Report: Quinault Lake and Sol Duc river

Took a trip with the GF to Quinault this past weekend as we had a 4 day weekend.  Day one was a beast getting there.  Construction in Aberdeen has one of the bridges closed and it took over 1.5 hours just to get through that town.  We arrived at the Lake Quinault Lodge around 5pm and decided not to try fishing that day.  Enjoyed the lodge and a pretty good dinner. 

We had intended to stay in the lodge one night, then camp the next, but with all the rain decided to stay at the lodge again.  That wasn't an option, as they were full though.  This turned out to be a good thing, we went further down the road to the Rainforest Resort and were VERY nicely surprised by MUCH better lodging at a VERY competitive price.  Their $75 rooms were better than the the Lodge's $99 rooms (lodge rooms had no TV, no bathroom fan, and were very out-dated).  We ended up in a 'suite' which included a separate living room, spa tub, gas fire place, fridge, microwave, TV, etc. for only $130 a night (expensive yes, but a damned good bargain and hey, we needed a nice trip!) 

Finally got out on the water and started trolling.  I trolled all different depths from surface trolling, 2oz, 3oz, and 4oz banana sinkers.  I got hits at all Depths.  All told, I got 8-9 hits, and 4 connects in a 3-4 hour period.  Unfortunately, I only got two IN the boat.  1 being a small rainbow, and the other being a nice 14.75 inch Cutthroat.  (will post to AOTY later)  The other two hookups came off at the boat, and they were both Dolly Vardens that were easly in excess of 20 inches.  Very pretty fish, not much fight in them until they saw the kayak though.  Those two came from deeper down, so if you target them you'll have to target deeper (think my gear was 30+ feet down).  Also, it's legal to keep 4 of them out of Quinault.

It was POORING the entire time out there.  HEAVY rain.  I was the only person out there, and in the drysuit, I was really comfy and only got chilly around 5pm when the temps were starting to drop.  Headed back in, took off the drysuit, and had a GREAT dinner at the resort's restaurant.  The Rainforest Resort beat out the Lake Quinault Lodge on dining too - price was a lot cheaper and the food was tastier.

The next morning we checked out the world's largest Sitka Spruce tree and then headed up to Forks.  The GF looked at all the lame vampire shops (and was disappointed lol) then we grabbed some ice cream and headed north on 101. 

We decided to do some bank fishing on the Sol Duc.  There were fish in the adult trap, and fish on the bank.  Unfortunately, there isn't really a 'bank' and even with only ~8 people there, it was REALLY CROWDED.  I found out that the locals don't even attempt to floss, they straight up snag.  Big heavy spinners dragged in front of, and through, the mouth of the hatchery creek.  One guy was even sitting there with just a hook, using his hand to lower it in the water and snag fish as they went by (I don't even know why he had a pole with a reel, should have just been using a beer can!)  He managed a small trout, in the tail.  Anyways, we travelled down the bank a bit, and found a spot we could cast of of a few trees that were up against the bank.  Didn't get a single hit (or floss since that's what drift fishing is most of the time)

Nice report Lee!  I love that stretch of coast.  It's amazing how many salmon streams there are between the Hoh and Port Angeles.

Didn't get a single hit (or floss since that's what drift fishing is most of the time)

Careful there buddy, them's fightin words.    Drift fishing is only flossing when intentionally done incorrectly.  You may snag on occasion but salmon and steelhead will chase and actively bite those little round Oakies and Corkies when they come floating past. 

-Spot-

I've seen steelhead actively go after a corkie (and pretty much anything else), but the only thing I see salmon go after when drifted is eggs, and the occasional dick nite.  That's just my personal experience though.  In most of the rivers around east side of puget sound, the visibility is really low (at least during fall runs), and flossing is pretty much required.  

Well, I have seen pinks literally go after corkies, but not the other species.

My $0.02...All the Coho we took last weekend on the round jig heads we tied with strung marabou were ALL in the mouth, my big one on Sunday was actually pretty deep in the mouth I almost lost it due to the 12 lb leader hangin out its mouth.

But that was under a bobber right? 

Do we really need to have a flossing discussion here?  I thought we we better than that ...

-Allen

I hit the coast this weekend with my girlfriend.  Tried clamming in the wind and rain and ended up with a bounty of four.  Most of our pulls were ghost shrimp that I saved for fishing the next day.  The rain we got Saturday night blew out the rivers.  We tried fishing the Hump but the only place to bank fish was near the hatchery.  Everyone snagging - including each other.  Saw two guys, side by side hook and land the same coho.  Both lines in the fishes mouth.  I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes.  That's when you know you're fishing too close.

Glad you had a good trip Lee.  May check out that Rainforest Resort.  Last time we were out Forks way we camped on the Bogachiel just outside of Forks but wife won't do camping anymore.

Do we really need to have a flossing discussion here?  I thought we we better than that ...

-Allen

Sorry Dad......   

We're all competing for the illustrious asshat award.

We're all competing for the illustrious asshat award.

According to the unofficial asshat rules, you might be considered for one.  I believe the basis of the asshat was making broad generalizations about people based on a casual observation.  Hmmmmm   

-Spot-