Hello All

I'm moving to your shores in a few weeks from Co and am reading as much as I can about steelhead patterns...this is a new fish for me.
I'm having a blast just learning all I can about the habits of ol' salmo !
Do any of you have any special Spring patterns you use? I've been experimenting with some worm and imitation spoon patterns that are extrememly experimental...more mental maybe.
Can't wait to get on the rivers.
harry

where abouts are you moving to?

Between Hood Canal and Bremerton

seabeck? if you like flyfishing ,the salt water has many opportunitys around here, I live about 15 minutes south of bremerton, lots of lakes with bass and trout in them and small creeks that all get back salmon, srcs and you will like the chum salmon returns, depending on where you live big steelhead rivers are not in this area, but there is alot of fishing thou,

p.s. salmon and srcs in the saltwater is where its at for this area

Your not too far from the Olympic Penninsula, about 2-3 hours. But around where you are moving it's like Rockfish said. Sea-Run-Cutts year round with more in the summer, some coho year round with lots more in the summer and early fall, pinks on even years, and thousands of hard fighting chums come November. There's many chum fisheries with in an hour of Beremerton. All of these species are availible from the beach, SRCs are almost always near the shore, so all you need are wadders, an 6wt and an 8wt. And of course flies which you can find at local fly shops and then duplicate back home on the vice. Good luck with the move and if you have any questions just ask.

Sounds great guys! I grew up on the Gulf of Mexico so, it'll be nice to get back to the salt...I'll be rigging up for salmon and srcs!
I definitely want to hit the OP!
What's happening on Hood canal? I read it died once, is that still the condition?

It's good for returning salmon, especially pinks and chums. But since it is a fjord of sorts it has bad circulation. Then add hundreds of thousands of rotting chum carcasses that use up oxygen, you get low oxygen. But where do these carcases come from? Some get washed down from the rivers, but most that spawn stay in the river and fetilize it which is good. But a morjority of the carcasses in the salt water are from the indians. The indians net the chums, take the eggs, and throw the fish back. If the fish is a male the whole thing is wasted, and every thing else on the female besides the eggs is also wated. But why do they do this? The eggs for for $20 a pound in Japan. But remember, the Natives care about the fish.

What a waste! Are all the rivers netted?

you will not like indians at all after watching them fish, its a tragedy in the northwest with the indian netting, most productive areas and rivers are netted by the indians, I have fished the kitsap penninsula in the saltwater my whole life just email me if you have any questions about places to get started, later Ben

On the Hood Canal the chum aren't netting in the rivers but instead are netted in the salt. In November and December you can see them all up and down the shore lines. Makes me wonder how mant steelhead and even SRCs they "accidentally" catch. Well, atleast chum are the most abundant salmon we have.

Has anyone ever documented this fish kill with video that you know of?

I'm wondering if the general population knows about the real side of netting. If a video documentary was done on this and circulated, it may wake up a lot of people.

i hadn't come across your thread until now but I fish the canal a lot all summer for salmon and cuthroats. A boat really helps.
shoot me an e-mail if you want some more info. I am not sure when I'll get back to the thread here.
dssmart@pepperdine.edu