Steelhead Odyssey, Episode II

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Team Steelhead Odyssey stands next to one of the giant trees in Olympic National Forest.

photo by Eric Strader

[Editor’s Note: This month, three trout guides from Hubbard’s Yellowstone Lodge have embarked on a steelhead trip through Idaho, Washington, and Oregon. They’ll be filing frequent updates on their progress. The anglers—all steelhead novices—are Eric Strader (from Missouri), Robert McCallister (from New Mexico), and Ted Morris (from Pennsylvania).]

The fishing on the Bogachiel River has proven to be tough because of  all of the gear fishermen. Although there are a lot of fish in the system, it is hard to find spots that are fly-fisher-friendly. It’s just a matter of getting off the beaten trail and finding some of those spots.

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Ted Morris found plenty of sea-run cutthroats in tiny Mosquito creek.

photo by Ted Morris

The weather forecast for the next 7 days is all rain! Yikes! That’s okay, though. We found a great little creek outside of Forks that was fantastic! We drove probably 20 minutes south of town and fished Mosquito Creek.  It was the most beautiful spot we have fished, by far. It’s a small, narrow creek that runs to the ocean. It is a tributary of the Hoh, so the fish enter from the ocean and head up this tiny creek to the Hoh. Robert hooked his first steelhead swinging a big, nasty streamer pattern. Ted took off the other direction and ended up catching 4 or 5 sea run cutthroats! It was a great day and a beautiful spot. 


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The Olympic Rain Forest gets as much as 167 inches of precipitation per year, which explains all the moss.

photo by Eric Strader

Ted and I are planning on staying near Forks while Robert heads back to New Mexico for Christmas. We will definitely be heading back to the Hoh, as well as Mosquito Creek, when Robert returns.

To see how the trip started, see Steelhead Odyssey, Episode I.

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