Sports

<< Previous   of   Next >>   ADVERTISEMENT   CONTACT THE HERALD Report scores and results to 425-339-3470 or 1-866-6-SCORES (Call after 4:30 p.m.) E-mail information including items for Tuesday's Communities Sports Roundup and Thursday's Outdoor Calendar, to sports@heraldnet.com Kevin Brown, Sports Editor kbrown@heraldnet.com   Published: Thursday, February 14, 2008 Look for blackmouth in the San Juan Islands By Wayne Kruse, Herald Writer Now that the weather has shown signs of settling down, thus allowing one to cross Rosario Strait from Anacortes without drowning, probably, the San Juan Islands are the place to be for winter blackmouth anglers. The fifth Roche Harbor Salmon Classic Invitational, on Feb. 8-9, dodged near-gale-force winds on Friday to end up with a pretty fair total weigh-in of 141 fish for the 335 entrants in 99 boats. First-place money of $10,000 went to Randall Opel of Arlington, for a dandy chinook of 19.14 pounds; second, and $5,000, to Michael Bredeson of Everson, at 16.12 pounds; and third, worth $1,500, to Damon Peterson of Bellingham at 15.4 pounds. Best total boat weight, of 46.11 pounds, worth $1,500, went to Charlie Rinker, Jace Rinker, and Zack Miller, all of Bellingham. So where did the winning fish come from? What were they caught on? Waterboarding would not get that information out of these guys, according to derby coordinator Debbie Sandwith of Roche harbor Market (360-378-5562; market@rocheharbor.com). "I do know that the first-place winner usually fishes Obstruction Pass," Sandwith said, "and we had several fish weighed in from Spring Pass and from off Lopez." This popular derby fills up early -- by Dec. 7 this year -- and even though the entry fee is a little pricey, the atmosphere is great, the scenery can't be beat, and the prime rib dinner ain't half bad either. Anthon Steen at Holiday Sports in Burlington said fishing the past week or so in Area 7 has been good. He said blackmouth are spread out all over, with reports of nice catches coming in from San Juan Channel, Lopez Flats, Thatcher Pass, Fidalgo Head, Guemes Channel, Eagle Bluff/Tide Point, and Point Lawrence. He also said fishing is certainly worth a shot farther south, around the green can outside Oak Harbor, and along the northwest Camano shoreline, at Onomac and other spots. Widow Isle has also been a good bet, he said. Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife creel checks at the Washington Park ramp, west of Anacortes, showed 28 anglers with 19 blackmouth on Saturday, and 46 anglers with 21 fish on Sunday. Area 9 remains relatively slow, and prevailing opinion is that blackmouth have been leaving the Possession/Point No Point/Double Bluff area early on their annual migration westward, out the Strait of Juan de Fuca. Checks from Port Townsend would tend to bear that out, showing pretty good results on Sunday, 22 fishermen with 14 chinook. "Fishing has been better out that way," said Mike Chamberlain at Ted's Sport Center in Lynnwood (425-743-9505). "Places such as Liplip Bay, Midchannel Bank and others." Which brings up the upcoming Discovery Bay Salmon Derby, Feb. 16, 17 and 18, the oldest-running such event in the state, with prizes worth $3,000 for first, $1,500 for second, $750 for third, $500 for fourth, and $300 for fifth, plus a lot of other prizes. "And if you should break the derby record of 25 pounds, 4 ounces, it would be worth $750 to you," Chamberlain said. He has tickets available at $30 for all three days, and derby rules. For more information, call 360-797-7711, or visit www.discobaysalmonderby.com. Charter owner Bill Dever, in The Reel News, said Midchannel is fished from Point Wilson south to Marrowstone Point, on the bottom, 80 to 160 feet deep. He likes spoons in chrome, purple, gold and cop car; Tomic plugs numbers 140, 600 (glow), 158, 602 (glow), and 749. Trolling with or across the current is almost a must on Midchannel Bank, Dever said. Run with the water and, at the end, pick up, go back, and start again. "Zig-zag or run a little deeper each pass," he said, "raising or lowering your tackle to meet bait balls. When the bite turns on, everybody has fish, so be ready." Another derby spot is the shoreline on the Whidbey Island side of Admiralty Inlet, from Bush to Lagoon points. Again, troll with the tidal run here, Dever said. Trash can be bad, but the bottom is forgiving, and he likes the hour before high or low slack. "I don't give this one too much time," he said. "If you don't see bait or arches on a couple of passes, pick up and move back to Midchannel." SPRING CHINOOK: State biologist Joe Hymer in the WDFW's Vancouver office said the first springer of the year was counted at Bonneville Dam on Feb. 5, and that should bring joy to the hearts of those who fish spring chinook above the dam at Drano Lake and other popular spots. Drano, in particular, should provide a true bonanza this year, with perhaps a record number -- 36,800 fish -- expected to be available there, most from the Little White Salmon National Fish Hatchery. That's well above the previous record return of 20,600, which provided a superior fishery in 2002. The beauty of Drano Lake is that it's fishable in small boats, with caution, and that the action is only minutes from the ramp. The ugly is that parking is extremely limited and the launch can be complete chaos, generally meaning no more than 120 boats or so a day can be accommodated. An alternative would be the mouth of the Wind River, expected to be less crowded but also expecting fewer fish. The preseason prediction is for about 10,000 springers, which could still offer some very good action if the run develops as expected. And while on the subject of Columbia River springers, recreational fishermen should have more opportunity to pursue the fish this year. In an important 5-3 vote, the Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission late last week opted for new and long-overdue allocation guidelines which more heavily favor sports over commercial harvesters. Within the two-percent incidental mortality limit on wild-stock springers allowed by the feds under ESA listings, recreationists will be allowed 65 percent of the non-tribal mortality share, while the non-tribal nets will receive 35 percent. That's a significant step upward from the 57/43 split of previous guidelines. Sportsmen are hoping the move signals a more realistic attitude by WDFW and, maybe, the Legislature, about the relative value to the state of the recreational vs. commercial fisheries. Accommodation must still be secured with Oregon DFW, and the final season decisions will be made by the Columbia River Compact, meeting tomorrow, but it seems that heavy pressure by sport fishing groups, the tackle industry, and the boating industry at a public meeting in January resulted in a step upward in the all-important allocation battle. SMELT: Smelt dipping on the Cowlitz could soon develop into a reality, although it's not predicted to be a great run again this year, as temperatures in both the Columbia and the Cowlitz have risen above the crucial 40 degrees necessary to convince the small fish to move. Recent commercial catches below Longview have picked up, and WDFW personnel have reported seeing better numbers of seals and birds below the mouth of the Cowlitz, usually an indicator of baitfish of one type or another in the area. Biologist Joe Hymer said recent commercial netting has produced "green" fish, indicating new arrivals in the area, and a mix of sizes, not just "scout" fish. TROUT: Long Lake on Whidbey Island and Pass Lake, north of Deception Pass, have started putting out a few nice trout to fly fishermen using chironomids, leeches or bloodworm patterns, according to Mike Chamberlain (above) at Ted's Sport Center. Cold water temperatures have slowed action on Lake Stevens triploid rainbow, but with two or three days of sun and warmer temps this week, that fishery could kick loose again for those fishing Powerbait off the docks. Lake Sammamish is worth a weekend morning, Chamberlain said, looking for nice cutthroat and rainbow going 13 to 20 inches in some cases. Most successful fishermen there use downriggers or lead line, trolling 2.5-inch Wee Tads in rainbow trout pattern at 25 to 30 feet deep, he said. STEELHEAD: Changing over from a not-very-good winter hatchery season to wild-stock fish, action has improved for die-hard steelheaders willing to travel. The Hoh and other Forks-area rivers picked up significantly the past two weeks, and the Skagit is also showing an uptick for natives and the late hatchery fish or two. There should be a few more hatchery steelhead in the Cascade, as well, although not enough fishermen have been working the stream to get a finger on the success rate. Down on the Cowlitz, biologist Joe Hymer said that the anticipated late-stock hatchery run has yet to develop fully, but that it traditionally offers good fishing in late February.

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