Just about every Elwha River report from the last couple of decades is in reference to the removal of the two dams that have blocked off the river to most fish migration. That project is still in the works and should start in 2009 on the Elwha Dam below hiway 101 and Lake Aldwell. But that information is not the purpose of this report!
I actually drove down to the Elwha and went for a walk the other day and it was so perfect and there were no other fisherman around I decided to try my luck at a little fishing. I fished the "Place" side in the estuary and things felt pretty good so when I finished up there (without so much as a sniff) I felt compelled to look at the area below the one way bridge there were no rigs in the parking lot so I hit the trail headed for the old "spruce log hole" which still after all these years looks just right.
I worked my way down the run and near the tailout I had a great grab that didn't stick but the contact was way out while the fly was settling, the fish followed the fly around and really hammered it about halfway through the swing. It was solidly hooked in the hinge and fought very well with several good jumps and a couple of 100 foot runs. I was very pleased to see when I landed the fish that it was a Wild Native female 32" 12 pounds chrome bright with not so much as a mark scratch or blemish of any kind.
Word has it that wild fish in the Elwha are numbered at less than 100 animals so while happy to see there are still a few around I probably won't make a habit of bothering them routinely.
There is wide spread speculation that after dam removal the Park Service will close the river to all fishing for as long as thirty years I have not gotten that from any officials but sometimes rumors are just early press releases! If that is the case and given that the last wild winterrun I landed in the Elwha was about 20 years ago that may have been the last wild fish I will ever get a chance to catch in the Elwha. Sobering thought on a Sunday morning with the rain fall filling the rivers back up for another fresh run of fish here on the OP.
I actually drove down to the Elwha and went for a walk the other day and it was so perfect and there were no other fisherman around I decided to try my luck at a little fishing. I fished the "Place" side in the estuary and things felt pretty good so when I finished up there (without so much as a sniff) I felt compelled to look at the area below the one way bridge there were no rigs in the parking lot so I hit the trail headed for the old "spruce log hole" which still after all these years looks just right.
I worked my way down the run and near the tailout I had a great grab that didn't stick but the contact was way out while the fly was settling, the fish followed the fly around and really hammered it about halfway through the swing. It was solidly hooked in the hinge and fought very well with several good jumps and a couple of 100 foot runs. I was very pleased to see when I landed the fish that it was a Wild Native female 32" 12 pounds chrome bright with not so much as a mark scratch or blemish of any kind.
Word has it that wild fish in the Elwha are numbered at less than 100 animals so while happy to see there are still a few around I probably won't make a habit of bothering them routinely.
There is wide spread speculation that after dam removal the Park Service will close the river to all fishing for as long as thirty years I have not gotten that from any officials but sometimes rumors are just early press releases! If that is the case and given that the last wild winterrun I landed in the Elwha was about 20 years ago that may have been the last wild fish I will ever get a chance to catch in the Elwha. Sobering thought on a Sunday morning with the rain fall filling the rivers back up for another fresh run of fish here on the OP.