Hunting Washington Forum

Other Activities => Fishing => Topic started by: Afraiman on November 23, 2019, 07:55:23 PM

Title: Opportunities for a boatless angler
Post by: Afraiman on November 23, 2019, 07:55:23 PM: Long time reader first time poster.
I just started picking up fly fishing this summer and got hooked. Tried my hand with some salmon fishing with an old spinning rod I had and had some success.
Any suggestions for winter fisheries for a boatless angler looking to find something to scratch the itch?
Title: Re: Opportunities for a boatless angler
Post by: h20hunter on November 23, 2019, 07:59:25 PM: Lotta rivers. Unsure of whats open but the north fork of the stilly has tons of wader access.
Title: Re: Opportunities for a boatless angler
Post by: Mfowl on November 23, 2019, 08:06:05 PM: Local or willing travel? Winter steelheading will be ramping up very soon and there is tons of bank access on rivers all across W Wa. However not all steelhead streams are created equal. The best fishing is on the Oly Pen. There should be some trout stockings in various lakes as well. Bass and panfish get a little thin for bank fishers in the winter.
Title: Re: Opportunities for a boatless angler
Post by: Afraiman on November 23, 2019, 08:16:10 PM: Local to a point, willing to travel weekends. I kind of feel bad about getting to steelhead and even salmon as it seems like they need all the help they can get, even with catch and release. how do the high lakes fare this time of year? Do they all freeze or do some stay open?

I've also read reports of phenomal perch fishing in the winter on lake Wa but it sounds like you need to be able to access 50'-100' depth of water
Title: Re: Opportunities for a boatless angler
Post by: Brushcrawler on November 24, 2019, 07:24:25 AM: You will definitely need a boat for perch this time of the year. Consider giving squid jigging a try at a local pier.
Title: Re: Opportunities for a boatless angler
Post by: Bullkllr on November 24, 2019, 08:25:00 AM: https://wdfw.wa.gov/news/fish-black-friday-big-rainbow-trout-3 (https://wdfw.wa.gov/news/fish-black-friday-big-rainbow-trout-3)
Could be some options here.
Title: Re: Opportunities for a boatless angler
Post by: h20hunter on November 24, 2019, 08:31:38 AM: How's the cutt fishing...sea runs these days? I caught and released a ton of them in the past.
Title: Re: Opportunities for a boatless angler
Post by: JimmyHoffa on November 24, 2019, 08:32:46 AM: Quote from: Afraiman on November 23, 2019, 08:16:10 PM
Local to a point, willing to travel weekends. I kind of feel bad about getting to steelhead and even salmon as it seems like they need all the help they can get, even with catch and release. how do the high lakes fare this time of year? Do they all freeze or do some stay open?

I've also read reports of phenomal perch fishing in the winter on lake Wa but it sounds like you need to be able to access 50'-100' depth of water
For steelhead, you can target the hatchery runs--they are there to be caught. The hatchery fish usually return at different times than the wild ones with just a little overlap. Salmon, however, seem to all mix together.
Title: Re: Opportunities for a boatless angler
Post by: Parasite on November 25, 2019, 04:16:58 AM: 1) Surf perch on the coast

2) See if you can hitch a ride on someones boat

3) Razor clams on the coast

4) Squid on the piers
Title: Re: Opportunities for a boatless angler
Post by: HereDuckyDucky on December 04, 2019, 06:02:58 AM: You're pretty close to me. I have a boat...and typically open seats. Shoot me your contact info in a PM, and we'll get you on the water.

RW
Title: Re: Opportunities for a boatless angler
Post by: Afraiman on December 08, 2019, 08:29:41 PM: Great tip on the squid jigging. Even raining in the middle of the night it's been a ton of fun.

Since I now have a shellfish license I was looking at going to Hood Canal to find some manilla/butter/little neck clams. What kind of low tides do I need to look for?
Title: Re: Opportunities for a boatless angler
Post by: wadu1 on December 08, 2019, 08:43:45 PM: Another good lake to fish at is Offut Lake SE of Olympia its open year round. Some very nice trout come out of that lake, some planters in the 1.5-2 pound range. I've landed some natives up to 4 lbs. We fish from the dock at the resort and pay the 5 or 6 dollar fee. Attached is the link for the resort

https://offutlakeresort.com/ (https://offutlakeresort.com/)
Title: Re: Opportunities for a boatless angler
Post by: Mfowl on December 09, 2019, 06:38:00 AM: You should look in to the coastal razor clam digs. I think there is a bunch of days set through December.
Title: Re: Opportunities for a boatless angler
Post by: Brushcrawler on December 13, 2019, 08:05:59 PM: 2 feet or lower tides have been ok for steamers on the beaches I have been to.