> Hi folks,
Sorry for the long silence this summer but have been very busy lately.
Patrick - good luck with your Neah Bay trip.... I hope the fish will be good to
you as I have had excellent reports from there all season. Some of the reports
were of 100 fish days...yes I did say 100. Its Neah Bay...its suppose to be
that way. Try to stay focused after 50 or so. Most of the folks have been
skipping, trolling and cast/trolling flies with great success. We must give
thanks to folks like Bill Nelson, that nearly invented the idea of skimming
flies on the surface for coho, Steve Raymond who is famously adept at taking
cutts and silvers on dries in the estuaries, and Mike Croft who has been
showing folks how to take silvers on the surface for 25 yrs.
This summer I have been playing with foam, last year it was hair body
dries....next year who knows...the point is that it really doesn't matter. What
matters is the size and speed of your flies and how well they perform/float at
the desired speed. Coho are fast fish...they move between 3 and 6 knots and
will eagerly hit any thing that creates a wake on the surface. I have seen
folks troll 6 and 7 inch tube flies, (blue and silver) and cast small Chernobyl
ants with the same results. One group of anglers at Neah Bay were having a
contest to see how close to the boat they could troll up a fish......3 feet
behind the motor won! Do me a favor and try just a bare hook and let me know
the results.
My boat is a 17 footer and does just fine out there, but I make sure everything
is in top condition including my spare/trolling motor, cell phone for trouble
(its quicker response than radio) and gps. I also prefer to fish the buoy and
Duncan Rock...specially on an outgoing. Watch for big waves at the entrance and
keep a cautious eye on the weather. And .....wear your life jacket please. If
its windy check the bull kelp beds closer to Waada if no salmon you can at
least save a day by playing the rockfish.
