Puget Sound

[jasmillo]

Took the day off today and hit a few beaches. Put in 4-5 hours, 10 hookups, 6 landed. 1 beach was dead, one slow and one pretty solid on the small mid afternoon incoming. 6 hookups on that beach alone. It was also some of the windier conditions I’ve fished in purposefully for SRC. I normally only have waves breaking in my stripping basket in Puget Sound during late season coho .

No jumbos or large fish.

Extra small


Small

Medium.


I did lose two at the net that would have been at least solid mediums. Fun day even if it felt like January.

Also got a random rezzie. Been awhile since I’ve caught one of these guys.

 

[IHFISH]

The sound and canal are not immune from April Fool's shenanigans. I was congratulating myself for choosing beach #1 as a couple of giant SRC started crashing salmon fry shortly after first light, but they were able to use the time it took me to scamper down to their location to don hyper-realistic otter costumes. Things turned out alright though because the rock I thought I hung up on at beach #2 quickly turned out to be a personal best SRC in fantastic shape, especially for this time of year.

 

[Stonedfish]

Interesting smorgasbord this morning weather wise.
Rain, sun, wind then hail with thunder in the distance. It must be spring.
45° when I started at 6:30 and 39° and hailing when I pulled the plug at around noon.
A couple fish to hand but nothing picture worthy like the beautiful cutt @IHFISH caught this morning.
My garbage can is half full. Anyone missing half a coral reef themed kiddie pool?
SF

 

[IHFISH]

Interesting smorgasbord this morning weather wise.

It really was. The second beach had near perfect conditions, but I saw a lot of different conditions on the way from #1 to #2. I stopped for water near the most well known of south sound beaches on the way home and a windsurfer could have caught some major air on the white caps there.

 

[jasmillo]

It really was. The second beach had near perfect conditions, but I saw a lot of different conditions on the way from #1 to #2. I stopped for water near the most well known of south sound beaches on the way home and a windsurfer could have caught some major air on the white caps there.

Very true. There was literally someone windsurfing at the last spot I fished yesterday.

Nice fish BTW!

 

[Kfish]

The sound and canal are not immune from April Fool's shenanigans. I was congratulating myself for choosing beach #1 as a couple of giant SRC started crashing salmon fry shortly after first light, but they were able to use the time it took me to scamper down to their location to don hyper-realistic otter costumes. Things turned out alright though because the rock I thought I hung up on at beach #2 quickly turned out to be a personal best SRC in fantastic shape, especially for this time of year.

View attachment 60052

View attachment 60057

View attachment 60054

Nice work!

 

[Stonedfish]

Headed to the canal this morning. Left the house at 4:30 and was at the beach by 6:00.
Ran into some snow showers in the higher elevations. Still felt like winter while fishing.
I looked at four different wind apps and a number of various models. The forecasts ranged from 8 mph with gusts to 30. I found the variations in the forecasts to be very helpful…..
It started at 8 but I had 15-20 across my face for most of the day, so not a lot of fun but definitely doable. A lefty would have loved it.
Started out with a chum fry pattern and got two fish right away, but then that went cold.
I didn’t have much confidence in my fry pattern. I’ll need to up my chum fry game.
With the whitecaps and choppy water, I decided to put on something a bit bigger and heavier. I tied on a tan sandlance pattern and ended up with about a dozen fish on it.
I think the tan does a pretty good job at times of imitating fry.
I did see one big group of fry and they were much bigger than the fry pattern I was fishing. That may also explain the better success with the sandlance pattern.
A few pics from today.
SF

 

[Northern]

Headed to the canal this morning. Left the house at 4:30 and was at the beach by 6:00.
Ran into some snow showers in the higher elevations. Still felt like winter while fishing.
I looked at four different wind apps and a number of various models. The forecasts ranged from 8 mph with gusts to 30. I found the variations in the forecasts to be very helpful…..
It started at 8 but I had 15-20 across my face for most of the day, so not a lot of fun but definitely doable. A lefty would have loved it.
Started out with a chum fry pattern and got two fish right away, but then that went cold.
I didn’t have much confidence in my fry pattern. I’ll need to up my chum fry game.
With the whitecaps and choppy water, I decided to put on something a bit bigger and heavier. I tied on a tan sandlance pattern and ended up with about a dozen fish on it.
I think the tan does a pretty good job at times of imitating fry.
I did see one big group of fry and they were much bigger than the fry pattern I was fishing. That may also explain the better success with the sandlance pattern.
A few pics from today.
SF

View attachment 60208View attachment 60209View attachment 60210View attachment 60211View attachment 60212View attachment 60214View attachment 60213

Whoa - that last one is chubby!

 

[Merle]

Nice work, those are some chunky cutts!

 

[SKYKO]

Wow - Nice change up!

I have a long winded question for the seasoned beach anglers, any feedback appreciated. See pic at bottom for reference, I've omitted the obvious landmarks at this place in an attempt to not irritate anyone hopefully, it is a public beach. I have caught some fish here both SRC and Rezzies over the winter but hit and miss for sure and as I understand it the beach doesnt hold a candle to areas farther south which i will start exploring this year.

Question: Broadly and generally any dead giveaway negatives on this beach? The cobble is pretty good mostly at the top of the beach but most of the bottom under water in this pic is like the Bedrock seen in the foreground, less than ideal? I've only hooked fish at higher water fishing laterally over the cobble, have I answered my own question? Any way today I spent a couple hours casting and moving doing a couple circuits on approx 1/2 mile of beach, one small SRC to hand. I rarely see other anglers, it's been an easy and convenient place for me to get on the water over the winter.
Thanks in advance

 

[Stonedfish]

Wow - Nice change up!

I have a long winded question for the seasoned beach anglers, any feedback appreciated. See pic at bottom for reference, I've omitted the obvious landmarks at this place in an attempt to not irritate anyone hopefully, it is a public beach. I have caught some fish here both SRC and Rezzies over the winter but hit and miss for sure and as I understand it the beach doesnt hold a candle to areas farther south which i will start exploring this year.

Question: Broadly and generally any dead giveaway negatives on this beach? The cobble is pretty good mostly at the top of the beach but most of the bottom under water in this pic is like the Bedrock seen in the foreground, less than ideal? I've only hooked fish at higher water fishing laterally over the cobble, have I answered my own question? Any way today I spent a couple hours casting and moving doing a couple circuits on approx 1/2 mile of beach, one small SRC to hand. I rarely see other anglers, it's been an easy and convenient place for me to get on the water over the winter.
Thanks in advance View attachment 60233

I think you did answer your own question. Some beaches just fish better on higher tides and some on lower tides. Same with incoming and outgoing.
You’ll start to see patterns develop as far as fishing goes just like you’ve seen at this beach.
There probably isn’t a ton of food available on the bedrock versus other types of bottoms were things like marine worms, shrimp etc and grow and hide. I also don’t see any clam shells as well, but it is kind of hard to tell.
You now have a high tide beach option. Now you get to find a good low tide beach.
SF

 

[IHFISH]

I agree. If that is where I think it is, I've only fished it once on a whim on the way back from a late season coho skunking. One small SRC to hand toward the north end, where the water was clearer and moving faster.

 

[SKYKO]

Thanks guys, appreciate the feedback it's helpful for sure and to your point SF little to no clamshells evident. It's both fun and frustrating at times to figure out a new to me fishery after being on pretty much the same river systems under all types of conditions and having that pretty dialed over the last couple decades.
Next on the the list is Stillwater - zero knowledge, that will kick my ass !

 

[jasmillo]

Wow - Nice change up!

I have a long winded question for the seasoned beach anglers, any feedback appreciated. See pic at bottom for reference, I've omitted the obvious landmarks at this place in an attempt to not irritate anyone hopefully, it is a public beach. I have caught some fish here both SRC and Rezzies over the winter but hit and miss for sure and as I understand it the beach doesnt hold a candle to areas farther south which i will start exploring this year.

Question: Broadly and generally any dead giveaway negatives on this beach? The cobble is pretty good mostly at the top of the beach but most of the bottom under water in this pic is like the Bedrock seen in the foreground, less than ideal? I've only hooked fish at higher water fishing laterally over the cobble, have I answered my own question? Any way today I spent a couple hours casting and moving doing a couple circuits on approx 1/2 mile of beach, one small SRC to hand. I rarely see other anglers, it's been an easy and convenient place for me to get on the water over the winter.
Thanks in advance View attachment 60233

That spot looks similar to a beach I occasional fish that never quite lives up to expectations. On the other hand, one of my go to SRC beaches is mostly sand with some intermittent rocky/muddy bottom. If you have access, fish it because you never know!

No fishing for me today but did do a little scouting on the way back from errands this afternoon. This time of year I often take the long way home looking for chum fry activity. Nothing spotted but the intermittent sun, clouds, rains and sleet made for some beautiful views.

 

[SKYKO]

Great pic, I enjoy going out on that pier from time to time, the clarity of the water can be incredible. Good points about not getting stuck with the accepted doctrine and go against the grain from time to time, I'm working on hitting all the accessible local beaches so I've got some familiarity as a baseline.

 

[Stonedfish]

Wet one out there today, though the wind settled down nicely. Water was churned up from yesterday’s wind and rain.
A few fish around but nothing note worthy.

A couple stare birds watching me fish.


Today’s beach finds. Tape measure and Firecracker Sativa aka The Fish Whistle.

SF

 

[NRC]

Wet one out there today, though the wind settled down nicely. Water was churned up from yesterday’s wind and rain.
A few fish around but nothing note worthy.

A couple stare birds watching me fish.
View attachment 60714

Today’s beach finds. Tape measure and Firecracker Sativa aka The Fish Whistle.
View attachment 60715
SF

Everything you need to get the fish to bite and measure it once caught. Good find!

 

[dep]

It really was. The second beach had near perfect conditions, but I saw a lot of different conditions on the way from #1 to #2. I stopped for water near the most well known of south sound beaches on the way home and a windsurfer could have caught some major air on the white caps there.

I stopped for water - good one!

 

[NRC]

I stopped for water - good one!

Delicious sexy bean water

 

[IHFISH]

It’s true! The bottle even claimed to be made from ocean plastics! I had to offset the too many ounces of black coffee that I throw down between the burbs and the beach. I’ve heard tell of other more exciting beverage options in that area but at this stage of my life I leave that to more adventurous anglers. Also, the beer depot or whatever it’s called was closed. I did grab a sixer of 7 seas from the mart too in the interest of full disclosure.