finally made it!!!

[flyry]

Well gents I finally made it.  Moving into my house today just outside of silverdale from san diego.  The only unfortunate part is I will not be getting my house hold goods  until the 29th.  Luckily I packed all my camping gear including a few fly rods so I can still get out on the water.  Now as far as the kayaks go...  I planned on stopping at next adventure to pick up a couple pro anglers on the way up, but they are sold out...  Just my luck.  Anyone have any ideas for me on where to get a fly wet around here.  Species doesn't really matter, just want a little action.  Hope to see some of you on the water soon!!!  And merry Christmas everyone!

[rawkfish]

From a former SD resident(there are plenty around here ) to another, welcome to the PNW!

[ndogg]

Don't know much about fly fishing especially up in your neck of the woods, but welcome to the NW.

[Zee]

Check Hobiecats Northwest for your Hobie needs and Puget Sound Fly Co. for your fly fishing needs. There's lots of fun saltwater fly fishing in your hood (Sea Run Cutts and resident salmon) and that Pro Angler is going to make a solid stand up platform. Welcome to the PNW!

[Jammer]

Welcome to great PNW! I'm not sure where Silverdale is, but if you can Spey cast at all both the Clackamas and Sandy are great choices for Steelhead and Salmon. Also for flyfishing, check out some of the upper river tributaries especially Eagle Creek on the upper Clackamas for Winter Steelhead, especially the next couple months. Now that I think about it you're probably up in Washington. Either way, if you're ever in PDX, look us up. I'm sure some of our Washington members will send you in the right direction..
Again, welcome!

[flyry]

Silverdale is in Washington across the sound from Seattle about 15 minutes north of bremerton.  I would love to get a shot a some sea run cutthroat and some resident salmon.  Any advise from anyone in this neck of the woods.  I've done a lot of river fishing, but not much as far as open water goes.

[Zee]

Silverdale is in Washington across the sound from Seattle about 15 minutes north of bremerton.  I would love to get a shot a some sea run cutthroat and some resident salmon.  Any advise from anyone in this neck of the woods.  I've done a lot of river fishing, but not much as far as open water goes.

They are fun and right off the beach. Sea Run cutthroat are pretty plentiful and hang out on flat shallow-ish beds of cobble and gravel. Look at a spot that fits the profile and wait to see if any roll. If not look for birds diving. If they're around chances are very good that the cuts/salmonids are too. They forage on baitfish with sand lance being one of their favorites. They're pretty much like little eels so a thin fly about 3" long in olive over white is a good imitation. Mini deceivers and small Clousers in the same colors are good too. You'll want a rod in the 5-8 wt. range (the stouter to deal with wind) with an intermediate line like Rio's Outbound. Add some tippet and stripping basket and you're set.

Anil @ Puget Sound Fly Co. will know good spots close to your home range.

[[WR]]

Check your inbox in a bit. Have some resources to share in addition to whats already been given

[ConeHeadMuddler]

Greetings, flyry! Zee's comments were pretty much right on. Sand Lance, often called "candle fish," hibernate buried in the sand from around late Nov thru Feb. So there won't be any out there right now. Start off with 1.5" imitations early in the Spring, then gradually increase the length of your baitfish patterns as the year progresses, so you will match the size of the bait. You might be tossing 3" baitfish patterns for cutts by the time Fall rolls around.  Squid, eels, copepods, amphipods, terrestrial insects, and other food forms also comprise the searun cutt's diet.

 The searun cutt fishing in the Canal and Sound gets a little spottier this time of year as the cutts swim upstream to spawn. They spawn in small creeks that flow directly into the salt, as well as in tributaries to larger streams and rivers. This fishery gets more consistent again in March.

Check out washingtonflyfishing.com if you haven't already. Lots of info there. Some very experienced  local fly anglers post great info there. The saltwater section has a lot of discussion about beach flyfishing for cutts and salmon, and even bottomfish. Lots of discussion of patterns that are effective. You absolutely must check that site out if you are a fly angler.

There's a flyshop somewhere in Poulsbo, too.
 
A 5 wt. is perfect for cutts, but might be a little light if a Blackmouth or Coho grabs your fly. That said, a fly angler I know recently hooked a large wild Coho buck when targeting cutts upstream in a local river with his 5 wt. He landed and released the big Coho, with no harm done to the fish. (This guy has skills! He's been fly fishing since his Dad started teaching him fly angling when he was 5, and he's 73 now).
I use a 9' 9" 6 wt if there's any chance of hooking up with a salmon or steelhead when cutt fishing. I often use my 9' 4 wt earlier in the year around here.

Check out Les Johnson's book, Fly-Fishing Coastal Cutthroat Trout, as well as the book he co-authored with Bruce Ferguson (with contributions from Pat Trotter), Fly-Fishing for Pacific Salmon II.  These books are "must-reads" for saltwater fly anglers around here! Published by Frank Amato Publications.

I live out on the coast just south of Westport. The fly fishing for searun cutts out here in the estuaries is seasonal (late July thru Sept and early Oct until the first big rains hit). Now we are fishing above tidewater in the local rivers out here for steelhead, the tail end of the late Coho run, and some cutts. the water has been very low. I hit a stretch of river that is usually productive this time of year on Friday, but the water was lower than anyone around here can remember for this time of year, and all the fish were spooked and lockjawed, or hiding. Has been the driest Dec in recent history this year. Up until this rain that started yesterday, we only had about 1/4" rainfall for Dec! Now, maybe we'll get a little water back in the rivers, and the fish will start moving and biting again!
My rig goes into the shop all day tomorrow for scheduled maintenance and some parts replacement.  After tomorrow, and as soon as I figure out a plan, I will be hitting some local streams with my 6 wt and some cutthroat flies, and maybe even my 8 wt with a glowbug/indicator setup.

Good luck and have an awesome New Year in your new home!

[flyfishingblake]

Hi flyry,

I own the fly shop in Gig Harbor. Saltwater fly fishing is our gig. Stop by and bring a map. I'll circle spots for you to go and hook you up with some flies.

Blake

[flyry]

Thanks for all the info guys.  Blake I will be down as soon as I can.

[firebunkers23]

Being that your up above Bremerton WA you have a ton of water to fish. I am sure one of the guys up there will be valuable as far as fishing information and spots are concerned.Welcome to the Pacific Northwest and be carfull our water is not as user friendly as Southern Cali is.

[flyry]

Thanks a lit guys.  Best for yet as far as user friendly information goes.  One last thing for now...  Are there any river/creeks in my neck of the woods that are worth exploring for cutts that are open other than the areas in Olympic this time of year?  I do a copy of the washington fishing regs. And I think of said everything was closed.  Better be safe than sorry and ask you guys instead of finding out the hard way.

[ConeHeadMuddler]

You are correct in that all streams in Kitsap are closed to fishing for the rest of the season now. Most closed on Oct 31.
 They open again first weekend in June. I might join the effort to change the opener back to June 1st.
I think it got changed to the "first Saturday in June" due to the lobbying effort of some pathetic whiners who were bummed that free spirits like me could fish weekdays, and wanted to ruin our horde-free opener for us. With enough support, we can change it back!

You have a few fly-friendly lakes that are open year-round, though. Cady (beyond Belfair, near Dewatto), and Teal, just over the Hood Canal Bridge in Jefferson Co, are good fly fishing lakes.  I'd also check out any other year-round lakes close to where you live. And the saltwater beach fishing for searun cutts offers a lifetime of exploration. That fishery picks up again in late March when the Chum fry move into the salt. The beach fishing for cutts is spotty now due to the fact that this is the middle of their spawning time and they are upstream.

[flyry]

I have started fly fishing for those feisty SRC at lions park in bremerton.  Sorry if this is anyone's secret spot.  It does get its fair share of fly fishermen, but it also has its fair share of fish.  I was fooling around with Albright's 8ft 3wt, and got a hold of a couple small SRCs with some basic small shrimp patterns.  I just got my wife a 9ft 6wt tfo prof. Series with a lamson guru anniversary edition.  No fish caught on it today, but man is it a breeze to cast.  Can't wait for her to hook a rezzie or small black mouth on that thing.  See you guys on the water.