12/30/11 Happenings

Well, December went down as one of the dryest on record. Its been a good hatchery season so far with some nice wild fish in the mix. Rivers were high, then very very low, and now high again. Fish are on the move and things should be good. Wild fish on the way!





Upcoming Classes of mine at the Gig Harbor Fly Shop:
Intro to Spey Casting 1/7/12

Steelhead Tube Fly Class 1/12/11 Evening

Intermediate Spey: Touch and Go Casts 2/4/11

Intermediate Spey: Skagit Casts Part II 2/4/11

Sign Ups can be done HERE or by giving me a call.

Learn to tie this crazy thing Jan. 12

Wild

Dates are filling in, reserve yours!

Fall News 2011

OPEN SEAT
Tuesday, December 6th, cost is $197.50 to join a very nice gentleman and swing for some hatchery steel. Who wants to join?


Hi Everyone!

Winter steelhead season 2011 has begun! We are looking forward to another great year, but before I get into that I want to thank each and every person who fished with us last season. Some great fish were caught, lots was learned by myself, Chad, and hopefully all of you, and lots of fun was had. We truly appreciate all of you who joined us on guided trips, casting lessons, and classes over the past year, it was great getting to know a lot of new friends.

Now to the news.

I am happy to say that over the summer I joined up with the Gig Harbor Fly Shop (http://www.gigharborflyshop.com/). When I am not guiding I can be found in the shop, Wednesday through Saturday most weeks. If you are ever in the area please stop and say hi. Through doing this I have been able to keep growing PNW Spey and add some more opportunities to the list. I now offer:

-Guided half and full day trips on the beaches of Puget Sound for Sea Run Cutthroat Trout year-round.

-Spey and single hand casting instruction in the South Sound (Tacoma) area.

-Summer Steelhead trips on the Peninsula (August and September rocked this year)

-Summer/Fall Steelhead trips on the Grande Ronde (October)
-And even more in the works for 2012!


I am hoping and planning on securing a permit to guide the Queets river in Olympic National Park for 2012. When in shape the Queets provides amazing fishing for wild steelhead with limited angling pressure. It is a favorite of mine and I am very excited about this opportunity.

Last year, the stretch from Thanksgiving until Christmas provided great opportunities for hatchery steelhead as well as a few wild fish in the mix. We had some wonderful days on the river without the crowds of March.

The end of January and early February is my favorite time of the year for wild steelhead on the OP. A lot of the crowds havent shown up and some very large fish are caught during this period.

Opportunities to catch steelhead will be present on the OP from now until the end of April.



If anyone has any questions or would like to get some dates on the books please let me know. Happy Holidays and I hope to see you all in the coming year!



-Zack Williams

PNW Spey Guides
zack@pnwspey.com
(616) 540-3836
http://www.pnwspey.com/

Steelhead: Adjusting to Changing Conditions/Grande Ronde Report

The scenic Grande Ronde valley

I spent last week guiding and fishing for summer steelhead on the Grande Ronde River in eastern Washington, as well as on the Clearwater River in Idaho. That week was a prime example of how conditions can rapidly change on a steelhead river. I arrived at the Grande Ronde on Sunday afternoon, October 24th to warm temperatures and hazy sunshine. The temperatures were in the upper 60's and the water temperature was in the mid 50's. My friend and fellow guide Chad Becker had been on the river since Friday and landed 14 steelhead by Sunday, all on a floating line and small traditional hairwing steelhead patterns. As we had also used on my scouting mission the weekend before. Conditions were ideal with the stable warm weather, and stable water conditions. When I crawled in the tent that night it was warm enough to just lay under the sleeping bag.

Pate didn't seem to mind the changes in weather.

But by morning, what a change! Temps were down around freezing, and the air just felt drier. Myself, my client and friend Tony, and Chad had breakfast and went up river in search of Tony's first steelhead. Tony was working on his scandinavian style single speys and snake rolls with my Winston BIImx 11'6" 6/7wt and Scientific Anglers Scandi Extreme 440gr. We used a number of traditional hairwing patterns in sizes 6 and 8 in the same water that had been producing so well the previous days but could not draw a strike. I took a water temp that afternoon and it read 46 degrees.  The temp had dropped approximately 8 degrees in one day! Over dinner, we all pondered this change and reflected on past times on the Grande Ronde. The previous year Chad and I had faced similar cold conditions and changed over to light to medium sink tips and small leech patterns with lots of movement. I decided that tomorrow we needed to make a change. So before bed I replaced the 10' intermediate poly leader with a fast sink version and changed to a black conehead leech.

The adjustments made.

We awoke to another very cold clear morning and headed to the water. Tony was working down the first run laying out some great single speys while I coached when his rod  doubled over and a beautiful hen steelhead rolled. After a great battle, Tony held his first ever steelhead, and on a swung fly none the less! The next few days produced more of the same.

Tony's first steelhead, what a beauty!

By Wednesday afternoon the water temp was down to 42 degrees.The fishing was not red hot as it had been pre cold front, but we managed to hook fish each day sticking with the leech patterns and sink tips.

On Friday, Chad and I went to the Clearwater River upstream from Lewiston, Idaho. The Clearwater is a much larger river than the Ronde and we expected to find warmer water and happier fish. Chad and I hoped to be able to go back to the long belly floating lines and small sparse patterns the Clearwater is known for. I took a water temp of 47 and felt comfortable with that approach. After a long day and a lot of casting, we both managed to find fish late in the afternoon as doubt began to set in.

Clearwater fish taken on a floating line and small sparse wet fly.

Chad's Clearwater steelhead

Making adjustments on the fly is something we deal with all the time in fly fishing. Whether it be a new hatch on the trout river, a change of tide on Puget Sound, or a change of weather on the steelhead stream. Don't be afraid to experiment and make changes, something new might work when all else has failed.

Fall Stuff

Got into some summer steel on the peninsula a week or so ago on dry flies...that was fun. Still plenty around there to be had.


September 24th & 25th is the Poppy's Clearwater Spey Clave. Gonna coincide that with my annual Clearwater fishing excursion. Can't Wait!

Still looking to fill a couple dates on the Grande Ronde, October 27-29. Were gonna throw floating lines, skaters, wakers, etc. and have all kinds of fun!

After that it will be back to the Peninsula, late November and early December were phenomenal last year for #'s of hatchery brats on the swing. I expect this year to be no different. Looking forward to a great winter on the OP!


All for now,


Zack
616-540-3836
zack@pnwspey.com

Grande Ronde openings

Looking to fill a few more dates on the Ronde: October 24th-30th...Prime time openings, these aren't going to last long so get a hold of me now to hold your date, $395 per day, one or two anglers. Call 616-540-3836 or email zack@pnwspey.com

Grande Ronde Fall Steelhead

Looking to fill some dates for the Grande Ronde this fall: October 9-11, 23-25, and November 6-8. Get a hold of me if floating lines and waking flies are your cup of tea. This is also a great place to get into the spey game for the first time!

The Happenings 6/24/11

Rezzie Coho...they were schooling !

 Been fishing the Puget Sound beaches quite a bit as of late. Picking up some nice cutthroat and the occasional resident coho. Running some guide trips out there as well for anyone interested, I'd love to have you. Half days and full days available.

 I now have a location to conduct Spey casting instruction in the south Seattle/Tacoma area for anyone interested in tuning up before fall, as well as some exciting walk and wade opportunities to chase summer steelhead. When not on the water you can find me in the Gig Harbor Fly Shop, so come say hi!

Matt's first Sea Run Cutt!

Intro to Spey Casting Class

I will be conducting a Beginner Spey Course on June 18 on the Puyallup River for anyone in the Seattle/Tacoma Area. Class will go from 9am to 1pm and the cost is $85.00. The focus of the class will be on beginner/intermediate casting techniques as well as line systems for different conditions. This would also be a great time to get any existing rods you may have dialed in with the proper line. Call the Gig Harbor Fly Shop for more details 253-851-3474. Hope to see you there!

-Zack

Updates!!!

Hi everyone,

I need to apologize for the lack of reports lately. Winter steelhead season on the OP has come to a close. What a great season it was! I want to sincerely thank all the great people who joined us this season, you guys are what makes everyday so special for us guides.

Over the past few weeks, I have been all over the place between guiding and exploring some new options. And now I am happy to say I have settled into something. I have relocated to Gig Harbor, WA where I am working in the Gig Harbor Fly Shop. Additionally I will be teaching classes, providing spey casting instruction and of course continuing to guide on the OP as well as other locations in western Washington. Right now on the guiding menu we have days open to swing for springers on the Hoh when it reopens May 15. This is a great opportunity to get out in some hopefully nicer weather with lesser crowds and hopefully tangle with a big nasty springer. I will also be guiding beach trips on Puget Sound starting in June...more coming stay tuned!

3/25/11

Rivers are in great shape and its prime time on the Olympic Peninsula. The Hoh  and a lot of the park waters close April 15, others April 30. Now is the time!

3/14/11 Report

Mike with a great buck!

Neverending beauty on the Hoh

We went from very dry to very wet since the last update...OP rivers are not fishable at this point and it may take a few days. The good news is that we should have a lot of new fish to play with on the drop and some of the fish that had been around a while are having a chance to get upstream and do their business. I have openings, full days, half days, walk n wade, casting instruction. I'd love to get a few more days filled and show some people a great time on the OP! Why come and fish with PNW? I will fish you as long and hard as you want, teach you as much as you want to learn, and we will have a great time!

Toad

Danimal as the sun goes down. I didn't let him off the river until it was very dark.

Quick Report 2/28/11

Don't have much time but here it goes. The last few days were some very tough swung fly conditions. Low, clear and cold water made things a challenge. The water temp I took saturday on the upper Hoh was 36, coldest reading of the season. Sunday may have been colder but I didn't take a reading. Even with the tough conditions, with some hard work we did have some opportunities at fish.Things are changing right now, its ugly out there with a mix of snow, rain, and wind. Conditions should improve over the next few days, new water and new fish. I have openings available for anyone interested in chasing some OP steel.

2/14/11 Report

Swinging flies for wild Olympic Peninsula steelhead continues to be good. We have been finding willing fish on all the area rivers. As always presentation and covering lots of water are the name of the game when it comes to winter steelhead on a swung fly. Chad and I have also spent a lot of time developing some fly patterns that I'd like to think are helping improve the odds as well. If you are looking to improve on your casting, presenting the fly, reading the water, we would love to help! I am also offering hourly casting lessons for anyone looking for a tune up before hitting the river. 616-540-3836

John put in a lot of hardwork and was rewarded with his firts spey steelhead as well as a couple more!

Scouting Mission





I blurred the details of the fly out:) Come fish with us and I'll show you!

Crowds have increased a bit with the closure of the Puget Sound rivers. It is important that we all stay courteous and treat these fish with care to protect these fish into the future. Release all wild steelhead!

1/30/11 Report

Fishing remains strong. Not every day results in a swung fly steelhead, but most days have some kind of action. Jay joined us last week and got his first steelhead on the swing, a big wild Hoh buck. Nice job Jay!Mike and Ron joined us as well, and although we didn't bring a steelhead to hand that day I think its safe to say a great day was had by all. Thanks guys! Still have some openings, give us a call!

Video of Jay's steelhead can be seen here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UQYaJva-l3Q&feature=youtube_gdata

When I have unfilled days I go fishing…this could be one of you!
　
　

If anyone is thinking about booking a trip…I strongly encourage it. I have  I cant guarantee you a fish like this but I can help you acquire the necessary tools and put you on great water where any cast it could happen. A little cooperation from the fish and the rest is up to you!

1/21/11 Quick Report

Fairly chrome...notice the transparent fins...

After a long high water stretch things are coming into shape nicely. Water conditions were decent in certains areas yesterday and I was not so gently reminded that there are definitely some chrome fish showing up! Things should be pretty decent this week...more to come. Oh and I have some dates available if anyone wants to get out.

1/3/11 Report

1/18/11 Update:

Rivers are slowly coming into shape...fishing may be good this weekend into early next week. I have openings...give me a call 616-540-3836.

1/12/11 Update:
Rivers are not fishable at this point. We are in that time of year when storm systems are rolling in frequently. Be here on the right day and fishing can be phenomal...be here on the wrong and the rivers can be blown. It pays to be flexible. I still have some prime dates available in from now into spring, get a hold of me! Lets find some big, chrome, WILD winter steelhead!


1/3/11 Report
Happy New Year! It has begun here on the peninsula...winter steelhead season. We currently have excellent water conditions on all area rivers. Fish have been spread out and water temps are fairly cold making fish a little challenging at times but they are there. There is a mix of wild and hatchery fish available with wild fish numbers building throughout the month. The water temp the other day on the Hoh was 38 degrees...pretty cold but still plenty warm to bring fish to a swung fly! Low and slow is the key to this presentation, along with confidently covering a lot of water. It can be a challenge to do both but we can show you how! The weather and scenery has been incredible lately and we are in that time of year where any cast can result in the fish of a lifetime! Come pay us a visit...

The Hoh River Valley and Mount Olympus.