The message below is from a buddy of mine who isn’t on the boards. He’s my local lake expert and I try to return the favor with cold water info but he’ll fish anywhere. Please help him if you can.
Do me a favor and ask your bloggers what my best options are for fishing in Washington the third week of September. I see mixed stuff on when I can expect the different species of Salmon are running depending on the river. I would like to spend most of our time on the Olympic Peninsula but am willing to go East if that is my best chance to catch fish.
You will be hitting the tail end of pink season. Somewhere in the vicinity of 6 million pink salmon returning to Puget Sound rivers this year. I have not fished the peninsula this late in the year but summer run steelhead could be good. I am not much of a trout fisherman so can’t tell you much but the Yakima is an hour or two east of Seattle and is considered the best trout stream in the area.
Another thing you could do is post your questions on www.washingtonflyfishing.com. A much diversified board with members from all over the state with good knowledge of most any fishery you may want to try in Washington. Not as affable a board as FAOL but a good resource for info.
Another thing I would suggest if you are not familiar with Washington State fisheries is to download a copy of the fishing pamphlet (http://wdfw.wa.gov/fish/regs/2009/2009sportregs.pdf). Our regulations are complicated and need to be look at. If you have questions regarding the fishing regs drop me a message and I will do my best to explain them.
take your six wt and explore some of the beaches around for Sea-Run Cutts and salmon. There’s a Pink Salmon run going on right now and they’d be great fun on your 6wt. But definitely search that site. you can ask questions there as well, but for much of the salt stuff, folks tend to be pretty tight-lipped about it. They’ll be a great help when it comes to what to look for and what types of flies to use, just don’t expect anyone to give up their honey holes…(you’ll find this to be the case with any site)…
I am going to add a few things here. If your friend is interested in some guided fishing on the penisula try either of the two guides listed below. Both are walk in guides meaning they don’t use boats. Both have extensive knowledge of the area’s history, geography, fauna, wildlife and fish. If asked I couldn’t tell you which one has more passion for fish and fly fishing. A day with either one would be well worth the money.
My buddy doesn’t fly fish if that makes much difference. He can’t go exploring with a 6wt but he certainly could with a medium-medium/light spinning rod.
I haven’t been in decades now, but when my boy was a teen we used to go into
Quilicene and then take the logging roads to get into the Olympic National Forest.
Frankly it was a lot of hiking and small streams that we hit, but we always had a blast doing it - fish or no fish. The scenery on the Olympic peninsula is worth the hike alone.