SRC Help

[Mukman]

I would have never posted this question on the Forum Which Shall Not Be Named, because I think I would have gotten lit up. I still might, but here goes:

I'm a rookie to SRC fishing. I don't want/expect anyone to share their best beaches or best flies, but what I'd like to know (so as to begin the voyage of discovery) is: what are the characteristics of a good looking SRC beach on the salt? Are tide swings important? Incoming or outgoing better? Is there a season that is better than another? Should there be fresh water flowing into salt near by? Kelp good or kelp bad? So many questions.....

I'd love to spend some time in the salt, but seeing as how it's kind of big area, I wanted to narrow my search a bit based upon some basic parameters. I live in the N Sound region.

Thanks - Keith

 

[Stonedfish]

You’ll get a lot of answers and opinions on this.
Here are my two cents.
Moving water certainly helps. You’ll tend to have more success when the tide is moving.
Incoming or outgoing is going to depend on the beach. Some fish better on the outgoing, others on the incoming. Pick a couple of beach you think will produce and try to fish them at different tidal phases. You’ll start seeing patterns develop. Over time, you know which beaches to hit based on the tides. It takes some time but it is all part of the process of beach fishing. I will say though if I had only one tide to fish, it would be a early morning high into an outgoing.

Beaches with pebbles, oysters and barnacled covered rocks are all good bets. Places with eel grass beds nearby can be good as well. Though you can catch cutts over sandy bottoms, the other types of bottom are better in my opinion.
Looks for areas with points, depressions etc. Having creeks nearby is always good.

Where you fish will also play a key in your success. North sound fish tend to be early entry fish (river spawners) while south sound fish are late entry fish (creek spawners).
It can be a tough game in the north sound right now and fish will start spawning soon if not already in the south sound.

I hope this helps.
SF

 

[Uptonogood]

I took a class many years ago offered by a fly shop in Seattle. I don’t remember the cost but it gave me a huge boost on targeting SRC and salmon from the beach. I’d call around and see what’s offered.

 

[Zak]

Check out this thread on the old site:

New to Washington (Mukilteo)

www.washingtonflyfishing.com

I asked a similar question and got lots of very well-informed and helpful replies!

 

[Mukman]

Check out this thread on the old site:

New to Washington (Mukilteo)

www.washingtonflyfishing.com

I asked a similar question and got lots of very well-informed and helpful replies!

Thanks Zak - both for the shared info and for the knowledge that people were helpful in responding to a genuine, well intended question.

 

[Mukman]

You’ll get a lot of answers and opinions on this.
Here are my two cents.
Moving water certainly helps. You’ll tend to have more success when the tide is moving.
Incoming or outgoing is going to depend on the beach. Some fish better on the outgoing, others on the incoming. Pick a couple of beach you think will produce and try to fish them at different tidal phases. You’ll start seeing patterns develop. Over time, you know which beaches to hit based on the tides. It takes some time but it is all part of the process of beach fishing. I will say though if I had only one tide to fish, it would be a early morning high into an outgoing.

Beaches with pebbles, oysters and barnacled covered rocks are all good bets. Places with eel grass beds nearby can be good as well. Though you can catch cutts over sandy bottoms, the other types of bottom are better in my opinion.
Looks for areas with points, depressions etc. Having creeks nearby is always good.

Where you fish will also play a key in your success. North sound fish tend to be early entry fish (river spawners) while south sound fish are late entry fish (creek spawners).
It can be a tough game in the north sound right now and fish will start spawning soon if not already in the south sound.

I hope this helps.
SF

Thanks SF!

 

[Nick Clayton]

IMO current is the biggest X factor for src fishing, and is a big part of what makes beach fishing tough for some folks to get into. On top of finding a decent src beach, which SF covered very thoroughly above, current is generally what dictates whether or not you're going to have much success. You can fish a great beach with little to no current, and maybe scratch out a fish or two. Come back when the current is moving nicely and catch a dozen fish standing in the same spot.

The fish don't necessarily move when the current dies, they're likely still present, but moving water just changes their attitude. It's pretty cool to watch this transition play out in real time.

One thing about beach fishing is that the only way to figure out when the current will be moving at any particular beach is to fish it a lot. High tide, low tide, incoming, outgoing, through slack.... a successful beach angler needs to fish that same beach a lot to begin to dial in on the best times to fish it. This often discourages folks and eventually drives them to pursue other fisheries. Put in your time, and you'll be rewarded.

Of course there are zero hard and fast rules, and there are plenty of exceptions out there. Some of the best src fishing I've experienced has come while fishing muddy beaches with little current. But these situations are fairly rare and IMO very location and timing dependent.

Overall I say finding moving water is the most critical aspect.

 

[Smalma]

While I rarely fish the salt for cutthroat, I would think that NOAA Current Prediction for Washington would be an useful resource to at least get a rough idea of when to expect decent currents at a given or nearby location.

curt

 

[jasmillo]

One thing about beach fishing is that the only way to figure out when the current will be moving at any particular beach is to fish it a lot. High tide, low tide, incoming, outgoing, through slack.... a successful beach angler needs to fish that same beach a lot to begin to dial in on the best times to fish it. This often discourages folks and eventually drives them to pursue other fisheries. Put in your time, and you'll be rewarded.

SF and Nick laid out some great info to get you started (no surprise there!). As someone who just started figuring out this fishery the last 6-7 years, the section I pulled from Nick’s post above was the most critical piece for me. I tagged hundreds of access spots across the sound when I first started and then narrowed it down to a handful (6-8) that I fished heavily and close to exlusively for probably 3 years through all kinds of conditions. I learned so much doing that.

 

[IHFISH]

I don't want/expect anyone to share their best beaches or best flies,

I posted my thoughts on this stuff over in the other SRC thread, but yes, best beaches are held close. However, if there are secret SRC flies I do not know about them! I think folks enjoy talking about what patterns work for them and what they enjoy fishing and tying. I certainly haven't caught a large number of them, but they've taken everything from chartreuse over hot pink clousers, squirrel tail winged chum fry patterns, and the fly in my avatar which is a Danish sea trout fly called an "Autumn fly," which also works in February! More experienced SRC anglers have taken fish on a much greater variety of flies.

 

[MoreQuestionsThanAnswers]

I’m a north sound guy (shilshoe), I’ve fished for src twice, caught zero, and I’m hooked. I look forward to spending the next couple of years learning this fisheries. I’ve caught fish, now I enjoy learning something new, and I’m convinced src will be worth the effort.