2008 » October » 23

I don’t think all of you know Shorty, but most of you do. We are so lucky to have my man back in the Pac NW. He’s just starting to get to know the Puget Sound and the Olympic Peninsula….and it looks like he’s making some progress. The last time I got a report from him….he had just caught a 12 Coho Smolt.

Did a little better this time, huh Short? Nice work. Enjoy.







OK so we got on the water about 7 turt and I was a little surprised by how low the water was cause it had rained pretty hard on Mon. we fished a spot where the “Salmon” river dumped into the Queets but there was nothing going on. Brian B. had been hyping this spot for weeks. After a couple of sausages moved out of the hole above us empty handed i pounced on it thinking that this water looked a lot more promising.

Nothing doing there either. I tried drifting eggs from that hen I caught on the Columbia but no strikes. I did see a few fish rolling though so I was feeling a little better about my chances. everyone fishes large spinners and spoons up there so I tried that as well.

We fished this spot and a long run above it for 6 hrs with no action. We eventually headed up stream to check out some new water before we had to leave. I stopped and casted from a high bank into some deeper looking water that was shaded. I must have casted right on top a fish’s head because as soon as I started to reel the water exploded then I saw my spinner fly through the air.

After casting trying the same cast a bunch of times i decided to try bobber fishing some eggs through there, but again nothing. Brian and his son had gone up about a hundred yards to fish and that is where Jake (Brian’s 16 y.o. son) caught a 9 lb coho hen. so I boogied up there to check it out and after about 5 or so casts hooked a coho, but it spit the hook after 5 seconds.

About 10 casts later I hooked and landed that 18 lb coho buck on a #6 blue and silver blue fox spinner. Brian proceeded to hook and loose a couple of fish, but it was getting late and we had to get going soon because its about a 3.5 hr drive home and I had to pick up the kids at daycare.

I took a few more casts with that spinner and got snagged and lost it. That was the last spinner I had left of the four I came with, so I pulled out a yellow and white “fat rap” that I had in a lure box full of bullshit that I thought may come in handy.

I bushwhacked my way upstream about 50′ to the next clear spot to make a cast (the Queets is in a rain forest=lots o trees/snags) on my second cast I hooked that king hen. the problem was I was casting over a 2 trees that were sideways up against the bank. there weren’t many branches left on them but the big one was about 5′ thick and 40′ long.

The bank was steep and muddy and brushy, plus the water go deep quick. so I scrambled over bushes and branches heading down to the guys at the clearing. at one point I had to reach out and break some old dead branches off that were hanging in my way so that I could keep going. All the while I was holding my 10′ rod as high as I could so that the line didn’t rub against the downed tree.

Finally Brian grabbed the shoulder strap of my waders and helped me get through a deep mud hole beneath a ceder whose branches were hanging almost down to the water. Now I was finally able to play the fish for another 15 min or so and land the dirty slut on the bank….and that is where the picture was taken.

Unfortunately kings are catch and release this year on the Queets due to low expected returns. (Indians still get to gill net however). There are about 8 other outstanding salmon/steel head rivers within an hour or so of there so I think that I will be back someday. sooner than later hopefully, and hopefully with some team salmon members.

I’m getting carpel tunnel syndrome from typing so peace out from Kitsap county m*f*ers.