IF STEELHEAD ANGLERS who are unable to head west and drop a line today when weather forecasts are benign for the Forks area are aiming to fish this weekend, they should maintain a constant vigil over the United States Geological Survey’s stream flow charts.
Those charts are located at tinyurl.com/PDN-FlowCharts and they provide a view of conditions on many North Olympic Peninsula rivers.
Gary Grahn of Olympic Anglers Guide Services (360-640-4820) in Forks and Riverview RV Park and Storage (360-374-3398) was fishing the Sol Duc on Thursday with some clients.
He was using a grab bag of tricks to land some hatchery steelhead.
“We’ve been getting them swinging flies, nymphing and yarning,” Grahn said.
“We’ve tried with flies and beads, and the flies are producing the best results.”
Grahn said nymphing would be the best method for high-water conditions, which are expected on West End rivers this weekend.
Nymphs are aquatic insects living in rocks, vegetation or downed or living trees near stream bottoms.
Nymphing is a catch-all term that represents many different techniques, but the main point is to present the fly in a natural, slow manner in a drift along the bottom of the stream.
Steelhead, when holding their place in a river, only have to make a small movement to strike at the presented fly.
This is a good technique right now when stream temperatures are low in the dead of winter and steelhead are less likely to move great distances.
Beads are attractive to fish because they look like a meal of other fish eggs.
They come in a variety of sizes and colors to reflect many different species.
Grahn said the upper end of the Sol Duc was fishable as of Thursday afternoon, it having dropped back in line after a bout of rain Tuesday.
“There’s also been fish in the Salmon River, on the Queets and the lower Hoh,” Grahn said.
Creel reports on the Lower Hoh show a mixture of hatchery and wild steelhead.
Brian Menkal of Brian’s Sporting Goods and More (360-683-1950) in Sequim said he talked to some anglers in for their first steelhead trip.
“They landed two out of the three they hooked, so those aren’t bad odds for steelhead,” Menkal said.
On the lower Hoh, 95 anglers, 50 fishing from boats, caught 30 hatchery steelhead and released seven.
All 17 wild steelhead hooked on that stretch of river were released.
The Calawah River report listed 22 hatchery steelhead caught by 37 bank anglers.
The Sol Duc had more wild fish caught than hatchery, but Grahn says there are still plenty of hatchery fish around.
“The wild stock are starting to fill in there, but there were fresh hatchery and wilds coming into the Sol Duc last week,” Grahn said.
“And we caught hatchery fish today.”
Blackmouth
Menkal said the blackmouth fishery in the Strait of Juan de Fuca “has not been hot.”
Tough weather conditions and wind have cut into the action for many anglers.
“The blackmouth fishery is sometimes more difficult than winter steelhead,” Menkal said.
“If it’s blowing too hard you can’t go anywhere. There’s no Plan B or C. You can’t pack up and hit a different river.
“And you can’t hit the same spot time and time again to see if the fish are there because it might be a week or more before you are able to get back on that same piece of water.
Marine Area 9 will open to blackmouth fishing Saturday.
Anglers could head south to Olele Point near Port Ludlow for a possible double whammy: chinook and Dungeness crab.
The crab season continues north of the Hood Canal Bridge to the Foulweather Bluff to Olele Point line through Feb. 28.
Anglers can launch at Mats Mats Bay, but must be mindful of low tide.
Brian’s expands stock
Menkal said he had recently returned from an annual working trip to Las Vegas for a sporting goods dealers conference.
He has plans to expand the amount of fishing tackle his store stocks, along with adding women’s waders and more fly fishing gear.
More camping equipment and a bigger selection of marine and boat items also are planned.
Menkal said he is adding more firearms after the closing of Fred’s Hobbies and Guns in Sequim last year.
Echoing a national trend, Menkal said sales of personal firearms and ammunition were up dramatically during the recent Christmas season.
“Most was personal protection, most of the sales were carry weapons,” Menkal said.
He pointed to the mass shooting in San Bernardino, Calif., as the reason for the surge in sales.
River fishing class
Menkal will offer another of his excellent two-part Introduction to River Salmon and Steelhead courses this Tuesday, and again Tuesday, Jan. 26
For $25, anglers will receive five hours of instruction on where to go, what to use and how to target salmon and steelhead in our area rivers.
The store is located at 542 W. Washington St., in Sequim and the class runs from 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. each night.
RSVP to Menkal at 360-683-1950, and bring along a chair, a pen and a notebook.
Free days for parks
The National Park Service is celebrating its centennial this year by offering 16 free admission days to our national parks.
Monday’s observation of Martin Luther King Jr. Day will be the first free day of the year.
The fee waiver includes entrance, commercial-tour, and transportation entrance fees.
The Hurricane Ridge Ski and Snowboard Area, which opened its Poma Lift for the first time in recent years last weekend, is scheduled to be open for the holiday.
Snow showers also are forecast through Monday, sweetening the deal for skiers, snowboarders and sledders heading up to the summit.
All vehicles traveling to Hurricane Ridge must carry chains.
For road conditions and closures, call the road condition hotline at 360-565-3131 or check the park’s Twitter account at www.twitter.com/HRWinterAccess.
The next opportunity to access national parks for free will come during National Park Week, April 16-24.
State parks also will offer free admission on Monday.
No Discover Pass will be required to access state parks.
Martin Luther King Jr. Day is one of 11 free days offered by the state Parks and Recreation Department.
The next free day, Saturday, March 19, celebrates the department’s 103rd birthday.
Anglers meeting
Forks’ Bob Kratzer, owner of Anglers Guide Service and Alaska Kingfishers, will speak at Thursday’s meeting of the North Olympic Peninsula Chapter of Puget Sound Anglers.
The meeting will be held at Trinity United Methodist Church, 100 S. Blake Ave., with viewing of raffle items and visiting at 6:30 p.m. and Kratzer’s talk at 7 p.m.
Kratzer will discuss catching steelhead with alternative baits.
Restrictions on the use of bait will hit the West End later this year.
Kratzer said not everyone has access to lots of eggs for curing, so he will share alternatives and take-home recipes.
Kratzer guides on theWest End rivers in the fall, Alaska in the early summer and southwest Washington rivers in the late summer and fall.
He’s also a member of the North Coast Steelhead Advisory Group and will be able to answer questions on the process that led to the new rules.
Refreshments, a raffle and a $50 membership drawing also are planned.
For information, visit www.psanopc.org or www.facebook.com/psanopc.
Send photos, stories
Have a photograph, a fishing or hunting report, an anecdote about an outdoors experience or a tip on gear or technique?
Send it to sports@peninsuladailynews.com or P.O. Box 1330, Port Angeles, WA 98362.
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Outdoors columnist Michael Carman appears here Thursdays and Fridays. He can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5152 or at mcarman@peninsuladailynews.com.
