ckim85
3/8/2010 4:13:00 PMatleast 4 steelhead a day lol. i don't know what local you spoke to but some of the best guides have their skunks.
3 hours of fishing doesn't even skim the surface of endless hours people put in to catch and release a single fish. Most guys will camp out there for a week straight just to have a single fish come unbuttoned through the entire trip. That's considered a good trip for many.
steelhead don't "jump" so don't look for fish that surface especially during winters. They hug the bottom.
If you head out there this weekend, fish the Oxbow campground run on the Hoh. Walk down to the river and you'll find a decent pool to your left, which is well known to be good holding water for springers.
3 hours of fishing doesn't even skim the surface of endless hours people put in to catch and release a single fish. Most guys will camp out there for a week straight just to have a single fish come unbuttoned through the entire trip. That's considered a good trip for many.
steelhead don't "jump" so don't look for fish that surface especially during winters. They hug the bottom.
If you head out there this weekend, fish the Oxbow campground run on the Hoh. Walk down to the river and you'll find a decent pool to your left, which is well known to be good holding water for springers.
ckim85
3/8/2010 4:15:00 PMAlso, another spot you can check out is the mouth of the Willoughby creek on the Hoh. That run has produced some big fish (steelhead) for some people.
jbball50
3/8/2010 4:21:00 PMYeah they might've been getting 4 steelhead a day back in December, really doubt they're getting 4 a day now, let alone 1 a day during the native run right now.
flinginpooh
3/8/2010 5:59:00 PMSteelies jump. You will not see them jump all the time like most salmon will do. Well its more like a surface roll but youll hear it. Trust me I seen them jump plenty of times. And Ive put in hours and hours on the rivers. Ive not got to fish the forks area. I usually fish south at the cow or puy, carbon, green when there open since Im local there. But steelies dont come 4 a day all the time. Im averaging 45-55 hours per steelie. It sucks but worth it to me. Just keep plugging away they will come.
fishnfvr
3/8/2010 7:31:00 PMI will agree, steelies do jump. I've seen it with my own eyes dozens of times. Don't feel bad i just spent 3 days in forks last week and I fished the bogie under that same bridge. 16 hours of fishing and all that was caught was a 14in steelie by my buddie. The boats weren't doin wonderful but had landed at least one fish per rod. All I can say is that flinginpooh is right, i've caught one this year and have put in about 60 hours since tryin to get another. You know that steelhead are hard to catch when you go to one of the best areas in the state for 3 days and you come home empy handed.
CRANDALL
3/9/2010 10:15:00 AMFish higher up on the river systems.This time of year the further you are willing to walk up a system and away from everyone else the better the fishing gets.Get a good map of the area and do some exploring it has paid off for me many times.Try the Dicky,Bogey,Hoh,Calawah and Queets have fun this is a great time of year to catch fish on the coast.
bluebullitt2003
3/9/2010 9:04:00 PMhey everyone, thanks a bunch for the tips up there, i will have to try it again. but its nice to know that im not the only one out there getting skunked, i just started river fishing 2 years ago and have yet to catch a steelie. i have put countless hours into it and i am getting fed up, but im sure i will eventually get one. but once again, thanks for all the tips everyone, its much appreceiated
FISHINROB
3/10/2010 11:18:00 AMSweet place to fish thou beautifull ,dont forget the gear restrictions above 101 on the hoh and from what i read u dont have to have a license to fish in the olympic natl park but you do need a punch card .was there saturday what a beauty of a day !jens and i battled it out lol.
salmonslayer117
3/10/2010 3:37:00 PMThanks for the report. I haven't fished the OP yet this year so I'm not exactly in tune with that area, but I know all about the skunkin' thing! I've been all over the map this winter and still have nothing to show for it. 100+ hours and still nothing to bring home. I'm about ready to start stealin' Jens's fish (LOL)!! Don't give up though, the fish are out there! Good luck!
ckim85
3/11/2010 7:28:00 PMFISHINROB - where did you hear that you don't need a license...? You definitely need a license. WDFW patrols that area a ton and checks for licenses often.
cohobob
3/13/2010 1:52:00 AMYou don't need a license to fish the national park, just a punch card for salmon or steelhead
BARCHASER10
3/13/2010 4:12:00 PMIf you go back that way again, try the Tall Timbers hole but you need a 4WD. Go through the blue gate about 2-3 miles east of Goodman Mainline, and follow the road to the end. Long drift, just downstream from where the Callawah enters the Bog. Very well known popular hole. Trouble with the Bog, not a lot of bank access, mostly a DB river..
BARCHASER10
3/13/2010 4:17:00 PMAnother spot if you are in a plunking mood, go west on the Lapush road, take a right at Three Rivers Resort, go across the Soleduck, go another two miles or so, take a left at sign that sez County Park, long, long gravel bar, known as "Linedeckers", Very popular plunking spot, sit in your truck if its raining. Need 4WD here too.
arniejl
3/14/2010 9:16:00 AMGotta say. Years of fishing for Steelhead, probably 100-150 boat trips on rivers around Forks, and not to try to argue, but I have never , ever seen a winter run steelhead jump unless it was hooked.
Seen a few roll, maybe 20? Of those we cast right in there where it was and probably caught 1/2 of those, and ALL of them were spawned out.
Not doubting anyone here, just saying my personal experience.
Seen a few roll, maybe 20? Of those we cast right in there where it was and probably caught 1/2 of those, and ALL of them were spawned out.
Not doubting anyone here, just saying my personal experience.