Gettin Skunked!

[Ryan Buccola]

Man, I ve been putting in major time between the carbon and green and been getting skunked! Anybody else getting hooked up?:confused:

[Brian Scott]

Don't sweat it dude. You're not alone. That's steelheading. I don't mean to preach, but here's my advice (which I need to consider as well): Don't give up, scrutinize the water your fishing for holding lies, and be sure you're presention is suited to the water your fishing and where you expect the fish to be. Oh yeah, and timing is everything. I've spent four full days on four different rivers over the last four weeks and haven't touched a thing either. I did manage to drive a 2/0 hook clear through the upper part of my left ear last weekend while working on my spey casts.:thumb:

[Brian Scott]

Don't sweat it dude. You're not alone. That's steelheading. I don't mean to preach, but here's my advice (which I need to consider as well): Don't give up, scrutinize the water your fishing for holding lies, and be sure you're presention is suited to the water your fishing and where you expect the fish to be. Oh yeah, and timing is everything. I've spent four full days on four different rivers over the last four weeks and haven't touched a thing either. I did manage to drive a 2/0 hook clear through the upper part of my left ear last weekend while working on my spey casts on the Sol Duc.:thumb:

[Brian Scott]

Don't sweat it dude. You're not alone. That's steelheading. I don't mean to preach, but here's my advice (which I need to consider as well): Don't give up, scrutinize the water your fishing for holding lies, and be sure you're presention is suited to the water your fishing and where you expect the fish to be. Oh yeah, and timing is everything. I've spent four full days on four different rivers over the last four weeks and haven't touched a thing either. I did manage to drive a 2/0 hook clear through the upper part of my left ear last weekend while working on my spey casts on the middle Sol Duc.:thumb:

[Brian Scott]

Sorry, but my computer left for happy hour @ 3pm, now it's blizted and doesn't know how to operate properly...:beer1:

[Salmo_g]

CD,

The Carbon doesn't get squat for a hatchery run in spite of massive stocking, so it's a low percentage bet unless you have some special information. The Green has been getting fair numbers of fish, but the catching was best two to three weeks ago. You improve your chances by fishing when the timing is best: as the river is dropping from a freshet, and before it is clear. By the time a major river is clear enough to look really good for fly fishing, you should have been there a few days or a week earlier. You can still get fish once it's low and clear, but you need to learn where the fish lay during low water, which almost certainly isn't in the middle of any picture window drift. No cover = no steelhead. We preach this all the time: fish where the fish are, when the fish are there. Makes it a lot easier to hook up. I know, easier said than done, but well worth putting in the effor to learn.

And for what it's worth, I haven't hooked a fish in 4 weeks. Brought home the skunk 3 times.

Sincerely,

Salmo g.

[Ryan Buccola]

thanks lots for the info fellas.

[James Mello]

Just to give you and idea of the depressed runs on the Carbon/Puyallup... The hatchery run for the hatchery there brought in less than 60 fish in Dec. The wild escapement in the past few years has numbered less than 100 (I think 57 at the low point.)

-- Cheers
-- James