Creekside Angling fishing report 9-29

[Fishing Report]

September 28th, 2011


Mad Dash for Steelhead Fishing Report

Onwards and Upwards is the name of the game here at Creekside. With Brett off on an adventure of self discovery and Mr. Johnny Steeltrout gone as well, I will be doing my best to fill in as your go-to guy for all things fly fishing, which includes writing the fishing report. Now I may not be as witty as Brett, or as good looking, but I can throw a pretty mean tailing loop and tie a double surgeons knot with the best of them. I think that qualifies as leadership experience in the realm of fly fishing. At least Pete seems to agree with me on this. Max the dog is still a little wary...

Its that time of year in Washington when the leaves begin to fall, you can feel the bite of winter in the air and with every freshet of rain the chance of getting a tug on the swing puts a twinkle in every madman steelheader's eye. I have good news for all the spey geeks, skagit freaks and bobber bums out there. The best two rivers in Washington for a good chance at a fall steelhead are open for hatchery steelhead as of 12am this morning!!! Now for those of us who aren't lucky enough to go guide on the Grande Ronde for two weeks with Dec Hogan (ahem Brett...), the Methow and Wenatchee rivers are about the closest any of us is going to get to superb steelhead perfection this fall. While the numbers of fish don't match those of the mega steelhead slug fest of 2009, counts over Bonneville right now are at a respectable 357,263. So come on in to Creeky, grab some fall caddis skaters and purple perils for swingin' and get over there while the getting is good!

HEY! YOU! Send in photos of fish you've captured and we will put them on our website in our Catch of the Week section. Email your photos to info@creeksideangling.com Bonus points for a Creekside hat. Here are a few more for your perusal.

#1 Dave McCoy of Emerald Water Anglers in Seattle shared this photo of his longtime client and friend Jim Witwer with a big beautiful summer steelhead swung up out of the Cowlitz river.
#2 Al Miller with a big fat pink! So THATS why they are called humpies!
#3 Our good friend and guide Chris Senyohl with client Charlie Kahle presenting a chunky Yakima River bow.

Oh yeah, and our blog is being updated much more faithfully now. I promise. Seems people actually read it, imagine that. For more entertainment and the occasional piece of helpful info. check it out here.



Yakima: The cold front that pushed through over the weekend has bumped the river up a tiny bit and thrown the fishing off temporarily. Flows are still pretty low, around 400cfs in Cle Elum and 800cfs in Ellensburg and dropping. As things stabilize this week we should see the Yak come back to being at its best in the fall. This time of year the weather conditions can play a key role, with big low pressure systems like the one we just had bringing fish and insect activity to a complete halt. On the flipside, consistency, whether it is warm, sunny days or cool cloudy days will keep fish and fishermen happy. The last couple of weeks have told this tale well. Dry fly action has been king with fish gobbling summer stones, October caddis, crane flies, BWO's and even a few grasshoppers. On warm afternoons a big #8-10 Orange Stimulator or equivalent October caddis imitation has been awesome. On the cool cloudy days BWO's are starting to show along with a few mahogany dun's. The fish are already gorging on BWO nymphs subsurface and our guides have been bobbering up a storm with a big Jimmy Legs stonefly or Morrish's Deep October Caddis Pupa and a small (#16-18) Morrish's Anato May Olive, Pheasant Tail or Lighnting Bug. As we go into fall and the temps get cooler look for big hatches of blue winged olive mayflies and mahogany duns. This time of year the dry fly fishing can be phenomenal with plenty of opportunities to drop tiny flies on the snouts of rising trout! When the big hatches start #16-20 Parachute Baetis dries and #14-18 Parachute Mahogany Duns will produce well. A well rounded dry fly selection will pay big dividends with finicky fish and low clear water, and having some emergers and cripples in the box can be a game changer when fish get picky. Also downsizing to 5x or 6x tippet on the dries or going to fluorocarbon with your indi-rigs can make all the difference in the low water.

Steelhead/Salmon: Lets face it, if we are not all tired of the pinks at this point they are certainly tired of us! Most of the rivers on the west side are clogged up with moldy humpies on the last leg of their long journey. There are still some reports of fresh fish coming into the Snohomish along with some silvers starting to show in good numbers, so if you missed out on pink-a-palooza or you just can't get enough there is still some opportunity out there to get your fix.

There have been a few reports locally of steelhead being caught, which nowadays is almost as exciting as a bigfoot sighting! If you can't get out to Eastern Washington or you just want to get a few casts in head to the South Fork of the Skykomish, the Snoqualmie below the falls or Kanasket Palmer on the Green. With salmon still occupying most of Washingtons fishing population you should get most of the river to yourself and enjoy fishing in solitude.

You already heard the good news about the Methow and Wenatchee, so get over there and enjoy yourselves! The weather is warm, the rivers are beautiful and the fish are in! These rivers fish great with traditional swinging and dry fly skating techniques, or if you don't know how to fish for steelhead you can use normal trout tactics with an indicator, heavy stoneflyy and egg dropper. Any way you prefer to fish will work well! Lighter 6-7wt spey and switch rods with Scandi or Windcutter lines work great for throwing the lighter tips and smaller flies that summer/fall fish prefer in eastern washington. If you are nymphing a 6-8wt 9-10ft single hand or switch rod and WF floating line will work great. Flies to try: October Caddis Skaters, Morrish's Pom Skater, Hartwick's Sword Fighter, Morejohn's Comeback Caddis, Hartwick's Duck Turd, Green Butt Skunk, Purple Peril and other classic small steelhead flies will all crush.

We are offering guided steelhead fishing on both the Wenatchee and Methow and would be more than happy to have you along with us for a day of floating and wading on one of these beautiful rivers. We also offer private and group spey casting instruction for those who wish to learn the art of the long rod or hone their casting technique. Contact us at the shop for rates and availability.

Lakes: There is something about sitting in the middle of a big reservoir in a tiny float tube with my legs dangling into the dark blue water that makes me a bit uneasy... but if that is what gets your adrenaline pumping then get ready for some great fishing. We have been getting some good reports from Rattlesnake from guys fishing buggers and leeches. Pretty much anything black or olive in a size 10 has been killer. Small parachute dry flies and emergers have also been taking fish in the evenings. Nunnally and Lenice have been picking up as well. As the weather cools off fish chironomids deep on sinking lines or under an indicator. Water boatman patterns are also a good bet.

Snoqualmie Forks: The Sno has not failed us yet as it continues to fish well into the fall. At this point the water is low and clear, so look for fish to be congregated in the deeper pools and runs. The fish can be a bit more finicky at this time of year so its time to use stealth and really focus on getting that good drift. Our go-to dry flies lately have been the Wingman Caddis, Elh Hair Caddis in Tan, and Orange Stimulators in small sizes. At times the fish have been hesitant to rise to a dry fly and we've had luck going subsurface with a swung october caddis pupa, muddler minnow, or small soft hackle. Dropping small copper johns, lightning bugs and pheasant tails with a bead head off of a dry fly will also produce.

NaCl Water: The big mystery in the Puget Sound for the past few weeks has been the coho. Everyone was wondering where they were and when they were going to show. Well, they are here... finally! Fish have been showing up in small groups on Whidbey and across at PNP. Coho are never a guarantee but if you make it to the beach at first light at the right tide and strip like Snooki after too many drinks at the Beachcomber, you might get lucky! Flies to try are chartreuse, olive or pink clousers in size 2 and 4, small decievers, sand lance imitations and poppers/sliders.

Sea-Run Cutthroat fishing in the sound is fantastic in the fall. Fish are big and fat from eating all summer and they are gorging in preparation for their journey upriver to spawn. I prefer to fish with a floating line and a slider, popper or gurgler this time of year, although there are times when fishing a small sand lance or herring imitation on an intermediate line can outfish everything else.

I'd like to say that I'm really excited to be part of the Creekside community and I am already finding a place for myself here amongst the shop's crazy cast of characters. If you get a chance come by the shop and say hi!

Feed Fish Flies.

Charlie Robinton
Creekside Angling Company
Seattle & Issaquah, WA
info@creeksideangling.com
www.creeksideangling.com


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Creekside Angling Company
1410A NW Gilman Blvd
Issaquah, WA 98027
425-392-3800
http://www.creeksideangling.com/
1308 4th Ave. At Rainier Square
Seattle, WA 98101
206-405-3474 (FISH)