Brazda's Fly Fishing

Calawah River Forks Washington;
A smaller sister to the Sol-Duc, this river has the ability of producing the largest, hardest fighting steelhead on the Peninsula. With spectacular rapids, gin clear water and spooky steelies the Calawah demands the most from every angler. There are three sections to this gem, two divided by 101, and the ever-present bait and kill area boundary. The upper by intimidating rapids and an early closing of February 28th. A good percentage of my guiding is spent on two of the three sections. The lower river, below 101, calls for a long float and some class 111 water, ending in the Bogachial at Wilson boat ramp. With beautiful tail outs, long runs, and the entrance of the Bogy. This section swings best of the three but must be done with speed as there are so many good runs that an angler will find himself floating in the dark down the Bogachiel. With the middle being so short, I often do a double float, taking out and finishing on another river or swinging it all and ending the day with a push out whenever wanted. When the upper is open, it makes for a very fun and challenging float including sections like hells half mile, note: not just an intimidating name. All in all, the Calawah river will test you in every way and a must do by the ADVANCED rower and angler.

As I drove around today looking at the rivers to see how soon they may be fishable I was inspired to add this gem to my steelhead waters catalog knowing that I will soon be embracing it’s waters in the quest for it’s giant steelhead. It along with the upper Sol-Duc are probably the most stable of all Washington Rivers and have provided the refuge used for thousands of years to the wild steelhead we seek out today.

Hoh River:
A beloved jewel. A must fish when fish-able. As soon as you start the drive through the rain forest, you know you’ve entered a special place. With the ever present Elk herd alongside the road and the long flowing moss canopies, one gets the feeling of a relatively unchanged wilderness. The Hoh has the longest boat able selective fishery section, of all the rivers I fish on the Olympic Peninsula. It even has a small “fly fish only section” in the park region. I cannot say enough about this system, and I suppose it is really the fish that make it great. It is possible to catch chrome bright 20lb steelhead here as early as December and right through the season till closing. There are a good number of bull trout inhabiting the drainage so be very careful when encountering these prehistoric predators.

The glorious thing about the Hoh is its ability to change. It has resisted mans attempt to contain it every time he tries. You can literally catch fish, where a month earlier, there was a gravel bar 4 feet high. Entire log jams move within the system, one can actually recognize logs reappearing from within gravel bars once fished, two decades before. It in itself is a testament to the tenacity within Hoh river steelhead. The Hoh with its relatively short system, 38 miles mouth to glacier, produces massive steelhead. These fish love there log jams, they can be found in the smallest side channel, holding with any sized pieces of lumber, boulder patches and undercuts. These steelhead will move up the system at any time, low water, high water, usually does not matter when they want in they go. Each season will have it’s section that fishes best as each season the holding water moves. The color of the Hoh River with its glacial beauty gives them a confidence to run and best of all to bite !