Searuns

[Aufwuchs]

One thing I would like to get better at is fishing Puget Sound beaches for cutthroat. So I have a few questions:

Is spring generally the best time of year?

I have heard of people catching SRCs throughout the sound and strait but it seems like I hear mostly about people fishing for them in the south sound and Hood Canal. How does fishing in the north sound compare to the south sound?

Is there a general rule about best tides or does that vary with location?

 

[Steve_S]

Listen to the experience here. Look up posts from Roger, Les, Triggs, Leland and the other names you keep hearing. Then get out and fish.
Anyone here might have a banner day on a beach and tell you the tide, time, day and rock to stand on. In15 minutes it has all changed. "you should have been here yesterday".
For me, this is what is fun, every day is a different adventure. Some days are excellent, some stink, all are soul soothing.
If you are not big into exploring...Purdy.

 

[Roadglideguy]

We can fish for sea runs right in the middle of town. Victoria harbor used to have a really good sea run population. There's still quite a few around but they're on the decline and you rarely see a fisherman now. Not sure if it's because of a lack of fish or politics.

 

[Scottybs]

Well yesterday I hit a beach and the score was Wouldbe 1, Scott 0... always nice to be out though.

 

[Vandelay Industries]

We can fish for sea runs right in the middle of town. Victoria harbor used to have a really good sea run population. There's still quite a few around but they're on the decline and you rarely see a fisherman now. Not sure if it's because of a lack of fish or politics.

Curious as to what you mean by politics. Is it because of fisheries management issues or others?

That is pretty cool that they are/were targetable in the harbor.

 

[Old Man]

Since I hated to use my gear in Salt water. I would fish for sea runs in Fresh water. Plenty of places in Skinny water to catch these fish. I had a few of the "S" rivers dialed in. From July and on used to be a good time to fish for them.

 

[Roadglideguy]

Curious as to what you mean by politics. Is it because of fisheries management issues or others?

That is pretty cool that they are/were targetable in the harbor.

They still are but the returning numbers are low so fishing for them is discouraged. You can still do it but it's not well respected by other fishermen

 

[Vandelay Industries]

They still are but the returning numbers are low so fishing for them is discouraged. You can still do it but it's not well respected by other fishermen

Thank you for the explanation.

 

[Nick Clayton]

They still are but the returning numbers are low so fishing for them is discouraged. You can still do it but it's not well respected by other fishermen

Who is performing the studies to determine the numbers are declining?

Five years or so ago I was involved with a Puget Sound src beach fishing seminar at a club up there. The event was on a Saturday, then on Sunday a few of the members of the club took us fishing. We hit a spot kinda right in town. It was a neat spot, almost a spit of sorts that we walked out to. Didn't catch anything that day, but it was neat to check out new waters.

 

[East Coaster]

This is extracted from my first post on the old site, which I called "Tips for SRC Newbies (from a Newbie)". Hope it helps:

I think sometimes people who fish the beaches all the time don’t realize that a lot of the things that are second nature to them aren’t that obvious to people just starting out beach fishing. I hope as a relative newbie myself, I can emphasize a few key things that should help out fellow newbies:

It’s been strongly recommended here many times to pick a beach and learn it – I couldn’t agree more. But don’t pick just any beach. Make sure you start out at a place that is known to have cutts most of the year. Ask a friend if they’d be willing to recommend somewhere. If that’s not an option, drive around and look for people fishing and observe. If you see SRCs being caught, you’ll know to go back there and try it yourself.

Once you find your beach, fish it through a complete tide cycle (this might take a couple of outings). As people have posted often, some beaches fish best on incoming, some on outgoing. I’ve found (in my limited experience) that the same beach might fish well on both, but at different parts of the beach. Look for current, and then look for current seams (just like in a river or stream) as those are very likely places for trout to be holding.

Related to this, all tides aren’t the same. I only figured this out by being out and seeing that an hour before ebb on a big tide change can look a lot different than an hour before ebb on a small change (I hadn’t really thought about it before seeing it). So the fish might be in a different spot at that same relative time. Another way of looking at it is they may be in the same spot, but at earlier or later in the cycle. This is very important if you are trying to target seeing the same conditions on a repeat visit – pay attention to the magnitude, not just the time.

Don’t fret about bright sun. If it’s a sunny day, and the tides for your beach would fish best at noon, go fishing! I’ve caught most of my fish in the middle of bright, sunny days. That’s not to say low light wouldn’t be better, but if you’re able to get out, don’t let the amount of light discourage you from making the trip.

Pay attention to what’s going on – as highlighted above, the fish won’t always be in the same place on the beach. Look for splashes, jumping baitfish (they’re not jumping for fun), anything that signals there are feeding fish. Then focus your casts in that area. Seems obvious, but I know that my first couple of times out, I was more intent on covering a lot of water (it seems so vast!) than on spending time to look for the most productive water.

Don’t spend a lot of time changing flies. If it’s the time of year where baitfish are the prevalent prey, pick a baitfish pattern and using the tips above, work it through the most productive-looking spots, varying the retrieve technique (short/long strips, change rhythm, etc.). If it gets no interest, try adding weight. If it still gets no interest, then pick a different baitfish pattern/color and do the same thing. If you’re fishing a beach that gets pounded, then fly selection might be more important, but I’ve limited myself to one bright and one drab subsurface pattern and one light and one dark popper, and it’s worked.

I want to emphasize that all of this is intended for newbies – as you start catching fish, you’ll certainly want to develop and refine your approach to catch more or bigger fish (I can’t help you with that), but the tips above should help you start down the path.

 

[angler4life]

This is extracted from my first post on the old site, which I called "Tips for SRC Newbies (from a Newbie)". Hope it helps:

I think sometimes people who fish the beaches all the time don’t realize that a lot of the things that are second nature to them aren’t that obvious to people just starting out beach fishing. I hope as a relative newbie myself, I can emphasize a few key things that should help out fellow newbies:

It’s been strongly recommended here many times to pick a beach and learn it – I couldn’t agree more. But don’t pick just any beach. Make sure you start out at a place that is known to have cutts most of the year. Ask a friend if they’d be willing to recommend somewhere. If that’s not an option, drive around and look for people fishing and observe. If you see SRCs being caught, you’ll know to go back there and try it yourself.

Once you find your beach, fish it through a complete tide cycle (this might take a couple of outings). As people have posted often, some beaches fish best on incoming, some on outgoing. I’ve found (in my limited experience) that the same beach might fish well on both, but at different parts of the beach. Look for current, and then look for current seams (just like in a river or stream) as those are very likely places for trout to be holding.

Related to this, all tides aren’t the same. I only figured this out by being out and seeing that an hour before ebb on a big tide change can look a lot different than an hour before ebb on a small change (I hadn’t really thought about it before seeing it). So the fish might be in a different spot at that same relative time. Another way of looking at it is they may be in the same spot, but at earlier or later in the cycle. This is very important if you are trying to target seeing the same conditions on a repeat visit – pay attention to the magnitude, not just the time.

Don’t fret about bright sun. If it’s a sunny day, and the tides for your beach would fish best at noon, go fishing! I’ve caught most of my fish in the middle of bright, sunny days. That’s not to say low light wouldn’t be better, but if you’re able to get out, don’t let the amount of light discourage you from making the trip.

Pay attention to what’s going on – as highlighted above, the fish won’t always be in the same place on the beach. Look for splashes, jumping baitfish (they’re not jumping for fun), anything that signals there are feeding fish. Then focus your casts in that area. Seems obvious, but I know that my first couple of times out, I was more intent on covering a lot of water (it seems so vast!) than on spending time to look for the most productive water.

Don’t spend a lot of time changing flies. If it’s the time of year where baitfish are the prevalent prey, pick a baitfish pattern and using the tips above, work it through the most productive-looking spots, varying the retrieve technique (short/long strips, change rhythm, etc.). If it gets no interest, try adding weight. If it still gets no interest, then pick a different baitfish pattern/color and do the same thing. If you’re fishing a beach that gets pounded, then fly selection might be more important, but I’ve limited myself to one bright and one drab subsurface pattern and one light and one dark popper, and it’s worked.

I want to emphasize that all of this is intended for newbies – as you start catching fish, you’ll certainly want to develop and refine your approach to catch more or bigger fish (I can’t help you with that), but the tips above should help you start down the path.

Great little write up, thanks!

 

[Katsuking84]

It's older and out of print, but this is a GREAT place to start if you can find a used copy somewhere:

Fly-Fishing for Coastal Cutthroat Trout: Flies, Techniques, Conservation: Les Johnson: 9781571883339: Amazon.com: Books

Fly-Fishing for Coastal Cutthroat Trout: Flies, Techniques, Conservation [Les Johnson] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Fly-Fishing for Coastal Cutthroat Trout: Flies, Techniques, Conservation

www.amazon.com

View attachment 5608

They have this one in the king county library just fyi.

 

[mickey rat]

They have this one in the king county library just fyi.

A few years ago I picked up a 'good condition' used copy on Amazon for less than ten bucks that was actually in new condition.

 

[Go Fish]

My buddy gave me a report today. He got out on the canal before the winds picked up and hooked 16 and landed 12. Biggest to hand was 16 inches the others he lost were all much bigger. Packed it in after a hour when the whitecaps came in. On Case Inlet I have caught my biggest Cutts from July to September. Dave

 

[jasmillo]

My buddy gave me a report today. He got out on the canal before the winds picked up and hooked 16 and landed 12. Biggest to hand was 16 inches the others he lost were all much bigger. Packed it in after a hour when the whitecaps came in. On Case Inlet I have caught my biggest Cutts from July to September. Dave

If you find the chum fry this time of year the fishing can be hot. The key is finding the fry. I hit 2 beaches that were completely dead today but the third had fry and fish actively feeding on them. I hit a lake early so by the time I hit the third beach it was late and like your friend, was blown off the water 20 minutes in after hooking 3. Be prepared to burn some fuel to find fish this time of year but it can be worth it!

 

[Go Fish]

My friend said they were going after chum fry which seem to be thick in parts of the Canal.
He was using a reverse spider.

 

[NRC]

I am finally finally getting out and hitting the salt this afternoon after a several month hiatus. Can’t wait to see what has become of my double haul. I don’t even know if I have any chum babies in my box. Folks it’s gonna be interesting. Might even hit the canal!

 

[NRC]

Chum fry hell. They’re everywhere and they look much tastier than my flies.

 

[QuickreleaseEN]

Lots of good advice here so I'm echoing here. The first bit of advice I got for beach fishing has remained the most powerful and I'll never forget it:

Cover lots of water. Make a cast or two and walk 6 paces or so, and cast again. Or make a short cast angled close to the shore, and a full cast straight out or slightly upstream of current and then step down. You're hunting for the fish, and 9 times out of ten covering water will find you more fish than sitting and waiting for one to swim by your favorite rock.
However some beaches do have "favorite rocks", often the only place on a beach where the fish will consistently hold and feed. In these areas, making several sweeps through the sweet spot as the tide drops can be productive. And sometimes these spots are very much unassuming- hence why putting in time to figure beaches out is very important. Early success is possible, consistent success takes time, there is no shortcut. And, being a fluid environment, the sound will often humble you even with many hours under the belt.

An illustration of how some odd beaches fish. Say it's high tide on a large exchange; tide's dropping fast. I'll fish through the half of the beach with current until it slacks. From there I'll book it to a point on the beach and fish through the point multiple times as the tide drops, or continue down the beach and pick apart small points of structure. By this time, about 1/3 of the way through the drop, I'll return to the previous area of the beach I fished which has dramatically shallowed. Most notably, current has returned in the opposite direction as before, and flows at a good steady pace. I'll fish this until it slacks out (45 mins), about halfway down the tide exchange.
This same beach has good current at ebbing and flooding tides, but fishes much better on the ebb and is prone to be flush with debris and weeds on flood tides.

It takes time! But a great fun fishery for great fun fish. Enjoy the process!

 

[Wetswinger]

Cutt fishing has been a challenge. I'll get one, but the resi-silver has been real good the last 3 weeks. Surprisingly chubby for this time of year. Supposedly they expanded the net pens program at Squaxin. Eh, who knows..