Olympic Peninsula Steelhead Fly Fishing Report – 4/14/10

Steelheading has been great this April. We have had a rather wet spring and the Olympic Peninsula has had a lot of fish returning late this year. The Sol Duc, Bogachiel, and Calawah Rivers are low and clear. The riffles are good hiding spots for the steelhead when the water is low and clear. The Sol Duc is fishing good from the hatchery to the mouth. Nymphing egg patterns (orange and pink) has been the best, but swinging has been producing more fish as the water temperatures are rising.The Hoh River has been on fire from Spruce Creek to the mouth. Multiple fish per day is the norm right now, with days where we landed over 10 steelhead. There are a lot of chromers still moving in. Black leeches have been good for a dark color and orange and yellow leeches have been doing the trick for bright flies. The slower the swing the better. We have been hitting most the fish under an indicator. A few days ago we landed one 16+ pound steelhead and one 14 pound steelie, along with 5 others in the 6-12 pound range. The Bogichiel has been putting out good numbers of fish also. From above the 101 bridge down to the Quilyute. It is a good time to get out on the Olympic Peninsula for the last push of wild steelhead.