If you ever fish the Snoqualmie
River read this. Please get involved if at all
possible.
The Washington Department of Fish
and Willife is proposing what amounts to eliminating
most of the steelhead fishery on the Snoqualmie
River. The steelhead fishery in this river, especially
in the summer, is almost entirely hatchery oriented.
They want to cut out almost all hatchery plants
in the
river
in
a budget
move
masquerading
as conservation. There is no science involved in
their decision. If you can't make Salmon Days tomorrow
please write
a
letter
to the
WDFW
and
your state senators and reperesentatives and tell
them you are not ok with this.
The following is from Washington
State Senator Cheryl Pflug:
Volunteers are needed tomorrow
at Issaquah Salmon Days from 8 am to 11 am.
Carpooling is advised, and plan lots of time to
park and walk.
This is a grassroots citizen protest of the Dept
of Fish & Wildlife's abrupt
announcement that they will decrease steelhead
production at the Tokul
Hatchery - meaning fewer fish in our rivers. It
is a budget-driven cut that
isn't supported by science.
All you have to do is
get there early. You need to take a front row placeon
the curb directly
across from the judge's tower so that you will
be in front
of the /TV cameras.
Look for a guy in a fishing hat.
You might want to bring
a folding chair. The
parade starts at 10 - but you must be there at
8 am to hold your spot. All
you have to do is cheer loudly for the Friends
of Issaquah Salmon Hatchery
when they go by, and then chant "Save our
Steelhead" and wave signs
(provided) when the governor goes by.
That's it. This is another aspect of citizen involvement
in government. We
have freedom of assembly and freedom of speech
...amd tomorrow fish lovers
are going to exercise those rights!
It is my job to respond to the complaints I am
getting from my constituents
and to protect our hatchery funding, and I have
already communicated our
concerns directly to WDFW in my capacity as state
senator. I am now also
coordinating this effort - although I am doing
it on my own time and not
using any state resources. I have found that coalitions
of community groups
are often effective in helping me break log jams
in Olympia by demonstrating
to policy leaders that voters really care about
the issue.
****IMPORTANT: I must emphasize that the Issaquah
Chamber and City of
Issaquah sponsor this parade as a community celebration
of our legacy of and
commitment to salmon. It is not a political venue,
and we want to honor
that tradition by keeping the focus on fish, not
politics. This isn't about
who you support for governor, it is about saving
our steelhead runs. Please
don't wear political shirts that show or bring
political signs. We are a
polite community, so no boos for the governor.
Just chant "Save our
Steelhead!" so that she understands how strongly
we feel. We do not want
to embarrass the Chamber or the people of Issaquah
by offending anyone who
has come to celebrate Salmon Days. ****
I have 3 large signs that are waterproof. (It
may rain.) Mine are pretty
homemade, but should convey the message. Others
are welcome, just make them
polite and non-partisan.
Thanks for your support of F.I.S.H. and saving
steelhead production at Tokul
Creek.
Cheryl Pflug
State Senator, 5th LD
The Financial
Apocalypse of Fishing Reports
What other title were you expecting?
This is the only newsworthy event right now right?
Whatever. Anyway, I never thought I would say I'm
glad that I'm too poor
to buy a
house
or
invest
much in the market. It's a big mess that I
have nothing to do with and all I want to do is
turn off the tv and go fishing. Seems now money
is best spent on fishing anyway, or gold maybe.
At least you get
a cool, fun
experience
out of it. Better than foreclosure. Now if 'the
man' only implements this bailout at interest
so you and I will actually make money on this
whole
disaster.
We can only hope. The fish don't care so what follows
are several good excuses to get outside...
Yakima: This is
your best trout bet in the state and this is the
best time of year to be out there. The flows are
low and cool and the fish are happy. Smiles all
around. The canyon is certainly the most popular
place to be right now, and with good reason, but
don't forget about the upper canyon and Cle Elum
which are gorgeous right now and can fish great.
Hoppers are still hopping and summer stones are
still skittering but not for long. As soon as the
weather turns October caddis
and mayflies will be the life of the party. BWO's
will be the crazy drunk guy doing a beer bong that
everyone can't help but pay attention to and October
caddis
will be the really quiet but hot girl you've been
eyeing
since you walked in the door. Either way you're
going to have fun. Long, fine leaders for mayflies,
like 6x, and shorter, stouter leaders for Octobers.
Don't forget about mahogany duns, those little
brown
guys, and
the
big cahills
too. Sometimes observation and immitating a lighter
hatch is the key when fish get particular. Nymphing
is certainly worth your time as it always is. October
caddis pupa are a no brainer right now and try
a small, we're talking #18-22 mayfly or midge dropper.
I'll repeat myself from the last report, red copper
johns are great in the fall. Streamer fishing heats
up now too, not that there's a bad time to fish
a streamer but fall is when those big fish want
to store up some fat for the winter. Feed them
calories, fish something big. Stop by the shop,
we have plenty of suggestions.
Steelhead: No word
yet on the Wenatchee and Methow though we have
our fingers crossed. WDFW closed the Methow
for trout fishing last week thanks to a bunch of
boneheads
fishing for steelhead up there. Thanks for ruining
it for the trout anglers. Hopefully WDFW won't
pull a McCain and try to weasal out
of an
October fishery. The numbers look great but keep
your fingers crossed, they won't announce it until
the last minute. Ditto for the
Wenatchee. The Ronde is fishing
well, I can attest personally. The Clearwater and
Klickitat are putting out. The Deschutes has actually
been marginal despite epic
Columbia
River
returns.
That's
not
much to be concerned about though because that
river can flip on like a light switch and put out
8 fish to every angler tomorrow. Yes, I'm serious.
Most Columbia tribs are at good water temps and
will see some mellow weather in the next couple
weeks so blow off that staff meeting and start
driving. Locally the Snoqualmie and Sky are finally
putting out a few fish. Though the Puget Sound
returns aren't so hot this year right now is the
best time to be out. Good flows and temps bode
well.
There are some coho around to so don't be surprised
to find a bright silver on the end of your line
too. Especially if you're fishing lower down our
rivers. Floating lines and small flies are definately
still
the rule but if you're predisposed to sink tips
make it a lightish one so as you don't get caught
up in the rocks and tie on a MOAL or marabou stinger
and swing, step, repeat.
Sea run cutt fishing is going well
now too. The Snoqualmie, lower Sky and Stilly are
the best places to be for this. Lots of flies work
but the reverse spider is by far the bug of choice.
It's a wild looking thing but it really puts the
wood to 'em. Fish the really slow, frog water around
structure to find sea runs. Rock piles, points,
pilings, any type of structure they can hide behind
to ambush prey and you'll hook up.
Snoqualmie Forks: Cooling
down now but still a viable option. The rain we've
had has kept the flows up but nice. Middle of the
day will be the best dryfly action but nymphing
with small attractors like pheasant tails and hares
ears will be your mainstay. This is kind of the
last hurrah for the forks until they turn off for
the winter. It's still possible to hook fish up
there in the cold but it's tough and if you're
going to punish yourself like that you might as
well go steelheading or to your inlaws for pickled
pimento loaf.
Saltwater: Warren
Buffet claimed we're in an, 'economic Pearl Harbor'.
Well, no one compared it to the Puget Sound and
no bombs have landed on Vashon Island yet. Maybe
no one back east has ever heard of Puget Sound,
maybe we should keep it that way. Or maybe because
Puget Sound isn't fishing all that bad. Despite
what they tell you the Sound is still a good place
to spend the day. The coho season never really
became consistent but
there's
still plenty of fish out there being caught and
it's day to day. You just have to get out there
and
cover some water. Find the fish and they will eat.
Cutt fishing is ok too. Same story though, you
have to find them. It's not automatic like it often
is in the fall. You never know what you'll come
across out there. Coho, blackmouth, chums, cutts.
Last week I saw some porpoises slashing at baitfish
on the surface. It was pretty cool. You'll never
see it if you're not out there scouring the water.
Beach of the week is Lincoln Park.
This one is no secret but it can be a killer coho
beach well into October and it's mere minutes from
Downtown Seattle. Find a stall for your whip in
the park and walk over the hill down to the beach.
The best coho spot is at the point by the pool.
There is a nice rip up there that traps baitfish
and the coho just eat em right up. As a bonus you
might hook a big cutt too.
This is the end of the road, thanks
for reading. Keep paying your mortgage and remember,
they'll tell you the moon is made of cheese for
your vote.
Feed Fish Flies.
Brett Wedeking and friends
Creekside Angling Company
Seattle & Issaquah, WA
Info@creeksideangling.com
Send us your feedback: info@creeksideangling.com
More controversial than Superbowl XL, 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. If not please read up on the issue
and join the fight to stop the construction of
the Pebble Mine. For more info go to www.sportsmansalliance4ak.org or www.renewableresourcescoalition.org
Creekside
Angling Company
1180 NW Gilman Blvd
Issaquah, WA 98027
425-392-3800 (voice)
1308 4th Ave. At Rainier Square
Seattle, WA 98101
206-405-3474 (FISH)
info@creeksideangling.com
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Creekside Angling Company All Rights Reserved
