Pinks off a Puget Sound beach using a 2 handed rod is almost as fun as dollar lap dance night at Dreamgirls. If you have not yet experienced the pink salmon run in the Puget Sound you owe it to yourself to give it a try. Pinks are aggressive takers and great fighters. They run, jump and shake their heads as well as any other salmonid their size.
It surprised me that there is such a stigma surrounding them. Show me a fly fisherman that doesn't like big, hard fighting fish that are easy to catch and I will show you a fool.
Perhaps its because of the crowds. I'll admit, I am not too interested in getting shoulder to shoulder with a bunch of unruly, buzz bombing mongoloids either. However I was under the impression that part of why people fly fish is to think for themselves. Think about it. With thousands of miles of shoreline and as many public access points available in the Puget Sound, why the hell someone would go to Lincoln Park and stand in the meat line is beyond me, unless they were an unruly, fluff chucking mongoloid, which I have seen.
Don't be a sheep! Spend a couple of hours looking at a map. I guarantee you will find a less crowded spot to fish.
Now some people might argue that fishing for pinks is no fun because there is no challenge. What better way to make it more interesting than fishing a spey rod? It is a great way to get out and practice casting, hooking and fighting big fish so that when the steelies show up in fall and winter you are ready to face the challenge!
Here's what you need to get out there and make it rain on some pinks:
1) 6 or 7 wt switch rod, preferably Sage TCX 1197
2) Good reel that will hold a spey line and a decent amount of backing.
3) 350-400 grain Scandi head and running line of your choice.
4) 10ft floating or intermediate Polyleader or Versileader.
5) Short leader comprised of 4ft 20lb and 3ft 10lb mono.
6) #4-8 pink fly with a weighted head.
Find your beach, let one rip and strip slowly. The fish will do the rest!
Sorry for the lack of photos in this post. I dropped my camera in the water while taking pictures! You all know what a pink salmon looks like anyways! If you don't, go catch one!!!
C
