Current Fishing Reports
We try to update the website as often as possible with the current fishing report, however with guiding, prepping gear and so forth it's not always possible for us to update the website regularly, especially during the peak seasons of fall thru spring. For additional updated reports visit the Orvis report under the Fishing Report tab that we update nationally at least once per week!
Fall 2019
Summer 2018
With summer in the rear view mirror it's time to look forward to fall salmon and winter steelhead here on the OP. Fall appeared to be arriving early this year with a nice shot of rain in early September...then as quickly as it came, it went. It was nearly another month with only the occasional passing shower. Not enough to bring up river levels...Chinook were stuck in the Quillayute system, refusing to migrate up river and being pounded on by anglers and guides alike. It was a little disturbing to watch for me. I had hoped the state would close it down because of low flow, but that didn't happen. I didn't target a king after the first week of October and it was my hope that others were going to lay off of them as well. That was not the case and day after day I would discuss with clients what's going on in the fisheries and that we're going to target early return Coho and lay off the Chinook that are stuck in migration and preparing to spawn. I will say that "most" understood, but some expressed displeasure that "catching" was more important than conserving a declining run of Chinook. Odd that when we have a decent showing like this year, all thoughts of saving the Kings for the future seems to go out the window. One thing I know from 40+ years of salmon and steelhead angling is when the salmon go into major decline year after year the steelhead follow. Hopefully in the future more discussion will help to enlighten those on the water and how they impact the fisheries. It's okay to catch a few less fish if it means we get to continue to fish in the future. The alternative isn't very attractive to me!
It's November now and we've had a solid couple of weeks of rain...fish poured up river as fast as I've ever seen when the rains started. You could literally watch a pod of Coho moving upstream from several hundred yards away go by in the matter of minutes. It didn't take long to figure out unfortunately, as quick as they came, they went. Seemed like there weren't more coming behind them. It's been several weeks since and we're starting to see fresh fish show in a more normal cycle. That's helping to spread out the fish and anglers alike...much more to my liking.
It's November now and we've had a solid couple of weeks of rain...fish poured up river as fast as I've ever seen when the rains started. You could literally watch a pod of Coho moving upstream from several hundred yards away go by in the matter of minutes. It didn't take long to figure out unfortunately, as quick as they came, they went. Seemed like there weren't more coming behind them. It's been several weeks since and we're starting to see fresh fish show in a more normal cycle. That's helping to spread out the fish and anglers alike...much more to my liking.
Spring/Summer 2017
It's been a hectic year for sure. We had a great spring season of steelheading here on the OP. Superb days of fishing and much improved weather patterns compared to a year ago and snow pack in the Olympics at 140% of normal made for good early summer flows on the rivers. After closing the spring steelhead season we headed to Montana for the Orvis OGR event and did a little fun fishing afterward. Found some lunker rainbows that really handed it to us but was worth the effort for sure.
Summer came and went in the blink of an eye it seemed with guiding and a major home remodel project by yours truly during off the water days. Steelhead fishing this summer has been slower than usual, scratching out a fish or two a day was typical. The summer salmon season however was excellent. Good flows thru July with big numbers of spring/summer Chinook arriving and tons of summer Coho. Sight fishing to these fish is a ton of fun during summer months. It's late September now and were beginning to finally see the fall rains arrive...this is my favorite season of the year. Grouse, mushrooming, big game, lot's of salmon and late summer steelheading. If you can't find something to do your not trying very hard.
We should see a great fall Coho run here on the OP this year based upon the fish counts from three years ago. With the low numbers of steelhead and chinook salmon returning to the Columbia basin we'll be staying right here at home this fall. If you've not pursued salmon on the fly before or think that they don't make a worthy target on a fly rod you'd be surprised at how much fun they can be. Large pods of salmon to sight fish at and aggressive strikes on a tight line make for some incredible action. The season runs thru mid November and then a two week break before we start the December steelhead season. We'll be chasing large broodstock fish on the glacier rivers and hatchery fish on the Bogachiel. By mid January we'll be in full winter steelhead mode into mid April on all the area rivers.
Summer came and went in the blink of an eye it seemed with guiding and a major home remodel project by yours truly during off the water days. Steelhead fishing this summer has been slower than usual, scratching out a fish or two a day was typical. The summer salmon season however was excellent. Good flows thru July with big numbers of spring/summer Chinook arriving and tons of summer Coho. Sight fishing to these fish is a ton of fun during summer months. It's late September now and were beginning to finally see the fall rains arrive...this is my favorite season of the year. Grouse, mushrooming, big game, lot's of salmon and late summer steelheading. If you can't find something to do your not trying very hard.
We should see a great fall Coho run here on the OP this year based upon the fish counts from three years ago. With the low numbers of steelhead and chinook salmon returning to the Columbia basin we'll be staying right here at home this fall. If you've not pursued salmon on the fly before or think that they don't make a worthy target on a fly rod you'd be surprised at how much fun they can be. Large pods of salmon to sight fish at and aggressive strikes on a tight line make for some incredible action. The season runs thru mid November and then a two week break before we start the December steelhead season. We'll be chasing large broodstock fish on the glacier rivers and hatchery fish on the Bogachiel. By mid January we'll be in full winter steelhead mode into mid April on all the area rivers.
It's been an exceptionally dry start to the winter steelhead season...like freaky dry. A large high pressure front moved down from British Columbia and decided to hang out over the top of the Olympic Peninsula for a couple of weeks. Fishing was good for January with large fish and low manageable flows on the Hoh and Queets...then all hell broke loose Tuesday. NOAA predicted upwards of 9.5" of rain incoming and fortunately it amounted to a little more than half the prediction. So now we wait a couple of days and get back on the water chasing these incredible fish. A client on Monday hooked the largest steelhead of his life and the biggest I've seen so far this year. It kicked our butt's, wrong place wrong time I told him. He thought he was hung, I saw a massive flash under water and when it did come to the surface and he realized what he had ahold of the fish didn't waste any time finding the downed tree laying half way across the river a few moments later. Michael looked at me and asked what he did wrong..."nothing" I replied, you we're a victim of circumstance and that fish won today. A half hour later he told me he was still shaking...I laughed..."yep they'll do that to ya!" That's what makes this place and the fish that call it home so special.
Fall on the Klickitat..it should be on every fly anglers bucket list! This years returns to the Columbia have fallen well short of the states projected "EPIC" fall Chinook run and Steelhead numbers overall for the basin have fallen short of the 10 year averages as well. However, I will say that the Klick seemed to fish better than just about any other central Columbia Gorge tributary. A lot of guys we're complaining...mostly because they weren't catching...and a lot of talk about to much pressure etc. Overall I would say the river was decent for Steelhead and definitely below average for Chinook. During the prime salmon window we saw about 1-2 hookups per day on Kings. Steelhead were around 3 fish per rod, some days a little more some a little less. Here Layne plays a big Chinook, about twenty minutes into the fight I hand a video camera to Forrest to tape the action. We thought he was hung up until we rowed over and it started swimming up river. We only got one look at this fish as it passed the bow of the boat, it would have been a Chinook of a lifetime on a fly rod for sure.
Summer is here in full bloom! You need a weed whacker to get through the brush it seems... that's the beauty of the rainforest during the summer. Since the bait ban went into effect July 1st...you've pretty well got the rivers to yourself. Most day's were seeing no other boats and usually no bank anglers as well. As a fly guide, I'm not complaining one bit, however there are still tons of Spring Chinook rolling around in the Sol Duc for those willing to put in the effort it takes to catch them without bait. We also are seeing more Sockeye this year than normal. That may have something to do with the bait ban as well as there have been many more anglers the past few years targeting these fish but they've all but disappeared this year. Summer Steelhead continue to show in more numbers and with the cooler weather river conditions on the Queets has improved greatly. The dry fly trout action has taken off too!
It's spring on the OP and the June opener for Steelhead is right around the corner. We will be guiding on the Queets and upper Quinault for summer Steelhead and Chinook. In September we'll get to add the Hoh to the list of options as well.
We're also booking the Klickitat for late summer and fall. We have a few dates left for the middle of September, prime Chinook time, and a number of dates available for October. We'll be operating two boats this season on the "Klick", so give us a call and get in on the BEST fall Chinook and summer Steelhead action in WA!
We're also booking the Klickitat for late summer and fall. We have a few dates left for the middle of September, prime Chinook time, and a number of dates available for October. We'll be operating two boats this season on the "Klick", so give us a call and get in on the BEST fall Chinook and summer Steelhead action in WA!
April 2016, WOW! The OP has had some amazing weather the past several weeks...a far cry from February for sure. Fishing has been excellent most days and we're finally getting the chance to fish the lower Hoh and even the Queets has come into shape. The amount of change in both these rivers this year has been incredible, more than I can ever remember. That's also led to a lot of boats down. We've encountered sank drift boats and rafts on a number of floats this year. Make sure you know your water before attempting to float. Hire a guide and learn the correct channels and hazards and how to deal with them BEFORE committing to DIY!
March 2016, weather permitting the fishing has been good to great over the past several weeks. For sure this is the "wettest" winter on record for the OP and in my mind, maybe not a bad thing. There has been a lot of high flow days which gets the anglers off the water for a day or two and the tribal nets as well, so escapement should be good this year. Only time will tell, but three to five years from now should see good numbers of wild steelhead returning again.
This photo, taken by Nick, is a great product endorsement for Orvis. The Recon family of Orvis fly rods have been my go to client rod for nymphing Steelhead and chucking streamers for Coho for about a year now. Here Scott pulls hard on the last fish of the day at the takeout. I've seen these rods wrapped around the oar, hung up under the boat and every other bad scenario and still not had one break yet. Kudos to Orvis on another great product!
This photo, taken by Nick, is a great product endorsement for Orvis. The Recon family of Orvis fly rods have been my go to client rod for nymphing Steelhead and chucking streamers for Coho for about a year now. Here Scott pulls hard on the last fish of the day at the takeout. I've seen these rods wrapped around the oar, hung up under the boat and every other bad scenario and still not had one break yet. Kudos to Orvis on another great product!