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Grumble, grumble...would it be safe to say that most SRC...

2K views 15 replies 8 participants last post by  Chester Allen 
#1 ·
are heading into the fresh water systems? I generally fish the South Sound for SRC from the beaches. Seems that the beaches I normally do very well at consistently are quite "slow" to say the least, wondering if they are chillin' near the local Creeks and rivers. Anyone know what's crackin'? I'm not interested in targeting Chum but I'm wondering if the SRC are heading the same direction the chum have been heading. Also I see in the regs that most creeks/rivers near puget sound are now closed to Trout. Only a few of them are all year round. Anyhow, forgive my rambling... Tired and a little annoyed.
 
#2 ·
Dude, if you are getting annoyed over the fickleness and mysterious wandering habits of a pea-brained fish, then you need an intervention!:D Welcome to the club!

Out here on the coast, most cutts have already left the tidal flux and have run upstream. If I want to fish for them locally now, I have to hit a river.

I think this recent rain is a game changer. Its raising the river levels back up toward normal, and inviting more of the fish to run upstream from the salt. I'm not saying that "most" of the searun cutts are now heading upstream. But this rain will draw some of them into their natal freshwater. I figure that each creek or river might vary a bit in its own run timing. I don't believe that they all shoot upstream at the same time, but filter in over a stretched out period.
 
#7 ·
Cutthroat can be divided into two categories; early- and late-entry fish. The difference seems to be based on average low summer flows of their natal rivers. In many larger rivers cutthroat will begin entering fresh water as early as July but in small creeks draining directly into salt water they will delay re-entry until winter, often as late as December or even later. Since most streams running into the south Sound and Hood Canal fit that description, these areas offer an almost year-round opportunity to fish for them in the salt. Cutthroat in the small rivers running into Willapa Bay (like the Naselle) follow a similar schedule. I fished the Naselle with one of the locals in June for downstream (post-spawning) cutthroat who were in excellent condition, apparently having found adequate forage in the river and only having spent a relatively short time in fresh water.

Larger rivers will also have some late-returning cutthroat; I've caught bright, fresh-run cutthroat in north Sound rivers as late as February while fishing for steelhead
 
#8 ·
Found a few fish 1500 yards upwind of a chum creek
Hooked and lost a few more while trolling between spots
Saw a few fat ones jump
Not hot but fun

The new goggles were sweet for running in the wind and spray

So I went fishing and the hawks played great
Does that mean I have to fish during all their games?
 
#9 ·
They move around. Get used to it. You can't expect to catch them standing in one spot. So….if they move around, don't you think you ought to try that too? …. Tactics my friend, tactics. Grumble..grumble…grumble. :)
 
#10 ·
I'm going to see if I can get some SRC action tomorrow on a tiny river a little over an hr from where I live (seems like most rivers/creeks near me are shut down). It's going to be a family event (wish me luck), I'm taking my wife and our 4 kids ranging from 3 to 12, 1 boy and 3 girls :D. (chasing fish may be easy for some of you, but I'm not there yet, so frustration runs high when the fever hits and there's no relief. ;)). Maybe some of my kids will do some catching tomorrow.
 
#12 ·
Word! I love it when my kids brag all day and the rest of the week about how they catch more fish then I do when we go fishing! :D. Took my son out a few weeks ago, we get nothing. Finally I tell him to wrap it up, time to go home. Of course he whines aw man, one more cast please so I give him the go ahead and BAM, Flounder on! Then I hear about it for a week! This has happened the last two times when I tell him to wrap it up. Need to get him on a fly rod as soon as I get some funds. Looking at the Redington Youth setup.
 
#13 ·
Btw I think I met you at the Fly shop in Poulsbo once, the day we were waiting for Bill sto show when he didn't. I think that may have been you (with another guy in the car) taking a break during slack tide.
 
#14 ·
Hah Yep, that was me and Irafly. I still haven't talked to Bill to find out why he never showed that day. I've been in a couple times since, but both times its been that part time guy who is filling in for Richard. I have a suspicion that maybe he was the one who was supposed to open up that day, but thats just a guess.

Good to meet ya!

Btw I think I met you at the Fly shop in Poulsbo once, the day we were waiting for Bill sto show when he didn't. I think that may have been you (with another guy in the car) taking a break during slack tide.
 
#16 ·
South Sound always has at least a few sea-run cutthroat in the salt, mostly because South Sound doesn't have a lot of big rivers for wintering over. Many South Sound cutts spawn in tiny streams that can't support many mature fish. That said, this is the time of year when sea-run cutts go into freshwater to eat salmon spawn -- and decaying salmon flesh.

If you don't find cutthroat on your favorite beach, you can try mixing things up. I often try the beach at different times of a rising or falling tide. I'll also try the beach on a rising tide if I usually fish it on a falling tide -- and vice versa. I'll also try fishing the beach at different times of the tide, as changing water levels create rips, standing waves and other fish-attracting situations.

Of course, the fish may not be there right now, which is why I try to learn lots of beaches. Sea-run cutthroat do as they please, and they travel around a lot.
 
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