Olympic peninsula winter steelhead guide

[TBarouch]

Hi, Im relatively new here and after growing up trout fishing all the time I would like to step it up to something bigger, I have been working on salmon fishing for a bit with a little luck but I've heard amazing things about steelheading and would love to give that a try specifically on the Olympic peninsula. I was wondering if anyone could suggest a good guide for winter steelhead. I've heard you want to hire an Indian guide but I have no idea where to look. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated

[Steelheadin360]

Nate Treat

http://www.natetreatfishing.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[RiverChromeGS]

Nate and I both have a lot of experience fishing the OP for big wild steelhead, we scouted some water together last year and found some sick places!

[Mike Carey]

The question of guide recommendations naturally comes up (this is a fishing forum, LOL). We request that if the guide isn't a sponsor of this site you send the recommendation by PM. We have been around for awhile now (15 years!) and guides mostly know about us, so they know they can promote themselves on WL.com It isn't fair to the guides that are sponsors and help keep this site online to let non-sponsor guides get free advertising, so those posts will be removed.

Thanks for understanding.

[Steelheadin360]

Aw crap! Sorry fishenfreak!

I was trying to find a post with your website on it!

[Mike Carey]

Aw crap! Sorry fishenfreak!

I was trying to find a post with your website on it!

It's on his signature line.

[Steelheadin360]

i see that now, ive been posting from my phone so its kinda hit and miss what loads

[RiverChromeGS]

i see that now, ive been posting from my phone so its kinda hit and miss what loads

haha no problem just wanted to say that we found some really special places last year

[Brat Bonker]

all you need to catch OP fish are pink plastic worms, pink or white jig heads and a dink float with a split shot or 2. try around the bogachiel rearing ponds in december with those worms or a nightmare jig and you will catch fish that you can keep as long as there are fish to catch which there would be especially when the river gets like 5000 plus hatchery steelhead back and they start trickling in at the end of november through january.

[RiverChromeGS]

all you need to catch OP fish are pink plastic worms, pink or white jig heads and a dink float with a split shot or 2. try around the bogachiel rearing ponds in december with those worms or a nightmare jig and you will catch fish that you can keep as long as there are fish to catch which there would be especially when the river gets like 5000 plus hatchery steelhead back and they start trickling in at the end of november through january.

no offense, but we can catch hatchery brats anywhere, we go to the OP to fish secluded, unfished water as far away from hatcheries as possible for a chance at a 20lb beautiful wild steelhead and never see another fisherman all year

[Brat Bonker]

as a new guy to steelheading I would glad to just get a limit of hatchery fish, plus bogy fish get pretty big too man, I had one straighten my jig hook into a 90degree angle while using 14lb test in high water, saw it jump and off it went bending my hook, me and my dad both estimate it around 18lbs easy, alot bigger than my 16lb buck from the skookumchuck

[RiverChromeGS]

as a new guy to steelheading I would glad to just get a limit of hatchery fish, plus bogy fish get pretty big too man, I had one straighten my jig hook into a 90degree angle while using 14lb test in high water, saw it jump and off it went bending my hook, me and my dad both estimate it around 18lbs easy, alot bigger than my 16lb buck from the skookumchuck

good fishing i know it is, but no better than like skookumchuck or cowlitz, ect, just crowded hatchery holes, like i said you can find that here, most people want to experience of fishing untouched water for pure wild fish miles from any roads or people, thats what the OP is all about

[Brat Bonker]

I am pretty sure a lot of the rivers will have people on them except for the hoh, upper quinault, lyre and hoko but why wait until february for wilds when you can just catch more fish in december. plus it is not that bad unless you go on the weekends, me and my dad were there a whole week last year and we were the only guys on the river from tuesday to friday morning and and were hooking fish the whole time, gotta love high water too, i do not think a river can be blown out or unfishable until there is no place to fish to be honest. I am not saying that you should not hire a guide like FF or nate I am just saying it is better to do things on your own as that is how you really learn and the rewards feel so much better.

[RiverChromeGS]

I am pretty sure a lot of the rivers will have people on them except for the hoh, upper quinault, lyre and hoko but why wait until february for wilds when you can just catch more fish in december. plus it is not that bad unless you go on the weekends, me and my dad were there a whole week last year and we were the only guys on the river from tuesday to friday morning and and were hooking fish the whole time, gotta love high water too, i do not think a river can be blown out or unfishable until there is no place to fish to be honest. I am not saying that you should not hire a guide like FF or nate I am just saying it is better to do things on your own as that is how you really learn and the rewards feel so much better.

im saying im not driving 6 hours to go catch a hatchery brat when i can get one right here. Ya if your going to fish a hatchery hole you dont need a guide, but if your going to fish for the real OP fish, the wilds it takes a lot to learn the water and instead of wasting a whole season learning where to get good numbers of wild fish, you can hire a guide like nate, who already knows where and how to find fish and learn so next time you go, instead of hiking and catching nothing, you have an idea of where to find fish. Yea anyone can walk in below a hatchery and catch fish, wilds are much MUCH different

[Mike Carey]

JUst be ready to hike and wade, LOL.

[RiverChromeGS]

JUst be ready to hike and wade, LOL.

A LOT. takes a lot of hiking for sure mike, but nothing like hiking 3 miles and throwing into the first hole and hooking an 18lber

[OFFDAAHOOK]

Skip the hiking. Op provides excellent opportunity to hit large steelhead, sometimes a double header even

i love double header

[RiverChromeGS]

Nothing like a giant wild steelhead, especially 2 at the same time, nice hens rvr fshr, yea im looking at doing some drifts too this winter on the OP

[Steelheadin360]

The Sol Duc, Bogachiel, the Hoh, Dickey, Quillayute, Calawah, Clearwater and upper Quinault river are all open for wild steelhead retention starting next February. I personally wouldnt keep one, unless it was a 25 pound HAWG! l

[natetreat]

I don't like to encourage people to bonk a wild steelhead either. With plenty of hatchery fish in our rivers, there really isn't the need to put a wild one on the card unless you're breaking a world record. Which now that we can bonk a wild fish on these rivers is going to happen sooner or later. But a 25 pounder isn't out of the questions, and you'll have days where doubles and triples are the norm. These fish are awesome and not shy at all! There have been days where we pull one out after the other, getting 10-15 fish out of a hole in 20 or so casts. There are close to the road holes that will give out fish, and then there are my favorite, backwoods wilderness holes that haven't seen an angler in a month that you can bank it to. There is something awesome about being one with nature 50 miles from the nearest gas station or house and finding fish in their element. I've been fishing out there since I was 6 years old, and every time I'm out there it's the same. Awe and wonder. It never gets old. There are thousands of miles of rivers to fish out there, so give the regs a good read and go! If you'd like to get a good head start on some of those streams, give me a holler and we can work a few spots. Since there are so many rivers out there you could spend a lifetime fishing and never hit the same spot more than a few times if you didn't want to.