Why We Love Fly Fishing Hood Canal

February 5, 2018 / Captain Justin / Leave a comment

Why We Love Fly Fishing The Hood Canal:

It’s no secret that we are partial to the Hood Canal portion of Puget Sound. We love it. In fact, our life revolves around the seasons of this vastly diverse fishery. I thought I would share a few of the reasons why we love fly fishing Hood Canal.

The feeling of being remote is unparalleled in Puget Sound. The Hood Canal is a drainage from the west side of the Kitsap Peninsula to the East slope of the Olympic Mountain Range. The real beauty of this is that it creates a barrier that makes the eastern Olympic Peninsula a relatively inconvenient place to do business. Which keeps the population down to a minimum. So while you are fishing you might hear some eagles, a few splashes, and the occasional sea lion bark. It’s fairly rare to compete with other anglers or beach goers. The body of water is vast enough that when we do encounter other anglers, we usually know them on a first name basis.

Spring starts on Hood Canal earlier than most of Puget Sound. Which we appreciate more and more every winter. The end of February starts the spring chum fry migration that brings out the best of what cutthroat fishing has to offer. The bait is up high in the water column, the fish are looking up, and we have a fantastic saltwater blitz of feeding fish! This is all happening in the crystal clear water with snow topped mountains towering over you from the Olympics. I mean, what a way to kick off the fishing season!

The options are endless throughout the year, making Hood Canal a fly fisherman’s dream. The saltwater fishery varies with the water temperature. Which means, the fishery is constantly changing with the seasons. However, if you hit it right, different parts of the Hood Canal will “turn on” as the lower warmer sections will turn off with the rising temperatures. Likewise, staying with the cold water will keep you in bait rich water year round. Cutthroat like it cold, and will be more aggressive the colder the water temperatures get. Fortunately, year round you can always find cold water on Hood Canal.

As the summer rolls on and the saltwater heats up, the rivers that feed Hood Canal also “turn on”. This small stream fishery is unparalleled west of the cascades. These “blue line” fisheries have fantastic trout fishing that will leave you feeling like you discovered Washington’s best kept secret. Small streams and big rivers flow from Olympic National Park and create a fantastic native trout fishery!

Fantastic hatches of caddis and stone flies keeps the trout looking up. This while an abundant nutrient rich forrest feeds these streams and keeps the trout fat and happy on baitfish, aquatic insects, and salmon eggs. This is a two fold trip visiting these streams. You are also amongst some of the most beautiful scenery of any trout fishery in the world. Casting your fly into these trout rich waters provides an opportunity to reflect on the old growth forest of Washington’s past, while providing a world class opportunity to catch native trout. These streams flow out of true oldgrowth wilderness and remind you why wilderness should be protected for future generations.

While fishing is great in the streams, the saltwater is still fishing fantastic in the Canal’s colder stretches. However, when it cools back off down in the fall, fantastic doesn’t begin to describe how amazing the fishing gets. Whether off of our boat or off the beaches, the fishing is great in the fall. Big trout, and hatches of Termites falling from the neighboring hillsides. Dry fly fishing in the salt for big sea trout can leave you speechless! Twitching termites and ant patterns in the tidal current is as exciting as it gets saltwater fishing for our Sea Run Cutthroat.

Winter time on Hood Canal is when we typically see the biggest fish of the season. The shallow water cools way down and the big deep water cutthroat come up to hunt. Searching the shallows for sand shrimp and sculpin on the winter high tides. These big fish are special to the Hood Canal. Furthermore, the Hood Canal just has a more of them than anywhere in Puget Sound. If you can brave the cold winter, it is a great time to test your angling skills with some of the best shallow water sight fishing of the year.

These are just a few of the reasons we love sharing the Hood Canal with you! Not to mention the fantastic community of shops and restaurants, distilleries and resorts. Hood Canal is a great place to experience a wild and unique and saltwater and small stream fishery. In addition to having a wonderful family get away. Come join us and let us show you why we love fly fishing Hood Canal.

Post Weekend Fishing Report 1/22

January 22, 2018 / Captain Justin / Leave a comment

Post Weekend, Weekend Fishing Report 1/22

Whoa, I don’t know if you have been following the weather for the past weekend, but whoa! Most of the weekend was pouring rain and heavy winds, so naturally we were fishing. That said, we avoided the worst of the wind, but man did we laugh at how wet we got. However, we were heavily rewarded for the effort with heavy trout! Most of the fish we caught were fat, chrome, and super fast takes. We had a ton of fun and met some new friends along the way! Thanks for being tough out there guys (and gals)!

Fishing Report:

Look, we might as well not bother with the “good”, “great”, or “bad”. We fish for Sea Run Cutthroat, and the fishing is always pretty dang good. Of coarse, there are humbling days, but, cutthroat always eat if we put it in their face.

So, right now, the fishing is fantastic. We fished tight to the estuaries and found most of our fish in the first few drop offs as we got up on the flats. Most of our fish were eating Sculpin and Shrimp as they were last week, as a matter of fact all we really tossed to them were Sculpin and shrimp. When I say the fish are fat right now, I don’t mean healthy trout. I mean they are gorging on shrimp and sculpin until they puke when hooked. For example, when we hooked the biggest fish of the week, little fat sculpin and sand shrimp fall out of his face as he plumply jump out of the water.

Weather Report:

The weather report this week is not improving much, 2” of rain tomorrow will push a lot of water out of the streams, however the big tides should keep the Canal pretty clean by Thursday and Friday. Those would be my go to days for being on the water. So, let’s grab your favorite rain gear and lets get going!

Sea Run Cutthroat Termite Fishing

September 7, 2017September 7, 2017 / Captain Justin / 1 Comment

I know it does not quite feel like it lately, but summer is winding down into fall. Fall is a favorite of mine out here on the Hood Canal! Chilly mornings and evenings, strong bi-catch of Coho, and big happy Sea Run Cutthroat make for some exciting days! So, it should be no surprise that I for one, look forward to these days! What marks the true fall season for me is the Termites.

The purist view of our sport is the image of a trout sipping a bug off the water. In our saltwater environment this is our only great chance to be a traditionalist. To see these vicious predators turn into delicate trout… Or see these vicious predators come up and violently crush a dry fly off the surface. Termite fishing is down right fun!

Here are some of the best methods we have found to target this “Hatch”. It important to find the termites in the air, from the water the best areas to search are bays down wind of a wooded point. Late afternoons seem to be the best time for this, however we have had full days in the past where the fish seem to be looking straight up for these bugs. What makes termite fishing even more fun is that these bugs struggle in the surface film, so twitching them and slowly stripping them works really well. They like movement, therefore adding rubber legs and foam to your flies makes them even more effective.

Termite fishing is pure fun, it’s easy, and we love the surface attacks. Furthermore it is a chance to do something completely different with your time on Washington’s saltwater! Tag us in photos of your favorite termite patterns and we will pick a favorite and send you some of ours! @flyfishingjustinwaters or @seafly907 on Instagram.

Captain Justin Waters

Making A Better Hood Canal

July 13, 2017March 14, 2018 / Captain Justin / Leave a comment

Hood Canal is already an amazing place to get outdoors. Crystal clear waters, solitude, and, oh yeah… The fishing is pretty spectacular. However, as a healthy marine resource, Hood Canal could use a hand.

That is where Hood Canal Salmon Enhancement Group (HCSEG) comes in. HCSEG has been apart of making Hood Canal a better place since 1990! HCSEG has partnered in the Hood Canal Dissolved Oxygen Project, Summer Chum Restoration, and the Hood Canal Steelhead Project! Not only have they worked on these projects, they have been in the community as well! HCSEG has K-12 camps, citizen science programs, and provide great volunteer and internship opportunities for folks looking to get their hands dirty. PLUS they operate a sustainable farm you can visit in Belfair WA at the Salmon Center!

Hood Canal Summer Chum is a threatened species. Since 2000 HCSEG has been working to bring the Union River stocks up to a healthy populations. We directly can see the results of this in the early spring time as the chum fry dumps back into the Hood Canal. HCSEG is looking for volunteer help with this project now if you are interested in lending a hand.

Steelhead… Simply the most magnificently eerie reminder of what could happen if we do not protect our waters. HCSEG not only is doing a 16 year restoration project. Furthermore, they are also studying the best ways to do restoration projects on steelhead streams! In conclusion of these projects HCSEG might be able to restore 3 steelhead streams, and have the scientific recipe on how to restore small steelhead streams across the northwest. Volunteers are the cornerstone to all non-profit groups of this nature. Consider donating your time please!

Last week, Mendy and the crew at the Salmon Center invited me down to talk about how to partner in their efforts. Future guest will have a chance to sign up for their news letters, and have membership sign ups right from the boat. Furthermore, this fall we are going to throw a little party, details for that will come soon! In the mean time, take the family down to the Salmon Center and see what they have going on, and how you can help make Hood Canal a healthier environment for everyone!

Open Season For Open Water

July 12, 2017 / Captain Justin / Leave a comment

Our summer is finally here in Western Washington! We could not be more deserving of great weather and better fishing! With this push of heat we need to change our focus from the hidden bays and back waters to the open water. Sure there will still be fish hanging in the protected structure, but the big fish… They know the bait likes that cold push of current! Here are a few things to consider to find the big fish!

Sincerely, there are very few things that get me as stoked as “Let’s chase the big fish today.” With the exception of blonde women who tie flies, tequila after I get off the water, and plane tickets to the tarpon grounds, my favorite things come down to chasing big Sea Run Cutthroat in the summer. Fortunately, the season is here for chasing the big ones. From now till mid September, we will find the biggest fish of the season. Here are the things you need to know!

Open Water

For the most part, until the water starts to warm, we find our biggest fish in the bays and back waters of Hood Canal and Puget Sound. Rocky shore lines protected from the winds, hidden from most of the world, with steep shorelines that stay cool until the warmest part of the year. As the waters warm, the baitfish and oxygen levels decrease in these areas, and the fish move to the open water and main current channels. The fishing itself is still very similar, however the locations tend to be a little less friendly to wading. The currents are a little stronger making you think about how to present your cast in these open currents. Furthermore the hunt is much faster and our mobility with the boat is much more important. We run to our locations, make our cast and look for signs of fish and bait, then we run to the next spot. We might cover a quite a few miles of water before finding the perfect location.

Retrieve

Our fishing is pretty similar, Cast, Strip, Cast, Strip…. Those acts are very much the same for the most part. However, the fish seem to prefer a speed of retrieve this time of year… Problem is, it changes throughout the day, with light, temps, and tidal flow. I tell my clients; “Start slow, and speed up till you end fast.” As we fish through this method you will see at a certain point in the retrieve we catch the most fish. It might start off the fish want the retrieve fast when the water temps are 61 F and the light is really low on the water. As it warms to 64 F the fish might like the slow retrieve and a deeper sunk fly with the high light.

Fly Selection

This is a preference… I know a ton of different flies catch Sea Run Cutthroat. However I do think there are a few things to consider as the weather warms and the sun is high in the sky. Add Weight. This can be an old school Clouser pattern, a cone head, or hidden tungsten beads/Loon Powder. The flies that get down quick tend to catch more fish this time of year. Maintain a big profile with a subtle foot print. When a Sea Run Cutthroat expends the energy to chase your fly, it is also exposing itself to predators, and typically moving a long ways for it. Make the fish think it is worth it by keeping a big profile. Herring, Anchovies, and Sandlance are all in good numbers and all have larger profiles right now.

Summer is the hidden gem of the north west! We have endless options of outdoor entertainment. Fishing for big Sea Run Cutthroat should be at the top of your list! I hope this allows you to find more success! Tight Lines and we hope to see you on the water!

Captain Justin Waters

Bigger Sea Run Cutthroat

June 22, 2017 / Captain Justin / Leave a comment

It doesn’t get much more American, than fishing for trophy fish. Bigger, stronger, faster! If you would like to make me happy tell me when you get on the boat that you want to chase the biggest beast in the water, not the most fish, or a fish, but the biggest fish. These are 5 ways to catch bigger Sea Run Cutthroat in Puget Sound and Hood Canal!

Cast better! The biggest limiting factor I see when taking anglers fishing is that they need to be able to cast further, lay the line out straighter, and do it all quicker! Let’s be honest with ourselves here. This would help all of us no matter how good at casting you are. If you could reach a target quicker, further away, and more efficiently we would all catch more fish, bigger fish, and better fish. Go take a lesson, practice in your lawn, and become a better caster! I don’t mind spending an hour or more on the water giving casting lessons, as a matter a fact, I love knowing you will be a better angler because you fished with me. I will be honest with you though, that’s an hour or more that we are not targeting the larger fish in the water and we are probably spooking some fish and missing part of the tide. I give lessons to anyone who schedules for $40 an hour. We can take care of this before any trip you have.

Fish deeper water! When my buddy Johnny and I first started fishing for Sea Run Cutthroat we scoured the earth for any information we could find on how to catch them. Everything we read stated to “fish parallel to the shore” which we did, and we caught some fish. However it was a rare day that we caught a Sea Run much larger than 12”. Years later and we are consistently fishing for bigger trout, and we are targeting 10’-30’ of water and fishing off of the steepest drop offs and current seems. Moving water is still our number one target, however number two is quick access to deep water. We are already fishing the right bait fish patterns, we just need to put it in the right place now!

Sinking lines. While floating lines are a ton of fun to fish with, and we love surface attacks, and intermediate lines are still pretty effective and easy to keep from snagging bottom with, TYPE III sinking lines seem to be just what the doctor ordered for finding the biggest fish in the water! Type III sinks at about 3” per second, keeping your fly down just a bit more while stripping your line in. This also allows you to get the fly down to the structure much quicker and in the zone of those big lurkers hanging off the drop offs! This may require that you work a little to keep the fly from catching bottom, however I assure you that it will catch you some bigger fish! My personal favorite line for this job is the Rio Outbound Short, this is in the freshwater series for tossing streamers in lakes and rivers. This line give flight to the hidden tungsten beads in my baitfish flies, and gets down to the nastiest of Sea Run Cutthroat in the Puget Sound or Hood Canal.

Cast Up Current! Big Cutthroat do not want to work hard for their food, they didn’t get fat swimming on a treadmill! The fish are targeting bait that is confused by current or is weak and being swept down current, so lets swim those flies just like they want it! Stripping down current also means you need to strip a little quicker to keep tight with your fly, particularly on a good tidal flow! This is another big bonus of a sinking line to keep your fly pulled down in the water column while stripping fast down stream.

Stay Tight! Keep that line tight to the fly! I can not tell you how many times I see clients miss fish with their rod tip up. Their fly line never comes tight, and they don’t even know their fly was eaten until their rod tip gets tugged and the fish is gone. “Rod tip down!” “Strip a little quicker.” “Keep up with that fly!” However what I really mean is, “G@$D!%m it that fish was huge and I just watched it pick up your fly, pick its teeth with the hook point, and even admired the tasteful use of the Fish Mask, all before you even knew anything happened!” Stay tight to the fly at all times! Staying tight to the fly will assure your fly is always moving away from the fish, playing cat and mouse and triggering a chase instinct, and it will make sure you feel everything the fly does. If the fly is plucked at, picks up weeds, or if it is eaten, you will feel it and can act accordingly.

These tips will ensure a much better catch rate and also a much larger fish in your net! I hope this was helpful in putting the puzzle together!

The curse of a nice day!

June 20, 2017June 22, 2017 / Captain Justin / Leave a comment

There is not much better than wading ankle deep in Hood Canal’s cold, clear water to push the boat off the trailer on a nice summer morning. The sun seems to be high before my coffee is gone, and clients are awake before they step on the boat. I truly believe there is no better spot to spend a summer day.

With the high sun and clear water comes some very unique issues in pursuing fish. The fish seem to vacate our favorite wading beaches and they find shelter in the spots less frequented by the stick waving predator.

Sea Run Cutthroat are just like every western trout, in that they need cold clean water to live. Unlike fish in a river these guys have hundreds of feet in depth and miles of shoreline to choose from to find exactly what they are looking for. So as that sun travels through the clear water and heats up the shallows below the fish are forced to move off the shallow flats and find their happiness in some deeper water. As anglers it is our job to find the drop offs and the depth they are hiding in and figure out a way to get our flies to them. This can be made easier if you know where the deepest points on your favorite beaches are.

Another method of dealing with the high sun and warming waters is to play the shadow game. Knowing the sun rises in the East we tend to fish the Eastern shorelines in the morning (if this is possible) and move to the deeper parts of the water column as the sun gets higher. It is easy to do this out of our boat, however when fishing the beach sometimes this is more possible when fishing in bays rather than the open water.

The last method for dealing with high sun is fishing the current line. When the sun is high the bait tends to ball up on the current lines, or under the weed lines in the tidal rips. When the bait gets in these tidal rips the weaker swimmers get turned around and the predatory instincts of the cutthroat kicks in full blast! These poor fish don’t have a chance when you toss a weighted baitfish into the current rips on a nice summer day!

I hope these tips can make your summer a little fishier!

Add it to your list!

June 14, 2017June 15, 2017 / Captain Justin / Leave a comment

This summer feels like it has taken a decade to get here. We have had an outrageously wet winter, a crazy unpredictable spring, and it’s finally arrived! Summer time in Western Washington. I know we have a ton of plans for the summer, get the yard finished up, go camping in the Olympics, head to the coast for some beach fun, and plenty of fishing in between. However most of our plans involve fishing here at home on the Hood Canal for Sea Run Cutthroat!

Here are the top 10 reasons to target Sea Run Cutthroat this summer:

1.) Great fishing- Not to sound like a hater, but the river fishing in Washington doesn’t hold a candle to our sea trout fishery on the Hood Canal. We go out time and time again and prove this is the best trout fishery in the state. On it’s best days I would put it neck and neck with the Missouri in Montanta. On it’s worst, I’d put it neck and neck with the worst days I’ve had on the Mo in Montana. The big advantage Hood Canal has? You don’t have the crowds and the fish are true wild native trout!

2.) Accessibility -Where else can you get miles of public access to great fishing water? Most of which is drive up access – you don’t even need to hike to catch fish on a good percentage? Oh yeah, and with a boat you can fish almost every inch of the water without argument? We have it good here in the Western Washington salt.

3.) Solitude- Oh man, the crowds are killing me… I thought I saw a boat about 2 hours ago off in the distance. These damn eagles, porpoises, herons, and whales sure are crowding up the places though.

4.) Beautiful- If it was not for these wild shorelines, snow topped mountains, and amazing sunrises coming straight out of the Hood Canal it sure would be a beautiful place… Not to mention the fish breathtaking as well!

5.) Relaxing- Being barefoot up on the casting deck hooked up to a big hook nosed trout sure is stressing me out. I am pretty glad you have that cold one frosting in the Yeti for after the battle… Those sandy points are a pretty nice places to take lunch and kick back too!

6.) Technical- You mean I can learn and enjoy what I’m learning at the same time? Every time I go I will learn new technical skills that will improve my success rate? Who wants to catch more fish anyways?

7.) Bi-Catch- It would be a bummer to accidentally catch a 15lb chinook today… It doesnt happen every day, however for a good chunk of the year I get surprised by salmon pretty regularly. I even have a photo kicking around somewhere of a client with a Greenling… Yeah I know, what the hell is a greenling? (Stop emailing me, I know what a greenling is.) The truth of the matter is while we fish water that is most conducive to Sea Run Cutthroat trout, occasionally especially when there is a ton of bait around, we are surprised by other fish!

8.) Cool Factor- There really is not much cooler than fishing the saltwater. Every day feels like an adventure. Conditions are forever changing with the tide levels. Plus, pulling out fish that can’t really be caught in these conditions anywhere else in the world, and on flies and light tackle is pretty damn cool!

9.) Wild- These are wild fish in wild places. I know, cell phone reception is a little spotty in some places on Hood Canal, however I have been working on adding a tower to my boat… I’ll solve that pesky back cast problem eventually.

10.) Peoples Fish- I have been saying it for years! The best part of fishing for Sea Run Cutthroat is that these are the peoples fish. Making them Catch and Release, putting no commercial value to them, makes their only value fun! This fishery is the best example of what happens when we all work together. It’s catch and release because some folks said “enough is enough” and banded together and fought for it. These are the peoples fish! So come out and enjoy it!

The Best Of Summer

May 31, 2017May 31, 2017 / Captain Justin / Leave a comment

With the sun high and water clear there comes some very unique issues in pursuing fish. The sea trout seem to vacate our winter wading beaches and they find shelter in the spots less frequented by the stick waving predators of the northwest. There are some things to think about that might help you find success on the sunny days of summer!

Sea Run Cutthroat are just like every western trout, in that they need cold clean water to live. Unlike fish in a river these guys have hundreds of feet in depth and miles of shoreline to choose from to find exactly what they are looking for. So as that sun travels through the clear water and heats up the shallows below, the fish are forced to move off the shallow flats and find their happiness in some deeper water. As anglers it is our job to find the drop offs and the depth they are hiding in and figure out a way to get our flies to them. This can be made easier if you know where the deepest points on your favorite beaches are.

One method of dealing with the high sun and warming waters is to play the shadow game. Knowing the sun rises in the East we tend to fish the Eastern shorelines in the mornings to stay in coolest water for the longest amount of time. As the sun rises we move to the deeper parts of the water column and focus on drop offs to provide shelter. It is easy to do this out of our boat, however when fishing the beach sometimes this is easier accomplished by fishing in bays with good tidal flow rather than the open water.

The last method for dealing with high sun is fishing the current line. When the sun is high, the bait tends to ball up or find shelter in the broken water along the current seams. The current brings in cooler water and provides some riffles to break up the sun. The fish use this current to hunt for bait and keep nice and cool on a warm day.

I hope these few pointers will help you find success in the next few months of beautiful northwest summer!

Match The Hatch

May 26, 2017May 26, 2017 / Captain Justin / 2 Comments

Sea Run Cutthroat in Puget Sound and Hood Canal feed on many different bait fish. Right now we have a aquarium of bait in Hood Canal. Chum fry are spilling everywhere still From about Hoodsport north we are still seeing giant swarms of chum fry. We have Sandlance swarming in and out of the more developed eel grass beds, herring bait balls are as large as the eye can see in the more northern reaches of the canal, and the perch are starting to spit live babies all over just to further add to the massive buffet of food.

First lets talk a bit about Chum Fry and why these baitfish are so spread out in timing. Hood Canal has a diverse run of Chum Salmon. No I am not going to give up the run timing of each creek, but Hood Canal gets a run of chum fry in the summer (February-April Chum Fry) then again we get a run of chum in the fall (March-May Chum Fry), then we get a run in the early winter (March-June Chum Fry) which means, these fish are pretty accustomed to eating chum as a little snack this time of year.

Brita Fordice

Sandlance are the next stop on the baitfish train. These fish spawn on the sandy beaches along shorelines of Puget Sound and Hood Canal and forage in the nearshore waters in the area, which happens to be the same places Coastal Cutthroat forage. These baitfish make up a big portion of the diet of Sea Run Cutthroat and just about every other predator from kingfishers – some of our local whales. Because these fish are active for most of the year they remain some of our top baitfish patterns.

Brita Fordice

Surf Smelt spawn at high tide on shaded beaches and seem to be very predictable in their timing. The bulk of the returning adults (two years of age) seem to come into Hood Canal in the late fall and winter months. It does not take many of these adults to fill up a Cutthroat and make them lazy in their attack of flies. However the young surf smelt look like clear chumfry and are a great snack for aggressive Sea runs!

The Pacific Herring are a baitfish we have a love/hate relationship with. These baitfish tend to draw the biggest strikes, biggest fish, and most aggressive cutthroat in the water. However it takes one or two to slow the fish down and the schools tend to gorge the entire beach. What we have found is if we can get ahead of the schools a bit and throw a weighted herring fly we can find some serious fish. The trick is simply getting ahead of these huge schools. Two- Three year old Herring start spawning for the first time in the early Spring-early summer in HUGE schools or baitfish. This brings the bait right onto some of our favorite beaches to hunt big cutthroat. We can watch cutthroat literally throwing up herring as they eat our baitfish flies.

Brita Fordice

Our friend the Party Goblin are the old reliable among all SeaTrout fishermen. The Sculpin is among the most prevalent year round food sources in puget sound. The young sculpin seem to be under almost every big rock in the sound and spread up along just about every beach we can think of. These fish are scavengers in nature however will absolutely crush a lazily stripped fly, so if you end up catching one my advice is “speed up your strip.” The sculpin has spines on its gill plates that prevent the larger ones from being a favorite food source of Cutthroat, however the smaller sculpin seem to be a big hit with Sea Runs of all sizes.

Brita Fordice

If aliens existed they would be in the form of polycheate worms… Slowly I am convinced these creatures are trying to invade land and take over our youth… This could be why Missy Elliot was so popular in the 90s. Either way the cutthroat love to feed on these nasty sea worms whenever they present themselves. After full moons we see them washed up on the boat ramps and shorelines after spawning by moonlight and we find that the Sea Trout are throwing up the remains of a moonlit feast. I give polychaetes a hard time, however they have outlived 5 mass extinctions, come in every shape, color, size, and feed just about every species of fish in Puget Sound. Plus some of these worms have a pretty wild sex life. Bundling in giant worm orgies on the surface while being picked off by fish and birds then breaking apart to release their young. Being a great food to cutthroat, and knowing how to party, they quickly become a favorite pattern of most Cutthroat loving anglers.

Brita Fordice

Brita Fordice

Words by Captain Justin Waters

Photos from Brita Fordice

All-Waters

Fly Fishing and Guide Service

Hood Canal

Why We Love Fly Fishing Hood Canal

Post Weekend Fishing Report 1/22

Sea Run Cutthroat Termite Fishing

Making A Better Hood Canal

Open Season For Open Water

Bigger Sea Run Cutthroat

The curse of a nice day!

Add it to your list!

The Best Of Summer

Match The Hatch