Searun advice

[finnfisher]

OK guys, I know I'm probably not alone but my quest for SRC is kickin my butt!
I spent the last two mornings (early!) at a Area 9 beach on the last three hours of the morning ebb tide. Both days there were a LOT of fish jumping especially when there was good current. I tried EVERYTHING except shooting the little buggers!:mad: I came closer to catching one in my stripping basket than anything else. (Why do they always have to jump right next to you while you are changing flies!):beathead:
Seriously, I tried clowsers, several baitfish patterns, several colors of reverse spiders, a popper and every conceivable retrieve. I then changed to my WF floater cuz it seemed that I might be too deep. I was sure that today was the day... There were definately fish there. Yesterday the guy next to me caught two nice SRCs so I Know it can be done! All this casting practice has certainly improved my casting.:thumb:
HELP!

[Jim Wallace]

Ya, the reason they jump close to you when changing flies is to see what immitation you're tying on, so they can avoid it! Then they swim back to their buddies, tell them, and then they all laugh at you while they leap and swirl and follow-up and otherwise torture you for the next couple of hours.:rofl:

Try sticking with one fly. Have you tried the one, I think its supposed to immitate some kind of worm or something, easy to tie up: #6 saltwater hook, gold conehead, white marabou tail, body of white pearl new-age chenile. Often works for me off the N Hood Canal/Pt Townsend/Sequim beaches when a baitfish immitation isn't doing it. (That is, if and when I can get up to the Port Townsend area to fish off the beaches...was recommended to me at Waters West).

Try short-to-medium quick strips, erratic, with pauses every few strips.

[Double-D]

finnfisher,
I can relate, I experienced the same thing a week ago (area 9). There is an abundant of bait right now and my theroy is you have to match the hatch with size color and some times I think even more important, profile. After refusal for an hour with patterns (even Clousers) that were successful just days before I finally found a pattern that was a close enough to match the bait. Within the first cast I was into fish and several more until the tide had changed then it was all over. I also might add that the retrieve was very fast and inches from the surface.
Don't give up, your day will come when everything just comes together.
Good fishing.

[finnfisher]

Thanks guys. I know I'm not entirely nuts!:p
It is becoming apparent to me that I need to be able to tie my own saltwater imitations. I don't want to get too involved just yet but they seem to be fairly simple. Any ideas on how to get a basic, in expensive set up?

[salt dog]

finnfisher,
I can relate, I experienced the same thing a week ago (area 9). There is an abundant of bait right now and my theroy is you have to match the hatch with size color and some times I think even more important, profile. After refusal for an hour with patterns (even Clousers) that were successful just days before I finally found a pattern that was a close enough to match the bait. Within the first cast I was into fish and several more until the tide had changed then it was all over. I also might add that the retrieve was very fast and inches from the surface.
Don't give up, your day will come when everything just comes together.
Good fishing.

iagree
As you pay your dues and go up the learning curve the number of skunk days will start to shrink. Try going down in the evening after filling your thermos with ice, gin and tonic. Relax, enjoy the sunset, it will come to you.

BTW, anyone notice the flying termite hatch going on during calm nights?
At tide change, when the salad is thickest, drop a size 12 burnt orange bodied fly, with long splayed hair wings, with an occasional twitch on a dry line around the seaweed edges. The seaweed may keep you out of casting for salmon, but the cutthroat are still around and willing.

[Dizane]

Salt Dog,

Interesting on the termite hatch. It reminds me of a few years ago when we that had that hatch of spruce(?) moths that supposedly only happens every X number of years. Those moths were everywhere, in the air and on the water. I literally had to dodge a few while walking down the beach. The cutts sure liked them though.

[finnfisher]

since I'm not set up to tie, how 'bout an orange stimulator? or ???
Risto

[willieboat]

The only other advice I can give you regarding SRC's in the salt is [U]if you can avoid wading, do so. [U]I seem to catch more in water less that four foot deep.

Don

[salt dog]

since I'm not set up to tie, how 'bout an orange stimulator? or ???
Risto

Probably would work: clip the hackle at the head, and along the body, leave some on the sides to suggest legs. Try a black marker along the body edges and I would think you're close enough to passably profile the real mccoy. Their body is about as long as the nail on your little finger, with 2 pairs of wings twice the length of the body or longer. If you smack a termite down to look closely at it, be careful, the little buggers can bite.

Sunday night one came completely out of the water to take it 15 ft from shore, looked like a freaking rainbow hitting a stimulator on a river.

[salt dog]

oops.