Roger Stephens
10-16-2004, 09:43 PM
Several years ago my fishing buddy was talking with a fisheries biologist with WDF&W who had done some snorkeling in Puget Sound. He said that SRC seemed to be grouped together by size classes in the saltwater environment.
Saltwater flyfishing for SRC and salmon in Puget Sound can be a big puzzle that changes daily due to so many variables such as tides, weather, etc. For many years I have kept a detailed journal of all my fishing trips on Puget Sound. I will note: size and number of fish caught at each location, fly used, tide, weather, etc. I am always looking for patterns which would help make this fisheries more predictable. Looking back over the last couple of years of the journal, it was apparent that larger SCR(+16") are almost always grouped together particularly in March-May and Sept.-Nov. near estuaries. On a good day I was able to land 5-7 large SRC at a location and with a little luck was able to find another spot where they were grouped. In the summer months the large SRC seemed to be more scattered and thus harder to find. The smaller SRC seemed to be grouped together with an occasional large SRC present.
Knowing that the larger SRC tend to hangout together has helped me to use a strategy to target them which has worked for me and suits my style of fishing.
1. I will fish many locations until large SRC are found. If I am not hooking any fish or only small SRC at a location, I will fish it quickly and move onto another spot with the hope that large SRC will be there. If large SRC are at a location, they will usually chase or strike the fly on the first couple of casts. During a day of fishing I will frequently fish 10 or more different locations.
2. Some spots just consistently hold large SRC and I try to fish these locations during optimum weather and tide conditions. For example, gravel bars and shallow shelves are prime large SRC areas particularly when a nice tidal current(3-5 ft. deep)sweeps across them. The large SRC will sit in two areas: (1) depressions on top of the gravel bar/shelf, (2) at the down current edge of the gravel bar/shelf as it drops off into deeper water. They will be sitting within 5-15 ft. from where the bottom breaks over(smooth to choppy water) and usually not in the deeper water(8 ft or more).
3. If I hook or land a large SRC at a location, I will systematically fish the spot about like steelhead fishing to totally cover the water. I will cast both into shore and deeper water. There are usually some more large SRC within 5-15 ft. of where a fish was hooked so I will fish that zone methodically.
Saltwater flyfishing for SRC and salmon in Puget Sound can be a big puzzle that changes daily due to so many variables such as tides, weather, etc. For many years I have kept a detailed journal of all my fishing trips on Puget Sound. I will note: size and number of fish caught at each location, fly used, tide, weather, etc. I am always looking for patterns which would help make this fisheries more predictable. Looking back over the last couple of years of the journal, it was apparent that larger SCR(+16") are almost always grouped together particularly in March-May and Sept.-Nov. near estuaries. On a good day I was able to land 5-7 large SRC at a location and with a little luck was able to find another spot where they were grouped. In the summer months the large SRC seemed to be more scattered and thus harder to find. The smaller SRC seemed to be grouped together with an occasional large SRC present.
Knowing that the larger SRC tend to hangout together has helped me to use a strategy to target them which has worked for me and suits my style of fishing.
1. I will fish many locations until large SRC are found. If I am not hooking any fish or only small SRC at a location, I will fish it quickly and move onto another spot with the hope that large SRC will be there. If large SRC are at a location, they will usually chase or strike the fly on the first couple of casts. During a day of fishing I will frequently fish 10 or more different locations.
2. Some spots just consistently hold large SRC and I try to fish these locations during optimum weather and tide conditions. For example, gravel bars and shallow shelves are prime large SRC areas particularly when a nice tidal current(3-5 ft. deep)sweeps across them. The large SRC will sit in two areas: (1) depressions on top of the gravel bar/shelf, (2) at the down current edge of the gravel bar/shelf as it drops off into deeper water. They will be sitting within 5-15 ft. from where the bottom breaks over(smooth to choppy water) and usually not in the deeper water(8 ft or more).
3. If I hook or land a large SRC at a location, I will systematically fish the spot about like steelhead fishing to totally cover the water. I will cast both into shore and deeper water. There are usually some more large SRC within 5-15 ft. of where a fish was hooked so I will fish that zone methodically.