WDFW Sportfishing Rule Change Update

by Waters West | Dec 3, 2015 | Uncategorized |

The WDFW and the Fish & Wildlife Commission are having their final meeting about the proposed winter steelhead fishing rules for the Olympic Peninsula. It is Friday, December 11^th and it starts at 8am.

Public input is short this time and will begin around 8:15

This meeting is more about showing the commission who is willing to take the time and show up.

Meeting place:

Northwest Maritime Center

431 Water Street

Port Townsend, WA 98368

Time:

Friday December 11^th at 8am

Summary from the November meeting in Olympia: Compiled from the written comments received from citizens.

Proposal #1: No bait during the spring steelhead season.

This proposal had a ratio of 10% against to 90% for the no bait restrictions.

Proposal #2: No kill, catch & release on native steelhead and rainbow trout.

This proposal also had a 10% / 90% ratio in favor of no kill.

Proposal #3: No fishing from boats in the upper Hoh above Morgan’s Crossing.

This proposal was split 50 / 50

P #1 – This rule is to help protect the juvenile fish in the rivers also. Still some push-back from a few guides who refuse to give up any and all ways to be ultra-efficient and effective every day of every season.

P #2 – Another rule that is long overdue, and the overwhelming ratio of support proves it is

time to join the rest of the northwest and Canada and stop killing native steelhead.

If the right remains to kill one fish per year, and maybe becomes a tag system like elk

hunting, then perhaps that angler should be done fishing for the rest of the season.

P #3 – This proposal was only for the short stretch of river above Morgan’s Crossing and still

every guide that testified at the November meeting was against it. The next put-in

above Morgan’s is washed out now anyway. Very few of the guides went up there.

It seemed perhaps they were afraid of the precedent it may create.

This is the best and most equal of all the proposals. It treats all anglers the same,

whether they are drifting corkies, floats & jigs, beads or glo bugs with strike

indicators. Most of the fly fishing guiding anymore is the same as side drifting with

gear. It is just as deadly (sometimes more) and has turned our sport into a numbers

game where native steelhead are considered the same as hatchery coho or triploid

trout. This is supposed to be about the fish! It’s not about how easy it should be at all

times to be the most productive and dominate every fishery every month of the year.

This proposal, especially if expanded to more rivers and more river miles, could be

the best thing for our winter steelhead fishery. It will decrease the encounter rates

which now are much too high. It will give the fish some refuge and places to hide

where anglers in boats can’t get right on top of them every day. It will give the bank

anglers more areas where they will not be subjected to the constant parade of boats

and guides. It will increase the enjoyment and the anglers experience.

It will be good for the fish!!

We will have to wait until December 11 or 12   for the commissions decision.

Will they do the right thing this time?

OPportunity to comment on Rule Changes

by Waters West | Nov 10, 2015 | Uncategorized |

Olympic Peninsula Sportfishing Rule Changes

There is an OPportunity (get it?!) to comment on Sportfishing rule changes on the Olympic Peninsula. You’ve got two days left to read, and comment on the proposed WDFW rule changes. These rules would directly impact wild steelhead…hence our concern. The simplest and most comprehensive take on these rule changes is on Trout Unlimited’s website :

http://www.tu.org

TWO DAYS! This is such an easy thing to do and has a real chance at helping the future of wild steelhead. There has been so much written on this subject by incredibly talented and educated fishermen and writers, I will not try to do it justice here. It is something you should look into though. Here is a great article by Bill Herzog, a renown steelhead fisherman, to get you started.

http://www.wildsteelheaders.org/anger/

Take a few minutes to leave a comment.

For an opportunity to give public testimony on these rule proposals, be sure to attend the WDFW Commission Meeting on November 14 at 8 a.m.

What: WDFW Commission Meeting

When: November 14th, 8:00 am

Where: Natural Resources Building
1111 Washington St SE
Olympia WA 98501
First Floor, Room 172

Waters West Spey Day!

by Waters West | Sep 29, 2015 | Uncategorized |

Waters West 1^st Annual Spey Day:

We’re just under a week away from the Spey Day! We’ve had an awesome response for this event, and really appreciate all those who are coming out for it. We’re pretty excited to get out there and drink some beer and cast. We just wanted to remind everyone of a few things, and mainly to carpool if you can. We’ve had a lot more RSVP’s than we expected and parking is limited. We promise we’ll get a bigger venue next time, but this time around we’re gunna get cozy. Just a few other things about the event.

• Bring your waders and boots! If you’re looking to try stuff out don’t leave these at home!
• Do not bring any flies! The Elwha is still closed to fishing.
• Bring your WDFW Vehicle Pass (included in purchase of license) or Discover Pass
• Carpool! There has been more RSVP’s than we expected, but the more the merrier!
• Bring CASH for food and beverages. The event is still free, but if you want some grub you’ll need cash. There’s an upcharge on credit cards.
• Take Laird Road to Elwha River Road to access Crown Z Rd. The turn off of 112 is tight and generally requires a 3 point turn. Do-able, but to keep things running smoothly take Laird and watch for Crown Z road on your left. It’s a narrow road, so be cautious.
• We are doing this thing rain or shine! Bring a rain jacket so we don’t have to use it.

Bring a lawn chair, cast some different setups, try out the NEW lineup for 2016, ask lots of questions, eat some awesome food, and just hang out!

Details:

When: Sunday, October 4^th   from 10-4pm

Where: Under the Pedestrian Bridge on the Elwha. From Port Angeles take 101 heading West. Turn right on Laird Rd(before 112.) Continue about ¼ mile, then turn left on Elwha River Rd for about ¼ mile left on Crown Z water Rd. Park under bridge. For the tech-savvy, just type in Crown Z Water Rd in Port Angeles, WA and you’ll see us down the road.

Cost: FREE! If you want some grub it’s $5 a plate and $2 for beverage.

RSVP: Shoot us an email at info@waterswest.com or call (360) 417-0937 with the number of people that will be coming so we can plan for food.

Yipee o kiyay mo fo’s our rivers are now open again! GET OUT THERE!

by Waters West | Sep 4, 2015 | Uncategorized |

The weather Gods have finally got it together and they sent us a good shot of rain and some much needed cooler weather.

The Quillayute system, including the Lower Sol Duc (below concrete pump at state salmon hatchery),Lower Bogachiel (below 101), Lower Calawah (below 101) and Dickey rivers are now  open outside of Olympic National Park. All of the rivers inside the park are still closed for now, but we do hope they will open the upper rivers for trout fishing. As I write this on Thursday afternoon the rivers are in prime shape and this will be a great weekend to target searun cutthroats. This is the first rain in a long time and the cutties were waiting for this freshet to storm into the rivers. They should be as dumb as dirt and eat most anything, but it is October Caddis time and the termites will be out on the next warm day, so fish your dry line and dry flies and hang on.

The summer steelhead in the Calawah and Bogachiel should be near suicidal and willing to eat most anything, but here again, it is dry line and dry fly time. Skate Bombers, Grease Liners, Muddlers and maybe even an old pencil stub and they should rise to your offering.

The Sol Duc will have plenty of salmon too right now, mostly cohos. Fish it before it gets too low again for the best success.

The Hoh River is often the place to be in September. It is a good month for summer steelhead and there will be plenty of early coho in there too. The river is under selective gear rules this September and until further notice. This means no bait and single barbless hooks for the entire river. The reason is to encourage people to not fish for the few king salmon that are there.

Except for one or two spots the rivers will be quite uncrowded right now. One could walk miles of the Sol Duc, Bogachiel or Calawah and not see a soul all day. Very few actually take advantage of the great cutthroat fishing that is happening right now. Grab your 5 weight, a few dries and a few streamers, and hit the water.

Waters West 1st Annual Spey Day

by Waters West | Sep 2, 2015 | Uncategorized |

 Waters West First Annual Spey Day!

*The Elwha is still closed to fishing. We will be casting with yarn at this event. Please do NOT bring any flies.*

Come hang out with us on the Elwha and check out some of the newest and coolest spey gear on the market! We’ll be bringing out an assortment of different rods, reels, lines, leaders, and other gear to test out. Just few of the new things that will be there:

Sage’s Pulse Spey Rod

Redington’s Chromer Spey Rod

Redington’s Behemoth Reel

RIO’s new Spey Lines

We’ll have a bit of everything, old and new, to test out. From long belly lines to the OPST Commando Heads, you’ll have a chance to actually try this stuff out rather than just watching the videos.

We’ll also have a BBQ going for $5 a plate and it’s not a fishing outing unless there is beer, right?!

Bring a lawn chair, cast some different setups, try out the NEW lineup for 2016, ask lots of questions, eat some awesome food, and just hang out!

Details:

When: Sunday, October 4^th   from 10-4pm

Where: Under the Pedestrian Bridge on the Elwha. From Port Angeles take 101 heading West. Turn right on Laird Rd(before 112.) Continue about ¼ mile, then turn left on Elwha River Rd for about ¼ mile left on Crown Z water Rd. Park under bridge. For the tech-savvy, just type in Crown Z Water Rd, Port Angeles and you’ll see us down the road.

Cost: FREE! If you want some grub it’s $5 a plate and $2 for beverage.

RSVP: Shoot us an email at info@waterswest.com or call (360) 417-0937 with the number of people that will be coming so we can plan for food.

*The Elwha is still closed to fishing. We will be casting with yarn at this event. Please do NOT bring any flies.*

Wild Steelhead Gene Bank Selection Process

by Waters West | Aug 21, 2015 | Uncategorized |

Wild Steelhead Gene

http://www.tu.org/wsu-action?vvsrc=%2Fcampaigns%2F41885%2Frespond

http://wdfw.wa.gov/conservation/fisheries/steelhead/gene_bank/comments.html

Wild Steelhead Gene Bank meeting in Sequim! MAKE IT THERE!

by Waters West | Jul 24, 2015 | Uncategorized |

This is happening. It’s important. Show up.

Tuesday, July 28, Trinity Methodist Church, 100 S Blake Ave., Sequim, WA

http://wdfw.wa.gov/conservation/fisheries/steelhead/gene_bank/

Check this out too.

http://www.tu.org/wsu-action?vvsrc=%2Fcampaigns%2F41885%2Frespond

Classes

by Waters West | May 21, 2015 | Uncategorized |

We’ve been getting a lot of requests for more fishing class dates, so here they are!

Spey Casting Classes:

Dates: May 30^th, June 27^th, July 25^th, August 29^th, September 26^th.

Time: 9am-3pm

Where: On a river

Cost: $95.00

Beginners Class: This half day crash course will jump start you into this life-long sport. Lots of emphasis on casting, line control, and presentation. You’ll have a good chance at catching a fish too!

Dates: Saturday, June 20^th 2015, Saturday, July 29^th 2015, Saturday, August 22^nd   2015

Time: 1-4pm

Where: Local Pond

Cost: $55.00

Casting Clinic: Single-handed rod casting a little rusty? Go casting (at a pond with fish…) with Curt to work out some of those bad habits.

Dates: Sunday, June 7^th 2015, Sunday, July 12^th 2015, Sunday, August 9^th 2015

Time: 2-5pm

Where: Local Pond

Cost:$45.00

Individual Instruction: There is nothing like one-on-one time to accelerate your learning. This can be booked anytime, for any kind of instruction, just contact us.

$30/hour for single-hand instruction at lincoln park or somewhere else close by

$40/hour for spey instruction (2 hour minimum) on the water.

Free Tying Classes

We still have some spots open for the free tying classes!

This Saturday (May 23rd) we’re tying up some sea-run cutthroat flies.

May 30th and June 6th we’re going to switch over to lake flies since Crescent is opening up on the 1st!

Give us a call or email to sign up!

Phone: (360) 417-0937

Email: info@waterswest.com

Fly Tying Class Schedule

by Waters West | Apr 10, 2015 | Uncategorized |

We have quite a few classes lined up for the next 6 Saturdays! As usual, these are all free. Bring what you can (vise, bobbin, scissors, thread, etc.), otherwise let us know and we can provide what you need. We also have everything you’d need available for sale at the shop.