"A hit!" I said. "A palpable hit!" Another cast, a few strips, and I was connected to a nice sea-run cutthroat.

"Seventeen to eighteen inches," said Ryan Smith as he netted it. "And in beautiful shape." We admired the sea-run briefly, snapped a few photos, and sent it on its way.

Two weeks ago, we--me, Ryan, and my brother-in-law Mat--fished the southern reaches of Puget Sound for sea-runs. It's a saltwater fishery that I had wanted to explore more thoroughly for several years, but hadn't. Mat is a retired anthropology professor who recently returned to his Northwest roots and wanted to get back into fly fishing. So I proposed a two-day trip with Ryan Smith from Arch Anglers as guide. It was a learning opportunity for both Mat and me.

Saltwater fly fishing in Puget Sound has risen steadily in popularity. Sea-run cutthroat and resident coho salmon are available almost all year, and large migratory coho show up in the fall. Combine that with modern fly tackle and you've got a great opportunity for local (and near-local) anglers.

Secret Beaches

Ryan had some favorite spots on the west side of Puget Sound, including a pretty "secret" beach that was my favorite. Modest houses ringed the water. Tall firs and deciduous trees covered the hills. There were many birds: gulls, of course; a blue heron sat on a log; a bald eagle flew overhead; ducks whirred by; we occasionally heard a loon call. The day before we'd fished on a beach where we had a clear view of the Olympics silhouetted against the morning sky; then we went to another beach a couple of miles away where we had a similar view of the Cascades, from Mt. Rainier to Mt. Baker.

These were all familiar sights, sounds, and smells to me. I grew up in the Seattle area and spent a lot of time on Puget Sound; my dad was a less-than-average fisherman, but he loved boats and being on the saltwater.

The sea-runs and coho were not especially aggressive on the two days I fished for them; Puget Sound is a big body of water, and fish can turn on-and-off. Still, we had plenty to satisfy us, and the "catch" of nostalgia and reawakened memories was bountiful.

Clearly Westfly needs a good tutorial article on sea-run cutthroat fishing on Puget Sound. There should be one out in time for spring fishing.

I fished Puget Sound for quite a few years when I lived in Seattle, and I always thought that the sea-run cutt fishery was over hyped.

The fact is that an eighteen incher is about as big a fish as you are likely to see, and most of the time the conditions dictate that you fish a 6 or 7 weight which is way too heavy a rod for that size of fish. Add to that that the best fishing is in January - March when the weather is nasty.

Of course, just being out on the Sound is great, which is why I still fished at every opportunity, but the fishing is nothing worth shouting about until the salmon arrive.

I spent most of my teen years in Tacoma close to Puget Sound; Commencement Bay, Point Defiance and the Narrows. The usual angling opportunity (for me) was to rent a boat and troll with gear heavy enough to pull a flasher and a 20oz cannonball or throw 2oz rated slip bobbers & herring (with steelhead drift gear) from the local dock.

It would have been cool to know there were fly fishing opportunities because as a 15/16 year old I was in no position to be a groundbreaking fly fisher. Catching sea runs or small feeder salmon on a 6wt would have been much more sporting than the conventional tackle I usually employed.

BTW, I used to cruise around with a guy who would catch octopus and sell them to his neighbors for cash. For teens, it was good under the table money. We saw quite a few salmon & sea runs cruising the narrow belt of water between the shore and the kelp beds.

I lived in Lakewood and worked in Federal Way for about 6 months while my wife finished up her internship at Madigan. I wish I would have done more exploring back then and also been into fly fishing at the time. Missed opportunities!