Fly anglers find river trout scarce

Trout fishing on the west side of the mountains has slowed to a crawl in rivers.

Anglers fishing the Deschutes and Tilton rivers have reported catching has been difficult. A few salmon were caught in the Tilton using Egg Sucking Leeches, but I don't expect this week will provide much opportunity.

The returns are almost done on the Cowlitz and that means not much has been transported to Gus Backstrom Park.

The latest numbers of released fish were 56 coho adults, 16 jacks, three chinook and six cutthroat. It seems like a lot of work for such a small number.

Steelhead fishing, however, is getting better on many rivers.

The Kalama River has proven a worthwhile drive for at least one group of anglers. On a recent trip, they were able to land six steelhead weighing in around 10 to 15 pounds each. All the fish were caught using sink-tips and swinging articulated leeches near the back end of deep holes.

The Cowlitz River slowed a bit with a smaller number of returns this week than last. Not many anglers were hooking up, but those who did were fishing the lower river.

Once again, fishing a sink tip and swinging streamers was the technique to use.

It seems that every year reports of Skookumchuck steelhead get earlier and earlier.

The past week, anglers fishing near the mouth reported a couple a big fish being caught. Both fish were hatchery bucks. One was a 10 pounder and the other 14.

The Skookumchuck offers excellent water for using the indicator technique.

A little farther to the west are the Peninsula rivers. Hot may not be the word to use for salmon river fishing, but real good may work.

Of course, it's a crap shoot from one day to the next but several anglers making the drive are picking up steelhead. The majority of pressure is at the mouth but if you're willing to hike upstream a bit, you can often have some nice runs to yourself.

The Bogacheil hasn't been as hot this week while the Sol Duc has. As the days warm up, the river can rise and discolor from the snow melt so fishing the morning is the best time.

Indicator fishing with Glo Bugs is always a popular way to fish the river but don't forget you streamers either.

For those traveling to the east side of the Cascades, the Methow is a good place to start. Several steelhead are being caught and the weather has been fantastic.

A bright spot for trout fishing is the ever popular Yakima.

Stonefly patterns under an indicator are the way to go. If you're not catching fish then vary the depth you're floating the nymph at. If you can find a pod of surface-feeding fish, you'll want to use a size 20 to 24 BWO for your best chance at hooking up.

Saltwater: Cutthroat fishing is at a stand still in south Puget Sound.

Several anglers have tried but none surveyed have hooked into sea-runs in the past week.

Chum are being caught near the Nisqually River. As always, Chum Candy are the flies to use.

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