Creekside Angling Company

The Hoh Showdown Fishing Report

Good reports are coming in from the Yakima, the Puget Sound and of course the Olympic Peninsula rivers. If you have been itching to wet a line rest assured that there is something out there to catch, no matter what type of water you prefer to fish. Steelhead anglers will have to settle in for a long drive over to the coast in order to satisfy the urge, while trout anglers need look no further than Rattlesnake lake, the Yakima or Rocky Ford if you have time for a weekend trip. All have been producing fish! If you are looking to get into something different give the Puget Sound beaches a try. A quick drive or short ferry ride can put you within casting distance of hungry cutthroats or out-migrating silvers. Who knows, you might even hook into a blackmouth!

SHOW AND TELL:

Dave McCoy of Emerald Water Anglers will be coming to Creekside, Issaquah on April 18th to show us photographs, speak and answer questions about his recent expedition to Christmas Island. Dave is a world class guide and photographer with fishing experience all over the world. This is a can't miss event, especially for those who are thinking about joining myself on Creekside's trip to Christmas Island in March of 2013! This will be a free event with snacks and beverages provided. Please come on by and check out the exciting presentation Dave has put together!

When and Where: Wednesday, April 18th at 6:30PM. Creekside, Issaquah.

HEY! YOU! Send in photos of fish you've captured and we will put them on our website in our Catch of the Week section. Email your photos to info@creeksideangling.com Bonus points for a Creekside hat. Here are a few more for your perusal.

#1 Creekside customer Chris Moffatt with one of many beautiful golden dorado he caught on a recent trip to Argentina.
#2 Jesse Wolf with a nice wild hen, his first ever steelhead! This beauty came from the Satsop.
#3 Steve Enevold with a 33" hen swung up out of the Snoqualmie just prior to the closure. Respect!

For more pics and updated fly tying instruction/videos check out our blog here.

Yakima: Reports of skwala stoneflies showing on the lower river are promising. In the next week or so we should see some fish starting to take notice and the dry fly action will pick up! For now nymphing or streamer fishing has still been the top producer. A double nymph rig with a small pats stonefly (#8-10) and a tiny midge or baetis nymph dropper is the way to go. Deeper, slower water will still produce fish with the cooler temps, but with the skwala hatch underway start looking for fish along the shallow edges as they intercept stonefly nymphs crawling towards the bank to hatch. For those who like to tie their own bugs, I will be teaching a special class on tying skwalas and march browns here in the shop on Feb. 29th from 6:30-8:30. Cost for this class is $60.00 per student. Don't wait to sign up as this will fill fast! Flies to try are: Olive or Natural Sculpzilla #4, Mini Loop Sculpin in Olive or Black, Weir's Sculpin, The Gonga in olive, Pat's Stonefly #8-10,Curtis's Thunder Emerger #18-22, BH Pheasant Tail nymph #16-20, WD-40 olive, brown, gray #18-22, Lightning Bug Pearl #18-20, Micro Mayfly #18-20, Zebra Midge #18-20 in black or red, Brassie in copper or red #16-20, Griffith's gnat #16-20.

Steelhead/Salmon: The Sol Duc, Bogachiel and Calawah have been producing good numbers of hatchery and wild steelhead. The Hoh is also showing promise. Right now the rivers are all in great shape, but this could change fast so watch the weather and the flows if you are considering a trip out to the Olympic Peninsula. While anglers with single hand rods and nymphing gear can certainly score using yarn egg patterns and beads, keep in mind that a two handed rod is by far the most enjoyable way to experience steelheading on the Olympic Peninsula. If you are new to this type of fishing consider taking one of Brian Styskal's spey classes or booking with Creekside for a day or two on the river. Our head guide, Chris Senyohl will be guiding on the peninsula through april and would be happy to chow you the ways of the long rod and hopefully guide you into your first, (or hundredth) steelhead!

Of course, the downside is that closures on Puget Sound systems have caused an increase in pressure on the coast, and most of the reports we are getting from customers are reflecting this. Know that although the Puget Sound systems are already closed, the Olympic Peninsula is not the only game in town. The Cowlitz river is often completely overlooked by fly anglers and produces top quality steelheading almost year round. We offer guided trips on this river through Dave McCoy of Emerald Water Anglers for those who are interested in a quality steelhead fishing experience a little closer to home. In addition, the Humtulips, Wynoochee, Chehalis and Satsop rivers all have good runs of hatchery and wild steelhead and can all be reached within a 2 hour drive of Seattle. Anglers who are willing to expand their horizons will find good steelheading this season on a number of overlooked rivers! If you want to learn one, or all of these rivers give us a call here at the shop. We can give you the info, or put you in touch with guides that will help you make your steelhead season a successful one! Flies to try: Large marabous in black, purple, red, orange. Traditional winter steelhead/atlantic salmon spey flies. Intruders and Guide intruders in Black/Chartreuse, Black/Blue, Black/Red, Purple/Pink and other contrasting colors. Guide Intruders in the same colors. Egg Sucking Leeches, Big MOALs and Loop Leeches in black and purple,Pick Yer' Pockets and other large profile winter steelhead flies. Fot the bobbicators use big, dark stoneflies and egg/beads. Pat's stonefly (4-10), Jumbo John in black or copper (6-10), Dragg N' Fly (4), Tungsten Retriever nymphs, BH Lifters, Lingerie Eggs, Veiled Eggsare all good bets.

Lakes: Rattlesnake is fishing fair for anglers fishing deep with buggers, leeches and chironomids. Flies to try: Hale Bopp Leeches in Olive and Black, Olive or Black Wooley Buggers, Thin Mints all in size 8 and 10, Water Boatman, Chrome Chironomid, Ice Cream Cone. Note to all hardcore lake fishing junkies: Jay Robeson is back from Alaska and is now booking dates for Issac's Ranch in 2012! Available dates are: April 13th, April 14th, May 12th and May 13th. Jay can take up to 10 rods per trip and the cost is $225.00 per rod. These fill up fast so if you are interested give us a call at the shop and sign up for your chance at some serious gagger bows in 2012!

Rocky Ford: This is the best time of year to fish Rocky Ford. There are some nice fish being caught right now, mostly on small scuds in olive and tan or tiny midge patterns. Small sculpzillas and leeches stripped slowl can also produce some large fish. Flies to try: Zebra midge in Black, Olive, Red #18-22, Softex scud #14-18, Flashback Scud's Olive, Tan #14-18, Kaufmann's BH Scud Olive, Tan #12-18, Hot Spot Scud #14-18, WD-40 Olive, Tan, Gray, Black #16-22, Pheasant Tail Nymph #16-20, Sculpzilla Olive, Black, Natural size 4 or 8.

NaCl Water: Beach fishing is still good in the Puget Sound and should only improve in the coming weeks. Typically in the end of February and beginning of March chum and pink (on odd years) salmon fry begin pouring out of the Puget Sound rivers into the saltwater. These tiny little guys are easy pickings for herons, seagulls, dollies, young coho and of course our favorite, sea run cutthroat!

This can be a great time to go out and learn a new beach or try your favorite beach on a new tide. Go at low tide and look for structure, dropoffs, channels, shell or eel grass beds and boulder piles. These clues can help you pinpoint likely areas to fish when the tide comes in. By learning your beaches now, you will have plenty of good places to go when the bait shows up in the coming months and fishing gets red hot!

For more info on this fishery, or to book a guided walk and wade beach trip give us a call here at the shop and we will get you pointed in the right direction!

Flies To Try: Wests Imitator, Foul Free Herring, Seth's Sand Lance, Muddlers, Wooley Buggers, Miyawaki Poppers, small Crazy Charlies and Gotchas.

Classes/Events:

Christmas Island 2013: Giant Trevally are known for their voracious feeding habits and tenacity when hooked. Every angler I know who has been here and hooked one of these things either re-booked immediately or is drooling for another chance to get out and do it again. Consider that fish in the 30-80lb class, or bigger are consistently HOOKED throughout the year at Christmas. Notice I said HOOKED! More trevally are lost due to break offs on the reef or all out tackle failure then are ever landed, and this is a testament to their incredible fighting ability.

This has been a stellar season thus far and several of our traveling customers have landed fish in this weight class on trips to Christmas Island. Frankly, the constant barrage of fantastic reports is too much to handle anymore, so we booked some dates for 2013 and I will be taking a group of 8 anglers there in March of next year.

Here are the dates for next year:

March 12-19, 2013

Price:$2320/ angler

If you have ever wondered what it would be like to hook a fish that can bust a 12 weight like a twig, this is your chance to find out! If you are interested in going with us call the shop at 425-392-3800 and ask for Charlie.

Stay tuned as we will have more info on this trip and photos/stories from last years anglers to come!

Intermediate Fly Tying- Early Season Hatches on the Yakima:

The skwala stonefly and March brown mayfly hatches on the Yakima are two of the river's most prolific hatches, and two of the most fun hatches to fish! With a good sense of timing, the right fly patterns and a little luck you can have great fun catching fish during the first dry fly fishing opportunities of the year! During this class Charlie Robinton will teach you how to tie and fish proven effective imitations of adult skwala stoneflies and march brown mayflies for fishing these hatches. All materials are included, please bring your own vise/tying tools. $60/person, maximum 5 people.

Where and when:

Wed. Feb 29th, 2012 6:30-9:00 PM at Creekside in Issaquah

Private Spey Casting Instruction-

Winter steelhead time is here and there is no better way to fish for steelhead than with a two handed rod! If you have never fished with a spey rod you are missing out on one of the most fun ways to cast and fish with a fly. Contrary to what the elitists and internet experts would like you to think, spey casting is easy and fun for beginners and will make any level of fisherman a better angler. The concepts and specific casts you learn are invaluable tools that can be transferred over to single handed casting, improving your game on all levels! Learn to cast and fish with a two handed rod by signing up for a private lesson with one of our highly qualified casting instructors. We will walk you through the basics of the single spey, double spey, snap-T, perry poke casting off the right and left shoulder, with an upriver or downriver wind and basic fly presentation for steelhead.

Classes are $100/person for a two hour session. Please call the shop for additional information.

NEW!! Featured Product for 2/17/2012:

Simms Freestone Waders

Simms quality combined with Toray breathable fabrics make these an unbeatable wader at a great price point. Features include built in gravel guards, handwarmer pocket/velcro front storage, and zippered interior pocket. We are blowing out all our 2011 model Freestone waders in preparation to bring in the new 2012 model, so for a limited time we will be offering a considerable discount on these 2011 Simms Freestone waders.

Regular price on these waders is $199.99, but we are cutting that down to $139.99. If you are in the market for a new pair of waders for the upcoming season don't miss a great opportunity to get a killer deal.

Price: $139.99

Come on in to Creekside and check them out today!

Feed Fish Flies.

Charlie Robinton
Creekside Angling Company
Seattle & Issaquah, WA
info@creeksideangling.com
www.creeksideangling.com

Attention Washington anglers: Boating laws in Washington state have changed. If you operate a motorized vessel 15hp or above on Washington waterways you are required by law to take a boating safety course and get your Washington boat license. Be safe while you are out fishing and don't get caught without it!

Take a safe boating course and get your boat license in Washington State to increase your fishing success and safety.

Make a difference. More controversial than the Chicago Blacksox, I'm sure most of you have heard about the proposed Pebble Mine near Bristol Bay Alaska. You've also probably heard about the environmentally disasterous potential this mine poses. Either way please read up on the issue and join the fight to stop the construction of the Pebble Mine. For more info go to Sportsman's Aliiance for Alaska or Renewable Resources Coalition or Save Bristol Bay.

Send us your feedback: info@creeksideangling.com

Creekside Angling Company
1410A NW Gilman Blvd
Issaquah, WA 98027
425-392-3800

1308 4th Ave. At Rainier Square
Seattle, WA 98101
206-405-3474 (FISH)