North 40 Fly Shop eMagazine October 2017 | Page 16

TRIP
ROAD TRIP
DO YOU STAND A CHANCE ON YOUR
OWN WHILE FISHING THE OLYMPIC
PENINSULA’S EARLY RUN STEELHEAD?
OR, DO YOU NEED A GUIDE?
BY DAVE McCOY
Summer trout fishing is on its last legs, and
shorter days bring steelhead to mind on a
daily basis. This may be the case for you, too.
And, if so, I wouldn’t doubt you’re thinking that
Washington’s notorious Olympic Peninsula is a
worthy destination . . . for many reasons, not the
least being a shot at some big, wild steelhead
fresh in from the ocean. “Done,” you might be
saying right now. “The OP it is.”
If that’s the case, there are several things
you need to consider before stringing a rod and
starting to huck. First, timing is everything, as
this is a rainforest that gets more than a hundred
inches of rain a year, guaranteed. In addition,
remember that every river here is a freestone—
meaning no dams—and they rise and fall with
the nuances of the weather. When you fish
the OP, you may start using the catchphrase,
Fluctuation happens. Ideal conditions offer
a river on the drop, after a freshet, but even
the greatest weather forecasters can blow a
diagnosis, so the only way to know what’s really
happening on these rivers, at any given time, is
to be there and endure whatever you find.
You may find hatchery fish arriving as early
as late November on the Bogachiel, followed
silently by wild steelhead in late December and
throughout January. These wild fish, which
average about eight to 12 pounds, with some
giants thrown in that measure over the 40-
inch mark, are somewhat ignored during this
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