Opportunities for a boatless angler

[Afraiman]

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?

[h20hunter]

Lotta rivers. Unsure of whats open but the north fork of the stilly has tons of wader access.

[Mfowl]

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.

[Afraiman]

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

[Brushcrawler]

You will definitely need a boat for perch this time of the year. Consider giving squid jigging a try at a local pier.

[Bullkllr]

https://wdfw.wa.gov/news/fish-black-friday-big-rainbow-trout-3
Could be some options here.

[h20hunter]

How's the cutt fishing...sea runs these days? I caught and released a ton of them in the past.

[JimmyHoffa]

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. 

[Parasite]

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

[HereDuckyDucky]

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

[Afraiman]

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?

[wadu1]

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/

[Mfowl]

You should look in to the coastal razor clam digs. I think there is a bunch of days set through December.

[Brushcrawler]

2 feet or lower tides have been ok for steamers on the beaches I have been to.