WET Fly Fishing for Sea-run Cutthroat Trout
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Got the opportunity last week to take a guided kayak trip on the Puget Sound for Sea-Run Cutthroat. Booked the trip with the Gig Harbor Fly Shop (http://gigharborflyshop.com/). The owner, Blake Merwin, was my guide. It was to say the least, a very rainy and wet day in the Puget Sound region. We never saw a dry moment. We got the boats in the water about 8AM to catch a falling tide in a small isolated estuary on the Hood Canal. Blake knows his sea-run cutthroat and we were into fish immediately once we hit the beaches outside the estuary. We were fishing from Native Slayer Propel kayaks, a new experience for me. Very stable, but somehow I think I still prefer paddles.
Joel Thompson in his “Big Mistake” thread said “I Made a big mistake a couple of weeks ago. I cast the new Scott Radian. It is one of the nicest fly rods I have ever cast.” Well Blake had me using Scott Radian 6wgts with floating and sinking lines. Boy were they a joy to cast.
Sea-run cutthroat trout fishing along the beaches isn’t a lot different from pounding the banks of the big slow river. The fish hold in 3-15’ of water 5 – 20’ off the beach. You drift with the tide and pound the beach with the appropriate fly, in this case small chum fry imitations. We got out and waded in a few places once the tide reached its peak and did well that way as well. Here’s a few pics from the trip.
On the beach in Hood Canal
Lunch (hot chili) on beach during low slack
Hooked up at high tide
Pounding the beaches
Salty troutStrategy without Tactics is a Slow Route to Victory, Tactics without Strategy is the Noise Before Defeat - Sun Tzu
Very cool Mike – makes me wish I lived a little closer to Washington !
BTW, the blue bag in this shot – do you know who makes it ?
Looks perfect for my new kayak ..Cheers.
On the beach in Hood Canal<br>
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Lunch (hot chili) on beach during low slack<br>www.dsaphoto.com
A picture is thousand words that takes less than a second while a thousand words is a picture that takes a month.
BTW, the blue bag in this shot – do you know who makes it ?<br>
Looks perfect for my new kayak ..Cheers.
That was Blake’s bag, so am not sure of the exact model, but it looks like a SealLine Black Canyon Pack, probably 35L. I’ll ask him for the specific model.
Strategy without Tactics is a Slow Route to Victory, Tactics without Strategy is the Noise Before Defeat - Sun Tzu
That’s really solid. I would absolutely freaking love to fish Yellowstone Lake that way on a late evening. I did that once from the shore and caught a 22″ cutthroat, then saw a coyote. Then I realized I was totally alone with plenty of large carnivores around… and went back to the fire. But from a boat, man, that would be so cool.
Zach
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