Puget Sound

[Semper_Fly]

Happy to report I was able to break the dry spell this Saturday.

Hit the Kitsap Peninsula Saturday morning around 8:30 till about 1pm. Forecast called for little to no wind so it was a no brainer for me to send the hour long drive.

First beach was non-productive but I did get greeted by a family of 5-6 river otters. Must've been the parents that got quite close to let me know I was "in their hood". One eagle perched over the water and a few sea lions making their rounds. I did see one large cutty jump which was exciting. I sent my surface fly in that direction and got just a small hit. The sea lions moved in and it was game over. Onto the next beach.

Second beach produced my first cutt of the year. Only one jumping around which made it easy to site cast but it was just outside my range. I took the time to switch out flies and as I was doing so, the fish presented itself within my shooting distance. I set my fly exactly where the fish was and boom. Fish on. Got it to the net and all that angst of having not caught a fish in the last 6-8 times melted away. Finally on the board.

Third beach was a hit right away with four more fish to the net within 10 minutes of each other. Two shakers got away and that was okay. I didn't want to leave but had to get back home to the family. The last beach usually doesn't produce well for me so all those were just bonus fish after the first. All fish were relatively clean from sea lice.

Something that's been working really well for me is the Rio Slime Shady in green size 6 (I believe that's the only size they have).

Glad to see others had the same luck this weekend as well. Getting excited for chum and pink fry season. Just learning how to tie and I think the chum pattern will a good place to start.

Cheers

 

[Wadin' Boot]

Lost two really nice fish that both spit the hook on jumps.
I noticed the bigger fish don’t have a lot of color...

Those guys look


for this time of year

 

[Stonedfish]

Those guys look
View attachment 102302

for this time of year

Lol Boot
One of the things I like best about fishing the south sound and canal this time of year is that the late entry fish are in primo shape prior to spring spawning.
SF

 

[jasmillo]

A message from the fish gods on my commute home today….”fish this point during coho season my son…”

 

[skyriver]

View attachment 102154

How many have you seen with this spotting? That's crazy. I hooked one like that a few years ago in the canal, but it flopped off about halfway through the fight. I saw the spots and was like "Atlantic salmon???" Haha!

 

[Bambooflyguy]

Looks like a sea run brown……

 

[Stonedfish]

How many have you seen with this spotting? That's crazy. I hooked one like that a few years ago in the canal, but it flopped off about halfway through the fight. I saw the spots and was like "Atlantic salmon???" Haha!

I’ve seen a few over the years. This is the most colored up cutt I’ve ever caught in the salt. Post spawn fish caught in the spring.
SF

 

[Kfish]

I’ve seen a few over the years. This is the most colored up cutt I’ve ever caught in the salt. Post spawn fish caught in the spring.
SF

View attachment 102517

I've ran into a few of those with heavy spots before and they usually have round plump bodies too.

 

[jeradjames]

I’ve seen a few over the years. This is the most colored up cutt I’ve ever caught in the salt. Post spawn fish caught in the spring.
SF

View attachment 102517

Looks like one of those big adfluvial Powell River area cutts. What a cool fish

 

[skyriver]

Yeah I've caught heavily spotted ones this time of year, but none that had such big round spots. SRC usually have the backwards Epsilon symbol looking type of spots. Like @Bambooflyguy said, Has the smooth round spots like a sea run brown. I wonder if that fish has different DNA than that big one in your reply?

 

[Zoran]

The letter epsilon as a symbol, for the uninitiated, is directly related to the Delphic solar rituals, the initiation and more simply, of man to the light. Therefore, its placement at the top of the pediment of the temple of Apollo declares the perpetual relationship with the light, the perfection and therefore epsilon indicates the luminous. We understand that this is thus the key for all the Delphic mysteries.

SRC is luminous fish.

 

[Stonedfish]

Yeah I've caught heavily spotted ones this time of year, but none that had such big round spots. SRC usually have the backwards Epsilon symbol looking type of spots. Like @Bambooflyguy said, Has the smooth round spots like a sea run brown. I wonder if that fish has different DNA than that big one in your reply?
View attachment 102529

Probably a good question for one of the board's bio, as I'm unsure.
Both of those fish though were caught on the same beach, not far from what I believe is their natal spawning stream.
Sometimes I get home and look at fish pictures and think, is that a picture of the same fish?
If you look at the spotting on them, especially the fins you can tell they are different fish even though they look very much alike.
One of the cool things about searuns and other fish in general.
SF

 

[Zak]

SRC is luminous fish.

Light in extension.

 

[Gary Knowels]

Yeah I've caught heavily spotted ones this time of year, but none that had such big round spots. SRC usually have the backwards Epsilon symbol looking type of spots. Like @Bambooflyguy said, Has the smooth round spots like a sea run brown. I wonder if that fish has different DNA than that big one in your reply?
View attachment 102529

To me they look more like some of the coastal cutts that get stocked in some of lowland lakes. Maybe some travelled an outlet to the salt and it's a legacy?

 

[Mossback]

I’ve seen a few over the years. This is the most colored up cutt I’ve ever caught in the salt. Post spawn fish caught in the spring.
SF

View attachment 102517

I see that coloration and spot pattern in very early Spring out here, especially some rather chunky colored fish in March.
Where there is one, there's often a bunch just like that, very good fishing when you run into them.

 

[Stonedfish]

I see that coloration and spot pattern in very early Spring out here, especially some rather chunky colored fish in March.
Where there is one, there's often a bunch just like that, very good fishing when you run into them.

I agree. This past weekend almost every fish I caught was in an area say 50-70 yards wide and it stayed that way for about five hours. Other sections of the beach yielded nothing. It didn't look any different then the rest of the beach, but the fish were certainly keyed in on that area with lot of risers.
I'd have to think it is a food source as there was little to no current, but no visible food sources either. The rises looked a bit different to me then fish keyed in on the small stuff like amphipods and euphausiids. I really enjoy the mystery they throw out with their behavior.
SF

 

[adamcu280]

Probably a good question for one of the board's bio, as I'm unsure.
Both of those fish though were caught on the same beach, not far from what I believe is their natal spawning stream.
Sometimes I get home and look at fish pictures and think, is that a picture of the same fish?
If you look at the spotting on them, especially the fins you can tell they are different fish even though they look very much alike.
One of the cool things about searuns and other fish in general.
SF

View attachment 102536View attachment 102537View attachment 102538

When I was catching fish for CCC's Big Fjord Project we were using photos of the left side of the head/gill plate for the spot pattern photo-ID. Photo ID is a powerful tool! Pioneered by Canadian researchers on killer whales in the early/mid-70s, it's now used all over the world on many different species.

 

[SeaRunner]

I agree. This past weekend almost every fish I caught was in an area say 50-70 yards wide and it stayed that way for about five hours. Other sections of the beach yielded nothing. It didn't look any different then the rest of the beach, but the fish were certainly keyed in on that area with lot of risers.
I'd have to think it is a food source as there was little to no current, but no visible food sources either. The rises looked a bit different to me then fish keyed in on the small stuff like amphipods and euphausiids. I really enjoy the mystery they throw out with their behavior.
SF

What did the rise forms look like? Can you describe them?

 

[Mossback]

There was a spot where I used to live that almost always was good for a few fish at high tides in March. It was a little slump less than a foot deeper than the surrounding beach that would always bleed a little water, you could see it at low tide. The very small creek with a steep gradient ( not really suitable for spawning more than 20 yards upstream, and never saw redds in the lower part) was close by. I theorized it was a freshwater seep the fish liked...
Sometimes I would be walking the beach, and see fish working, and would walk back up to the house, grab the rod and hit a few in short order out of that little slump. Was a late winter/ early Spring spot mostly, rest of the year it was not a honey hole.
They are funny fish

 

[Stonedfish]

When I was catching fish for CCC's Big Fjord Project we were using photos of the left side of the head/gill plate for the spot pattern photo-ID. Photo ID is a powerful tool! Pioneered by Canadian researchers on killer whales in the early/mid-70s, it's now used all over the world on many different species.

Way cool! Do you have any examples you can post of that Adam?

What did the rise forms look like? Can you describe them?

Some where jumping completely out of the water, like just being happy fish. Others were swirling on the surface multiple times in the same area, similar to what I've seen when they are actively chasing chum fry. More like slashing aggressively in circles on the surface.
A bit early for chum fry in my opinion, though the canal does have summer chums which I assume spawn earlier, though I don't know if the fry emerge any earlier then the fry from fall run fish. Does anyone know the answer to that?
I didn't see any really subtle dimpling like when they are on the small stuff. There were multiple fish rising at the same time quite often.
SF