Rivers.

The Rivers.

The rivers of the Olympic Peninsula flow into the Pacific Ocean, The Strait of Juan de Fuca and Hood Canal in a circular pattern from the Olympic Mountains. The Sol Duc, Bogachiel and Hoh Rivers retain their Indian names and much of their wilderness character. The west end of the peninsula is a rain forest that can get over two hundred inches of precipitation a year with world record sized Douglas Fir, Sitka Spruce, Western Hemlock and Red Cedar. While the east side of the Olympic Peninsula enjoys a rain shadow effect. A native prickly pear cactus once grew in Sequim where it rains as little as 17 inches a year.

The Sol Duc and Bogachiel rivers support runs of sea-run cutthroat, steelhead and salmon. The steelhead run from December through March. Salmon run from March through November when the steelhead return.

The Sol Duc and Bogachiel rivers flow together just west of Forks to form the Quileute River. This is a short and lazy tidewater river that flows into the Pacific Ocean at Lapush.

The Hoh. From its source on Mt. Olympus to where it flows into the Pacific Ocean the Hoh is only a little over fifty miles long. The Hoh is divided into eight different administrative zones, each with their own seasons, limits and gear restrictions. The Hoh is a river where you don't want to be shy about asking the locals what the fishing regulations are just remember, they might not know either.

Despite the confusing legal challenges, we fish the Hoh anyway. It is my favorite river when and if we can fish for Chinook, Coho and Sockeye salmon, Steelhead and sea-run Cutthroat trout.