Three buddies and I made our annual steelhead run up to the Olympic Peninsula a couple of weeks ago. This was our third year for this trip, and we had just made a successful coastal California trip two weeks before this, so we were very stoked to head up there. We based out of the town of Forks, which put us within 30 minutes reach of 4 major rivers that have runs. Forks is pretty limited on dining options, especially on anything half decent for quality.
We had some good weather, as we only had a half day of serious rain on the first day of fishing. When we talk serious rain, it's a pretty different scale up here, as annual rainfall can hit 200+" in many areas. Beyond the first day, it was favorable weather, mostly cloudy and cool.
Each one of us had at least a couple of good days on the water out of the 4 days that we fished. The fish being caught are between 3 and 10 miles out of the ocean, depending on where you fish, so there are some hot fish in the water. Each of us were fortunate to land at least one steelhead in the 18 lb. range. It's kind of funny when you land what you think is a decent fish and the guide says, " Aw, it's only a 10 lb. fish"!!!!
For the hardcore steelheader, this is a great destination trip. The weather can go ugly in a hurry, and the rivers can blow out in a heartbeat, but then it wouldn't really be steelhading without that? The good news is that the rivers are pretty short and get back into shape in a hurry. A half inch of rain is nothing for these rivers. It is certainly a beautiful area to fish, very, very scenic. Below are a few pictures . . .
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