Forks WA....the test ground for all types of rain gear.

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Welcome to the Northwest and good luck getting settled in. It's a fantastic place to learn the salmon and steelhead game and with the motivation it sounds like you have, I am sure you are in for some fun experiences and solid adventures.

First. a word of caution about throwing around terms like "master" though. The longer you play this game the more you will realize how much you have to learn. You are among good folks here, in some cases some of the "best" whatever that means to you, and I doubt many would say they have mastered salmon and steelhead fishing in whatever venue or venues they pursue them.

Granted as time goes by your efforts will be focused more on refining skill sets than putting the big pieces together, but eventually I think we all realize there are no small details and paying attention to them all can make the difference between success and something less.

Just when I start to think I have something figured out is usually when I get dealt a huge slice of humble pie and thrown a curve ball that leaves me scratching my head and doubting what I thought I knew. I am glad for this though as it inspires you continue the search and motivates you to keep at it and get better. We can all be better fisherman and what that means exactly is up to us each to define. Keep at it, and you'll never run out of room to learn something new

I've probably shared this before but it continues to linger in my thoughts. John Flaherty speaks to the progression of a salmon and steelhead angler:

First, you want to catch a fish using any means possible

Second, you want to catch a lot of fish

Third, you want to catch a big fish

Fourth, you want to catch a fish on the fly

Fifth, you just enjoy being out on the water and having a chance to catch a fish.


And so it seems to go. In the latter stages of a career of catching them up, it seems to be less about the catching and more about the experience, though the catching is always a nice bonus.

One of the most valuable things that I did when I was new to figgerin stuff out was to keep a journal. I still maintain it to this day and can look back on years of memories, which is a fun exercise in and of itself, but also very useful with regard to historic info. As time goes by it will be less useful for your more regular beats as you will get to know these places and their intricacies as somewhat of a second sense, but I still find it very handy when revisiting places I have only been a time or two or places I haven't been in quite a while. Timing, water flows, fish caught on what and where, etc. are all great things to jot down.

Best of luck and take all advice with a teaspoon of salt.

COLEY knocks it out of the park!!!

As usual...

When I said "Master" I used it as a reference to a goal, maybe it's not reachable but trying to become the best is something I have always tried to obtain. I didn't many any offense to anyone.

BUT, I have started a journal but so far not to much in it. I have spent most of my time either working or fishing, my poor dog is getting lonely somedays. I will continue to learn by experience which is how I have down it all my life. The information here that has been given to me has helped tremendously and after a long week at work this week i can't wait to be this new info to the test.

Haha I just shared that comment with my wife and she laughed and agreed with that. I had similar issues in CT but it's defiantly more predictable there than here.

don't fall into the "what's the best" scenario. there is no " the best" ... experience and time on the water will be the only thing that will get you fish.

a guy can go to the fishing shop and buy everything the store clerk hands him. which maybe true. if the guy then fishes in the wrong water or area, the new gear will not produce squat!

it takes putting your time in to become efficient.

The vast majority of the fishing tackle on the shelves in your favorite tackle store is to catch fishermen. While most of it will work in some way, shape or form, there are 50 or more different color patterns of a given lure for a reason. That is, to catch fishermen.

I constantly get asked what is the "hot" lure or bait. In people's quest to become more successful, they have the tendency to over look the value of spending time on the water and learning the basics. I am as guilty of this as anyone. It is less about the lure or bait and more about the presentation. The best lure or bait can NOT make fish appear out of thin air to take your offering. But, if you can learn where fish hold under a variety of conditions and present your offering in an appealing manner, you may be surprised how many "hot" lures or baits there actually are.

The most basic of basics… PRESENTATION. Less about what you put down there and more about HOW you put it down there.

Get your goods in the zone, keep them working there, as much as is humanly possible during your fishing day…. and you WILL get bit.

Working means swimming/drifting just right….

plugs tuned, spinners on axis, spoons thumping rhythmically, baitfish rolling seductively, fresh bait changed at regular intervals, hooks laid out nice and not all buggered up, fly swimming seductively and not tangled up on the leader, no leaves/grass/debris glomming onto your goods

Welcome to the fray. This site is full of good information.

Following up on Coley's points, there are a couple other progressions most of us go through along the way as well.

When we first start fishing for salmon and steelhead, a lot of us do so by talking to people in sporting goods stores/fly shops/fishing forums/etc. to get recommendations on where to find fish. This is both good and bad. The good part is that you do learn a few spots that are accessible from the bank, and you do start to see fish being caught. The (potentially) bad part is that those places are usually crowded, and whatever fish are present are too busy dodging flossing gear to bite. I'm pretty sure this is a big part of why new salmon and steelhead anglers develop the idea that these fish are poor biters. The longer we fish without getting bit, the less we believe the fish will bite, and the more tempted we become to try techniques that put non-biting fish on the end of our lines. This is the extreme of the "any means necessary" phase in Coley's post. Sadly, many "anglers" never progress past this phase.

The important thing you must do to get beyond that phase, assuming you're not satisfied with occasionally getting a fish "in the mouth," is to find new water. Forums like this one are a great place to find an "open seat" on someone's boat. Most folks who have boats also have some idea of how to catch fish (those who don't put in the time and effort get frustrated and sell their boats). If nothing else, they'll get you to a wide variety of water, much of which isn't crowded, and some of which even holds a willing biter or two. Through this process, you'll also learn presentations that get you in the game, and sometimes, you will also meet long-term fishing buds and begin developing your "network."

If you can afford it (you can), book a guided trip with a reputable guide. You'll have a lot of fun, and if you can prevent yourself from focusing too hard on fishing, you can learn a stretch of water and at least one way to catch fish there. Be careful, though; you'll want to do this more often, and it does get expensive. Even the most seasoned anglers among us take a guided trip once in a while. Now and again, standing in a boat and fishing while someone who knows the water is putting you in all the right spots is much-needed therapy. This really gets you in time with whatever presentations you are using.

It's good that you have a kayak. That will get you into a variety of water, which will improve your odds significantly.

Good luck. It sounds like you're the sort of person who will figure it out.

Exellent post.

many of your striper techniques/ know-how will serve you well here too- anadromous fish share some important qualities. You prolly know how to look for and read current rips when fishing the salt from shore. Same thing here except we don't use blood worms or eels. Rips with bait/ significant bird activity can mean good things. You're going to make a lot of progress in a few years, I predict. It's the last 15% to Vedder-like, jedi master status that can take awhile...

HA... I apreciate the positive comments. I took a suggestion from a guy a met and went to the Skokomish River and parked at the bridge by Hunter Farms walked under the bridge and threw my floated jig tipped with Shrimp and hooked up first cast. I ended up landing 48 Chum and 1 Coho there over the weekend. It was great to finally catch some fish and really have fun. I saw too many people out there flossing and it did not make sense to cause they were just hammering my setup. I kept hearing them say "look at that guy with the bobber, that thing is going under all the time." and I just laughed and figured they got thier info from Washington Lakes Forum

A lot of the time when I fished in CT it was from shore but occasionally we would take the Yaks out and fish live bunker for trophy stripers. Finding the right water was always tough but we were successful.

CJ,

I would leave the military gear at home. You don't want to get it all nasty and eventually need it. I'm not sure if you are NCO, but if you are how would your subordinates react if you showed up with a less than put together uniform?

You can get cheap gortex or waterproof jackets anywhere. And of course layer with hoodies. Poly pro is a go though

I am currently broke right now but I will eventually build up my arsenal of warm/ dry gear. Right now I use a wet suit... its not to bad but after standing in the water for a bit you do become a bit chilled. The gortex i do have is mine and they won't ever take it back. Plus the stuff i have is no longer an authorized uniform so messing it up or whatever doesn't matter.

don't let these ascot wearing, orvis fishermen get to you.

Back in the day, before global warming and gore tex; we wore insulated rubber hip boots over levi jeans, wool socks, and rubber raincoats. We fished from daylight till dark without gloves because trigger grips only came on 5'6" heavy weight bass rods... Yeah, we might've got a little wet, or a little cold, but we were men... not one of these shave chested, pussy foot, delicate flower types, that shiver when their girlfriend talks to them...

I have an extra set of waders but they leak pretty bad. You can patch them up or send them to Simms for the work to repair. Its probably 50 bucks. I'm in Port Orchard.

Wild idea, but some of the boat launches are being attacked by tweekers, not just breaking into vehicles but stealing entire trucks and trailers.
I'd toss you a few bucks if I knew you were on overwatch duty that day.

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