We seem to say it every year but it's hard to believe we're nearing the end of another lap around the sun. The year is certainly winding down on a high note as we've enjoyed one of the largest coho and chum salmon returns to our local rivers in decades. Even as furry chum carcasses amass along the upper gravel bars of the Skagit and Nooksack and crimson-bodied coho bore their way up the tiniest of rivulets to spawn, we're still running into more than a few new salmon on their way upstream to eventually produce the next generation. Trout, char and all manner of four legged or two winged critters are glutting on quite the feast this year and it should bode well for the health of our rivers and everything that calls them home. The rain has let up some in recent weeks and we've been blessed with a number of beautiful, albeit chilly days on the water lately. Fishing has been pretty fantastic for the most part, even this late in the season.
The shop has stayed refreshingly busy between holiday shopping, gearing up for the latest fishing adventure and a number of recent tying events. Thanks to all who signed up for Ben Paull's steelhead tying class a few weeks ago. We have another one coming up next week with local Skagit fly guide Jordan Young-Treadway that is now officially full and a few more tying nights in the works for January. The recent Iron Fly competition with North Sound Trout Unlimited at Structures Brewing was super fun as well, with some great entries from local volunteer fly tiers showcasing their creativity and perhaps in some cases, depravity.
We're adding a variety of new vendors and products to the shop this winter with some Simms clothing, Korkers footwear, new bags and packs from Fishpond, new tying products from Aqua Flies and much more either already on the shelves or en route soon to our little corner of Bellingham. We've also added Semperfli to the product list, with their Nano Silk, Straggle String and 8/0 Classic Waxed Thread now gracing our racks. If you haven't yet tried tying with the Semperfli Threads they are pretty amazing. We even have a new shop T-Shirt in production that should be available soon. We're beyond excited about this design and hope you will be too! Last but certainly not least, we've even added a new face to the Confluence Fly Shop. Please welcome Teo Bergsma to the crew. Teo will be working part time at the shop and brings a tremendous passion for fly fishing and tying with him to share.
Salmon keep coming, winter steelhead are starting to show up, bull trout are wrestling in a higher weight class these days and we've even been changing it up with some cold weather lake fishing from time to time lately. It's a fine end to another fine year. Enjoy the season and the friends and family you surround yourselves with. We are certainly thankful for all of you.
Rivers
I remember years in the last decade where you could tromp up and down the banks of the Skagit weekly through the late fall and early winter without encountering a single chum salmon carcass. It was disheartening as the bankside willows were once decorated with the wraith-like remains of washed out chum skins and you had to watch your step on the gravel bars lest you step on a liquifying salmon carcass and end up like a cartoon character slipping on a banana peel. It's refreshing to see the rivers resurrected to a portrait of yester-year. Chum salmon are literally everywhere. For the most part, the chum fishing is wrapping up most places but the bull trout fishing is just getting underway.
The bulls are invariably hanging out around spawning chum. As the salmon thin out, the bulls will move around a little more and you'll find them in the various flats and tailouts they tend to favor during the cold months. Right now, if there aren't at least a few spawning chum around, the bulls are somewhere else. The trick is finding areas where you can drift an egg pattern or swing some sort of egg-sucking concoction or flesh fly without harassing the salmon. One good technique for hooking bulls and avoiding chum is to fish a lighter tip or if fishing beneath an indicator, fish a little higher in the water column. Essentially you'll be above the salmon and can avoid any incidental snagging. I've been surprised by the number of big bull trout that have slammed an egg pattern off the surface lately before it even had a chance to sink. Flies like Glo Yarn Eggs, Slush Eggs, Split Decisions, Tan/Flesh Dali Llamas and Egg Sucking Leeches have been very effective over the last few weeks and will fish well through the end of the month.
There are still quite a few B-run coho making their way up the Skagit and Nooksack. While we're seeing fewer fish overall than we did a month ago, we're finding some real bruisers in the mix and it's just a matter of covering a bit more water to find fish. The good news is that these later fish tend to err on the side of aggression. We've been having success on larger "Alaska" type patterns like pink or purple Starlight Leeches, blue or purple Deuce Wigalos, pink/purple Dirk Wigglers and the old tried and true Popsicle. Casting and stripping flies has remained our most effective tactic, but swinging works too with the occasional twitch and is a better approach if you're hoping to luck into an early winter steelhead. Steelhead are just trickling in but some fish have been caught recently in the Nooksack, Skagit and Stilly over the last week. Numbers typically improve later in the month. We've got a colorful array of steelhead favorites from Hoh Bo Speys to String Leeches to the ever popular Intruder patterns. If you prefer to tie your own, you're hard pressed to find a more robust selection of steelhead tying materials in the North Puget Sound area.
Lakes
Just when you thought it would never happen, Pass Lake re-opened at the end of November and has been fishing well since the opener. Water temperatures are currently in the mid-40's and trout have been active and taking a variety of patterns. We've been finding them on a mix of leech, minnow and zooplankton imitating flies. The Black & Red Simi Seal Leech, black or olive Balanced Jelly Leech, BH Rolled Muddler, Baby Fat Minnow, White Bunny Leech and various Blobs have all been productive of late. Elsewhere on the stillwater front, Lone is also open at the south end of Whidbey and Cranberry in Deception Pass State Park was recently stocked with a bunch of rainbow trout to offer some additional winter time fishing opportunity.
Beaches
Not much happening on the local beach scene until spring time. You'll find better cutthroat fishing this time of year further south in the Sound and in Hood Canal.
