Puget Sound

[Divad]

We're approaching the time of year where things can get a little bit goofy on the south sound, at least in regards to src. Not that fish can't be caught, but I'd say I'm less surprised by slower days this time of year than others.

Coho wise I haven't been seeing large numbers of them in the areas I fish a lot, but I have been encountering some here and there and often where I don't expect to see them. I love those little guys but they sure can be a mystery to me.

Really nice weather out on the water today. As close to perfect fishing conditions as I could hope for this time of year.

I've found a couple beaches in the SS to have Coho pretty frequently on outgoing in schools of 100. All in the ~10/12in mark Even if I am not fishing and walking the dog they make their whereabouts known crashing surface. Two winters now I see them hang out at beaches for long periods of time. I wonder if you go back to those places you saw them if they are still around?

No doubt they make a tug-less day fun but I don't really want to target the tiny ones.

Where are the cutthroat that are more frequently around the SS go in the winter? Still in streams or do they move out to other water?




"Specifically, Coastal Cutthroat Trout were significantly closer to their natal stream in the fall than those fish captured in winter, spring and summer."

So if they're basing that off the cutthroat's native stream, the 11.7 km (9.2 ± S.D.) from the mouth of their natal stream average is likely most driven by season with Winter and Summer probably the most dispersed. 10mi is about Harstine Island and East, big bonus for the Kitsap side.

 

[Stonedfish]

As @Nick Clayton said, this tends to be kind of a funky time for saltwater cutt fishing. It seems to happen just about every year around this time. I call it the winter doldrums.
As mentioned, you can still catch fish but it isn’t has easy as it was earlier in the fall.
Some days the fish are totally focused on little stuff like amphipods and euphausiids, which isn’t nearly as fun to fish. Again just my opinion though I know people that do enjoy fishing the small stuff.
I doubt many south sound or canal fish are up in right streams now. Right about this time of year is when I’ve caught a few post spawn fish, but not many. Peak spawning time is likely March with fish spawning on both sides of that (Feb and April) for south sound and canal late entry creek spawners.
SF

 

[Nick Clayton]

I've found a couple beaches in the SS to have Coho pretty frequently on outgoing in schools of 100. All in the ~10/12in mark Even if I am not fishing and walking the dog they make their whereabouts known crashing surface. Two winters now I see them hang out at beaches for long periods of time. I wonder if you go back to those places you saw them if they are still around?

No doubt they make a tug-less day fun but I don't really want to target the tiny ones.

Where are the cutthroat that are more frequently around the SS go in the winter? Still in streams or do they move out to other water?


View attachment 51691

"Specifically, Coastal Cutthroat Trout were significantly closer to their natal stream in the fall than those fish captured in winter, spring and summer."

So if they're basing that off the cutthroat's native stream, the 11.7 km (9.2 ± S.D.) from the mouth of their natal stream average is likely most driven by season with Winter and Summer probably the most dispersed. 10mi is about Harstine Island and East, big bonus for the Kitsap side.

In the time I've been regularly fishing the south sound, and in the general areas I tend to focus on, I've seen a bit of a cycle if you will in regards to where I regularly find large numbers of coho. It seems I'll find some very consistent areas that I can count on for a couple few years, then things change a bit. No idea what would account for that exactly. That said I also have areas where I do find them fairly regularly even if not in huge numbers. To me they seem like wanderers in a sense. I may consistently see large numbers of them for two or three seasons in one area, then the next season that area doesn't produce much but I start seeing them in a new area. I say "area" because I am fishing from a boat so I have the luxury of fishing anywhere. So maybe it's, say, a stretch that is between two points that may be an eighth of a mile stretch where I know I can kinda just slow cruise in that area until I see signs of them. That mobile advantage means I don't necessarily need to be as focused on the particular tide at the time. They may like to hang out on a certain beach or point at a certain part of the tide, but I tend to just go to that area and move around till I see them. Obviously on the beach it's more productive to figure out what part of the tide you find them the most, like you mentioned in your post regarding an ebb tide at a couple beaches. All that said, if you find them regularly on a certain beach at a certain tide for a couple of years I would definitely be interested in focusing on that same beach/tide until something changed and I stopped finding them with the same regularity.

Its also worth noting that the south sound is quite large, so while I am in a boat and able to cover more water, there's a lot of the south sound I don't/cant regularly focus on, so I can't speak specifically to the waters where you spend the bulk of your time.

I'm with @Stonedfish in that I don't believe too many cutts are spawning just yet. I'm certainly no biologist though and don't claim to be an expert on such things by any stretch. The problem with cutthroat, IMO, is that its often tough to tell if they have truly moved elsewhere or if they are just not active/wanting to eat flies at any particular time, or some other behavioral change. If I fish a spot for a bit, don't catch anything, don't see any fish following flies or showing themselves on the surface etc I am never sure if that means there are no fish present, if they just aren't interested in the flies I've shown them, if they just aren't actively feeding etc. Lately I haven't been seeing a lot of surface activity from the cutthroat in general, even in areas where we are catching good numbers of fish. Its my belief that tides are important not always because it makes the fish move into a certain piece of water, but more because water movement kinda changes their attitude in regards to eating. Have you ever arrived at a beach with no current movement, started fishing for an hour with zero action and then the water gets moving and suddenly you're catching some fish? I personally don't believe those fish are just roaming around a large area following the current, I tend to believe that they are generally there all along and instead when the conditions are favorable to them they just sort of "wake up" and get active. So at times I believe it's not a matter of them having moved, but rather at that particular time the conditions just don't have them focused on active feeding. Its my personal belief that this time of year those periods of ideal conditions are a bit more important in regards to catching some fish compared to say the fall when I find I can catch some fish in less ideal conditions more frequently. What exactly attributes to that I've never been sure.

Also, as Brian mentioned, I think the food sources they focus on this time of year tend to change as well. I find them to be a bit less likely to actively chase down baitfish and bigger patterns and more focused on smaller stuff. Doesnt mean you can't catch them with those patterns, but I do find them to be less responsive to that stuff, especially in less than ideal conditions, compared to other parts of the year. Of course when everything lines up and conditions are to their liking you can certainly experience that aggressive behavior and catch them with relative ease.

Like Brian I am not a big fan of fishing tiny stuff. Just my personal preference. I also feel I've never truly cracked that code. I've caught fish on tiny stuff, but can't say with any confidence that when I find them sipping small that I have that scenario perfectly dialed in. That side of this fishery has always felt like it was just out of my reach in terms of figuring out consistent success. I've had moderate success with various flies/techniques but never totally cracked the code and over the years have just decided I don't really enjoy that type of fishing so if I find fish feeding on tiny shit I tend to just cover them with my standard flies and move on if they aren't going to respond. Of course again I'm in a boat so moving on is easy. Back when I fished the beaches a ton I definitely spent more time trying to get those fish to eat something.

One last thought, when I don't see signs of fish activity or fish that are obviously feeding, I personally don't spend a lot of time in the area. Without some sort of positive or negative visual feedback it's tough to figure out if the fish are just not interested in my flies, just aren't really interested in feeding, or just aren't there. If I have two anglers fishing in my boat they are almost always fishing two different flies that I have high confidence in. If we pull in and fish a stretch of water without any takes, hookups, follows, and aren't seeing surface activity, then I'm not likely to switch flies and keep fishing the same water. To me it just becomes too much of a guessing game and without some sort of visual clues I'm more likely to just move on. In a constantly changing environment that has so many variables it can be tough in that regard. If you go fish Rocky Ford and can see a fish in front of you you have the option to stand there for two hours changing flies/presentations and watching for a reaction. This can be the same in productive streams or lakes you know well....you know you're showing flies to the fish it's just a matter of tweaking things till you crack the code. The sound often doesn't present that luxury, so rather than focusing on one area where there may or may not be any fish currently present and constantly changing things up, I tend to focus on fishing patterns/techniques I have confidence in and change locations until I find agreeable fish. But no doubt this approach is much easier when mobile in a boat.

I've caught my share of cutthroat and spent an awful lot of time on Puget Sound, but in many ways I'm no more knowledgeable about the behavior of these fish than I was when I started. They can be quite an enigma in this ever changing environment. It's a large part about what I love about this fishery. It never fails that anytime I start to think I have something figured out they go and throw me a curve ball. I love it and it frustrates me at the same time. Yesterday we hit some spots that have been consistently producing for me my last handful of trips in the same conditions that have been producing, yet these areas didn't produce well. We didn't have spectacular fishing overall, but where we found our best fishing was in some areas that haven't been fishing well for me lately under the same conditions. Go figure.

Anyway, just some of my random morning thoughts. Ultimately I am a big believer that the best thing any PS fly angler can do is just fish as much as possible. So much of this is the timing, and while I know that's a bit of a blanket answer to this fishery, it's the truth. Going through slower periods is not at all uncommon and happens to everyone. I think confidence is key here. If I hit known productive spots several times in a row or more without much success, it doesn't stop me from going back next time. Paying attention to the conditions present when I do find success is important so that I can try to replicate that success consistently, but even that isn't a sure fire thing. Some of my absolute favorite and most productive spots don't produce every time, even under ideal conditions. It's what keeps me coming back

 

[Divad]

Thank you @Stonedfish and @Nick Clayton that breath of wisdom is encouraging and helpful! It’s easily the hardest fishery I’ve tried to tackle for consistency. Which is also why I enjoy it, because I’m the optimist that thinks I’ll become the wizard I agree with you on the movement scenario, I move as much as time allows but I’m definitely playing smaller patterns because I enjoy the lighter 10ft 3wt. Large clousers or fat headed sculpins are tough until I’m willing to pull out a larger rod.

There is one spot I watch at high tide usually a few cutties come about with the schools of coho but I just haven’t seen that activity in the winter. It makes me think either think their tidal preference changes, or they’re swimming out further in the sound.

Knowing what exactly is in their stomachs at varying months would be awesome too. I need some X-ray goggles. Or hope someone logged this back at some point in history.

 

[IHFISH]

There is a study/thesis on south sound SRC diet by a guy named Joseph M. Jauquet. A google search will pull it up. Study years were 1999-2002.

 

[SilverFly]

Very nice indeed.
View attachment 51689

Agreed!

 

[Stonedfish]

Sorry @Wadin' Boot
Couldn’t quite fit the mega sized Jim Buoy into my stripping basket.
SF

 

[SilverFly]

Couple more from yesterday.

 

[roger stephens]

Nick Clayton: Great write up ! You and I have the same philosophy about fish out of a boat. If I fish a location for 5 minutes or so and do not see or hook any fish I will go to another location. I usually fish 12 to 15 location every outing . Occasionally I will find the "mother lode" and fish there for a while.

I frequently eat resident coho which usually have delicious, red meat. I always inspect the stomach content of these fish. Frequently they are stuffed full of sand shrimp which are available as a year-round food source. It is the reason why I fish top water and occasionally subsurface sand shrimp pattern about 90% of the time when fishing for sea-run cutthroat with excellent success. My reasoning is if it is s food source for resident coho, sea-run cutthroat will also be using sand shrimp as a year-round food source..

Roger

 

[jasmillo]

Had a pretty lackluster lake day yesterday. Just a couple small rainbows to hand and a couple other lost fish. So, decided to hit a couple of close by beaches this morning. Cold, breezy and the fishing was just ehh. Not a huge surprise, especially in our more northern MA’s. Landed a couple of fish nothing spectacular and lost another. Beautifully, sunny winter morning though.

 

[Gary Knowels]

Had a pretty lackluster lake day yesterday. Just a couple small rainbows to hand and a couple other lost fish. So, decided to hit a couple of close by beaches this morning. Cold, breezy and the fishing was just ehh. Not a huge surprise, especially in our more northern MA’s. Landed a couple of fish nothing spectacular and lost another. Beautifully, sunny winter morning though.

View attachment 51866

View attachment 51865

I like that beach, partially for this view on a clear day.

 

[Stonedfish]

27° with a stiff north wind when I hit the beach this morning, Wind died off, water went flat and it got way warmer then was forecast, which resulted in me being way overdressed and sweating like a pig.
Lots of people, rock throwers and water dogs out enjoying the nice weather.
Way too many folks for my liking.

Any clues on this one? I did a bit of research. V-EMB seems to possibly be part of some type of pallet system.
SF

 

[Wanative]

27° with a stiff north wind when I hit the beach this morning, Wind died off, water went flat and it got way warmer then was forecast, which resulted in me being way overdressed and sweating like a pig.
Lots of people, rock throwers and water dogs out enjoying the nice weather.
Way too many folks for my liking.

Any clues on this one? I did a bit of research. V-EMB seems to possibly be part of some type of pallet system.
SF

View attachment 51948View attachment 51949

Looks like a foot off of a fish tote.

 

[Kfish]

Took a walk to Richmond Beach today.

 

[Matt B]

Lots of people, rock throwers and water dogs out enjoying the nice weather.
Way too many folks for my liking.

Took a walk to Richmond Beach today.

View attachment 51986

 

[Divad]

There is a study/thesis on south sound SRC diet by a guy named Joseph M. Jauquet. A google search will pull it up. Study years were 1999-2002.

That is a great study for every Puget Sound angler to read. Thank you! I love research like this, I side stepped into so many cited documents of it this evening.


It’s also helpful to see our south sound streams would be classified in that small category, and with limited large systems our fish are peaking in rivers right now. With exits of kelts in Mar/Apr coinciding with chum fry and other smolts. You layer that ontop of the average distance research from prior discussion and South Sound difficulties become more understood.

(Good news break) The research also verifies that we have some sizeable averages for the SS Olympia/Lacey aficionados. Even if it’s from 2000 and back, average females at 16.5in +/- 2. Having encountered them, glad to see that size is still about. A lot of great bits in this research paper.



As if my respect for the fish couldn’t be higher.

To help understand the winter woes, IF that South Sound SRC is out from the creeks, which is more unlikely right now in Feb, food I’d bet would be amphipods or remaining chum rot that I’ve seen still about. Chum flesh flies, amphipods or finally accepting that until Mar/Apr a drive is destined for the Deep SS crowd looking for relative SRC success.




Food is based off opportunity I’ve gathered and our opportunity in the South Sound is some great chum fisheries. These fish have been tuned to this timing for years and relay spawning and successful future generations to these natural events. Maybe stating the obvious but this really helps get the whole picture.




The earlier peaking, larger, SRC spawn rivers are further north as grouped in the study. And to add to the SS struggle the big ones wait to eat fry while gorging on eggs prespawn ( )



(Good news) The multiple studies repeat that not enough data is available to make hard pressed concrete answers, especially inlet-to-inlet or stream-to-stream. Leaving room for us an angler to an area to become localized biologists.

Learning the food sources at our own beaches year round and success during these tough couple months is absolute gold . Makes you value the merits of wisdom from others shared, in a game that can challenge even the best of communal support (thank you everybody that contributes to the Puget Sound Effort Bank)

 

[Wetswinger]

If I'm reading it correctly, in the Winter worm patterns should be golden..

 

[Divad]

I was given a suggestion from a renowned local angler to try a creek the other day that oddly enough is one of few with chum carcasses still remaining. I struck out and was quick to write it off in my head when another passerby confirmed they never catch fish there.

Something tells me given its late season food source this would be a beach where cutts might utilize "re-entry" methods or could draw fish from further reaches for the easy food. Now all I want to do is fish that beach at varying tides with a flesh fly until the already diminishing carcasses are gone.

 

[Kfish]

Took me a second to connect this haha

 

[Stonedfish]

@Kfish doesn’t have a golden retriever which was the breed swimming laps around me while I was fishing…. but wait, quite a few other PNWFF members do have goldies.
SF