Doug Rose Flyfishing

My friend, Jack Devlin, emailed me today with a link to an obituary in the Kitsap Sun for Andy Rogers. I’ll write in more detail about this tomorrow, but Andy was the trapper/logger who showed Ron Hirschi the red and blue and silver tinsel wet fly that he used for sea-run cutthroat in the salt and estuaries near his home at Seabeck. Many years later, Ron showed it to me, and when I asked what it was called, he shrugged and said, “Let’s call it Andy’s Stavis Bay.” I wrote about the fly in an article in Fly Fisherman,  “Puget Sound Cutts,” back in December of 2004. There’s also a photo, description and recipe for the fly in my book, Fly-Fishing Guide to the Olympic Peninsula. It looks like a generic wet fly, the type you use for cutts in rivers in the fall, but Ron explained to me that it was actually a fine imitation of a young-of-the-year herring in late spring or early summer. I sure wish I could have fished it along the east shore of Hood Canal with Andy back in the 1930s and 40s and 50s. Andy Rogers was 94.

Cutts and Chum Seminar

Ron Hirschi, Jeff Delia and I are in the process of putting together a “cutts and chum” weekend seminar near Port Townsend this spring. It is timed to occur during the chum fry outmigration, one of the best times of year to pursue cutthroat along the Olympic Peninsula’s eastern beaches. It will feature beach seining to observe the types of nearshore marine creatures cutts feed on in the salt, tying and presentation and tackle demonstrations, slide shows, talks on chum fry and cutthroat intertidal habitats, as well as an opportunity to fish with each of us.  The events will run simultaneously and be repeated so participants won’t have to miss anything. I am trying to figure out how large of a room we will need for the indoor activities, so if this sounds like something you may be interested in, please email me. There is no need to make a commitment now. I’m just looking for ballpark numbers.

Boy,We Really Dodged a Bullet Back in the 1950s

I was doing some research on an article the other day and found a story in a 1958 edition of the Forks Forum that described efforts by the Clallam and Jefferson county Public Utility Districts to build a hydroelectric dam on the Hoh at the oxbow, just above Highway 101. The reservoir behind the dam was intended to reach to the Olympic National Park boundary.  Fortunately, the geological studies that were required before the dam could be built determined the rock formations at the proposed site wouldn’t support a dam.

The resolution to investigate the project, which was approved by the board of directors of the Washington Public Power Supply System at a meeting in Seattle in 1958, urged the advocates to “plan and carry out the development of the project in a manner which will result in the maximum use of the reservoir and adjoining lands for recreation purposes and cooperate with with all interested agencies in preserving and expanding the fish and game resources of the river and resevoir.”

Yeah, right. They could have gotten a nice kokanee run going in the reservoir, planted a bunch of McCleod strain hatchery rainbows, maybe even some bass and perch. There could be water skiing, marinas, perhaps hydroplane races. I’m sure the elk that winter along the Hoh bottoms in the proposed reservoir site wouldn’t have been inconvenienced. The Petersons, Lewises and Heulsdonks probably wouldn’t have minded moving. And wild salmon, steelhead, trout, and char have demonstrated repeatedly how well they do in rivers with dams and reservoirs.

Can you imagine what a unmitigated disaster that would have been? Sort of an Elwha 2.0. I don’t even think we would have the same route into the park if it had come to pass, because the road in the lower reaches of that stretch–the area that contains Minnies and Morgans Crossing and Koons Bar and Owl Creek and Spruce Creek–is not much higher than the river channel. Presumably it would now be under the reservoir.

Today was like spring here in Forks. I really wanted to get out on a river. The Sol Duc has good color but it’s still way up, a lot higher than I like to wade, and so is the Calawah. The Hoh gauge seems to be broken, and I didn’t have time to drive down and take a look. I’m sure some of the boats got out, but I’m going to wait a couple days and hope the next big push of rain isn’t as bad as the NOAA forecast looks. It may depend on whether the rain starts tonight or later tomorrow, during the day. Actually, I think Saturday morning would have been the best time to hit the rivers. Unfortunately, that was the first day we got the car out of the drive, and by the time we got the errands taken car of and took the dog, who had been cooped up in the house and yard for five days, for a good hike, it was late afternoon and the snow was melting and it was raining, and the rivers were on the way up. At least tough water conditions keep the crowds down.

This is the time of year when most Northwest fly fishers thoughts are focused entirely on steelhead. But I also love fishing and guiding in the salt for cutthroat in winter. And since I haven’t been able to get out to the rivers this week because of the snow, I have been organizing and planning a few saltwater cutthroat clinics for spring, including a weekend “cutts and chum” event with my buddies Jeffrey Delia and Ron Hirschi.
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A Brief Report From Forks

It’s going to be a while, folks. We had about 16 inches on the ground in our yard on Tuesday. It has settled a bit since then but not much has melted. The side streets are slick, with snow on ice. The Thriftway has been open throughout, but the library and the liquor store were closed Tuesday, and school was cancelled through today. I have no idea what the roads out of town are like but Indian Valley and the area by Hecklesville east of Forks and Dead Dog Flats (the high ridge between the Bogachiel and Hoh), the stretch along the lower Hoh between the Hoh River Resort and Hoh Indian Reservation, and portions of the Quinault Indian Reservation between Queets and Amanda Park can be nasty when the weather is a lot better than it has been. I wouldn’t risk it.

Besides, as Dick Wentworth told me the other day, “The steelhead don’t bite good when the wind is out of the east, anyway.” Oh sure, some folks will fish, and they will do whatever it takes to catch fish. But I am talking about fishing the way Dick and Syd did–standing in the river and casting flies.

Unfortunately, it looks like we are going to get an onslaught of rain and wind just as soon as it warms up. That, combined with the snow melt, will make it tough in an entirely different but more predictable way.

I’m hoping there’s a day in between the snow and the new storms when I can get out. I’ll let you know.

As I mentioned in the previous post, David Christian and I fished on Friday and didn’t get a steelhead. But it was a fun trip, nonetheless. If you only swing flies for winter fish, it’s important to have the type of temperament that lets you enjoy a day with a lot of casting and no pulling back from the other direction. On Friday, we saw a bunch of coho, their flanks various shades of red and white fungus, working their way up a little tributary and in a side channel pond. We saw elk and eagles. I was thrilled to see ring-necked ducks in with the mallards on the pond.

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Well, David and I got out for the first time since before Christmas today. We didn’t get anything, but we managed to avoid the worst of the crowds. However, we fished a place where you almost never see anyone this time of year, and there were fly fishermen in my two favorite spots. This is already shaping up as the most crowded winter ever on the West End rivers. I’ll post a more extensive report about our day tomorrow.

I just made a number of major changes to the actual website pages. I’ve updated the descriptions of the type of trips I am doing now, added a few new pictures and testimonials, as well as some additions to my list of magazine articles. Take a look. I think you will like it.

Salmonberry Creek

by AJ Morris

Half of my home creek no longer exists, victim of progress and the self indulgent needs of society. The half that does is merely a shadow of its former self. But I have only to close my eyes and I am thirteen years old again, standing under the arching canopy of alders, the air thick with the heady musk of devils club and salmonberry. The creek gurgles merrily, bright turquoise and clear. The trout are here, streamlined and spotted, with the vivid neon stripes of wild rainbows. I don’t yet own a pair of waders and the icy water burns as I step into the creek. From my left shoulder hangs the comforting weight of a twelve gauge. In my right hand is a fly rod.

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My fellow writer, cutthroat clinic partner, and good friend, Ron Hirschi, has started a new blog, “Ron Hirschi Best Dog Blog,” http://ronhirschibestdog.blogspot.com  that features stories about our great dogs. If you are a dog person, take a look at it. It’s off to a great start. I wrote a little piece about Cindy, a beautiful, birdy Irish setter I grew up around. Ron says that anyone can contribute, so if you’ve got a good dog story, let him know.

On a similar note, anyone who wants to contribute to the “Home Waters in My Head” or “The Medalist Files” pieces can still send them to me. I’ll post them as they come in.