Help Please! (SRC)

[Anyfish]

OK, I have decided that enough is enough and I am determined to at least hook a SRC in the salt this year. I have been after SRC off and on in the salt for the last few years with out so much as a bump bawling: . I need some help. What am I doing wrong? I use a 6wt with an intermediate line, and I have tried many different flies, read books/magazines, but nothing. I have fished many of the public beaches around Olympia (I live a little south of Olympia), but no luck.

[ibn]

How many times do you think you have fished for them? It probably took me 5 or 10 different trips to different beaches before I caught one, after that they started coming easier. In reading your post it sounds like you educated yourself on what you need to do to catch fish. Are you fishing the same beaches on different tides?

[Anyfish]

I have been out a dozen times or so to different beaches. I have fished mostly outgoing tides.

[RedFive]

Dude, you're close to a great beach that produces SRC almost year round! Ibn's right, though, their elusive nature can sometimes make you feel like you'll never catch one. I think I had to go out for them as many times as he said before I caught one. But after that, I was hooked! PM me and we can talk more about it.

[salt dog]

Anyfish, each beach seems to have its own optimum tide, say first couple of hours after tide turn, or last couple before tide change, but more importantly than timing the tide may be to get down there at first light.

This time of year is a bit tougher than it will be as we get into April and beyond. Fewer and more selective fish, IMHO. Elusive, yes, but they are out there. Once you get a couple of beaches and the SRC figured out expect your batting average to creep up to about .750 over time, but you'll still get spanked every once in a while just to keep your ego in check. Are they worth it? you betcha!

[Anyfish]

I don't mind getting spanked here and there, but I just want to get at least a hook up. I will just keep at it. Redfive I am sending the PM.

[Kyle Smith]

I think the number one thing when you hit the beach is confidence. The one time I caught a SRC(I've fished for them maybe 7 times), I was sure I would catch something, because I saw chum salmon rolling, and I knew some cutts would be following. Try varying the way you strip your fly. Also, attractor patterns will be your best bet unless you really know your marine biology. I think fishing the sound is just nice. You can be in the middle of a big city, yet the water is so peaceful, just waves, ships and birds, and hopefully fish. So, yeah, try some clousers in various colors, tie some saltwater bunny leeches, and say "today, i'm going to catch a cutthroat". then say, "I'm good enough, i'm smart enough and doggonnit, people like me."

[wolverine]

I cheat... I troll until I get one to strike, then start casting to them. I do the "see bottom on one side of the boat but not the other" to get the proper depth. I do seem to have better luck on an incoming thru high tide.

[Ringlee]

iagree
I guess I cheat as well. Best way to cover water.

[martyg]

Yes. Confidence. You must summon the fish. You must make ask it to show itself and prove that you are a worthy opponent. You must be crafty and make it beleive that this is life or death, when all that you really want to do is trick it with your barbless hooks. Those are the first steps.

As your skill and insight develops, you will be one with the fish; one with the water; one with nature. Only then will you truly be able to wear the title of SRC fisherman with pride and dignity. Only then will you have the knowledge and skill to save the village from the gear fisherman.

Now go young Anyfish. Take what you have learned and summon the SRC.

Sorrrrrrrry – got carried away.:)

[Anyfish]

Thanks for the replies. I guess I will start fishing all tides and try some new spots. If I could just hook one, my confidence would go up.

[Teeg Stouffer]

Try something sculpin-ey.

Olive over white marabou clouser
Weighted muddler, marabou, olive
Wooley bugger with lead eyes

Fish slow and low.

I fished the chartreuse deer hair clouser, and a handful of other popular flies, to no avail for a while, went slow and low, finally got into fish, and have figured out when one works better than the other. But the sculpin pattern, I'd investigate that route if I were you - and stick with it.

[Steve Rohrbach]

Anyfish, I would add that you should start fishing with your feet on the beach. I have seen many people wade right in upto their waist and start casting. Start casting close to the beach. Many of my fish have taken in 18" of water. I liken it to Steelhead fishing the river. Cover the close water and then gradually move out to deeper water. If you don't get any takes, move down the beach and start over. These fish can be nomads so always be ready to move to find them. Teeg has some good suggestions on flies. If the fish are there, they will slam his choices.
Good luck, Steve

[espja]

Redfive,
That's another newbie you helped this week with the SRC's.
I commend you on your generosity. :)
You the man!
Joe

[Kyle Smith]

One point I'd like to make is that on an outgoing tide, the current moves food out over the deeper parts, so I'd guess that you're less likely to find fish shallow in that situation. I'm not super-experienced, but i'm in an oceanography class(what a joke), and I'd assume that it's vice-versa on an incoming tide. I know that this is the salt forum, but when do these fish move up rivers to spawn? And should I approach them the same as I would steelhead or salmon?

[Les Johnson]

It should also be kept in mind that when fishing for coastal cutthroat we are fishing for wild fish that aren't present in nearly the numbers that you'll find in a hatchery driven situation such as when a lot of young resident coho are present.
In fact, coastal cutthroat in south Puget Sound are still in a recovery mode from when sportsmen lobbied to get them declared catch-and-release in 1997 (when they were in severe decline). Many of their spawning creeks are not in the best condition to be condusive to high spawning success. In addition, coastal cutthroat grow very slowly; and 18-incher may be up to ten years old.
As has been stated on this thread, there is a lot to learn to become a regularly successful coastal cutthroat fisherman. It is not a stacked deck like we might experience in an annually stocked lowland lake. Learn about your quarry, its envronment, its habits and remember that the coastal cutthroat is highly mobile during its time in saltwater. They may be at a beach one day and gone the next.
As you concentrate more on learning about the fish and the fishing; the catching will eventually begin taking care of itself.
Good Fishing,
Les Johnson

[RedFive]

Redfive,
That's another newbie you helped this week with the SRC's.
I commend you on your generosity. :)
You the man!
Joe

No dude, YOU'RE the man. The pictures say it all, right? You up for fishing again this weekend? I think we're heading out Saturday afternoon...

[miyawaki]

[QUOTE=coolkyle]One point I'd like to make is that on an outgoing tide, the current moves food out over the deeper parts, so I'd guess that you're less likely to find fish shallow in that situation.


On most beaches, the tidal movement is left to right or vice versa, not in and out.

A friend and I fished a south sound state park today. The lower the tide ebbed, the better the fishing got. Most of the time, we made quartering casts downtide and downwind and stripped our poppers back up against the wind waves. We both caught a couple 12-13 inch cutts and Ross had a big boy repeatedly attack his fly all the way in to the rod tip. We also had a lot of action from the roving rat packs of resident silvers.

Anyfish:I would advise you to fish your chosen beach enough times under different times, tides and conditions before you move on to other beaches. Work the whole beach if you can and keep a journal. Today, Ross and I must have walked back and forth over a mile and a half of beach searching for fish between 10am and 2:30pm.

Remember, this is fishing and not work. Success is measured in the overall experience not the merely in the catching. Enjoy the journey.

Leland.

[willieboat]

One tip, don't wade too deep when hunting SRC's.

Don

[Roger Stephens]

Anyfish:

Sent you a PM but not sure if it got mailed. So if you didn't get it, I'll send you another.

Keeping a detailed journal will greatly increase your success rate when fishing for SRC. Record what part of the tide you are fishing and amount of current. SRC like to site on the edge of current seams in the "softer" water and are not usually in "heavy" current unless they are feeding on baitfish which are being swept along by the current. SRC have a tendency to stay "put" along current seams and the down current side of gravel bars as they sit and wait for a "meal" to come by. So check out the areas that you are fishing to see what the bottom structure is like during a low tide. Even small depressions will allow SRC to easily hold on the bottom which is usually where they like to "sit" since there is less current there. Note all this in your journal so that over time you hopefully can determine which part of the beach has the best fishing and what part of the tide.

A couple of gravel bars which I fish have nice current swepting across them on both the ebb and flood tides. You would think that they would fish about the same on either tide. But some gravels bars fish better on the ebb tide while others fish better on the flood tide. Note that in your journal.

keeping a journal stimulates you to be observant and is invalueable sometimes in determing patterns/trends of SRC and over time helps to establish the time of year various locations fish best. It takes some effort to get in the routine but it will pay off for your in the long run if a person is serious about fly fishing for SRC on Puget Sound.

Roger

[espja]

Redfive,
I'll give you a call Friday.

[wet line]

Knowledge is the key. Les Johnson's newest book Flyfishing Coastal Cutthroat Trout is a must read whether you are new to the SRC's or fished them for years. A lot of what has been posted here is in the book and a lot more. Once your knowledge base begins to expand read the book again and you will find even more data to aid in the search for the elusive sea trout.

I cann't thank Les enough for his latest book. Well maybe I should be upset because it will aid so many people in becoming better SRC fishers :)

Dave

[Anyfish]

Thanks for the replies.:thumb:

[troutingham]

how old is a 25 inch src???

[Les Johnson]

Troutingham,
You may never see a 25-inch coastal cutthroat in the salt, if that is your question. They top out at around 20-22 inches and can be between 10 and 12 years old. And searun cutthroat of this size are rare. The occasional searun coastal cutthroat that reaches 25-inches can be a cutthroat /steelhead hybrid. Conversely, coastal cutthroat in large lakes (Washington, Buttle, etc.) can reach double digits in weight and considerable length.
Check my book "Fly Fishing Coastal Cutthroat Trout" out of the libarary and read up on these fish. There are no easy answers for most of the questions that often appear in the threads on bulletin boards. They are indeed a wild and mysterious trout.
Les Johnson

[RedFive]

Troutingham,
You may never see a 25-inch coastal cutthroat in the salt, if that is your question. They top out at around 20-22 inches and can be between 10 and 12 years old. And searun cutthroat of this size are rare. The occasional searun coastal cutthroat that reaches 25-inches can be a cutthroat /steelhead hybrid. Conversely, coastal cutthroat in large lakes (Washington, Buttle, etc.) can reach double digits in weight and considerable length.
Check my book "Fly Fishing Coastal Cutthroat Trout" out of the libarary and read up on these fish. There are no easy answers for most of the questions that often appear in the threads on bulletin boards. They are indeed a wild and mysterious trout.
Les Johnson


Gee Paul, I guess that monster cutthroat you caught last year might not have been a cuttie at all. At least, that's what the man says. Don't worry, I still believe you. :D

After all, I saw several 18+ inch cutthroat and a few 20+ ones landed a week or so ago, so I think it's still possible. Where have you been fishing, BTW? PM me when you get a chance.

I wonder how long the state record was--it was 6 lbs, so it must have been bigger than 20".

[Anyfish]

I guess I would be happy with a 20+ fish.........just kidding, I would be happy with any.