Puget Sound

Fished with @jasmillo and @copperJon this morning on Jason’s Whaler after a little Clayton encounter at the launch :) @Nick Clayton
We all caught a fair amount of fish, mostly cutts. Tide was ripping in the morning then petered out, so did the fishing. At one spot we saw a couple pods of rezzies blitzing on fry, they would put on a show then disappear to reappear elsewhere. It was exciting and also maddening trying to hook up with them. They were chasing small groups of fry, tiny, don’t know what they are but probably 1.5in in size and a slight blue hue.
Fishing should get better as more fry shows up.


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A few from today. It was cool seeing rezzies blitzing bait (whatever it was). They were not monster fish but lots of them. Also figured out we can comfortably fly fish three out of the 17 foot Whaler assuming all onboard are fairly competent casters and just to be safe, eye protection is worn ;). Good seeing you out there @Nick Clayton. Surprising this is the first times it’s happened fishing SRC. Most fish caught today were solid. Some were skinny but good sized on average. Caught one on a shrimp pattern and the rest on fry patterns.

A few src from today.

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An unexpected rezzie that popped my fly solidly in heavy current. A bit bigger than the ones we saw crashing fry in a different spot.

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Fairly slow for us overall. There was no issue finding fish, but getting them to even look at flies was often frustrating. They were actively and aggressively feeding in several locations on what I assumed was chum fry (Although I was never able to actually put eyes on any fry to confirm), but getting them to eat was often a difficult endeavor.

We caught some fish on about every fly we showed them, but definitely never settled on anything that seemed to crack their code. We caught fish on a decent handful of flies, including a kreelex boobie pattern that Ira fished like a popper on a floating line. Squimps, fry, and a couple other random patterns all got bit, but nothing with a lot of consistency at any one place.

One area we fished had active fish spread out in a huge area, well off the beach on a big flat, and while we caught some of those fish it wasn't easy with them being spread out and they just seemed to be cruising around the whole area feeding. Plenty of fish but they were not concentrated in any one spot. Also saw a lot of fish feeding way off the beach in several areas, something I see a lot when the fry are around.

Was fun having Ira and Troutpocket out and being able to show that fishery to TP for his first time, just with the fish would have been a bit more agreeable.

Perfect fishing conditions with little to no wind and good cloud cover.

Good to run into @Kfish, @jasmillo , and @copperJon ! Sure is a beautiful Whaler!
 
Terrific news.I lived in a high bank waterfront home on Fox Island for 23 years looking directly over at the gravel pit that became Chambers Bay golf course. We would see herring balls all the time, with seagulls diving on them and seals having a great time. Then over the years they disappeared. We moved in 2014 and hadn't seen a herring ball in years.
 
People have been fishing very large herring for Blackmouth in Area 13, blue labels and been doing quite well. Area 10 saw decently large fish in bellies and anecdotally 4 inch spoons outfished the 3 inches for me when it came to keeper fish. I wonder if this is part of the reason why
 
Brian - thread drift: I guess it was 1981 (?) that there was this huge migration of herring - into Gig Harbor. Early one morning I witnessed a ball of herring bust out of the water onto the spit - a blackmouth followed beaching itself. WOW, how cool! Another morning, well before dawn, I launched my pram and began rowing towards the spit trolling a candlefish pattern, I was staying close to the shoreline as there was some light from docks, houses.... when I heard a loud WOOF and a splash. I suppose it was a sealion, sure got my pulse up a bit. Another time I was launching my pram when a a member of the fly club I'd joined (PSFF.ORG) showed up with a motor boat. He invited me to fish with him. That could have been a mistake - I'd only been fly fishing for maybe a year and was truly a novice and a crummy caster which Keith soon learned as I wrapped a fly line 720 degrees around his neck. I guess I'm still alive because he didn't get stuck by the hook ;-) (and we've been fishing buddies now for 40 years). One weekday morning my fly fishing mentor and I launched Glenn's inflatable and motored out from the launch and began slowly trolling and stripping flies in. Both of us hooked up immediately and netted two nice coho, then another one. Suddenly my rod bent to where I could feel it in the cork and my old Pflueger Medalist started making Medalist noise. I'd hooked a blackmouth. It took some time to wear that great fish out. 41 or so years later I can still conjure up that memory. I was late for work that morning having two coho and a Chinook to process when I got home. Here's that fish, the tube fly, the Medalist and a Sage GFL(B) 890-2:

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I hope this renewed push of herring helps the health of Puget Sound. What a marvelous place.
 
Buzzy said:
Brian - thread drift: I guess it was 1981 (?) that there was this huge migration of herring - into Gig Harbor. Early one morning I witnessed a ball of herring bust out of the water onto the spit - a blackmouth followed beaching itself. WOW, how cool! Another morning, well before dawn, I launched my pram and began rowing towards the spit trolling a candlefish pattern, I was staying close to the shoreline as there was some light from docks, houses.... when I heard a loud WOOF and a splash. I suppose it was a sealion, sure got my pulse up a bit. Another time I was launching my pram when a a member of the fly club I'd joined (PSFF.ORG) showed up with a motor boat. He invited me to fish with him. That could have been a mistake - I'd only been fly fishing for maybe a year and was truly a novice and a crummy caster which Keith soon learned as I wrapped a fly line 720 degrees around his neck. I guess I'm still alive because he didn't get stuck by the hook ;-) (and we've been fishing buddies now for 40 years). One weekday morning my fly fishing mentor and I launched Glenn's inflatable and motored out from the launch and began slowly trolling and stripping flies in. Both of us hooked up immediately and netted two nice coho, then another one. Suddenly my rod bent to where I could feel it in the cork and my old Pflueger Medalist started making Medalist noise. I'd hooked a blackmouth. It took some time to wear that great fish out. 41 or so years later I can still conjure up that memory. I was late for work that morning having two coho and a Chinook to process when I got home. Here's that fish, the tube fly, the Medalist and a Sage GFL(B) 890-2:

View attachment 108533

I hope this renewed push of herring helps the health of Puget Sound. What a marvelous place.
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Pat,
Great stories. Like you, I'm glad I got to experience winter blackmouth fishing at the height of the program. Lots of fun times on both gear and flies.
As far as herring go, I can remember many times fishing with my dad in the south south when we needed bait. We'd find a herring ball getting worked, get up next to it in the boat and run the salmon net through it. Lets just say the boat floor was herring scale city, but we had plenty of bait for the day.
SF
 
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SKYKO said:
I think this unfortunate sailor may have gotten hung up on a shoal off the point? As seen this am leaving Eagle Harbor. Not trying to make light of their predicament stuff happens to the best of us.
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I always go way wider than I should leaving the harbor and heading north in my little 17 foot boat. It’s shallow there but that is surprising. That said, I have no idea what the draft of a boat like that is.

Edit…wonder if it happened at a much lower tide as seen in that photo and that is the aftermath. Interesting nonetheless.


Stonedfish said:
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www.bainbridgereview.com

Spring has spawn: Herring return after ‘Holy cow’ recovery | Bainbridge Island Review

Spring may have melted away dreams of snow, but the beaches of Bainbridge Island are still dappled with pearly white specks — herring season is upon us, and if recent trends continue, it’s going to be a party.
www.bainbridgereview.com www.bainbridgereview.com
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My wife and I were commenting about how many sea lions we were hearing playing with our dogs in the back yard the last few weeks. I was wondering if the spawn was happening. We are one large lot away from the water on Bainbridge so it’s rare to hear them often. Now I know for sure. Hope the rezzies are fattening up as well…
 
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Only one cutt this morning.
One perfectly good Heinz Hot Taco Sauce available upon request.
Time for some yard work.
SF

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