Report: 1/20 Seattle Area Salt

[Ron Crawford]

Having a :mad: week at work - needed a break. 3 hours on the beach did the trick.

Fished a Seattle are public park beach from 7:00 to 10:00 AM this morning. Caught one SRC about 12 inches, short distance release - My first SRC on a fly I tied myself!

Here's the funny thing - I was reeling in all my line to move over to another spot on the beach. My fly was within 5 feet of the shore/waterline and almost up to the surface. I wasn't even really paying attention, and then I felt that familiar tug. I have heard it a million times on this website, SRC feed close to shore, but this guy was in CLOSE.

Good looking trout, really feisty, sent him on his way and then headed into the office with a much better outlook on life.

-Ron

[Roger Stephens]

Ron:

Congratulations on your first SRC on a fly that you tied.:thumb: Watch out the SRC fishery on Puget Sound can be addicting.:)

Roger

[Smalma]

Ron -
Congrats - you are now on your way to becoming an "addict".

Over the years have caught many cutthroat standing in waist deep water and casting back towards and along the shore line with fish feeding in as little as 6 inches of water. A handy trick on those really big tides that push an angler with their back to the beach back into the overhanging trees.

Tight lines
Curt

[Jim Wallace]

:thumb: Cutts often like to follow your fly a long way and then hit it like that real close in. No matter how many times that has happened to me in the past, it is always a welcome surprise!:D

Jimbo

[miyawaki]

One thing you neglected to mention was the kind of strip were you using. Many years ago, I began using a steady two-handed strip because of the number of hits and follows I would get while winding in (which is a fairly rapid but steady retrieve). Also, many fish are lost on the single-handed strip when the fish hits at the pause while you're reaching for another handful of line.

Curt and Jim are correct when they say that cutts often strike close to shore. My first cast is always straight down the beach while standing mid-calf in the water. In fact, some of my largest cutts were caught in the most shallow of waters. I believe larger predatory fish are bolder, more aggressive and possibly even more fearless than their smaller "eating-size" brethren.

Leland.

[Bob Triggs]

My two best fish last summer- both over twenty inches- on the beaches were with guests dressed in street clothing and shoes, casting from shore, and the fly was in a foot or less of water and less than ten feet from the edge.

[Jim Fitz]

Leland,

I have what is probably going to be a dumb question - what is a two handed strip? I always hold my rod in my hand freeing up one hand for stripping. How do you hold the rod to use two hands?

Thanks,

Jim

[miyawaki]

Jim,

Put your rod under your armpit and clamp down with your arm. Point your rod tip straight down your line and keep the tip at the water. Strip steadily by alternating hands. You will find that you will always have tension on your fly.
You can also strip very slow or really fast, or even alternate with quick pops.

The added plus of a two-handed strip is that you cannot short strike your fish. You need to play a little tug of war with a straight line connection before you switch hands and play your fish. This also requires you use a larger tippet which you should be using to play your fish quickly.

Leland.

[Pez Gallo]

Leland,

I have what is probably going to be a dumb question - what is a two handed strip? I always hold my rod in my hand freeing up one hand for stripping. How do you hold the rod to use two hands?

Thanks,

Jim

Stick the rod under your arm pit to grip the cork. Now both hands are free to strip. Popular technique in the salt. One of the upsides is that you've always got a hand on the line. That gives you lots of control over retrieve and allows for a quick strip strike. oops didn't realize the questions was already answered!

[Jim Fitz]

Leland and Pez,

Thanks for the response. I was actually guessing you held the rod between your legs. Someone told he has a friend that does that for salmon and uses pretty fast burst-strips.

I also pictured a rod holder attached to a stripping basket.

I also pictured you holding the rod in your teeth but quickly discarded that image.

Jim F.