First timer N Sound beach report

[troutpocket]

While I usually pack up for a day on Lone or Pass this time of year, I just couldn't get motivated after nine days straight at work. I checked the tides mid morning (nice addition to the site) and I was in luck with a low tide at noon.

What I've been able to take away from all the salt reports I've been reading the past few years is that if you have a 6wt and some Clousers, you can catch fish. I put this to the test and found it to be true!

I fished about 2.5 hrs starting 30 min before low tide. I covered ~200 yards of beach, moving every 2-3 casts. I got nothing for 45 min with a chartruese/white Clouser but hooked up two fish on blue/white. Both were LDR's but I saw them well enough to know they were salmonids of some type, silver and 12-15". Very nice afternoon and great warmup for the Film Tour!

Rod:beer2:

[dominic7471]

sounds like you caught some ressies, resident silvers, nice job!

[CovingtonFly]

Nice work. I seem to have a lot of LDR's in the salt also. I don't know if the rezzies have hard mouths or maybe the hooks get dull from the rocks or what.

[Richard]

Nice work. I seem to have a lot of LDR's in the salt also. I don't know if the rezzies have hard mouths or maybe the hooks get dull from the rocks or what.

It's likely the latter, and definitely the former. The resident silvers have pretty darn soft mouths (think trout). Many folks 'tick' their flies on the beach during the backcast; it pays to check your hook relatively frequently and replace the fly or sharpen the hook as needed.

It could also be the hooks you're using. I've used lots of hook brands and models, and the Gamakatsu hooks stand shoulders and head above the rest for sharpness . . . thin wire and incredibly sharp, your hookup rate will go up substantially. Listen to me now and believe me later . . . :)

[salt dog]

Troutpocket, sounds like a nice outing; great to have a decent fishery right at hand without a long drive isn’t it.

I agree with Richard, checking hooks regularly needs to be habitual; if not the backcast, bouncing rocks along the bottom as you're stripping in will also dull a hook if fishing from the beach. I also use Gamakatsu hooks for my salt flies, generally the Gamakatsu “Octopus” when I can get away with a short shank.

Most of the time you will find the slack tide to be a poor producer, and I generally will fish the two hours before or after a slack tide, sip a hot beverage from my thermos in between and take in the sights during slack.

Resident Coho are notorius head shakers, and more likely than a SRC to throw a barbless hook, even one that is sharp and well set. If your 6 wt is a medium-fast rod or stiffer, you don't get the aide of having much of a shock absorber from the rod tip either, especially on the lighter fish that can't put much of a bend into it. In addition to the hook sharpness, and stronger set, either use a rod with a more flexible tip, or use a heavier tippet and don't play the fish just pull it in as quickly as reasonably possible. Your hook-up to landing ratio should improve with the above; it helped mine.

[CovingtonFly]

Good advice. I do check my hooks frequently and I came to the conclusion that I need to concentrate more on getting a good hook set from the get go.

[Mike T]

You found a beach without honkin' winds? That's it I'm moving north... I fished at Olalla yesterday on the ebb and rapidly got tired of fighting the wind. I went to Purdy today and it was really blowing.