OPST Free Tying Demonstration
OPST’s Trevor Covich is stopping by to do a FREE tying demo.
WDFW Sportfishing Rule Change Update
The WDFW and the Fish & Wildlife Commission are having their final meeting about the proposed winter steelhead fishing rules for the Olympic Peninsula. It is Friday, December 11th and it starts at 8am.
Public input is short this time and will begin around 8:15
This meeting is more about showing the commission who is willing to take the time and show up.
Meeting place:
Northwest Maritime Center
431 Water Street
Port Townsend, WA 98368
Time:
Friday December 11th at 8am
Summary from the November meeting in Olympia: Compiled from the written comments received from citizens.
Proposal #1: No bait during the spring steelhead season.
This proposal had a ratio of 10% against to 90% for the no bait restrictions.
Proposal #2: No kill, catch & release on native steelhead and rainbow trout.
This proposal also had a 10% / 90% ratio in favor of no kill.
Proposal #3: No fishing from boats in the upper Hoh above Morgan’s Crossing.
This proposal was split 50 / 50
P #1 – This rule is to help protect the juvenile fish in the rivers also. Still some push-back from a few guides who refuse to give up any and all ways to be ultra-efficient and effective every day of every season.
P #2 – Another rule that is long overdue, and the overwhelming ratio of support proves it is
time to join the rest of the northwest and Canada and stop killing native steelhead.
If the right remains to kill one fish per year, and maybe becomes a tag system like elk
hunting, then perhaps that angler should be done fishing for the rest of the season.
P #3 – This proposal was only for the short stretch of river above Morgan’s Crossing and still
every guide that testified at the November meeting was against it. The next put-in
above Morgan’s is washed out now anyway. Very few of the guides went up there.
It seemed perhaps they were afraid of the precedent it may create.
This is the best and most equal of all the proposals. It treats all anglers the same,
whether they are drifting corkies, floats & jigs, beads or glo bugs with strike
indicators. Most of the fly fishing guiding anymore is the same as side drifting with
gear. It is just as deadly (sometimes more) and has turned our sport into a numbers
game where native steelhead are considered the same as hatchery coho or triploid
trout. This is supposed to be about the fish! It’s not about how easy it should be at all
times to be the most productive and dominate every fishery every month of the year.
This proposal, especially if expanded to more rivers and more river miles, could be
the best thing for our winter steelhead fishery. It will decrease the encounter rates
which now are much too high. It will give the fish some refuge and places to hide
where anglers in boats can’t get right on top of them every day. It will give the bank
anglers more areas where they will not be subjected to the constant parade of boats
and guides. It will increase the enjoyment and the anglers experience.
It will be good for the fish!!
We will have to wait until December 11 or 12 for the commissions decision.
Will they do the right thing this time?
Upcoming Events!
We’re getting into the busy season here, and we’ve got quite a few events planned for the next few months!
First off, the boys at OPST are coming to the shop on Dec 19th @ 1pm do a free tying demo! Not something you’ll want to miss. And we’ll have free beer. If you want good beer you’ll have to bring your own, but should be a good time. If you haven’t seen any of their videos yet, you should.
We’ve got one more Spey Casting Class for 2015 on Dec 12th with only one more spot available. So make your move if you want to join! (360) 417-0937
Otherwise we’ve got a bunch of new classes, both fishing and tying, coming up for 2016! Here is what we’re looking for January and February!
Learn to spey cast on a local river in this full day class. You’ll meet up with head guide Curt Reed at either the Elwha or one of the West End rivers and learn all of the basics, or fine tune your current casts! We provide the rods and reels, but feel free to bring your own. You will need to bring a lunch and your waders.
Time : 9-3ish
Place: Elwha River under the Pedestrian Bridge off of Crown Z Road in Port Angeles
Dates: December 12th 2015, January 9th 2016, January 30th, February 13th
Cost: $95
FREE Tying Demo on Saturdays
Stop on by the shop to pick up some new tips and tricks for tying or a demo of our hottest patterns! Every Saturday will be something different from dubbing loops, palmering hackles, UV products, and splitting and wrapping feathers.
Time: 10am
Date: Saturdays starting January 9th
Cost: Free
Fly Tying Course
Three classes per course. Both the Beginner and Steelhead course will teach a variety of tying techniques giving you the foundation you need to tie whatever your heart desires, and you’ll walk away with flies that are tried and true for the fish of the Olympic Peninsula!
Time:@ 3-5:30 or 6-8:30
Dates: Beginner Classes: Wednesdays January 6th, 13th, and 20th 2016
Steelhead Classes: Thursdays January 7th, 14th, and 21st 2016
Cost: $60 for the three classes including the materials!
Give us a call, send an email, or go online to sign up for any of these!
(360)417-0937
info@waterswest.com
OPportunity to comment on Rule Changes
Olympic Peninsula Sportfishing Rule Changes
There is an OPportunity (get it?!) to comment on Sportfishing rule changes on the Olympic Peninsula. You’ve got two days left to read, and comment on the proposed WDFW rule changes. These rules would directly impact wild steelhead…hence our concern. The simplest and most comprehensive take on these rule changes is on Trout Unlimited’s website :
TWO DAYS! This is such an easy thing to do and has a real chance at helping the future of wild steelhead. There has been so much written on this subject by incredibly talented and educated fishermen and writers, I will not try to do it justice here. It is something you should look into though. Here is a great article by Bill Herzog, a renown steelhead fisherman, to get you started.
http://www.wildsteelheaders.org/anger/
Take a few minutes to leave a comment.
For an opportunity to give public testimony on these rule proposals, be sure to attend the WDFW Commission Meeting on November 14 at 8 a.m.
What: WDFW Commission Meeting
When: November 14th, 8:00 am
Where: Natural Resources Building
1111 Washington St SE
Olympia WA 98501
First Floor, Room 172
Waters West Spey Day!
Waters West 1st Annual Spey Day:
We’re just under a week away from the Spey Day! We’ve had an awesome response for this event, and really appreciate all those who are coming out for it. We’re pretty excited to get out there and drink some beer and cast. We just wanted to remind everyone of a few things, and mainly to carpool if you can. We’ve had a lot more RSVP’s than we expected and parking is limited. We promise we’ll get a bigger venue next time, but this time around we’re gunna get cozy. Just a few other things about the event.
- Bring your waders and boots! If you’re looking to try stuff out don’t leave these at home!
- Do not bring any flies! The Elwha is still closed to fishing.
- Bring your WDFW Vehicle Pass (included in purchase of license) or Discover Pass
- Carpool! There has been more RSVP’s than we expected, but the more the merrier!
- Bring CASH for food and beverages. The event is still free, but if you want some grub you’ll need cash. There’s an upcharge on credit cards.
- Take Laird Road to Elwha River Road to access Crown Z Rd. The turn off of 112 is tight and generally requires a 3 point turn. Do-able, but to keep things running smoothly take Laird and watch for Crown Z road on your left. It’s a narrow road, so be cautious.
- We are doing this thing rain or shine! Bring a rain jacket so we don’t have to use it.
Bring a lawn chair, cast some different setups, try out the NEW lineup for 2016, ask lots of questions, eat some awesome food, and just hang out!
Details:
When: Sunday, October 4th from 10-4pm
Where: Under the Pedestrian Bridge on the Elwha. From Port Angeles take 101 heading West. Turn right on Laird Rd(before 112.) Continue about ¼ mile, then turn left on Elwha River Rd for about ¼ mile left on Crown Z water Rd. Park under bridge. For the tech-savvy, just type in Crown Z Water Rd in Port Angeles, WA and you’ll see us down the road.
Cost: FREE! If you want some grub it’s $5 a plate and $2 for beverage.
RSVP: Shoot us an email at info@waterswest.com or call (360) 417-0937 with the number of people that will be coming so we can plan for food.
Yipee o kiyay mo fo’s our rivers are now open again! GET OUT THERE!
The weather Gods have finally got it together and they sent us a good shot of rain and some much needed cooler weather.
The Quillayute system, including the Lower Sol Duc (below concrete pump at state salmon hatchery),Lower Bogachiel (below 101), Lower Calawah (below 101) and Dickey rivers are now open outside of Olympic National Park. All of the rivers inside the park are still closed for now, but we do hope they will open the upper rivers for trout fishing. As I write this on Thursday afternoon the rivers are in prime shape and this will be a great weekend to target searun cutthroats. This is the first rain in a long time and the cutties were waiting for this freshet to storm into the rivers. They should be as dumb as dirt and eat most anything, but it is October Caddis time and the termites will be out on the next warm day, so fish your dry line and dry flies and hang on.
The summer steelhead in the Calawah and Bogachiel should be near suicidal and willing to eat most anything, but here again, it is dry line and dry fly time. Skate Bombers, Grease Liners, Muddlers and maybe even an old pencil stub and they should rise to your offering.
The Sol Duc will have plenty of salmon too right now, mostly cohos. Fish it before it gets too low again for the best success.
The Hoh River is often the place to be in September. It is a good month for summer steelhead and there will be plenty of early coho in there too. The river is under selective gear rules this September and until further notice. This means no bait and single barbless hooks for the entire river. The reason is to encourage people to not fish for the few king salmon that are there.
Except for one or two spots the rivers will be quite uncrowded right now. One could walk miles of the Sol Duc, Bogachiel or Calawah and not see a soul all day. Very few actually take advantage of the great cutthroat fishing that is happening right now. Grab your 5 weight, a few dries and a few streamers, and hit the water.