Cle Elum @ Suncadia

I drove the family through a fall blizzard over Snoqualmie Pass to spend the night at Suncadia (just off Bullfrog Road near Roslyn).

The Cle Elum River runs just below the Lodge at Suncadia, and there is a gorgeous little trail that invites the flyfisher to try for a rainbow or a west slope cutthroat. The Cle Elum is a tributary of the better known Yakima. Emerald Water Anglers has a nice post about the river.

According to Dave Shorett's Central Cascades Fishing Guide, "fishing is surprisingly tough in this large river, both from the dam at Cle Elm Lake downstream to the river's junction with the Yakima River and above the lake up through Salmon La Sac."

One of these days I'm going to surprise myself and have a big fat trout picture to show for my efforts, but once again this was not the trip. Some positives, though:

• I got a new 9'6" 6wt rod from Orvis (one of the Access rods). It's really a beauty. Got the reel and line thrown in for free. It casts well.
• For the first time I set a pair of split-shot weights just above my nymph, which I had learned in preparation for fishing the Yakima and its tributaries. This gets the nymph down in the water and allows it to appear to the fish as if it is floating just above the bottom.
• I used my new wading stick for the first time. I am in pretty good shape, but I sometimes struggle to keep my balance in swift, rocky water so I got it to help me ford the faster runs. It helped. I also learned how to use it to support from behind when casting.

I fished Saturday evening from 4-5 pm beneath the Bullfrog Road bridge just off I-90. In my rush to fish before dark I accidentally tied on an emerging Blue Winged Olive (BWO). I had meant to tie on a nymph. With the snow softly falling and warm lights appearing from nearby cabins, I felt a decent strike just along the bank in a pool, but I was not able to set the hook.

Sunday morning around 10 am I made my way from the Lodge down to the river. The snow from yesterday was starting to melt but I still had to pass through some slushy snow on the trail down to the river bank. Today I used a red copper john nymph tied about two feet below a split-shot weight.

After fishing several promising areas, I sunk the numph into a deep pool downstream. On the retrieve I had what I think was a decent cutt, but it got away before I could get him close enough for inspection.

I had planned to fish the Yakima on Sunday but winter storm advisories caused me to stay close to the lodge and try the Yak another day. I've learned a few things about the Yakima which I will share in a future post when I actually get a chance to fish it.

Hittin' the beaches

Today was my maiden fishing trip to the south Puget Sound beaches. My goal was sea-run cutthroat trout. Except for a small sculpin at sunrise, I have nothing to show for my effort.

Clocks were set-back an hour this morning for daylight savings. I rose about 6 am, and was on the water at Dash Point (on the King-Pierce Co. border) by about 7:15 am. The temperature hovered just above freezing, but the air warmed a little when the sun hit the water after 8 am.

My only rod at the moment is a 9-foot, #5, which I throw with a yellow floating flyline. I thought I would give it a try, but I had a helluva time throwing the larger saltwater flies with such light line. In fact, on such a clear, windless day I'm pretty sure that I scared away all the trout as I double- and triple-hauled the line in order to get my fly out there.

Yesterday I chatted with Orvis Bellevue's Leland Miyawaki, a local authority on Puget Sound beaches. He sent me out with flies you see below. I didn't tell him that I would be taking the wrong rod. The cool one with white head and feathers is Leland's own creation.

I fished the beach near Dash Point town dock, then Dash Point State Park and later Saltwater State Park. I saw I rise just off the beach at Dash Point State Park, where I caught the sculpin, but nothing else. At Saltwater State Park the boats were out hunting for coho. The pinks were boiling the water. I sensed the cutts were in there, but I didn't find them. Note that you have to fish north of the bathrooms as the area south is a sanctuary.

Two goals before year's end -- get a #6 rod for the beaches, and go out with a guide.



Pan Fish

Like most trout fisherman, I am a catch-and-release guy. Tonight, however, I got to pan fry some nice trout that we had delivered from Surfin' Seafood, a Seattle provider of fresh fish. I am guessing (and hoping) this is farm-raised rainbow.

I was excited to cook some trout since I release everything I catch, and most of what I catch is too small to cook anyway.

The Herbfarm Cookbook offers a nice, simple recipe for trout. I won't repeat it all here, but I simply:

• Washed and sprinkled the trout with salt and pepper, thyme and sage;
• Lightly covered with flour;
• Fried the non-skin side in pre-heated olive oil until golden brown;
• Baked in a pre-heated (400-degree) oven for 7 minutes.

I served it with some cous cous and a white wine. Terrific.

Both Surfin' Seafood and The Herbfarm are locals here in the Seattle area. Below is a photo of the end result.

Izaak Walton

I am reading Izaak Walton's classic, The Compleat Angler (or Contemplative Man's Recreation). The Modern Library edition I am reading has an introduction by former New York Times editor Howell Raines whom I met as a college journalism student in the 1980s. Raines is author of Flyfishing Through a Midlife Crisis.

Reading the book will not necessarily make you a better flyfisher, but it will help to connect you with the origins of trout flyfishing in 1653 in England. And it will situate your sport culturally and even spiritually.

In 1987 I worked as a speechwriter for former Secretary of the Interior, Don Hodel. One of my favorite assignments was to work with Secretary Hodel on a speech for the Izaak Walton League's International Conference on Outdoor Ethics. The speech was held at the Lake of the Ozarks in Missouri.

Twenty-four years later I write this post and read Izaak Walton in Tulsa, Oklahome, where I am visiting family. I hope to take my dad, who introduced me to fishing as a kid, flyfishing in Ozarks soon!

Parr for the course

In golf a par is good. In flyfishing, a parr is not as rewarding. Nimrod these days is mostly catching parrs, a  young stage of life for trout and salmon. After hours of fishing without a bite on the South Fork at exit 45, I switched to the Middle Fork in Tanner around exit 32.

As the sun was sinking around 6 pm, I cast into a long dark pool along the eastern bank. A little rainbow parr took my nymph and I brought it in for closer inspection. I was happy to avoid the shutout, but disappointed I didn't have a decent fish to show for the day's effort.

Tonight I looked at USGS to see why the flow seemed so high tonight. The water was murky with river silt. It appears the river flows have risen, fallen and are back on the rise over the past week. Temperatures on this fine fall day rose to near 60. I saw a good bit of insect activity this afternoon.

With some experience now under my belt, there are some things I'm realizing:

•  I need either to hire a guide or fish with someone experienced. I may not imprpove without some help.
•  I need to get some wet flies. My nymphs and dry flies are getting me only so far.
•  I need to get better at reading water for trout lies, and I need to understand better how to cast into those lies.
•  I want to get another rod to learn steelheading and beach fishing.

This is a wonderful sport with much to learn.

Flyfishing in DC

I travel to our nation's capital, Washington, D.C., a fair bit. Heck, I used to live there and met my wife there.

This week I got off my evening flight from Seattle, and headed straight for Old Town Alexandria, Virginia, to visit a new fly shop that has been open just a month. Urban Angler is a high-end shop in New York City that has just expanded into the D.C. area.

My cab stopped outside the fly shop in a historic town founded before 1750.  I rolled  my bag in to chat with the lone manager about local fishing. The very helpful manager told me that decent fishing is 3-4 hours away in Pennsylvania or West Virginia, but there is some worthwhile flyfishing for enthusiasts within casting distance from the Kennedy Center.

The Potomac has been disappointing this year due to bad weather. But come April I am told to fish a 6-weight, 250 grain sink line at Fletcher's Cove near Georgetown. There I might find some good sized American Shad (see photo and link below)

I bought a couple of unique flies thar are supposed to work wonders with DC-area shad. As Arnold would say, "I'll be back."

Spectator Sport

This afternoon Nimrod trapsed along a precarious south bank of the South Fork of the Snoqualmie attempting to get to an inviting pool I noticed from the bridge off Exit 38 at Grouse Ridge. After casting into the runs and eddies upstream from the pool, I decided to move back downstream to swing my nymph from the headwaters down to the bottom of the pool. About that time a gentleman stopped his car on the bridge above me and to my left. Suddenly I had a spectator!

I cast a couple of times short and then stipped out about 45 feet of line for a longer cast that might reach the bottom of the pool. The nymph, which looked a little like this one, sunk and drifted. As I began to bring in the line I felt that wonderful little tap of a trout. My rod tip shuddered and I carefully raised it. For the first time Nimrod felt the confidence to really play the fish. With a spectator looking on, I slowly worked the trout toward me and allowed the fish to stay in the water as I walked a few yards to retrieve my camera.

As I brought the fish to shore the gentleman on the bridge offered a nice round of applause.

I was certain I would catch a couple of trout today but this was it. Not only am I terrible at fish photography (see above and all over my website), but I am also terrible at identifying the fish. I believe this is a rainbow. Any help on the id would be appreciated.

Looking ahead, I will work my way further East on I-90. I also plan to buy a rod or two for the Puget Sound beaches. I really need to get into some bigger fish!