So I went down to the Puyallup a couple times this year for the ole' Humpy fest... caught some fish... got disgusted by the crowds... and vowed not to fish it anymore. Yesterday I called a buddy of mine to shoot the schitt and talk about deer season... he was at the Skagit and absolutely pounding on Pinks... he hooked two while we were on the phone.
So, I got up this morning and headed north to meet him for a morning fish. From 7:30 to 11:30 we landed over 50 fish between us... from the bank... with only 4 other fishermen in sight... and they were on the other side of the river. There were boats... but not a lot... and they were all anchored up or back-trolling the middle. All the fish were caught on the classic 3-way swivel/dick night set-up: cast it straight out... and reel it in slowly... just enough to keep the spoon off the bottom. Most importantly... ALL WERE BIGHTERS... no flossing... no foul-hooking... no "Swwwwiiiippp" Bill Dance hook-set every other cast from the guy next to me. In fact... most of them absolutely slammed the spoon... and the smallest one was about 5 pounds, almost all of them had sea lice... dimes baby... dimes. We kept 8 nice hens about 6-7 pounds each for the smoker... and enough eggs for the next year or so.
NO MORE PUYALLUP FOR ME... I'll spend the extra hour in the car and go catch some bigger fish... and actually have a good time doing it. For those who want to go... it's well worth the drive. Do a little exploring... and a little walking... and you can find a nice spot from the bank and actually fish... instead of stand shoulder to shoulder with 163 other monkeys.
