Fly Fishing and CDorys

Wandering Sagebrush

Wandering Sagebrush

Free Range Human
Over the last couple of days, waiting out the rain so I can work outside, I've been tying up some saltwater flies, thinking that I will be adventurous and chase salmon off shore, and maybe some sea run cutthroats in the bay with a fly rod.

Is anyone else having these kind of delusions, or have you tried and or succeeded?

I would be curious to hear your experiences if you have, and the types of patterns that you're using, types of rods and reels, etc.

Steve
 
This is really true!

I caught a 25-35 pound halibut last year in 20 feet of water with my fly rod in Cook Inlet near Homer while fishing for silvers. I thought it was a fluke. But, after limiting out for silvers, I finally got my fly to go under those pesky guys and caught a couple more that were smaller - but still halibut. A halibut on a fly rod is really a trip; talk about a fight of a lifetime!
 
I try on occasion. I have caught on a fly, but have cheated by taking a streamer fly down on the downrigger. This is my main technique for lake cutthroat
 
I have not flyfished for salmon in salt water, just in rivers. Back in the 70s and 80s, we'd fish for sockeye salmon in Lake Washington using red, silver or gold U-20 flatfish at 60 or 72 ft. deep off of the downriggers in front of Stan Sayers (sp?) pits or in front of our house on the West side of "Poverty Rock". Once we realilzed how small the fish were (4.5 lbs.avg., 6 lbs. is a "trophy", 7 lbs. a "once in a lifetime monster") we stopped using salmon rods and instead used fly rods and fly reels, rigged with 20 lb. monofilament instead of flyline, clipped onto the downrigger, still trailing the U-20s. When a sockeye hits, it charges to the surface and you had to reel like H*LL to keep up with it. Once the line tightened, the fight was on.

I've heard the coho are often caught casting near the edges of kelp beds with a silver and red streamer or, though not for flycasting purists but effective nonetheless, when trolled along same. Good luck, and attach some pics of what you're tying up. C.W.
 
Disclaimer: I fly fish from a C-Dory, I am far from a Guru, I have much to learn.

Yes, you can fly fish from a C-Dory, but it is not the best of boats for throwing flies. I don't let that stop me! I do keep my boat "clean" on the roofline and in the cockpit because if there is anything a fly line can hook up on. it will. I do 95% of my fly fishing in water where I can see the bottom, or along kelp lines. I use mostly streamer type flies or baitfish patterns for salmon. Most of the salmon that I catch are a late release coho that stay in Puget Sound all year. These fish run about 3 to 5 pounds after a year. Sometimes you can catch blackmouth in the early morning when they come in to feed on herring etc. Not real easy fish to catch. I generally use a 5 or 6 weight rod with a intermediate shooting head line. Either "40 Plus" or Rios "Outbound Express". More and more I have been using a line from Rio called "Deep 7" that is a full sink line. (7 to 8 inches per second) I think it works great around kelp beds.
When the fish are up over 3 to 5 pounds or if the wind is blowing I will go with an 8 weight rod. That is also the rod I would use for targeting steelhead and small kings. (10 to 15 pounds). 12 weight for the big guys, and the folks that I know that fish for tuna off of the coast go even bigger as you can imagine.

Cutthroat fishing is a bit different. I use a 5 weight mostly so that I can get them in quickly to release. I use the same intermediate line, but also a floating line. They usually hold in skinny water and if they are feeding the type of fly is not as important as the strip. They are aggressive feeders. I like to use a popper or gurgler and take them on the surface. You don't get as many hookups, but there is nothing like watching a 20 inch cutt come out of the water after a fly! I use hooks that are size 8 or smaller for cutts as that size is much less likely to do damage to the fish.

As for reels, those made for salt water use are the best, but if you rinse and dry the reel after use, most will do. My favorites are the Lampson Litespeeds. They stand up to salt, and have a great drag system.

Rods, I like a fast action rod because I use the shooting head lines and the wind is usually blowing.

I will post some pictures of flies that I use in my photo album.

Coos Bay looks like a great place to fly fish. There must be returning coho, chinook and steelhead. ???? And it looks like cutthroat country.???

Ocean fly fishing, I know zip. I am planning to go out to Neah Bay with the Brats this summer and do some fly fishing for coho and rockfish. Lots more to learn!!!

Let me know how you do, I think that Coos Bay would be a great C-Dory destination.

Robbi
 
Robbi,

Thanks for the information about fishing in the salt in your neighborhood. And thanks, too, for a peek at your flybox. You have some great looking patterns in there.

I notice you are fishing with a few tube flies. Are you liking them more and more over the standard ties?

I'm new to saltwater flyfishing. We go out of Valdez in the Prince William Sound area. So far we've fooled pinks (not that difficult,) and rockfish but I'm still trying to understand how to get the silvers to take on flies. Since they can get up to 20 lbs. in this area, they would be a treat on the light line.

Up here, this is the time of year for tying flies, reading books about fly fishing and counting the days.

Pat
 
Pat,
As you know, tube flies are harder to tie, but they last longer, so it is a trade off. I like small tube flies when I am fishing for cutts from the beach where chances are greater that I will catch a rock on the backcast. I can just replace the hook and not the whole fly. I also like to use large tube flies when fishing deeper water for larger salmon.

I really like the tube fly called the "Shock and Awe". It was designed for fishing salmon and rock fish along the Washington Coast. I think that it would be a great fly for coho in BC and Alaska. The best thing about the fly is not so much that it is a tube fly, but that it has a heavy cone head that gives the fly more of a lifelike movement. Plus, the way that the wing materials are folded back over themselves under the cone head gives the fly a realistic shape and taper.
If you would like tying directions and an explanation of the fly, Northwest Fly Fishing magazine has a very good write up on the Shock and Awe in the Jan/Feb 08 issue. I think you can get that in Alaska, but if not I would be happy to send it to you.

Robbi
 
Robbi,

Thanks for the quick response. I have that issue of NW Flyfishing.

I have a few parts for tying tube flies, too. I found the Canadian website for tube flies http://www.canadiantubeflies.com/index.html and they seem to have covered most of the bases on materials and techniques, too.

I guess I will work on Shock and Awe as well as some tube-tied shrimp and sand lance patterns for the next few weeks. I've been trying to figure out a good set-up for weed-free flies because there are a few spots in late summer where the silvers get up into the eel grass in about 6-8 feet of water. They just roll and jump around in there and drive me nuts.

If anything works, I can post a few photos in C-Farer's album this fall.

Pat
 
Pat, You should try the Miyawaki Beach Popper (or something similar) for the silvers in the eel grass. It just might bring them up to the surface.
Hope to hear great reports this fall. Robbi
 
Steve,
I take my fly rods along when we go to Clayoquot Sound out of Tofino. That area has some big runs of coho starting in July. There are areas where the bottom comes up from 20-30' to 6'. The coho are all over those areas. There are also lots of islands with kelp beds. If anyone gets over there, ask Jay at Jay's Clayoquot Adventures what flies to use. He has a shop and a guide service. He'll sell you the hot flies or show you how to tie them. If you ever plan a trip to that area, let me know, I have a chart with the good areas marked.

We can't get over there before Sept 1, so the runs have slowed down considerably. To get fish, I have to cheat and bucktail behind the boat. For anyone not familiar with that method, you use a sinking tip line and drag your fly about 10-15' behind the boat in your wake. Speed should be pretty fast, around 5 knots. Jay taught me the trick of putting my downrigger out with a flasher, even though I was not using it to take the line down. The flasher attracts the fish from a wider area when they're scarce and then they see your fly and grab it.

This is an easy, enjoyable way to fish. Shelley is a great fisherperson, but not as into it as I am. I usually set her up, she holds a book in one hand and a rod in the other. The coho hits the fly so hard that by the time she looks up from her book it has hooked itself and we have a fish.
It's great fun to catch a coho on the surface with a flyrod, even when you aren't casting.
Lyle
 
Last Sept we were fishing 25 miles offshore out of Barkley Sound Vancouver and we were having great luck fishing with heavier gear, Several times we noticed birds feeding and went to find silvers taking bait really close to the surface, I was wishing I had brought a fly rod. I know they would have hit white clousers that would have matched the size of the herring they were feeding on. So the fly rod will be packed for the next trip.

michael
 
A big thanks to everyone who provided feedback and input to this topic. I am looking forward to getting out and putting some of the new knowledge to work. I will probably use the 10wt for offshore, and a 6 or 7wt for the cutthroat. Now I just have to tie some more flys, then make it happen!!!

Regards,

Steve
 
I hardly ever disassemble my rods. I alway like to bring the fly rod, but nowhere to put it except hanging out of the v-berth. I found the Scotty Fly Rod Holder with included part # 262 1 1/4" round rail mount fits perfectly on my Scotty 1106 DR boom. I can even carry around the flyrod in its carrier while another rod is fishing the DR.
 
If you want to fly fish from a C-Dory and you live around Puget Sound, this is certainly the time. The pink salmon are thick down this way. Actually, I ran up to Vashon Island today and saw thousands and thousands of fish. It truly is an amazing sight. I caught about 20 fish and lost 10 more. They put up a heck of a fight for a fish that averages 3 to 7 pounds. I was taken into my backing more than once, and it got difficult to single hand the netting process. I am bushed tonight, with a sore arm!
One of my last fish was about a 6 pounder. and when I got him close to the boat, I saw a shark chasing him. I have never seen this before. The shark was about 6 feet long and stayed right on the pinks tail. I put some extra effort into netting the pink so as to save him from the shark. When I netted the fish, the shark came partially out of the water and moved toward the net. :shock:

A fun day.

Robbi
 
Hi Robbi,

Sounds like you're having fun with the humpies! It's a great year here in Oregon for coho, but not quite good enough to want to throw streamers.

Tight lines!
 
Or maybe a small Six Gill!! I really want to see one of those up close. On the other side of things Pops was kind (and trusting) enough to let me take Sensei out the last couple of weekends. Threw some flies up here around Camano but haven't seen much action here yet. Used my 8wt with 8' of t14 sinking head and a streamer pattern. All i hooked into were a few rock fish and a Cutthroat.
-Jeremiah
 
I have no idea what kind of shark/dogfish it was. Sixgill sharks are in Puget Sound, but are known to live very deep, with some top activity at night. This would have been a young one as they grow to 18 feet. It was the right color, although the water had a brown algea color to it so I am not sure. Maybe a Blue shark? It is hard to find information on sharks/dogfish of Puget Sound. One of the other ff'ers who saw the shark come out of the water said that he had seen a six or seven footer following schools of pinks. Maybe there are sharks that have followed the fish in from the ocean. Easy pickings for a month or two!

Jeremiah, Sounds like you got the cast off! Keep at it as the coho should start showing up pretty soon. Last year I fished a type 7 line and it worked well for the coho, as did streamers. A 6,7 or 8 weight rod works for the pinks and cohos. Have fun!

Robbi
 
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