Olympic Peninsula Salmon Fishing October 2019

As the primary saltwater season in Puget Sound winds down and we don’t have an abundance of Blackmouth opportunities, the focus shifts to the rivers and in particular to the coastal rivers of the Olympic Peninsula.

Thanks to the wet September we’ve had, most the of the coastal rivers have been in peak shape already in early October. Most years, we are searching for fishable water and hoping for an early surge of fish.

This year, the fishing really got started by the 3rd week of September and hasn’t let up for a second. The key to all of the fishing out here is to watch the water levels. I know I probably get repetitive in these articles on this point, but if you aren’t watching the USGS site, you aren’t really trying to have a great fishing trip.

I watch it obsessively this time of year and I would never consider a trip without consulting that site for my target river.

You are looking for a surge of water that has dropped to a fishable level or a steady flow at a fishable level. The fishable level is something you will need to learn for each river system on the coast or any river you fish.

I fish the Carbon or Puyallup quite a bit this time of year, and anything above 1000 on the Puyallup Alderton gauge generally makes me avoid those rivers. The Hoh River on the coast fishes well below 2000, but really around 1000 is ideal.

The above fish weighed in at just under 25 pounds. We had 4 fish in the 20+ category and they all cut nicely with bright red fillets. This fish was pulled out with cured eggs fished under a float. This is the primary method that puts fish on the banks for our group. We like to cure up eggs using Pautke’s Borax O’Fire or Fire Cure.

The above video should get you started with the egg curing technique. When you are fishing for kings regardless of the method, don’t be afraid to try the “almost too fast” type of water. I’m talking about near the head of the run.

Not the water that’s ripping, but just below that speed. My float was zooming by at a fast rate before it got pulled under by this big chrome king salmon. After landing that fish, I made the exact same cast and hooked and handed off another fish of about 16-17 lbs.

Fast water sometimes gets it done. The fish in the pic at the top of the article was hooked twitching a jig in that same fast water. Now the fish weren’t always up there in that faster stuff, but the bigger ones seemed to be.

I’ve recently released a guide to river fishing for salmon that’s still being updated with more media and text that will hopefully take some of the significant learning curve off of this type of fishing. Give it a read to help you get started on your next river fishing adventure.

The above fish was hooked near last light in the first few minutes of showing up at the river at the beginning of our trip. Not a bad way to start! I hooked this fish twitching / swimming a 3/8 oz jig. Chartreuse head with a purple/black body by Aerojig.

The technique can be difficult to master, but putting in some time and consistently practicing it can make a big difference. The most important aspect of the technique is that your upward jigging motion is creating enough slack for the jig to sink on the downward motion.

The fast dropping/fluttering of the jig is what creates the desire to strike. The fast lift is what enables you to feel that strike. Swimming the jig means that this action is happening as it is drifting downstream with the current. You need the right sized weight for the current you are fishing.

Looking for some professional help with your jigging technique? Why not jump on a guided trip with one of the Olympic Peninsula fishing professionals?

We book a trip with Mike Zavadlov of Mike Z’s Guide Service each year. Mike’s a jigging master who can coach you up and get you into fish on any of the river systems near Forks, WA.

The big coho in the photo above was caught on a K13 plug that we were pulling up to switch to another method. The fish bit right at the boat, just before I could lift it out of the water! When fishing spinners or any lure for coho, don’t give up on the cast, they will sometimes (often?) follow it and strike right at your feet.

Okay, so you’ve read this article and you might be thinking that you missed the window. In reality, many of these rivers fish great all the way through November.

We are still not even halfway through October! Rivers like the Humptulips are only a 2-2.5 hour drive away from Pugetropolis and offer plenty of bank access or guided options. Get out there and enjoy some of the best river fishing for salmon experiences of the Pacific Northwest.