I initially planned to scamper around the root-wads of the lower Snohomish in search of Sea-Run Cutthroat. Certain parts of the tide flood the river with these trout as they move up and down the shore in search of prey, and they can be a hoot to catch on fly gear. I wasn't planning on keeping any, and recommend that anglers that encounter them release them. Had to say it... anyways. Unfortunately, I did not hit the tide correctly at all for the area I targeted, and half an hour casting streamers only resulted in a couple pulls and one 4-inch bull trout.

So no harvest trout today. But the river is crowded with numerous other fishy friends this time of year, as everyone and their father, mother, and 3rd cousin knows. Pinks are still filing in and will continue for a couple more weeks strong until they really stack up in the spawning runs where they should be left to mind their business and create the next generation of fish. Coho are starting to creep in as well, as evidenced by the large splashy jumps you often see amongst the deadfalls and timber.

Luckily I thought "what if" and brought a small selection of flies to target these migrating salmonids. It's a little tough to keep casting emptily at cutts that refused to show themselves, and see surfacing salmon leaping around in the main river current. So, off the little streamer went and on a larger fly intended for larger quarry went. Within two casts, a feisty 4lb coho smacked the hell out of one of my jiggy flies and the five-weight was loaded up. Once I brought the little jumper in, I noticed he was missing a fin, so into the college dinner depository he went!

I relocated after donating my coho slammer to the submerged timber, and tied on a new pattern. Didn't take much stripping of that little guy and whup, whup, wham! I had a little pinkie missing and finally properly smacking the fly, and game on! I landed two little hens like this, and let them power back into the river to return their eggs to the gravel. I then proceeded to miss a pair of hits, then hook and lose two fish, and finally put the pressure onto a larger buckie. Humpies on a five-weight are a lot of fun- it definitely lets you feel every ounce of the fight, but you can still bring them in without exhausting them, which is good for their release.

A couple of hours and a couple of fish, sounds like fun to me. Fishing like this reminds me of when I was just learning the ropes of fishing in a river- just 16 year old me, a 6and a half foot fishing pole that had it's tip broken twice, a little pack of pink jigs and smelly-jelly. That silly rod seemed to catch more and more fish the shorter it got. While I often overlook the crowded Snohomish nowadays, I still find myself joining the ranks and re-living the experience of fishing its muddy banks at least once every fall. Without all of the time I spent there on the river, and without the spunky Pinkies that run every two years, I would be in a very different place nowadays.

It's something I will always cherish.

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