I left the Olympic Peninsula in September of 2005 after closing up my charter fishing business. Leaving started a journey of jobs and cities I might never have discovered had I remained. My journey back to the peninsula began in the winter of 2009.
My first trip back to the coast was in February 2009. I had some vacation time so I decided to make the long drive out to the coast from Colorado. What made this winter steelhead trip on the coast unique was the lack of rain for the entirety of the trip. The upside was that the larger glacial rivers were low and fishable for my entire trip as well as the bright, sunny weather. The bad thing was that there just were not a lot of fish around.
I fished hard for the first four days with nothing to show for it. What I could have never anticipated was that the years away from steelheading messed up my mind a bit. My memories gave more weight to the fish I had hooked in the past and had minimized the skunkings. The tough fishing I had experienced vanished from my memories as the trip approached. Of course the hyped-up fishing reports and blogs on the internet did not help. I had this laughable notion that I could just come back and quickly start hooking fish again. The first four days were a rude awakening.
The reality of steelhead fly fishing and my past memories couldn't have been further apart. I was unsure of where I should fish and really started to question my fishing decisions and my skill swinging the fly. I had entered a deep state of despair so I decided to take a break for a day and clear my head. I decided that a walk through the rainforest would be just the ticket to calm the static in my brain.
The next morning I arrived at the trailhead and just started walking. The hike was along a riverside trail but I was not wearing waders or carrying a fly rod. Three hours later I was well upstream and feeling much better. There is something calming about the simple act of walking and I sure needed it. I arrived back at the car feeling refreshed and ready to fish the next day.
During the walk I realized that I was probably not going to hook a fish during my trip. The low water and lack of fish were not working in my favor. I had to find another way to make the trip great. I came to the realization that the simple act of fishing the water well would have to do. I had to let go of all of the expectations I had before the trip and just simply enjoy spending time on the river regardless of the fish.
This realization did not come easy for me. It is hard to put aside expectations and push the ego aside and just fish for the simple act of fishing. Even today it can sometimes be difficult to go against the grain and do things your own way regardless of how everyone else is doing it (often with more success).
After setting aside my expectations and just working on fishing well you can imagine what happened. I ended up hooking a single fish about three hours of fishing "well." The fish was only on for maybe fifteen seconds but that single fish made the entire trip worth it.
I eventually moved back to the Olympic Peninsula about a year later. I try to remember the moment that fish grabbed the fly mid-swing whenever I am in the midst of a fish-less stretch or tempted to fish in ways I dislike just to catch a fish. I try to remember that fishing well is its own reward.
Showing posts with label wild steelhead. Show all posts
Showing posts with label wild steelhead. Show all posts
Tuesday, January 1, 2013
Friday, September 21, 2012
Not Recommended
2013 WDFW Rule Proposals to Comment On
Looks like rule proposals to reduce harvest of wild steelhead and reduce angling efficiency will not be recommended by WDFW.
Sad that a no angling from floating device seems to have divided the wild fish advocate community. It seems that there were two types of disapproval of the "no fishing from floating device" rules.
The first was that people did not like the rule. Most in this camp fish out of boats and did not want to change their tactics.
The second were people who felt that they went too far and might have too much of an impact on the sportfishing community or only wanted the regulations to cover a watershed with minimal boat impacts.
I have a different take about a "pick one river" approach. I do think the rules should be approved for all of the rivers on the coast. If only one could be picked wouldn't you want the one not consistently meeting escapement, has massive boat pressure, and the data shows that up to 75% of the escapement is caught and released some years.
Forget the idea that it may cause the most impact to guides and anglers. Just based on the fish alone, the Hoh River should be the first with a no fishing from boats rule. It would have a real impact as long as WDFW still refuses to even deal with wild steelhead release, or bait bans.
We have made so much progress over the past few years. We have gotten hatcheries shut down. We have gotten wild steelhead management zones in place. We've won fights on planting Chambers Creek alien steelhead in the Elwha. We still have lots of work to do and time is running out.
Losing this is a step backwards. To hell if WDFW doesn't think we should comment on "no fishing from floating devices." Send them comments. Let them know that wild steelhead come first. They should come before the interests of those who fight every conservation idea such as most of the guides and the City of Forks. They were wrong on wild steelhead release, Snider Creek, Wild Olympics, and they are dead wrong on these issues.
More wild fish and a quality fishing experience are long-term economic engines that will benefit all of those who now oppose these regulations. Change is hard but it must come or the change we face is not what anyone wants to see.
Looks like rule proposals to reduce harvest of wild steelhead and reduce angling efficiency will not be recommended by WDFW.
Sad that a no angling from floating device seems to have divided the wild fish advocate community. It seems that there were two types of disapproval of the "no fishing from floating device" rules.
The first was that people did not like the rule. Most in this camp fish out of boats and did not want to change their tactics.
The second were people who felt that they went too far and might have too much of an impact on the sportfishing community or only wanted the regulations to cover a watershed with minimal boat impacts.
I have a different take about a "pick one river" approach. I do think the rules should be approved for all of the rivers on the coast. If only one could be picked wouldn't you want the one not consistently meeting escapement, has massive boat pressure, and the data shows that up to 75% of the escapement is caught and released some years.
Forget the idea that it may cause the most impact to guides and anglers. Just based on the fish alone, the Hoh River should be the first with a no fishing from boats rule. It would have a real impact as long as WDFW still refuses to even deal with wild steelhead release, or bait bans.
We have made so much progress over the past few years. We have gotten hatcheries shut down. We have gotten wild steelhead management zones in place. We've won fights on planting Chambers Creek alien steelhead in the Elwha. We still have lots of work to do and time is running out.
Losing this is a step backwards. To hell if WDFW doesn't think we should comment on "no fishing from floating devices." Send them comments. Let them know that wild steelhead come first. They should come before the interests of those who fight every conservation idea such as most of the guides and the City of Forks. They were wrong on wild steelhead release, Snider Creek, Wild Olympics, and they are dead wrong on these issues.
More wild fish and a quality fishing experience are long-term economic engines that will benefit all of those who now oppose these regulations. Change is hard but it must come or the change we face is not what anyone wants to see.
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Good News....Bad News
What a day.
Due to work by wild fish conservation groups the Elwha Tribe will not be planting Chambers Creek hatchery steelhead in the Elwha. Check out the link below:
Agreement protects Elwha steelhead from hatchery releases
It is moments like this that make me actually hopeful that our wild fish stand a chance. Finding optimism is often one of the hardest things for me to do in the fishing world. My eternal pessimism is likely not made to deal with wild fish issues as I am constantly feeling a bit down when it comes to long-term trends even though we are winning more and more battles every year. First, we got the state to create a Wild Steelhead Management Zone on the Sol Duc against local opposition. Now we got a co-manager to make the right call when it comes to restoration of wild fish after a dam removal.
Now for the bad news. The coho forecasts for this summer and fall were just released here.
It looks like the saltwater salmon numbers will be way down for everywhere inside Puget Sound. It looks like a repeat of last summer's fishing will not be happening. With the good news about the Elwha I am going to make an attempt to stay positive for the saltwater fishing this summer. Even with less fish coming through the Strait that doesn't mean that fish won't stop and feed in areas which should still provide great fishing at times. Even with the poor news of total run sizes I am making a vow to remain positive in chasing fish come August, September, and October this year. I may even attempt to make a trip or two to other areas that have better forecasts for 2012 than 2011.
Hope springs eternal.
Due to work by wild fish conservation groups the Elwha Tribe will not be planting Chambers Creek hatchery steelhead in the Elwha. Check out the link below:
Agreement protects Elwha steelhead from hatchery releases
It is moments like this that make me actually hopeful that our wild fish stand a chance. Finding optimism is often one of the hardest things for me to do in the fishing world. My eternal pessimism is likely not made to deal with wild fish issues as I am constantly feeling a bit down when it comes to long-term trends even though we are winning more and more battles every year. First, we got the state to create a Wild Steelhead Management Zone on the Sol Duc against local opposition. Now we got a co-manager to make the right call when it comes to restoration of wild fish after a dam removal.
Now for the bad news. The coho forecasts for this summer and fall were just released here.
It looks like the saltwater salmon numbers will be way down for everywhere inside Puget Sound. It looks like a repeat of last summer's fishing will not be happening. With the good news about the Elwha I am going to make an attempt to stay positive for the saltwater fishing this summer. Even with less fish coming through the Strait that doesn't mean that fish won't stop and feed in areas which should still provide great fishing at times. Even with the poor news of total run sizes I am making a vow to remain positive in chasing fish come August, September, and October this year. I may even attempt to make a trip or two to other areas that have better forecasts for 2012 than 2011.
Hope springs eternal.
Thursday, February 2, 2012
Wild Fish Say, "Yes We Can!"
The Osprey Steelhead News blog has a great post about how wild steelhead have responded to the removal of hatchery steelhead from the North Fork of the Clackamas in Oregon.
What makes this case study even more amazing is the lack of genetic issues involved in the population suppression of the wild winter steelhead. The effects of the hatchery fish were ecological in nature and not genetic. Genetics are often what get mentioned the most when hatchery and wild interactions are discussed, but this case study shows what damage can happen to populations just by the ecological interactions with hatchery fish. When we add both parts (genetic and ecological) the effects must be magnified, which makes me hopeful that recovery can also be magnified if hatchery plants are stopped.
Good news is often hard to find in the world of wild fish in the Pacific Northwest with our dwindling healthy stocks and the overwhelming number of ESA listed stocks. Seeing an eleven mile stretch of river start to produce close to carrying capacity after only ten years of being hatchery free (just above the dam and not the entire river system) has to give us hope when fighting hatchery plans elsewhere (Elwha, Sol Duc). It also shows how quickly wild fish can respond when we actually give them a chance. We should see some case studies in Washington State in the years to come as many of the smaller systems without collection facilities have had smolt stocking stopped in the last few years. Hopefully we will see not only more fish, but more diversity with some increase in the critical early component of the wild winter steelhead run.
I do not know how many nails in the coffin are needed to actually have a shift in hatchery thinking by the agencies in charge, but this only adds to the massive dogpile.
Kudos to ODFW for making this change, how about doing the same thing for the Sandy?
What makes this case study even more amazing is the lack of genetic issues involved in the population suppression of the wild winter steelhead. The effects of the hatchery fish were ecological in nature and not genetic. Genetics are often what get mentioned the most when hatchery and wild interactions are discussed, but this case study shows what damage can happen to populations just by the ecological interactions with hatchery fish. When we add both parts (genetic and ecological) the effects must be magnified, which makes me hopeful that recovery can also be magnified if hatchery plants are stopped.
Good news is often hard to find in the world of wild fish in the Pacific Northwest with our dwindling healthy stocks and the overwhelming number of ESA listed stocks. Seeing an eleven mile stretch of river start to produce close to carrying capacity after only ten years of being hatchery free (just above the dam and not the entire river system) has to give us hope when fighting hatchery plans elsewhere (Elwha, Sol Duc). It also shows how quickly wild fish can respond when we actually give them a chance. We should see some case studies in Washington State in the years to come as many of the smaller systems without collection facilities have had smolt stocking stopped in the last few years. Hopefully we will see not only more fish, but more diversity with some increase in the critical early component of the wild winter steelhead run.
I do not know how many nails in the coffin are needed to actually have a shift in hatchery thinking by the agencies in charge, but this only adds to the massive dogpile.
Kudos to ODFW for making this change, how about doing the same thing for the Sandy?
Monday, December 6, 2010
Snider Creek - Part 3
The good folks at the Wild Steelhead Coalition have put out some comments and discussion points about the program and early wild winter steelhead populations.
Snider Creek Comments
Snider Creek Discussion Points
You still have time to send in comments to snidercreek@dfw.wa.gov
Check out the Wild Steelhead Coalition and if you're not a member, you should be.
Wild Steelhead Coalition
Snider Creek Comments
Snider Creek Discussion Points
You still have time to send in comments to snidercreek@dfw.wa.gov
Check out the Wild Steelhead Coalition and if you're not a member, you should be.
Wild Steelhead Coalition
Sunday, November 14, 2010
It Begins
It's that time of year, where chrome bright winter steelhead start moving up the rivers. The first part of the run is now mostly hatchery fish, but there are still a few resilient early natives mixed in. Yesterday I met one.
It was a classic NW Winter day. Low cloud cover, mid-40's temperature, and drizzle where the green of the forests is almost washed away by the oppressive gray pushing down from the sky. The river was dirty with about one to two feet of visibility, adding another surface of gray to the pallet. I worked my way downstream floating and fishing. I arrive at the run I wanted to focus on and start fishing. The fly is swinging well and about twenty casts into the run I feel a grab, and then nothing. The grab always feels like lightning going through your veins, but the lack of connection is always disappointing. This time of year, the question with a large grab is "what was that?" Was it a king, coho, or steelhead? A question I will never know.
I continued to work down the run as the current mellowed the fly started ticking the bottom and hanging up occasionally. The answer was a lighter tip, so I looped on five feet of T-14 and continued to fish. Then a swing was interrupted once a again by a pull. My mind quickly shifts back to fishing from gazing at the bald eagle squawking on the tall river side tree. I feel a second pull, then feel line start coming off my reel, and then come tight to a fish. Instantly the fish is running. I look towards the line streaming downstream and see white, the color of backing. Then a jump, and all I can see is a distant flash of silver in the air. I start moving down the gravel bar gaining back some of the line. This fish is strong and feels heavier than the fish I saw jump. I wonder if I have foul hooked a salmon because of the heavy feel. But I can gain line easily when the fish stops so that thought passes. Another couple fast runs and one of my favorite types of jumps happens. The fish jumps ten feet to the side of where your line enters the river. I work the fish quickly towards the beach. As I get it in the shallows I see that it is a steelhead with a big fat adipose fin and any thoughts of being foul hooked are gone when I see the fly lodged in the fish's mouth. I quickly grab the leader and tail this magnificent twelve pound hen as the hook falls out. I take a quick look at the perfectly clean fins and release my grip. She quickly charges off back into the gray water. After the release I am struck by this fish. The power and speed combined to make this one of the hottest fish I have ever hooked, including fish on rivers notorious for their hot steelhead.
I fished for a few more hours with the only other grab was a small bull trout, but I am struck by what a rare experience I had today. Early run native winter steelhead were historically much more abundant than they currently are. Decades of hatchery plants along with non-selective harvest have made this segment of the steelhead population a rarity. The fact that native fish continue to hold on in the face of everything we can throw at them amazes me. Sometime we fishermen get to see and hold a trace of the past, but far too often we are only left with the stories from old timers of what it used to be like. At least for today those are not just stories.
It was a classic NW Winter day. Low cloud cover, mid-40's temperature, and drizzle where the green of the forests is almost washed away by the oppressive gray pushing down from the sky. The river was dirty with about one to two feet of visibility, adding another surface of gray to the pallet. I worked my way downstream floating and fishing. I arrive at the run I wanted to focus on and start fishing. The fly is swinging well and about twenty casts into the run I feel a grab, and then nothing. The grab always feels like lightning going through your veins, but the lack of connection is always disappointing. This time of year, the question with a large grab is "what was that?" Was it a king, coho, or steelhead? A question I will never know.
I continued to work down the run as the current mellowed the fly started ticking the bottom and hanging up occasionally. The answer was a lighter tip, so I looped on five feet of T-14 and continued to fish. Then a swing was interrupted once a again by a pull. My mind quickly shifts back to fishing from gazing at the bald eagle squawking on the tall river side tree. I feel a second pull, then feel line start coming off my reel, and then come tight to a fish. Instantly the fish is running. I look towards the line streaming downstream and see white, the color of backing. Then a jump, and all I can see is a distant flash of silver in the air. I start moving down the gravel bar gaining back some of the line. This fish is strong and feels heavier than the fish I saw jump. I wonder if I have foul hooked a salmon because of the heavy feel. But I can gain line easily when the fish stops so that thought passes. Another couple fast runs and one of my favorite types of jumps happens. The fish jumps ten feet to the side of where your line enters the river. I work the fish quickly towards the beach. As I get it in the shallows I see that it is a steelhead with a big fat adipose fin and any thoughts of being foul hooked are gone when I see the fly lodged in the fish's mouth. I quickly grab the leader and tail this magnificent twelve pound hen as the hook falls out. I take a quick look at the perfectly clean fins and release my grip. She quickly charges off back into the gray water. After the release I am struck by this fish. The power and speed combined to make this one of the hottest fish I have ever hooked, including fish on rivers notorious for their hot steelhead.
I fished for a few more hours with the only other grab was a small bull trout, but I am struck by what a rare experience I had today. Early run native winter steelhead were historically much more abundant than they currently are. Decades of hatchery plants along with non-selective harvest have made this segment of the steelhead population a rarity. The fact that native fish continue to hold on in the face of everything we can throw at them amazes me. Sometime we fishermen get to see and hold a trace of the past, but far too often we are only left with the stories from old timers of what it used to be like. At least for today those are not just stories.
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Revenge
A sad state seems to be coursing through internet fishing bulletin boards, both fly and gear. With potential closures of not only wild steelhead fisheries, but reduced hatchery plants it seems like everyone is having a hard time with the new page of fishing in Washington State.
One can only imagine the hope and promise that was felt over 100 years ago when hatcheries were first coming on line. What an idea, that we can actually have it all. We can over harvest, from the river mouths to distant saltwater feeding grounds. We can dam up rivers, blocking access to spawning grounds and destroying important cultural meccas such as Celio and Kettle Falls. We can log our ancient forests, withdraw water from our rivers, and let cows trample and shit in riparian zones with no repercussions. We can pave wetlands and replace a renewable food source with "food" from the local Wal Mart.
Take, take, take, take, take...... until there is nothing left to take. We are at the destination of the "hatchery industrial" complex we were so smitten by. The last bits of the foundation are crumbling. The hatchery fish are having the same problems as the wild fish. Their numbers decline, so much so in Puget Sound that rivers are closed to angling to make sure hatcheries get enough broodstock back. And at the same time that hatcheries cannot make escapement, the state continues to allow harvest on wild stocks hovering at low levels barely making their escapement goals. The take continues with the fishermen looking for numbers in an age of low numbers. "Look at me," seems to be the name of the game.
The raceways, cities, and suburbs have no soul. You can find it walking through ancient forests, watching shooting stars trace a path through dark skies, and releasing a native steelhead back into the green waters. Through a fish, you can feel a connection with all that has been lost. You have briefly touched a part of the past, a past of natural bounty.
Now, dams are being removed. Serious thought is given to segregating hatchery fish from wild fish. Weirs are being installed to block hatchery fish from accessing spawning tribs. Slowly but surely the wild fish are having their revenge. The main point is that no matter the technology, hatchery fish require the same things that wild fish do.... healthy rivers and oceans.
All we are left with is scraps, hopefully enough crumbs have been dropped so that we may follow them backwards and save something worthwhile of the past.
One can only imagine the hope and promise that was felt over 100 years ago when hatcheries were first coming on line. What an idea, that we can actually have it all. We can over harvest, from the river mouths to distant saltwater feeding grounds. We can dam up rivers, blocking access to spawning grounds and destroying important cultural meccas such as Celio and Kettle Falls. We can log our ancient forests, withdraw water from our rivers, and let cows trample and shit in riparian zones with no repercussions. We can pave wetlands and replace a renewable food source with "food" from the local Wal Mart.
Take, take, take, take, take...... until there is nothing left to take. We are at the destination of the "hatchery industrial" complex we were so smitten by. The last bits of the foundation are crumbling. The hatchery fish are having the same problems as the wild fish. Their numbers decline, so much so in Puget Sound that rivers are closed to angling to make sure hatcheries get enough broodstock back. And at the same time that hatcheries cannot make escapement, the state continues to allow harvest on wild stocks hovering at low levels barely making their escapement goals. The take continues with the fishermen looking for numbers in an age of low numbers. "Look at me," seems to be the name of the game.
The raceways, cities, and suburbs have no soul. You can find it walking through ancient forests, watching shooting stars trace a path through dark skies, and releasing a native steelhead back into the green waters. Through a fish, you can feel a connection with all that has been lost. You have briefly touched a part of the past, a past of natural bounty.
Now, dams are being removed. Serious thought is given to segregating hatchery fish from wild fish. Weirs are being installed to block hatchery fish from accessing spawning tribs. Slowly but surely the wild fish are having their revenge. The main point is that no matter the technology, hatchery fish require the same things that wild fish do.... healthy rivers and oceans.
All we are left with is scraps, hopefully enough crumbs have been dropped so that we may follow them backwards and save something worthwhile of the past.
Monday, December 14, 2009
The Levee Broke
Looks like the last of the "healthy" wild steelhead runs in Washington State has failed to meet escapement. A recent thread on the Piscatorial Pursuits bulletin board (Click here for Thread) puts last seasons wild winter steelhead numbers on the Quillayute at 4700 wild steelhead. The escapement goal is 5900 fish. Let's also not forget that the Quillayute is a huge river system which includes the Sol Duc, Bogachiel, Calawah, and Dicky rivers. So that 5900 escapement figure is basically a joke to any one with a conservation bone in their body or who has any idea about the historical numbers these systems used to produce.
As sad as this news is, it might be a wakeup call for anglers and WDFW to change the management scheme (although pyramid or ponzi might better describe the current management scheme) so that in 10 years we cannot even imagine fishing over such low run sizes and that run sizes in 10 years are 3-5 times what they were last season.
If you have a chance send an e-mail to the WDFW Commission and let them know that under escapement is unacceptable and that strong harvest restrictions and hatchery reform is necessary to prevent this from happening again.
WDFW Commission e-mail
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