January 2019
Well here we are in January of 2019. Seems like we rolled right through the Christmas season and the new year is upon us. I've been frequenting some of the local haunts and here is what I can tell you.
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Fall River:
The fall is loaded with fish from the falls all the way up to the hatchery. It's been fairly mild though and so the pressure has been pretty high, all things considered. The river is fishing well though and there are some very big brood stock fish lurking about. I've been focusing pretty intently on fishing a tight line Euro Nymph method using perdigons and other assorted bead headed flies. They seem to be working well. On the 25th I had a very good day fishing small, size 18-20 body size, green bodied brass beaded perdigons in varying depths. Even though they are mostly hatchery fish the fish in the run by, where else, the hatchery, were pretty wily. As they often are. I would advise pretty light leader material, perhaps 6.5 - 8x. It seemed to work pretty well. I focused as best I could on the troughs in the shade.
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The Crooked
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When last I fished the crooked ( the second week of January) the flows were at their wintertime lows, about 59 cfs. Fishing was just ok. Lots of whitefish to be had if you're ok with that game. Little black bodied perdigons worked well. I don't really like fishing the river when it's at this level. Too much like fishing in a barrel for me. Too each their own. We (my gf Judy and I) fished the rock garden just above the first campground and caught several fish, only a few of which were trout. Our stay was relatively short so there is not much more to report.
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Steelheading on the Coast is hitting it's stride. I fished the upper trask with Chris Vertopoulos (http://www.northwestanglingexperience.com) Chris fishes mostly with gear, but he will accommodate spey casters easily. The river was in great shape with just a little color but good visibility. We hooked a very nice fresh fish near the end of the float which proved to be an adventure as I had to play the fish as Chris rowed through a narrow chute and some rapids. I am definitely not used to gear. Those little level wind reels take a lot of cranking to retrieve line. My wrist was sore through the next day ! Still a hoot though. I can easily recommend Chris. He's a great guy and a very good guide.
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