Winter Fly Fishing on the Olympic Peninsula, Washington

Each year the week after Christmas, the family heads to the Olympic Pennisula for a little R&R and fly fishing. In general, this is Steelhead country & some of the finest fishing in the world.
Well, our annual trek on 12/26/11-12/29/11 couldn’t have been more soaked. Rain in the Ho Rain Forest is expected each time we visit. But, generally there is enough decent water in some river to find fish.
This year it was raining hard, really hard. All day. Every day.
Every day we went in search of a river that wasn’t at flood stage or filled with mud. Each day we looked for any sign that there might be fish that could see a fly that didn’t smack it in the eye. We went to the Ho River, we drove to the Clearwater River, we checked out the Bogachiel River, we drove to the Calawah, and we drove to the Sol Duc River.
After hundreds of miles of surveying we finally gave up. We left the rods in the truck and decided that we need to try somewhere new next year.

On the bright side, we did find some new spots that would be great to fly fish if the rivers were’nt flooded. See below.

Condition: FLOODED
Notes: Check water levels before driving the distance

Clearwater River – Clearwater, Washington

Fished Clearwater River in Clearwater, Washington just off Clearwater Road past the first bridge and the “Entering Clearwater” sign on the right. Look for the Pioneer Memorial Day Use Site. Fishing for Steelhead. Great access, nice rocky bar to pull out on where you can almost fish from the truck.
Time:8:45-11:00am
Weather: 40 F
Water: COLD, Cloudy, washed out, muddy
Location: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clearwater_River_(Washington)
Map: http://www.nps.gov/carto/PDF/OLYMmap1.pdf
GPS Coordinates: 47°43′56″N 123°54′11″W / 47.73222°N 123.90306°W / 47.73222; -123.90306
Access: Great, a little 4WD helps to get onto the beach
Rig(best): Pink salmon float rig….corkies, yarn.
Notes: This is a great place to fish. Cold water, clear mountain water in the winter, if it hasn’t been raining (Which is often and heavy here)

Clearwater River – Clearwater, Washington

Fished Clearwater River in Clearwater, Washington briefly on way back from the Queets River just off Clearwater Road just past the first bridge and the “Entering Clearwater” sign on the right. Fishing for Steelhead. Pulled out on the edge of the beach, left waders in truck, and grabbed the spinner. A few feet from the truck I snagged 2nd cast in 2 feet depth. Laid down the rod, went back to truck, put on waders, went back and waded out to the rig and unhooked the snag. Proceeded to float w/ the “pink” rig just fine. Fished about 10 casts before I saw a big one swim right in front of my feet. About a 15lb Salmon, probably an outdated Coho, it was ugly and in bad shape and wasn’t hungry at all. I nearly slapped him in the head with the rig after 3 direct passes didn’t cause a stir. He finally drifted out deeper and downstream. He was an ugly fellow with lots of rough white blotches on nearly his entire back. Time to leave. No fish.

Time: 2:30-3:00pm
Location: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clearwater_River_(Washington)
Map: http://www.nps.gov/carto/PDF/OLYMmap1.pdf
GPS Coordinates: 47°43′56″N 123°54′11″W / 47.73222°N 123.90306°W / 47.73222; -123.90306
Weather: 40 F
Water: COLD, Crystal Clear just as the name suggests
Access: Great, a little 4WD helps to get into some of the beaches in the winter
Rig(best): Pink salmon float rig. Flies: Eggs, various orange and purple Steelhead flies.
Notes: This is a great place to fish. Cold glacial water, clear mountain water in the winter.

-gone fly fishing,
EARTHangler