“When it comes right down to it, there are no guarantees except that every season is a new beginning.”
~John Gierach from Another Lousy Day in Paradise
We're a few weeks into fall now and as fall seasons go, it's been a fairly pleasant one so far. Mornings are cool and damp, the dense fog creeps down the river valleys and creates an eerily blinding haze. You can't see much, but the splashes of salmon, from the old ones digging in the shallows to the fresh silver ones pouring upstream captivate your interest and it feels good to be wearing an extra layer and once again breathing cool, smokeless air. By mid-morning, the sun rises overhead and gradually burns away the mist, revealing vibrant hillsides awash in color. Some days the skies threaten rain but it mostly holds off for the moment, though there is decidedly more moisture in the Northwest atmosphere these days. I keep a rain jacket in my car when I fish in October, wool gloves and a couple of extra insulating layers. I've not needed them yet but sense that the time will come soon enough when I'll be thankful to have them nearby.
Fall is perhaps my favorite fishing season in the Pacific Northwest for a lot of reasons. The beauty, climate and annual return of salmon are but a few of them and there's no place else I'd rather be until the darkness and dreariness reach such a level of oppressiveness that I feel the need to chase sunshine somewhere on the planet for a good week or two. In particular, I love to fish for the three "C's" of autumn...cutthroat, coho and chum. For the next few months, the lion's share of my time on the water will be spent in this pursuit. Part of me wishes I could just catch these fish in our local rivers year round, but the reality that fall is as ephemeral as any other season, if not more so, makes we appreciate the limited opportunity we have and I try to get after it at every turn. Rivers open and close, fall in and out of shape, are too low or too high and that moment of perfection when the conditions are ideal, the fish come parading in and want everything to do with your fly are fleeting at best. So I try my darnedest to build up fond fishing memories this time of year like a squirrel caching away nuts for the winter. For all of us that enjoy the outdoors, this is our sustenance during those times when opportunities are lacking.
I floated the Stilly the other day with a good buddy. I've been fishing this river for over 30 years and it has always been a special place to me. I wouldn't say that the fishing is particularly better than any number of other spots but I've always appreciated the rich angling tradition on the Stilly from the early stories of Zane Grey and Roderick Haig-Brown to Steve Raymond and Enos Bradner. Afterall, the river has flies named after it and is the birthplace of some of the best fall cutthroat patterns ever conceived. From the expansive muddy fields dotted with bright orange pumpkins along the drive up highway 530 to the brisk upstream afternoon breeze that rattles the cottonwoods and litters the slow flat pools of the river with mummified yellow leaves, the Stilly encapsulates October for me. So I try to make at least one annual pilgrimage there. Sadly, the river isn't open much these days and we're lucky to see a week or two of prime cutthroat fishing before it closes again indefinitely. Luckily, we made it at least once for another year's quiet float down its gentle flows. I caught some fine yellow-bodied cutthroat and a nice wild coho that ate a drab Rolled Muddler and really put my 4-weight rod to the test. It was a day to remember and will undoubtedly carry me through to the next one, whenever that may be.
October is a month of opportunity for anglers of all walks. If you're a stillwater enthusiast, it's your moment to chase trout at their biggest and best after many months of hearty feeding. The water is cooled and they will be at their prime before the lakes either close, get too cold or freeze over completely. If you prefer moving water, October may find you on a creek in the foothills or an east side river skating big orange caddis or dropping miniscule blue winged olive emergers on the snouts of hungry rising trout. Both landscapes will undoubtedly be at the peak of their beauty and you'll be happy to be there. Salmon are their own thing and can be appreciated on many levels. Some people will thoroughly enjoy the leaping, twisting aerial fight of a silvery coho and a few weeks down the road, the blistering runs of knuckle-busting chum. Some will leave the rod at home and be content to watch salmon spawn in the tiny rivulets that feed our big rivers. I definitely like both. I hear chinook thrashing their way up through riffles and finding their way into unimaginable places. When I was a kid, I would always go far up the Cedar River in October to observe the crimson hordes of spawning sockeye. It is a cathartic and contemplative experience with the soft babble of water in the background. It is good for the soul.
Thanks to everyone who wrote in and commented on the proposed Roadless Rule Recissionand and to Trout Unlimited and other conservation organizations for sounding the battle cry. Wild places should remain wild. Thanks also to the folks that turned out for our Fall Salmon Fly Tying Class earlier this week. We had a great time and hope you did too. There seems to be enough interest that we have decided to add a second class on October for those that couldn't get in to the first one. Be sure to check out our current shop sales this month. We just put a ton of Echo rods on clearance to make way for models coming out next year and will have some additional products on closeout towards the end of the month. Whether you want to grab a new rod for this season or get set for next, there's no time like the present to save a few bucks. Also upcoming, North Sound Trout Unlimited is hosting another Letters and Lagers event at Fringe Brewing in Ferndale on October 20th as we continue the fight for funding for a Skagit and other Puget Sound fisheries. Your voice makes a difference and we hope to see you there!
Enjoy the beginning of a new season doing what you love most and we hope to see you soon!
Scott, Brandon & Lindsay
Rivers
Most rivers have been running low of late, many a little too low and could certainly use a good drink of rain. There are still plenty of coho around though they've been a little dour at times with the current water conditions. In clear water, smaller patterns like the Cat's Coastal Buggers, Copper Coho Buggers, Rolled Muddlers and California Neils can produce when larger flies get continually shunned. In off-color water, a purple or pink Starlight Leech, Barbell Egg Sucking Leech, Pixies Revenge, Manhatten Beach or Deuce Wigalo work better. There are coho throughout the Nooksack system, Skagit and mainstem Stillaguamish, however we'd encourage you to keep a close eye on the WDFW Emergency Rules. The Stillaguamish opened at the end of September but closed again on October 9th. Portions of the Skagit are also periodically closed this month for tribal netting. One of many challenges we face as river anglers are the limited numbers of chinook encounters allowed before a fishery must be shut down. Until we advocate for more allowable impacts or a more realistic means of measuring impacts on returning chinook salmon, these on again/off again openings and closures will likely remain the new norm. Chinook spawning wanes by November, at which point we hope to see more consistent open river fishing opportunities. With the strong coho return to northern Puget Sound thus far, we expect the rivers to continue producing decent numbers through the fall, with one of our favorite species, the toothy chum salmon hopefully making a strong appearance later this month.
In addition to salmon, we're finding a few bull trout around that are still working their way upstream to spawn. Be aware that some may have already spawned and will be in recovery mode. If you encounter skinny bulls that look like they've been to hell and back, go easy on them and keep them in the water for a quick release. Dali Llamas in black/white, olive/white, all white and flesh colored are tough to beat. With salmon actively in the throes of passion, a variety of egg patterns from Glo Yarn Eggs to Slush Eggs are also really effective. These work equally well for any trout or whitefish hanging out nearby too.
Sea run cutthroat have been abundant in the Skagit (and Stilly before it closed). These scrappy fighters are a lot of fun on 4-6 weight rods with floating lines and a handful of proven patterns. Fish the woody structure around slow water with Rolled Muddlers, Hot Bead Woolly Buggers in black or olive or any small minnow-imitating fly like the Mickey Finn. Daniel's UV Polar Jigs, Jiggy Fry and Hot Head Squirrel Leeches also work exceptionally well. A floating line and 9' leader to 3X are fine most of the time but an intermediate or sink 3 Sonar Leader can be useful for keeping your fly in the zone a little longer in deeper water.
Fall is prime time on the Yakima for trout as well. Like most everywhere else, the river is low and very wadable. Foam Run Caddis in orange, orange Stimulators, Big Boned Caddis, Morrish October Caddis Skaters and Adult Cranes are good on top, with Parachute Baetis, Almost Duns and Sparkle Duns also must haves for those afternoons when the blue winged olive mayflies blanket the foam lines and have rainbows looking up. Subsurface, small flashy nymphs like the Pearl Lightning Bug or Purple Holo Point Jig are great in addition to beige MOPs, TJ Hookers and Pat's Rubber Legs. If you'd rather swing streamers, that works too. Pick up a variety of Meat Sweats, Polar Jigs, Pocket Rockets and Sculpzillas and high grade for those bigger rainbows.
Lakes
For a lot of Washington lakes, October 31st marks the end of the season. We're fortunate to have some solid year round options locally like Squalicum and Lone, but in the spirit of full disclosure, you're generally going to find better fishing now than during the dead of winter. Fall sees reduced hatch activity on most stillwaters, which makes staples like leeches, dragonfly nymphs, bloodworms and scuds increasingly important until the spring. You'll still find decent midge hatches through the fall, but be prepared to fish some smaller bugs. #18 Fro-Yos, Griffiths Gnats, CDC Midge Adults and CDC Midge Emergers cover the midge hatch on most waters. Subsurface, Retriever Jigs, Chan's Ruby Eyed Leech, Chan's BMWs, Bloodworm patterns, Hale Bopps and Balanced Leeches are some of our top patterns this time of year. When all else fails, attractor flies like Blobs and Las Vegas Boobies can save the day. Stillwater trout seem to know that winter is coming and will feed heavily before the cold weather kicks in
Beaches
If you haven't gotten your fill of beach coho yet, Marine Area 8-1 is open through October 12th and Area 6 closes a few days later on the 15th. It has been a truly exceptional saltwater salmon season both from the beach and out of the boat. We shall look back on it fondly for years to come and hope you got a taste of it as well. North Sound cutthroat have largely made their way into the bigger rivers where they'll spend the winter and early spring, but South Sound and Hood Canal remain productive for cutthroat through the fall and winter months.