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Flinging Frozen Flies

March 17, 2014 by adminewa Leave a Comment

fly_es_winterstlhdflies1

 

Well its that time of year again when all of our favorite streams are getting pretty frigid. Normally we have an over abundance of rain giving us small windows of productive days on the water. This year however the Puget Sound is cold and dry. It’s keeping many anglers off the water due to the bitter cold. I have heard it for a couple weeks now, “the water is too low and too cold to fish”. It’s true that steelhead begin to hit cold water dormancy around 40 degrees and water being its heaviest at around 36 degrees. But, it by no means precludes steelhead from striking your fly. Sudden cold snaps will put fish off, but given a little time to acclimate or a couple degrees of warming on a sunny day and it is game on.

So the rains have stopped for a while now, your river is getting cold and is below what is considered the average flow for any given year. It is by no means low and clear but it is getting there. The river is still slightly green and has visibility somewhere around 6ft. It is around this point where the fish begin to anticipate that the river is going to get low and clear. The steelhead start moving from the slow, lazy water on the edges of the faster water toward deeper and slower water. During this transition is where large flies have produced well for me. You will be chucking the proverbial frozen chickens and your spey casting abilities will be tested. But hey, so long as you get it out there, it does not have to be pretty. Most of these large flies are 6 inches or so in blacks, blues or purples with some form of flash and or colored butt. I tie a lot of my own flies now but some commercial patterns that have a home in my box for these conditions would be the Skagit Minnow with a worm weight or lead eyes, Silvie’s tube snake, Scott Howells Squidro’s and Travis Johnson’s Lady Gaga.

Now we separate the men from the boys. It has been really cold and dry and your river has hit the low, clear and frigid phase. As your fingers are going numb and you wonder what you are doing out in this cold you remember that Mr. Steelhead has had time to acclimate to his new conditions and is willing to strike. He is by no means as active and full of vigor, as he is above that 40 degree mark. But he is looking ahead, with unlimited visibility, for any predators coming his way. He will now park his fins on the slowest, deepest, darkest water he can find, this way he can expend less energy and find water that is degree or two warmer. Mr. Steelhead may also be found at the beginning of pools where the riffle flattens and smoothes out if he needs more oxygen with temperatures being in the 30’s. This is where we break the mold by putting away those big, bright, gaudy intruders you were told winter steelhead just love. Steelhead can count each feather and strand of flashabou under these conditions, so its time to scale the flies down. Leave the super bright flies in the box in exchange for whites, greens, browns and tan flies in the 2 inch or so range. I like to tie various temple dog and arctic fox flies for these conditions. As far as commercial flies look online for similar flies as listed, many flies meet the criteria. I have even been known to tie some summer steelhead flies on size two hooks for uber spooky steelhead.

So grab a couple friends, some warm drinks and go have a good time. If you have any questions just let us know.

Tight lines,

Eric Sadlon

Filed Under: Emerald Water Anglers Tagged With: catch and release, Emerald Water Anglers, Eric Sadlon, flyfishing, native steelhead, Seattle, Seattle Fly Shop, spey casting, swinging flies, Two Handed Rods, winter steelhead

In 1969, the steelhead was declared Washington’s official “state fish.”

February 3, 2014 by adminewa Leave a Comment

Somehow this seems to mean nothing to people.  In general, when an object or living species is recognized as a iconic figure of a country, region or state, it is extremely rare if not never something of human manipulation or recreation.  Yet here we are living in a state where the steelhead is quickly becoming just that, known more as a hatchery born and originated brat that the magnificent wild creature it became on its own.

Here is the latest on what might impact next years wild steelhead season here in Puget Sound:

Wild Versus Hatchery

Lawsuit Threatened Over Largest Hatchery Steelhead Program In Puget Sound

The Wild Fish Conservancy last week served notice that it, unless changes are made within the next 60 days, will sue the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife for allowing what the conservation groups says are the illegal outplantings of so-called Chambers Creek hatchery steelhead in a variety of western Washington streams.

The Conservancy says that the outplantings of domesticated hatchery fish pose risk to wild stocks that are protected under the Endangered Species Act. The hatchery fish are intended for harvest.

Since the 2007 listing of Puget Sound steelhead, WDFW steelhead hatchery programs that employ Chambers Creek stock have continued to operate without permission from the NOAA Fisheries Service, the conservation group says. The Chambers Creek fish are produced at numerous WDFW facilities across Washington.

“The science is definite in that the planting of these domesticated hatchery fish is detrimental to protected wild fish,” said Kurt Beardslee, executive director of Wild Fish Conservancy. “Any release of Chambers Creek hatchery steelhead should be prohibited as incompatible with the recovery of wild Puget Sound steelhead and the perpetuation of their legacy.

“But at the very least any existing hatchery program must operate with an appropriate permit from NOAA Fisheries.”

Recent research in the Skagit River watershed confirms that Chambers Creek hatchery steelhead are mating with wild steelhead, according to the conservation group. The offspring of hatchery steelhead and wild steelhead are substantially less likely to survive in the wild, further depressing the already low numbers of wild steelhead.

The Skagit research is the latest of a growing number of studies that have concluded that the planting of domesticated hatchery steelhead has adverse effects on the health and resilience of wild steelhead, according to the Conservancy. The hatchery steelhead program of the Skagit River watershed is the largest in the Puget Sound region.

The conservation group says that, because juvenile hatchery steelhead are far larger than their wild counterparts, they prey on the juveniles of listed salmonids, compete for food, and attract predators. Hatchery facilities that block habitat and degrade water quality also cause problems for wild fish.

“WDFW has a split mandate between providing fishing opportunities and protecting wild steelhead,” Beardslee said. “Ironically, what one hand of WDFW gives, the other takes away: the publically funded fish hatcheries undermine the publically funded wild fish recovery efforts, such as habitat restoration. Fully recovered wild steelhead populations would fulfill both mandates.

The 60-day notice says that, despite that recognition, wild Puget Sound steelhead populations have declined precipitously over the past 30 years: the average region-wide abundance between 1980 and 2004 was less than 4 percent of what it was in 1900. Since being listed as threatened under the ESA in 2007, Puget Sound wild steelhead abundance has continued to decline.

The recent five-year average is less than 3 percent of what it was in 1900. In 2010, scientists from the regional science center of the NOAA Fisheries Service concluded “in our opinion. Chambers Creek steelhead have no role in the recovery of native Puget Sound steelhead.”

The unpermitted Chambers Creek steelhead hatchery programs are the sole subject of the 60-day notice letter, because rather than aiding wild steelhead, these programs harm wild steelhead and prevent their recovery, the conservation group says.

Filed Under: Emerald Water Anglers Tagged With: catch and release, Chambers Creek steelhead, Conservation, Emerald Water Anglers, hatchery, native, Puget Sound, Seattle, Skagit River, state fish, steelhead, Washington, Wild Fish Conservancy

Billfish Get a Huge Nod From US Govt.

September 12, 2012 by adminewa

We all like to catch them (why else would you be reading this ??!!) – and the best way to continue the sport and ensure that the remaining stocks proliferate and thrive is to STOP KILLING THEM !!

The US Congress made a significant contribution to this position yesterday when the House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed Resolution H.R. 2706 which bans the sale of Pacific caught Billfish in the USA (Atlantic Billfish were banned from sale in 1990).
This is significant as the USA remains the largest importer of Billfish in the world, importing over 30,000 fish annually according to the FDA.

Commercial fishing has depleted stocks of White Marlin by as much as 90%, Blue Marlin by 65%………….and other Billfish not much less………so although we are late in taking this action it is clearly necessary to once again allow these majestic animals to flourish safely in our oceans.

When this bill completes the legislative process and becomes law, it will not only eliminate the largest market for Billfish, it will also enable the US to finally be able to take a legitimate stance in putting pressure on other countries to ban the sale and killing of Billfish.

Guatemala is renowned for its huge concentrations of sailfish and is becoming known also for consistent catches of Blue Marlin – ALL BILLFISHING IN GUATEMALA IS CATCH&RELEASE.

Show your support for 100% catch&release fishing for billfish by planning your next fishing trip to Guatemala this season. The boats are in the water, the bait is stocked and the crews are ready.

Filed Under: Emerald Water Anglers Tagged With: billfish, catch and release, Guatemala

Just How Stupid Can We Be….

February 23, 2012 by adminewa

This will be a short post as it should speak for itself. After a week in California I was lucky enough to return to the cyber world and find this:

You can now (since Feb. 16 and through Apr. 30) catch and keep a wild steelhead on one of eight rivers on the Olympic Peninsula. The Bogachiel, Calawah, Clearwater, Dickey, Hoh, Quillayute, Quinault and Sol Duc rivers are the only rivers in Washington where wild steelhead may be retained. See rules on page 27 of fishing regs pamphlet available at http://wdfw.wa.gov/fishing/regulations/

After all the f–king work that has gone into various aspects of wild steelhead protection not only on the Olympic Peninsula but elsewhere in this state, just when we feel as though the tide might have just come to a slack and begin to turn, WDFW goes and makes one of the dumbest decisions I have EVER seen in my life. Jesus Christ, even Californian’s get it more than we do, I think I want to move back to Oregon, done calling myself a Washingtonian, at least in the fishing world, it is embarrassing.

I don’t care what kind of gear you throw at steelhead or how you do it but to make every effort to kill off these fish in the name of “listening to our constituents” is a crock. Listen to the larger constituent base, the rest of the business owners in Washington who will feel the impact of a state with no wild steelhead and therefore zero tourism dollars coming here in an effort to catch one. I honestly didn’t think this was rocket science but apparently it is.

Filed Under: Emerald Water Anglers Tagged With: catch and release, Emerald Water Anglers, Washington, Wild Steelhead

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