Swinging For Steelhead on the Hoh River, Washington

Made a trip up to the Hoh River in Forks, Washington to swing my spey rod for steelhead.  No kayaks were involved but figured I'd still share. 

Although not our first trip to the Hoh, it was our first trip in winter specifically targeting steelhead (we've been on the river in summer and fall for trout and salmon).

Legends of the winter conditions and the elusive nature of the "fish of 1000 casts" proved to be mostly true, but didn't deter from the enjoyment; it rained five inches in three days and average day temps did not exceed 42*F with water temps a balmy 38*F!  A combination of premium waterproof gear and massive fleece undergarments ensured we were dry and toasty! 

But despite attacking the river on our own, without a guide and without a drift boat, we still managed to get some of the most action of the entire weekend on the upper river, culminating in an epic battle with a 30" plus gorgeous beauty which, of course, managed to get off on a crazy downstream run after a 10 minute battle. 

No steelhead were landed in the net, no epic instagram pictures were taken, but fish were hooked and fought, lessons were learned, and great fun was had. 

The area is incredibly beautiful and feels like it's far more than four hours away from Seattle, yet the town of Forks has everything you could need, including a large outfitters shop with hunting and fishing supplies.  The vast majority of people hire guides and float the rivers, but daily guide prices average $650-$800 with tip (and they didn't have any better luck than us). 

The logistics of the trip were quite easy; flew nonstop SFO to SEA, picked up a Dodge RAM 1500 at SEATAC airport and met my buddy Joe, four hour drive to our little AirBNB cabin in Forks, Washington.  From there you have super easy access to the Quilayute, Calawah, Bogachiel, Hoh, and a bit further the Clearwater and Queets, and there are even some decent restaurants. 

I converted to fly fishing pretty much exclusively last fall for a variety of reasons; this trip I was exclusively swinging my 12.5ft 7wt two handed spey rod and it was my first ever time ever spey casting in real conditions; it's a whole different animal and like learning how to fly fish all over again. 

This is supposed to be a video, but having issues showing up?



[video]http://youtu.be/bM_EhuPT1_Y[/video]

I can see the video fine.

Thanks for sharing and looks like a cool trip!

Awesome trip! The Olympic peninsula is a cool place - I lived in Westport for a couple years and explored a lot up around there. Thanks for sharing about your trip!