat

We fished downstream a couple more bends and Dyllon caught a twin of the Cutthroat that I had caught and we also got a few smaller Cutthroat parr as well. Despite the decent clarity about a 1/2 mile downstream we hit a section that looked to be challenging at best to cross and with that and rain starting to fall in earnest again, we decided it was time to hike back out and hit the road after an exceptional day on the water.

After my first success outing, I got in touch with my good friend Chris and I were able to find a day that worked for both of us in mid-February and started planning our trip. Like the last trip the weather was going to prove challenging with a big rain coming in the night before after a long dry stretch. Knowing conditions were less than ideal, we picked a couple streams that we knew would keep in shape despite the rain and were on the road at 5:00AM and hiking into the river in the pre-dawn half light.

Our hike in put us at the first hole just as full dawn hit and we got to fishing. After a fruitless first half hour, Chris decided to switch rigs and two casts later he was hooked into a solid fish. The fish was a nice buck of perhaps 10-12lbs that was starting to show some color and wasn’t afraid to put in a few jumps. When the fish seemed to be tiring, Chris brought it in to be tailed, and just as I grabbed it the hook popped out and the steelhead shot off back into the depths.

Chris working a likely looking seem

That single steelhead ended up being the only fish we would touch as we covered the next mile of river downstream. Despite plenty of beautiful water it just didn’t seem like many fish had pushed in yet so we decided to move on to the next stream. Chris had yet to fish our next stream so I decided to start us out at a spot that has been a consistent producer.  This spot is another of those fish traps, with the river coming over a rapid and dropping off along a cliff face to provide fish with a safe spot to hold in. The run also has a nice tailout well suited to swinging flies and as I had been wanting to dust off my Spey rod, Chris took the top of the run, while took the tailout. I had just finished covering the best part of the tailout, when Chris hooked into a nice fish on the inside seam. With that, I reeled in and ran upstream to help him land it. This time Chris had a good hook set and after a few more runs we are able to tail the beautiful chrome bright hen.

Chris' dime bright native hen

Even the tail was shinny

After taking a few more casts to make certain there wasn’t another willing fish in the hole, we hiked back to the car and head upstream to another spot. This spot didn't show any signs of life and the thought of getting home early and out of the cold, windy and wet weather was enough for us to call it on another good rainy day on the river.

A winter steelhead season in review: Part 2

With the poor returns of steelhead along the Washington coast, the season ended up being shorter than expected with an emergency closures kicking in on many streams at the beginning of March. While it was disappointing to see many of my favorite watersheds close early, it provided extra protection to the fish and also gave me the incentive I needed to check out some new waters that were open still.

My first trip out after the closure was short outing where I really didn't expect to hook anything but wanted to get my daughter Valerie out on the river for a brief introduction to winter steelheading. As there had recently been some good rain, I knew that the river was going to be high but dropping.

A promising little stream. 

As the goal of this trip was to get Valerie out on the river, we spent just as much time looking for exploring as we did casting. As usual, a handful of casts was not enough to attract any steelhead, but it was just enough for a fun morning on the river.

A fun day on the river

After my short trip to the river with my daughter, I set out to find some time to get out and explore the river some more as soon as possible. As it worked I out, I was able to pull away again the next week with my buddy Jonathan for a full day of solid fishing. Conditions we set for a repeat of the last trip, with a recent rain resulting in the river being quite high and dropping, with good clarity and weather.

We decided to start our day off high up in the watershed and then work our way downstream hitting any likely spots as we went. With the river being high still, find slower holding water proved chanllenging and the first half of the day was completely unproductive. However, around lunch time we came to a spot above the river where we could see a pod of at least half a dozen fish. Jonathan and I took turns fishing to them, but not matter our offering the fish showed no sign of interest. As we were never able to get an overly clear view of the fish, it is entirely possible that they were whitefish, which could explain the lack of interest.

A beautiful day to be on the water

With a slow day so far, Jonathan and I decided to try one or two more spot before relocating to another stream. One of these spots proved to be the most promising of the day and featured a deep pool at the top end and a solid run at the bottom. While the top end looked great for indicator fishing, the run looked like a great spot to swing a fly and was a great excuse to dust of my switch rod. Unfortunately, with the extra flow my switch rod just didn't have the backbone to quite get to the most likely pocket in the tailout. However, Jonathan was able to good land a cast in it and sure enough hooked into a nice fish. While it seemed as though he had gotten a good hook set, it must not have been good enough as after a few headshakes and a roll on the surface the fish was able to shake loose.

Prospecting for steelhead

After trying one last spot with no sign of steelhead, we decided to relocate to another nearby stream we both wanted to check out. At this point we only had a few hours of daylight left so we figured that this was going to be more of a scouting operation than anything. What immediately caught our attention with this stream, was the beauty. While high like the other river, it was a perfect steelhead green color and bordered by lush forests with a few old growth trees still remaining. Better yet there appeared to be a good amount of quality holding water as well even at the high flows. 

We tried several nice runs before the sun started to fade, indicating that the next run would be our last. I started out at the top of the run, while Jonathan took the bottom. It turned our the bottom of the run was the place to be. While I was working a nice seam at the head of the run, I noticed Jonathan appeared to be snagged on something until the "snag" started to move and I realized he had a fish on. I hurriedly reeled in and made my way down to Jonathan and after a few minutes of a rather mellow battle he brought the fish in and I was able to tail a beautiful bright hen for him.

Jonathan's bright native steelhead

After Jonathan got his fish, daylight was really not on our side and we decided it would be time to hit the road in about ten minutes if we wanted to avoid walking out in the dark. For the last ten minutes, I took the lower part of the run and had one very fishy take down, but after flogging the water for a few more minutes the weren't any other signs of fish and it was time to get on the road.

A beautiful end to a get day on the water

While the 2022 winter steelhead season was certainly a rough one with fish abundance and closures, I have a hard time complaining to much with my angling experience as it also got me out on some new water, that I may not have checked out otherwise and am excited to explore further next season.