Sixty degrees today on Hood Canal – yes spring is in the air. Flat calm waters and the beautiful Olympic Mountains showing off in the distance an angler can’t ask for anything more – except hooking some some fiesty Sea-Run Cutthroat of course.
February/March is the time of the year when we start to see the summer chum salmon fry migrate out of their respective streams and head for the open waters of Hood Canal. To the hungry Sea-Run Cutthroat, many who have just finished a spawning run, and headed back into their salt water environment this means
meal time! Summer chum salmon, spawn a month or two earlier then their fall cousins. Therefore, their off spring migrate out of the gravel in their streams earlier and offer a big time meal for Cutthroat. Summer chum babies are the first migrating baby chum salmon for the year, and it doesn’t take long before they are on the hunt for them.
Once Sea-Run Cutties key in on these baby chum it is a match the hatch type of scenario where you better have a pattern matching one of these or you might get ignored.
I got an opportunity today to talk with a biologist doing seining surveys on Hood Canal. He stated that he is starting to see really good numbers of summer chum and some pink salmon fry show up in their surveys. In addition to matching the hatch – don’t be afraid to also try a larger, bright pattern that stands out more. Sometimes with so many chum fry that all look the same, a more vibrant pattern really gets their attention and attracts a strike.
Red’s Rendezvous VII – Come join me at Reds’ Rendezvous in the beautiful Yakima River Canyon on April 23rd. This event will be held at Red’s Fly Shop, The Canyon River Ranch and surrounding property. I will be presenting a seminar on How to Catch Sea-Run Cutthroat in Hood Canal and Puget Sound.
This is a family event, that will include tons of information/casting clinics and seminars, including:
Outdoor Casting Seminars
Practical Spey Casting
Switch or Spey? Which Rod do I Choose?
Beginner’s Fly Casting
Nymph Fishing Tips from the Guides
How to Make the Most Out of Your Trip to Ascension Bay
How to Choose and Setup a Fly Line for Spey and Switch Rods
Successful Trips to Christmas Island
How to Catch Largemouth Bass on the Fly
The Two Essential Fly Fishing Knots for Beginners
How to Catch Sea-run Cutthroat Fishing on Hood Canal – by Chad Gillespie
Check out Red’s Fly Shop website for more details – hope to see you there!