Lots of good stuff

No, your in the right place, and there will be fish pictures, just be patient.

The fish have been very patiently waiting in the lower Quilayute for the river to rise before they move upstream. The Quilayute tribe, the ONP and WDFW have been patiently waiting for them to come up.

I have been patiently spreading hundreds of yards of mulch on the farm while the season is closed.

Now its raining and we will see what there is to see in this most unusual season.

One of the interesting differences between fall salmon and spring/summer salmon, is how long fall fish will wait in the lower river, while late spring/summer fish don’t hesitate a second in low water.

It makes easy sense. If you are a fall fish, and you wait for higher water before you move upriver, you will almost surely get it sooner or later.

But if you are a summer fish, waiting does not pay, the river will only drop until fall.

The fish have adapted to this, so you see the fall fish willing to wait, and the summer fish in a huge hurry, crawling over the rocks with their backs out of the water no matter how low the flows.

Some of the fish began to cautiously move upriver today, but they are going to need some more H2O before they really get going.

I think fall Coho are really cold sensitive, so even as they get more water, they might be a little more sluggish than usual to head upriver. Thursday/Friday will really tell the tale.

I know! That’s not a fish either! But if you drive around the Quillayute valley even a little you get to see all kinds of cool stuff.

Last December marked a strong return of our hatchery winter steel head, which have been absent for quite a few seasons. Then last winter, WDFW closed the sport fishery, we got a solid run of wild winter steel head. Then, this summer we got a big run of summer fish, both marked and unmarked. It seems like we benefited from improved ocean conditions.

Ooooh, we were out salmon fishing, and it was good, but I really wanted to catch a summer steelhead. Anil got it before I could.

Oh hey! And lastly, sort of a post script, I am thinking about getting the blog going regularly again, would anybody read it? Should I offer some sort of contest? Is there something in particular you would like to see or read about?

Comment below and let me know what you think.

Jim Kerr

Raincoast Guides

Forks Wa

Posted in Winter Steelhead Fly Fishing Report | Tagged , , , | 17 Comments

17 Responses to Lots of good stuff

  1. mom says:

    your. mom reads it sometimes

  2. Jon Dankworth says:

    Yes! I check to see if you’ve posted something new just about every week, even when it’s been months. For real one of my favorite things to read on the internet.

  3. Paul B says:

    I vote Yes as well.
    I always enjoy your pursuits, adventures and astute observations !
    Thanks

  4. Tim Crush says:

    Yes, been springer fishing 2x in late June and interested in what’s going on rest of year.

  5. Jim Klein says:

    I would absolutely read it. You are a great story teller, and I always learn from you! I know how much work it is, but would be greatly appreciated by me.

  6. Rob Godschall says:

    Thanks for all you do, Jim! Sure, I would read you blog regularly if their are timely updates about conditions and/or your interesting perspectives on life. How is the Manifesto going? 🙂 Best wishes always.

  7. raincoastguides says:

    OK, I’m in, but send a link to a friend to see if we can build a little more audience.

  8. Chris Moyer says:

    keep the blog going

    its great !

  9. mom says:

    your mom says ‘more blog please’

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