and a perfect one to boot..

my friend Johnny booked a trip a year ago, and his dad who was supposed to go, backed out the day before because he had some things to do at the cabin due to the Wanupum dam situation, so he asked me if i wanted to go, and i couldn't turn it down, so i went..

and im glad i did..

we opted to not get a hotel, and just leave here at 3 am and jet to the coast..

on the ride there, my buddies were reminding me of the trophy 4 inch trout i caught at a lake a couple months back while out with one of them, which made me laugh, and kinda gave me some determination to do well, but, in the end its fishing, and thats what i came to do, and to enjoy one of my favorite places on the planet..

the Olympic Penninsula..



got to the launch at 6ish, get everything ready, and we head down river to the first spot and it was a nice spot for sure... i was pitchin a rag with a sandshrimp tail, got 1 smack that i missed, threw back out, same spot, got some vibration, pulled back on the rod a bit and the fish took off, so i cranked down and hammered back and it was game on... first fish landed, and we were only 20 minutes into the day...

we continued down the little stretch on the seam and didnt pick up another, so we shot down river and hit the other side, nice little shelf with a bunch of trees hanging over, this section was shaded all day long, and produced 4 fish for us throughout the day...

first pass through, my friend hooks up with a small spawner, it actually had a little spunk to it, got it in and got back to it..



in the same hole, my friend hooks 2 more in short order, and loses them both, i hook one, get it in, re bait and get back out.. couple bites, but nothing around to tangle with, not surprising, as we had just hooked 3 in this one 50 yard slot, so we take off down river to a big boulder stickin out of the water and start in there..

then it kinda went dead for a little bit, hittin little pockets and slots, few bites here and there, couple small trout, not much action at all...

we bounce around, and decide to head back up river to the spot we hooked the other fish in because we let them have a break for a little while... good idea..

first pass through, i get a decent sized hatch spawner around 8 pounds or so, but very bright... friend is hitting the edge, and we see his rod tip twitch and the line start to move, he sets the hook, we get a massive flash, line takes off up river peeling off the reel, fish jumps, SPLASH, GONE... easy 16-18 pound fish, and he was pretty pissed about it too.. me and the guide were givin him sh!t about it all day, because he couldnt stop talking about it haha... it was a beautiful fish tho, very thick, very hot, and wanted nothing to do with any of us..

we take off and head up river a bit to the spot where i got the first one, and just below it, picking up 1 nice Cutt, and a couple small trout, but no steel...

we eat some lunch, and decide we wanted to go back down to the deep spot, and it was a good idea again..

i immeadiately hook into another one, and it was a nice one, around 10-11 pounds or so, the water was just so perfect, the epitome of OP..



we head up river, and hit this spot that was basically a chute, with some slack water on the shore which we were hitting and drifting through.. as we are drifting down the stretch of 120 yards or so, we see a big splash up at the top, reel in and head back up..

again, wise idea..

about 2 minutes into the drift, my buddy hooks up again, and its a good sized one for sure... it kicked his ass for a bit, jumping and rolling, peeling and going under the boat...



get it in, 13 pound hen, he then somewhat forgot about the big fish he lost, but only for a little bit

shot up and down river for a while, pickin up a few more fish, and having a great time..





finished out the day at a spot just below the big rock and didnt pick up anything, so we called it a day, and headed back to the launch.. there is so much fishable water there, it is stupid.. totally makes me love this place even more than i have for my entire life, its just that perfect...





all in all, it was one of the greatest days of my life, fishing wise it was good, i went 4 for 4, and my buddy went 3 for 7, other went 0 fer 1, one was for sure a nice fish, but they all ended rather quickly for him... we ended up 7-12 for the day.. i was just glad to be back in the area i love, and plan to do even more fishing over there in the coming years ahead of me, you literally cant beat it out there for fun in this state, atleast thats my opinion... other places may have more fish, or bigger fish, or this or that, but to me, out there, is perfection...

we are planning to head back out in mid August, to chase some Kings, we were told 40 hookups a day is not uncommon, so i really look forward to doing it again, and battling with those brutes...

till then, im gonna keep dreaming, and wishing i was there as we speak...

P.S. if any of you have an old 28-200mm lens that will fit a D40, maybe we can work out a trade? i just need one for fishing, no 800 dollar lenses.. a Tamron or Sigma is fine


night ladies

Nothing like removing nates from the water on the Queets....
Your guide is pretty notorious for that, there and on the lower quinault.

uhhhh ok?

that fish was a hatchery spawner, yeah, one could argue that "well its still the same" stuff, but how bad is it that he got that fish back in the water in about 45 seconds, when even tho alot of people who don't remove them from the water, screw with them for 10 minutes, squeeze the crap out of them, all to get the "perfect shot"... so ok i guess?

also, Rob from my interpretation is actually the exact opposite of what you just said, but, that's just my first time meeting him.. if you have a problem with him, go talk to him about it... im quite sure he can take care of it for you... i thought he was a GREAT guide, and guy...

and, we were on the lower Queets, if by going by "law", there is no "law" about that on either of those rivers, so i don't know what to say bud... i just enjoy fishing, and it was one hell of a trip, it was also my first time in a boat, which was fun in itself...

have fun, i have to get ready for the eclipse...

..

What makes you think that fish was a hatchery spawner?

Last I checked it is illegal to remove wild fish from the water on any river period in the state of Washington, and I thought only the Quinault produced unmarked hatchery fish that could be caught in the lower river. Maybe I'm wrong...

the crease in the lower section of the dorsal, the shaved part of the top of the dorsal, it spawned, and we were below the Clear..

plus, it fought like a slug, well the one i got atleast, i got it in in under a minute...

also, when you are on Tribal land, you can remove fish from the water, that law is a stupid law anyways... all it does is keep idiots from dropping the fish all over the rocks and boat because they want to fondle and examine the thing, instead of just snapping a really quick picture (i had the camera, he turned around, click, he kissed it, went back in), and letting it swim away... which is exactly what he did.. our laws dont apply there, but that doesnt mean be an idiot, they do have a jail..

Looks like a great day on the water- and catching . Comes down to what's legal where your fishing .

Excellent post bud don't let them get under your skin.

.

Looks like fun...I always thought it was BS for the tribal guides to fish above the bridge @ clearwater.Good luck,

SZ

Looks like a Salmon River hatchery fish. Dorsal is shorter than a credit card.

Rules on the lower Queets and lower Quinault are different than other rivers in the state, as it is in a sovereign nation.

Yes, and this board is an approved site for me at work because of that. It has literally been the source of millions in credit relationships. Commercial only folks.

GB, i dont, i never do

SZ, we didnt fish above, i just took the picture there before we got on the boat and headed down river.. Rob actually told us not to cast past the line into the Clear and to stay in the green/blue Queets water.. not sure if it was because there was no fish there, or because he didnt want us fishing in the Clearwater..

Andy, thats exactly what we figured they were... one of the fish we caught actually had a dorsal that the front of looked like a Dogfish spine, and the back of it, was shredded.. pretty much every fish we caught, looked weird to me, ive seen alot of native Steelhead in my days, and none of them looked like what im used to seeing, but ive never fished the Queets till that trip, so i could be entirely wrong.. there was just something weird about them...

i really wanted to throw a spoon out, and see if i could get one on a spoon, but i just stuck with the guides program, and tried to help him out as much as i could, basically he just ran the boat, cept when he was tying up and rebaiting my friends rods lol...

on a side note, i was always terrified about using light rods on big fish, i NEVER would dip below an 8-12, and i have 8-12 rods that feel really really weak to me... i usually run 8-12, 6-15, 8-17, and 10-20...

not any more, we were using his Fetha Styx 6-10's, and they performed flawlessly, i was dumbfounded all day, wondering how in the hell i landed those fish on such a "weak" rod... alot of it has to do with being in the boat, maybe all of it, but im hooked on light rods now, and likely will grab one at some point... i dont know if i will ever use my 10-20 again, except maybe for eggin Kings...

I fished the Rogue a couple months ago. I was surprised to see 4-8's in the guide's boat. They worked great. He said he side drifts with 6-12's for fall Chinook. That sounded like controlled chaos at best, but I'm sure it's fun.

You can definitely land bigger fish on lighter rods in a boat

LOL