72 Microseasons of the Pacific Northwest

The last week of December marks the opening of what many Pacific Northwest fly anglers consider the world's finest wild steelhead fishing — winter-run wild fish beginning to build in the lower reaches of the Olympic Peninsula's river systems. The Hoh, Sol Duc, Bogachiel, Queets, and Calawah rivers all receive runs of wild winter steelhead (Oncorhynchus mykiss) that peak in January and February, but the advance guard of fish has been present since late November. By late December, drift boats begin appearing on the Hoh and Sol Duc as guides and their clients pursue bright chrome fish fresh from the ocean. Wild Olympic Peninsula winter steelhead are in superb condition at this time — ocean-fat, silver-flanked fish averaging 8–12 pounds with some exceeding 20 pounds — and because much of their spawning habitat lies within Olympic National Park, populations here remain among the strongest of any wild steelhead run on the Pacific Coast. The Hoh's upper drainages, protected from roads and logging, produce strong returning runs year after year. Viewing wild steelhead directly requires patience; the fish hold in deep pools and tailouts, and water clarity is often limited after rain events. But from bridges such as the Highway 101 bridge over the Hoh River, fish can sometimes be seen in low water. The broader river ecosystem at this time is a study in winter abundance: bald eagles congregate along the Hoh and Sol Duc to feed on spawned-out salmon carcasses remaining from the fall run, and mergansers, dippers, and great blue herons work the shallows. The rivers themselves — roaring with glacial meltwater, lined with ancient Sitka spruce and alder, echoing with the calls of varied thrushes and winter wrens — embody the full character of the outer coast winter.