Friends,

We are planning to visit the Olympic Peninsula this summer and I am wondering if I should take my fly fishing gear. We will be southwest of the National Park on the Pacific Coast and it looks like a short drive could take me to the Quinault River drainage, which is where I think I'd like to try. I know that salmon are the big deal up that way but I would mostly be interested in fishing for trout. I figure the National Park system would seek to prevent the salmon from being disturbed in the Park. Has anybody fished for trout up that way and do you have any suggestions? Feel free to PM me if desired. I figure Featherlight might have been over that way at some point.

I do have a salt water fly setup as well as some spinning gear that I could use along the Pacific shoreline but I would be pretty much a beginner at that, any suggestions would be much appreciated.

Donny - the only fishing I have done on the peninsula has been salmon/steelhead fishing on the Sol Duc, Hoh, Clearwater, etc. These have been guided trips in a drift boat and they were some years ago. Salmon and steelhead are what the Peninsula is known for but there are headwaters and smaller streams such as Gray Wolf River and Dungeness for trout. I have not fished for trout on the Peninsula. A good source of current fishing info (when the runs are) would be Waters West Fly Fishing Outfitters in Port Angeles. There are three books I would suggest to you. The first is by Doug Rose and the book is Fly-Fishing Guide to the Olympic Peninsula. Now passed, he is recognized as probably one of the most knowledgeable. Other books are Olympic Mountains Fishing Guide by Dave Shorett and The Olympic Peninsula Rivers Guide by Steve Probasco. Most of my fishing is in the Cascades or east side of the Cascades. It is closer and fits my need for small stream fishing day trips. Let me know if I can provide any more info. If the opportunity presents, happy to show you some small stream fishing. Roy

Thanks. I will spend some time online researching but it sounds like options may not be viable. Thanks all!

Donny.....I'd definitely plan on fishing. I've caught fish (cuts) on a couple of the little creeks in that immediate area in the low waters conditions of August in the past. If you're down along the coast, sea run cutthroats start coming back into the slower, pond like lower stretches of those creeks in mid-late August too. 14"-17" fish can be common if they're there.. Also, make sure you not unknowingly fishing in tribal waters. The Quinault's for one require that you hire one of their guides to fish in addition to their license. Also, National Park land speckles stretches of the Washington coast and you may have some additional requirements to be knowledgeable about too. If you have any questions, let me know and I might be able to help you. You'll love the Quinault Lodge. I had my birthday dinner there last Summer. Dave

Thanks for the great advice, friends.