March out here is considered one of the best months for fishing. Last year that may not have been the case, this March has certainly not disappointed. If you are planning a trip out here, your choice of the day can be just as important as your fly selection. Look for overcast and wind speeds of 10-20 MPH, ideally with a south wind. The full moon can significantly slow down the fishing as well. This week we had one day of excellent fishing, when overcast and wind was present. A good day with a number of fish weighing in at mid to upper teens, our group landed an impressive 24.7 pound fish on a size 12 midge. Congratulations Maryiam on a well-deserved fish! The next day the sun decided to pop out, and while a few fish were still caught, it was significantly slower just 24 hours later when fishing in the same area and using the same bugs. Timing can be everything out here, so do your best to not let road conditions keep you from making the trip out here. More times than not, the fishing is worth it!
We have begun to see the fish start to move into the shallows and start their pre-spawn behavior. This means that the strip bite at some of the shallower beaches should really get good in the coming weeks. This also means for people indicator fishing, you will be watching fish cruise by right in front of you. It can be tempting to cast at them...Don’t! Keep those flies out in the deeper water and target the fish that are cruising the shelves, those deeper fish are more likely to take your flies. Midges continue to be the ticket for the indicator game and as we get into spring we are downsizing our flies to number 12’s and 14’s to get more eats. For the strip bite it’ll be hard to beat those buoyant flies like boobies and beetles, chartreuse and white will be the go-to color combo most days.

Despite the sunny day and no wind on Tuesday, Kirk landed a personal best 12.5 pound Summit LCT.