February 23, 2017. Olympic Peninsula and Puget Sound...Again! For the first time in some time it does appear the entire WA coast will be in shape this coming weekend for those steelheaders looking to find one of these. Fishing during the past week has been quite good with steelhead coming to the swung fly every day on a number of rivers. We just had a lat minute cancellation for Friday through Sunday so we have a rare weekend opening if anyone was hoping to get on the water with us on short notice. Puget Sound - What we wait for every new year has already begun, the Chum fry migration. Small little Chum salmon have officially started to enter the Sound which means every sea run cutthroat will be acting as if they are at an all you can eat buffet for the next couple months. If you have ever even once thought of getting yourself out on our local saltwater to just try it out, now would be the time to do so. Joining the fiesta have also been some very good sized resident Blackmouth and Coho salmon. Small tan and gray clousers, Chum Baby and for those with an affinity for surface flies the Sound Searcher have been working very well. Hood Canal to Lincoln Park and beaches every where in between are seeing fish so no excuses right now! Yakima River - Another time of great interest to fly anglers in the region is the presence of winter stones Skwala;s. They are climbing as we speak out of the water and onto the surrounding rocks, grass and logs, bringing trout to the banks in search of them. As usual subsurface will be most effective but the occasional opportunistic trout may pay your dry fly some attention if you persist. Blue winged olives continue to impress during the morning and evening too. All in all, good time to be fishing around Seattle right now so don’t be bashful. Ask us where, when, how and why so we can help you find success this weekend. Photo Tom Mahan
