spey plus

March is upon us, which can only mean one thing, April will be here soon.

Right now I have April 22 through 24 open, its a great time to swing flies and the beginning of my favorite season.  If you want to get out and spend some time with the spey rod, maybe get some touch ups on casting or presentation, this is an ideal time.

The fishing for giant chrome native steelhead has been ok.

For those of you that helped with the Hoh summer kings, thanks!  We will see where it goes from here.  Fish and wildlife did respond to letters sent to the Governor, hmm, maybe a lesson there.

Fish and wildlife response

Thank you for contacting the Office Governor Inslee. Your correspondence regarding the Hoh River spring/summer chinook has been forwarded to the Washington Department Fish and Wildlife, Fish Program for response. My name is Kirt Hughes, I am the Fish Manager in the departments administrative region 6. My staff and I have responsibility for management of fisheries resources in the Hoh River.

We understand your concern regarding management of the spring/summer Chinook stock and fisheries on the Hoh River.  The Department has taken several steps over the past dozen years or so to reduce fishing pressure on this stock.  These including reducing the number of days per week the fishery is open, requiring release of wild (unclipped) Chinook, and mandating selective gear in the middle and upper sections of the river where these Chinook stage and then spawn.  The Department is fully engaged with the Hoh Tribe, working to establish appropriate fishing regimes for both treaty and State fisheries.  Having said that, we also recognize that there are other steps that might be taken, and would encourage you to contact myself or Mike Gross, our district biologist for the North Coast Washington Coast and Strait of Juan de Fuca.  We can provide additional details on current management. Mike is also a great contact to discuss ideas to improve management of this unique Chinook stock in one of the State’s most pristine watersheds. Mike may be contacted by phone in our Coastal Regional office (360-249-1210), my contact information is provided below.

Again, thank you for your concern and we look forward to hearing from you.
-Kirt