Puget Sound, Washington
50 ° water temp. @ Southworth
Current Seattle Tide
Current Puget Sound Winds
2-3-12
Mid winter can be tough but we are looking at a high pressure system that is going to put some fantastic weather on our doorstep so take advantage and get out there. A mix of SRC's and resident salmon are all over the closest beaches to downtown Seatltle. Slower retrieve and smaller flies have been working great, remember to keep your tip in the water while stripping and point the tip at the rod
Favorite flies for this season: Titanic Baitfish, West's Smelt, West's Herring, Southworth Special, Herring Popper, Reverse Spiders, Morrish's Small Fry, Rolled Muddler, Silly Leg Spider and Euphasid patterns, Saltwater deer hair dry flies, Chernobyl ants/hoppers, Miyawaki's Popper, Shock and Awe, small Surf Darts, Strawbucks Shrimp.
Learn more about fly fishing Puget Sound:
Amphipods, Krill, Candy Striped Shrimp, Copepods, Euphasids, Bull Kelp, 5 Ribbed Kelp, Isopods, Sand Lance, Surf Smelt, Shiner Perch, Eel Grass

Skykomish River, Washington
3320 cfs @ Goldbar 37° water temp.
1-28-11
Sky has been in some decent shape lately and some winter fish have been around. Due to low estimated returns of wild fish however, the Skykomish and all remaining Puget Sound rivers will be closing early this year, many on February 1st.
Favorite flies for this season: Small speys, Coal Car's as opposed to Cop Cars, Purple Perils, Olive Egg Sucking Bunny Leeches, Starlight Leach, Flatwing General Practitioners, Metal Detector, Skykomish Sunrises, Mega Moal, Morrish's Trailer Trash, River Rats, Fergus Rock Star, Wally Wakers, Bombers, and flesh flies and eggs for Dollies.
Shuttle Service: Dan 425-821-3685 or 206-714-9905

Sauk River, Washington
3050 cfs @ near Darrington
12,200 cfs @ near Sauk, WA
2-3-12
Puget Sound steelhead have been named to the NOAA Endangered Species List. Closed until first Saturday in June.
Favorite flies for this season: Bunny Leeches, Egg Sucking Leeches, Flatwing General Practitioners, Mega Moal, Intruders, Skagit Mist, Sauk River Shrimp, Prawns, Morrish's Trailer Trash, River Rats, Fergus Rock Star, Metal Detector, Skagit Minnows, Marabous all in various colors and flesh flies and egg patterns for Dollies.
Shuttle Service: Cecily 360-630-0136 or 360-853-7213

North Fork Stillaguamish River, Washington
3500 cfs @ Arlington
3-21-10
Puget Sound steelhead have been named to the NOAA Endangered Species List. Closed until first Saturday in June.
Favorite flies for this season: Small Egg Sucking Leeches, Flatwing General Practitioners, Skunks, Bombers, Waller Wakers, Skykomish Sunrises, Purple Perils and purple/orange/black spey flies.

Olympic Peninsula, Washington -- Report provided by Olympic Fly Anglers
Sol Duc River, Bogachiel River
Hoh 702 cfs @ Highway 101
Queets 342 cfs @ Clearwater
Bogachiel @ La Push
Sol Duc Live Cam - Still images updated every 5 minutes
12-7-10
RED HOT!! Bogi is on fire and all the other rivers out here with clients and staff landing fish on the Hoh, Bogi, Queets and others. Call us or get out there yourself.
Favorite flies for this season: Bunny Leeches, Starlight Leeches, Egg Sucking Leeches, Flash Fly, Flatwing General Practitioners, Skagit Minnows, Mega Moal, Metal Detector, Morrish's Trailer Trash, River Rats, Fergus Rock Star, Marabous all in various colors. Mickey Finns, spiders, reverse spiders, rolled muddlers, woolly buggers for SRC's and flesh flies for Dollies.
Shuttle Service: Ted Miller 360-374-5195

Deschutes River, Oregon
11-11-10
4860 cfs @ Moody
Fish Counts Over Bonneville Dam
Still some fantastic fishing going on down here right now. Many fish are up in the Maupin region and there is ample water to find up there. This time of year the canyon provides a lot of shade on the water so fish it all. Report provided by Brian Silvey, Mike McCoy, Ted Neely and The Caddis Fly Angling Shop.
Favorite flies for this season: Lum Plums, stoneflies, leaches, Brads Brat, Boss, heavy wire skunks, and Purple Perils.

This report provided by Silver Creek Outfitters.
Favorite flies for this season: Hoppers, Turk's Tarantualas, Stone fly nymphs, pheasant tails, black copper johns, princes, midge pupae, JJ specials, caddis, turks tarantula.

If flows hang around 700 cfs, the hatch will advance quickly, perhaps as much as a mile per day.  Like most aquatic hatches, salmonfly activity progresses upstream as water temperatures slowly rise.  Within a week, we should see temps in the mid-50s throughout the lower 14 miles of the Black Canyon, from Chukar Trail downstream.  This is the most accessible section of the Black Canyon where most of us will concentrate our fishing efforts.  As the stoneflies hatch farther upstream, the fishing becomes truly intense.  The inner miles of the Black Canyon are ideal habitat for trout feeding on stoneflies.  Unlike caddis, mayflies and midges, stoneflies do not emerge by rising up through the water column.  Rather, they crawl to bank, climb up and shed their exoskeletons on dry land.  Trout line up on the walls and banks, taking giant salmonflies as they make their way to shore.  As a result, our fishing tactics are unique during the salmonfly hatch.

Remember....

2)  Work the banks.  You'll catch trout all over the river, but the highest concentration of big fish are right on the walls.  You'll know it's good when you catch several fish off the same wall in the exact same spot, one fish replacing the next in its feeding station.  This is known as the Pez Effect.  Cast with power and accuracy.  A fly drifting 12 inches from the wall is much less effective than one that's touching the wall or bank.  The fish are actually working the walls themselves, often resulting in scars and abbrassions that earn the nickname "Wallhead." 

3)  Take plenty of flies.  In addition to a variety of salmonfly nymphs and dries, you'll want your caddis, PMDs, Golden Stones and Yellow Sallies.  Golden Stoneflies always mask the tail end of the hatch and can be a real problem solver when fish turn off of the giant stones.

4)  This is the streakiest hatch in trout fishing.  Go in for three days and fish as hard as you can.  Be on the water early, late and all points in between.  Like other memorable fly fishing situations, hitting the hatch "just right" is a matter of a couple of magic hours.  Mid-morning and evening are high-percentage, but it could turn on at any time of the day.

5)  You could miss it.  There is probably no angler in SW Colorado who can claim to have hit the hatch just right every year.  All of us who make the annual pilgrimage have also come away shaking our heads.  You won't know unless you go.

6)  The time is nye.  Three weeks from now, it will be completely over.

Over the course of the season our guides wrote daily fishing reports and judging by their entries, the number of Bonefish landed was simply staggering. As to exactly how many we landed…well let’s just say an auditing firm would battle to keep track, as the guides on many days simply couldn’t keep score. Basically, if wading and sight fishing for sheer numbers or large single and double digit tailing Bonefish interests you, then St Brandon’s is certainly the venue for you.

Although primarily a Bonefish destination, St Brandon’s does however have some very exciting other target species for anglers to test their skills against. Top of the list would be the healthy numbers of Indo-Pacific Permit which reside here. Congratulations to all the guys who got a Permit, especially those who landed their first one…. our bet is you guys are still smiling!
Greenspot, Golden, Yellow Dot and Bluefin Trevally were also present and offered an interesting and pleasant mix to the fishermen’s experience.

And finally there’s the Giant Trevally. Although present in far fewer numbers than the outer islands of the Seychelles, these fish still rule the flats when they decide to make an appearance. Witnessing 6 – 8lb Bonefish scatter as one of these submarines charges in for a quick meal is a sight to behold. Hearty congratulations to Andrew Veglio who landed the largest GT of the season after an epic battle. His prize would have weighed in the region of 90lbs and is a really special achievement, one which will no doubt remain with him forever. There were also a few anglers who hooked even bigger fish, some of which would have weighed over the 120lb mark. Sadly these trophies didn’t come to hand….our condolences to those anglers. Report provided by Fly Castaway.

We have a couple of cancellations for prime rods in the 2011 Tanzania season. Due to the late nature of these cancellations we are able to offer these rods at greatly reduced rates on a first come first serve basis.  I will leave you with an email from a Tim J who has recently returned from his first Tanzania Tigerfshing trip in case you need any convincing to apply for leave and take advantage of these last minute specials! This report provided by our partner in Africa, Keith Clover of Tourette Fishing.

Kamchatka Peninsula, Russia
Opala, Pymta, Icha, Tikhaya, Kolpakova Rivers
Good news in some ways not in others for those looking to do Kamchatka this season:
The flight will depart in either direction on Mondays from July 7 to September 15 of 2008 with an additional flight on Thursdays from July 17 to August 21 of 2008 with the following departure and arrival times:
Anchorage - Petropavlovsk dep. 7:45am, arr. 9:45am (the next day)
Petropavlovsk - Anchorage dep. 10:00pm, arr. 5:45am (same day)
Coach class fares start from $1890 round-trip plus taxes and service fees (about $2095 with taxes and service fees included). Business class fares start from $3690 round trip plus taxes and service fees (about $3895 with taxes and service fees included). There are only 8 business class seats on this aircraft, so early reservations are encouraged.
Favorite flies for this season: Rajah, Zonkers, Battle Creek, Pink Sparkler, Flash Fly, Mouse, Bomber, Bitch Creek, Wulff, Black Gnat, Caddis, Wooly Worm, Egg Sucking Leach.

For many years, the pattern for sport fishing on the west coast of Vancouver Island has the month of June scheduled to fire on all cylinders, providing great angling opportunities for most of the Tofino area’s predominant saltwater species. Freshwater anglers are also somewhat hesitant to put away the waders and lighter tackle just yet, as local streams and lakes can be alive with hungry Trout, as well as a small number of Steelhead that enter various small local river systems through June and July. Every calendar year, June is the month of transition from spring to summer. For B.C.’s fishing calendar, June is when plans are made and memories unfold, while fishing opportunities all over the province turn from great to excellent, and even “world class”. There is obviously good reason why the month of June also plays host to B.C.’s Family Fishing Weekend all over the province.

With the bulk of Tofino’s recreational fishing focused on Saltwater action, and consistent numbers of transient Chinook and Coho salmon passing through local waters from April thru July, there is reason to question if the peak season has shifted to June and July, as opposed to the highlighted August fishery of past years. Though Coho salmon numbers have been impressive since mid May, many understand that the inshore Coho fishing only gets better as we approach August. The abundant and aggressive Silver Salmon feed hard in and around Clayoquot Sound, prior to migrating southward to various large watersheds. The peak Coho Fly fishing and light tackle action begins through mid June, and stays consistently strong through mid September. The outside waters offer Chinook salmon fishing that will be reliable and steady for the season’s largest Salmon species, but the sheer numbers of transient Salmon and Halibut in the earlier part of the season have definitely encouraged anglers to consider the season’s best opportunities are now earlier than later. Along with the popular Salmon fishery, various species of Bottom fish help create a colourful mix to the experience. Offshore Salmon numbers during this time are unrivalled for the remainder of the season, aside from the waves of Coho that feed for extended periods within the prime habitat of Clayoquot, offering B.C.’s premier saltwater Fly fishing experience.

There is no doubt that the West Coast of Vancouver Island offers B.C.’s most consistent early season fishery and Tofino is right in the middle of all the action. Regardless of age or experience, big boat, small boat or no boat at all, Tofino’s varied fishing options should be highlighted on your calendar this June. 

Also our flyfisherman, Steve Hardy spent a week with us for Chinook on the fly, not to mention the threesome from Wetaskwin Alberta had some fun on the jetboat tours.

Next pic in the report is a nice size Halibut and the hunting guide from Saskatchewan landed this beauty, not to mention had a "barn door" take all his 100lb braided line smoking his reel to the last few wraps on the reel, unfortunately the monster Halibut prevailed and headed out to sea snapping the 100lb test!

Our next pic shows the twins from Vancouver, each holding a limit of fresh Chinook, Ron and Arnold have been repeat clients at our lodge for 3 years now, or is it 4?

Our group of Englishmen flew into Kitimat for a week and this was the first time for these boys in our area, landing numerous Chinooks and many on the fly, our eldest of the group was 82yrs old, and this man was a real trooper landing fish in the 40lb range.

Also 7 year returning guests, the convoy of Ted and Leslie Hassall, Jim and Louise Gray, and grandkids spent the July long weekend with us enjoying the hot sun and hot fish, attached is pic of Ted and Blake with a fresh bumper of chrome.

Also joining us was the golfing group of 13 from across the western provinces, these guys had a real blast and spent their time in the driftboats and jetboats during the heat wave we had in early July.

Our South African doctors arrived again this year and landed a nice catch of Salmon and will be returning for the fall Coho.

Finally my last pic, of the lads from down under, and they sure put me under during their stay, with early mornings and late nites. These guys fished the Skeena with me and man did we hook into a pod of beauties. I have numerous guests that are still sending me pics as well our guides have a album of pics that will be sent as soon as we get a day off!

We are now into the middle of July, the Kitimat River as well our coastal Salmon rivers are producing very well and Pink Salmon are now entering the Kitimat River. We anticipate a good run of Chum Salmon in the river this week and into August as these purple striped Dogs as they are nicknamed are a great fish on the fly.

The Skeena is also in full swing as the Chinook are running in nice numbers as well the Sockeye fishery has been opened for retention as of yesterday, estimated run of 1.2 million. August will be the start of Steelhead and Coho and we look forward to arriving guests this week. I know I have not mentioned all our guests so please forgive me as I have reels to clean, boats to wash out and gas up the jets for the AM.