East Side Vashon

[Michael Dunn]

Ok, I've quietly slid out of bed and am sacrificing one of my days of sleeping past 4 a.m. to go see what I can do at a particular point on the east side of Vashon.
It'll be my first time doing the fly off the beach in the salt.
I'll report back.
Cheers!:beer2:

[Michael Dunn]

Well, I was down at Point Robinson right before daybreak & just after the flood.
Worked it for about an hour and a half.
Caught one silver which I guess is what you would call a resident silver this time of year only I'm not really clear on that.
Anyway I didn'tsee any jumpers and didn't get any other strikes. I started out with a clouser but switched over to a chum baby and that's what I caught the one on.
That was my first catch of anything on a fly I tied myself so that was cool.
That's it folks!:beer2:

[Jay Allyn]

Congrats on your first salt fish!

[nativewiggler]

Really cool! Congrats! Can't wait to catch my first - hopefully with my own fly too!

[Roger Stephens]

nativewiggler:

Puget Sound has an awesome saltwater fly fisheries for sea-run cutthroat and salmon. The "best" advice" to "catch fish" on on Puget Sound is to "troll" for them;) Is "trollin" one of your "fishing" techniques:confused: ?

Roger

[SteelieD]

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

Nice job Michael! Fishing the salt can be a blast.

[salt dog]

Well dunn Michael.....a double first. Not only first saltwater fish on a fly, but on your own tie, pretty cool.

Since you hail from Vashon, I'm sure I'll read more reports from you as you begin to explore the Island beaches in the early morning.

Roger.....you crack me up. :D

[Michael Dunn]

Thanks to all for the comments. Yes I will be hitting more of the beaches and reporting back.
Cheers!

[Les Johnson]

For all folks new to fishing Puget Sound for coastal cutthroat, it has taken three decades of grass roots efforts, dating back to 1975 in order to achieve the recovery of these great wild sea-run trout. And they are still not back to the numbers we had in the 1950s and 60s. Enjoy this highly unique fishery and release them carefully. We all want the numbers of our coastal cutthroat to continue to increase. Some friends and I were fishing South Puget Sound recently and landed only one cutthroat and one coho. Both were about 19-inches and incredibly well-fed. This bodes well for the spring and summer. If there is enough feed around locally we are likely to retain more of our resident coho in south to middle Puget Sound. These will be the ones that mature as 4 to 6-pounders in September. We'll also continue to see better numbers of trophy cutthroat, which take 8 to 10 years to mature.
Cheers,
Les Johnson

[Jon Borcherding]

Les,
I would just like to take this opportunity to thank you for your book on the subject of Sea Run Cutthroat. Your book was one of the primary inspirations that motivated me to take up fly fishing for SRC. I understand that you will have a new book out soon and I am really looking forward to it!
One of the things that I like about your SRC book is that you address the threats that SRC face without getting "preachy". I think that you presented the case for the fish in such a way that it can be accepted by people who might not normally buy into environmentalism as an ideology.
There is so much politics surrounding our fisheries today and at times the polarizations become so strong and destructive that they benefit no one, certainly not the fish. Your writing seems to have avoided this pitfall and you have instilled in me a newfound respect and love for this beautiful little fish. I find myself returning again and again to your book for more knowledge from the wealth of information between those two covers.
I eagerly await your newest work and I hope to meet you on the water some day.
Thanks again!

JonB

[Les Johnson]

Thanks for the kind words, Jon. I assume that you are talking about the latest cutthroat book that came out in late 2004. The forthcoming new book is, "Fly Fishing for Pacific Salmon II" which is due from Frank Amato Publications in late May or early June of this year.
Cheers,
Les Johnson

[Jon Borcherding]

Thanks for the kind words, Jon. I assume that you are talking about the latest cutthroat book that came out in late 2004. The forthcoming new book is, "Fly Fishing for Pacific Salmon II" which is due from Frank Amato Publications in late May or early June of this year.
Cheers,
Les Johnson

Yes, it must be the 2004 cutthroat book, "Fly Fishing for Coastal Cutthroat". I made it a goal for myself to learn to use a fly rod when I saw a guide fishing some clients for silvers at Neah Bay almost 2 years ago. Realizing that I would need some practice before trying to fish for the ocean silvers, my thoughts turned to the cutthroat of my youth which we pursued with spinners and the like in Liberty Bay. A search for literature on fly fishing for sea runs turned up your excellent book.
Best Wishes!
JonB

[Gary Thompson]

Les does Jon get a commission. I'm going to have to buy the coastal cutthroat book. Cutts are so cool.
The only sea runs I have ever caught were in the Rogue river, Oregon.
Never got one out of the salt. Sounds like a great time for a great fish.