Date: Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Time: 2:30-3:00pm: Fished Clearwater River briefly on way back from the Queets River just off Clearwater Road just past the first bridge and the “Entering Clearwater” sign on the right. Fishing for Steelhead.
As I made it around the bend while busting out the Chickenfoot at 110db I saw 3 waders – just new this was the place. Sure enough, but I was running out of time. Pulled out on the edge of the beach, left waders in truck, and grabbed the spinner. A few feet from the truck I snagged 2nd cast in 2 feet depth. Laid down the rod, went back to truck, put on waders, went back and waded out to the rig and unhooked the snag. Proceeded to float w/ the “pink” rig just fine. The 3 waders I saw upstream must have thought I was nuts, or some city slicker. I was sure to stay about 100 yards downstream from them to not distract them with my antics. Fished about 10 casts before I saw a big ‘un swim right in front of my feet. About a 15lb Salmon, it was ugly and in bad shape, and wasn’t hungry at all. I nearly slapped him in the head with the jig after 3 direct passes didn’t cause a stir. He finally drifted out deeper and downstream. He was an ugly fellow with lots of rough white blotches on nearly his entire back. Enough excitement, now that I was an hour late returning to the family vacation…..time to leave. No fish, again.
Location: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clearwater_River_(Washington)
Map: http://www.nps.gov/carto/PDF/OLYMmap1.pdf
GPS Coordinates: 47°43′56″N 123°54′11″W / 47.73222°N 123.90306°W / 47.73222; -123.90306
Weather: 40 F
Water: COLD, Crystal Clear just as the name suggests
Access: Great, a little 4WD helps to get into some of the beaches in the winter
Rig(best): Pink salmon float rig. Flies: Eggs, various orange and purple Steelhead flies.
Notes: This is a great place to fish. Cold glacial water, clear mountain water in the winter.
-dw1, www.earthangler.com
