Puget Sound
- Thread starter Stonedfish
- Start date
Coho
Steelhead
You are fine. I always eat the eggs, they are delicious. They are also supposed to be one of the best superfoods for health as well!
@Kfish - I took a stab at your clouser muddler, it came out ok for a first try, but i definitely need to work on my spun deer hair skills!Thanks, I do like it a lot. It fishes well, swim well and caught fish, will have to tie some more since I snagged that one in the rocks.
I tied another one with funky pink wings and yellow spinning deerhair, that color combo turned out to be a sculpin magnet. Caught a bunch of them on back to back casts, @Irafly I'll sell you the secret sculpin recipe
It has a rolled mallard wing, then olive artic fox to transition over to olive spinning deer hair collar/head. Then another small clump of olive spinning deer hair for the head.
I didn’t have olive arctic fox so I subbed olive craft fur. And the only olive deer hair I had is much darker than what you used. I like the lighter color better. I also see now that my tail is too short. I think it will fish though
Thanks again for the cool pattern, I will try tying more.
Yeah that’ll catch for sure!@Kfish - I took a stab at your clouser muddler, it came out ok for a first try, but i definitely need to work on my spun deer hair skills!
I didn’t have olive arctic fox so I subbed olive craft fur. And the only olive deer hair I had is much darker than what you used. I like the lighter color better. I also see now that my tail is too short. I think it will fish though
Thanks again for the cool pattern, I will try tying more.
View attachment 130431
I came of age angling wise where it was inconceivable to fish for these fish on purpose. I can't stop seeing and thinking of them as unwanted bycatch. Part of a generation gap I suppose.
The same with bull trout ( known as Dolly Varden back then) and
LM bass. My grandma would shake her head saying why do you fish for those trash fish.
All good. To each his/her own. I’ll personally fish for anything that will eat a fly. In particular, double digit fish that pull hard . The fish in the 3rd pic was ~12 pounds (32 inches). Not many options to catch fish that size on a fly that are less than an hour from my house.
If I was retired, I’d probably be chasing summer steelhead or salmon in rivers right now but with work schedule and other fishing priorities that eat up my precious time off, chum in October will have to do for me. Or rivers closer to home will have to open. Not holding my breath on that…
Last edited:
I am with @jasmillo, Inigo and Tim on this one...
Edited to add a toothy friend from a previous year, I have not been able to target them this year!
Last edited:
Your ancestors would have scoffed at catch and release, or even a rod and reel.
Nets, pitchforks and explosive devices are much more efficient tools to get food...
Letting food go is just stupid.
speedbird
Life of the Party
I was born at a time where you are lucky to be able to fish for anything, but I've grown to love chum because they are everything the other anadromous fish aren't: Plentiful, aggressive, and big. Steelhead are aggressive and sometimes big, but you have to devote your life to finding them, and as a student that is quite difficult. Coho are plentiful, but not very big, and they seem to only be aggressive in certain circumstances that continue to elude me. Pinks are plentiful and aggressive, but not big at all. Chinook are big and aggressive, but no longer plentiful in Puget Sound rivers and the rivers I can target them are a long ways away from home. Sockeye are neither plentiful, nor aggressive, nor big. I only target them in one river for the tablefare.
After a long salmon season of trying and failing with the other species, it feels nice to be able to go to a river or estuary full of chum, and feel confident that even if I still have more years of learning to go through before I can catch the more desirable fish, I can at least be proud of ending a season with at least one hard fighting fish that I didn't need to use commercial style downriggers to catch. After fishing for chum I usually like to go to a creek or upriver past closed fishing signs and just watch them spawn and snap some photos
After a long salmon season of trying and failing with the other species, it feels nice to be able to go to a river or estuary full of chum, and feel confident that even if I still have more years of learning to go through before I can catch the more desirable fish, I can at least be proud of ending a season with at least one hard fighting fish that I didn't need to use commercial style downriggers to catch. After fishing for chum I usually like to go to a creek or upriver past closed fishing signs and just watch them spawn and snap some photos
Last edited:
Great article, Josh. I wish I’d had it when I started chasing them.I am trying to put together a full fledged how to from my perspective on Sea Run Cutthroat fishing in Puget Sound. I have linked the article below but mostly why I want to share it here is to gather topics you'd like to see or that you think would be helpful for those getting into this fishery that I can write about! I am currently writing about Chum Fry which I will add but want to try and cover everything! Thank you in advance!
Fly Fish Puget Sound: Ultimate Guide
Learn expert tips on how to fly fish Puget Sound for Sea Run Cutthroat in this comprehensive guide. Reach your angling goals today!spawnflyfish.com
Forgive me for being late and especially if it’s already been said, but I’d give a little more info on fan casting. Mentioning things like casting to 5 o’clock, 4 o’clock, etc, and when you move move 1/2 the length of your cast and repeat, could help shorten/flatten the learning curve and help folks be more efficient.
Last edited:
speedbird
Life of the Party
Little amendment- my mind is on freshwater and tidewater right now. I am well aware that the "not very aggressive" note does not apply to feeding saltwater coho whatsoever.
speedbird
Life of the Party
I did argue in defense of the lowly chum but having seen the jumps and rolls Steelhead make I am not sure I would be tying chum jigs right now if the PS hatcheries were still in full swing
They are still a dog salmon. I am part of the grew up in puget sound salmon snob generation passed down. Now I go to fancy expensive restaurants marketing them as sustainable Keta salmon and the waitress just keeps telling me they are keta salmon. Tried to get some nice fish and chips for the second time up for a vacation. Pink salmon and chips is all that’s offered. I don’t want pinks and I don’t want salmon deep fried. Restaurants not realizing there core market. Had their pizza for second time and may not be back. Ended up getting fish and chips at Anthony’s later.
Is it going this way in pnw.
that is great information, ill see how I can make those additions have added several things already over the last several weeks. I definitely want this to be the best living document for Sea Run Cutthroat fishing out there. Honestly kind of want to put a book together. We sell all the books on them here in the shop but it would still be fun to create!