Puget Sound
- Thread starter Stonedfish
- Start date
Hey everyone!
I'm a college student heading back home for Thanksgiving week and am hoping to get out and do some morning fly fishing around Marine Area 13. I'm really looking forward to getting back on the water, but I just found out that king tides are expected during the week I'll be in town.
I'm still fairly new to fly fishing in the salt, so I'm wondering how much the king tides typically affect fishing conditions, especially water clarity. Does the increased tidal movement usually stir things up enough to make fishing totally unproductive, or is it still worth getting out there in the mornings?
I'd also appreciate any advice on areas or conditions to look for during that time of year. I'm just hoping to get some time on the water while I'm home and get a much needed break from school!
I'm a college student heading back home for Thanksgiving week and am hoping to get out and do some morning fly fishing around Marine Area 13. I'm really looking forward to getting back on the water, but I just found out that king tides are expected during the week I'll be in town.
I'm still fairly new to fly fishing in the salt, so I'm wondering how much the king tides typically affect fishing conditions, especially water clarity. Does the increased tidal movement usually stir things up enough to make fishing totally unproductive, or is it still worth getting out there in the mornings?
I'd also appreciate any advice on areas or conditions to look for during that time of year. I'm just hoping to get some time on the water while I'm home and get a much needed break from school!
Colinb
Steelhead
Fish the incoming or outgoing tidal movements. The tidal movement pushes bait and other food around. Make sure the places you pick give enough back casting room. Look for structure; boulders, grass, rocky beaches, freshwater entering the salt. State, city, county parks and anything else with public access. If you see fish jump cast to them, if you see bait moving around or jumping cast that way. If no movement start casting parallel with beach and work your casts in fan until you’ve covered all the water.
Probably the biggest downside of king tides besides lack of beach is the amount of crap they put in the water. Add in leaves coming off of trees and it can be tough at times. The good thing is if there is good tidal movement it will blow out a lot of that stuff and give you some clean water to fish. You’ll also get more beach to fish as the tide drops.
Good luck and have fun.
SF
Got out a few times this week with some board members. Veterans Day was a company holiday and took I took off Thursday as well. Fishing was not hot but fish were caught. Some of the fish from those trips.
This morning @Kfish and I also got to watch a pod of orcas have their way with a large sea lion. I assume it ended poorly for the sea lion though we did not stick around to find out for sure. There were fish to be caught and neither of us were interested in having a 500 lb sea lion try to take refuge on my swim platform.
This morning @Kfish and I also got to watch a pod of orcas have their way with a large sea lion. I assume it ended poorly for the sea lion though we did not stick around to find out for sure. There were fish to be caught and neither of us were interested in having a 500 lb sea lion try to take refuge on my swim platform.
Thanks for sharing the video, very cool! That first SRC is another BEAST.
Semper_Fly
Steelhead
A few from Veterans Day.
It's been way too long since I've been out for sea-runs. Felt nice to make the connection again. Busted out the 5wt/floating line setup using a spider gurgler. Was mostly curious to see if there were any signs of life at this beach so surface fly it was. Always exciting to see those chases. Bonus to make the connections. Lost two with three to the net.
It's been way too long since I've been out for sea-runs. Felt nice to make the connection again. Busted out the 5wt/floating line setup using a spider gurgler. Was mostly curious to see if there were any signs of life at this beach so surface fly it was. Always exciting to see those chases. Bonus to make the connections. Lost two with three to the net.
East Coaster
Steelhead
Sound advice (pun intended) from @Colinb. If you're not seeing fish or bait movement, I would use a surface fly as per @Semper_Fly to see if there are SRCs around (they'll show if there). Don't spend a lot of time casting to what may be empty water. I made this mistake on my first couple of trips to Puget Sound. If you don't see any slashes or swipes at your fly, move to somewhere else (unless you're fishing at slack low or high - then wait until you get some tidal movement). Good luck!
Bambooflyguy
Legend
Have any sea lion patterns? I’ll bet those Orcas would get you into the backing!