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, June 5, 2008 Saturday coastal salmon openers weak, but future bright By Wayne Kruse Herald Columnist Two major fishing season openers on Saturday didn't go as well as they could have, perhaps, but the outlook over the next few weeks for chinook off the coast and for chinook and summer steelhead in certain area rivers seems positive. King fishing out of Ilwaco and Westport opened on June 1 to very low success rates, according to Wendy Beeghley, coastal creel census coordinator for the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. "The first few days of the coastal season haven't been very good," Beeghley said. "But effort has also been low, and when they get more folks out I'm sure the charters will find the fish. Chinook are there, particularly off Ilwaco, because the ongoing commercial troll fishery has had some good days." Contributing to a relatively low angler turnout was the fact that this season opened about a month earlier than normal in an attempt to direct effort toward hatchery chinook and away from a Columbia River coho run predicted to be severely depressed. Beeghley said the coastal chinook were going maybe 12 pounds or so, average-to-smallish for the area and the time of year. Anglers chasing chinook on the Skykomish, Skagit and/or Cascade fared better than their saltwater brethren, but still found heavy going. A huge snowpack and resulting runoff has had many state rivers running high and dirty for several weeks and, while fish were taken over the weekend, it was slim, and difficult, pickings. Bob Ferber at Holiday Sports in Burlington (360-757-4361) said results in the lower Cascade and the upper Skagit were actually respectable, considering the conditions, but not up to last year's opening-day action. "There was a big crowd on the Cascade," Ferber said, "and our reports indicate maybe 20 fish taken on Saturday. Because it was running high and colored, most were caught on eggs and they were typically running 8 to 12 pounds." He said an estimate placed the crowd on the Skagit, between Rockport and Marblemount, at about 40 boats, and that they took maybe a dozen chinook and several jacks. The limit is two adults and two jacks. "With cooler temperatures and less pressure, fishing got better by Tuesday," Ferber said. "We had a couple of parties come by and they had done pretty well up there, fishing floats and eggs, for both adults and jacks." He said reports from the Snohomish River bars indicated at least fairly good summer steelhead fishing for the plunkers in the high water, perhaps a good omen of things to come under better conditions. Guide John Thomas (425-280-5494; www.rottenchumguideservice.com) said there was a foot of visibility at best on the Skykomish Saturday, and not many fish landed. He noted a couple of steelhead and chinook taken at the mouth of the Wallace by bank fishermen running floats and eggs/shrimp. "Along with the snowmelt, there are a couple of clay banks up by Goldbar that are really putting in color," Thomas said. "Above those, the river has had a good two feet of visibility and put out at least fair numbers of steelhead over the weekend. That could be a positive sign of a solid run this summer." Guide and Arlington resident Sam Ingram (360-435-9311) said he saw five or six boat trailers at High Bridge on the upper Sky, and about the same number at Sultan, and had reports of a few summer steelhead in the range of 6 pounds to 9 or 10 pounds taken. Some of those came from cleaner water below clear side streams, he said. Both the Yakima and Icicle remained too high over the weekend to be fishable but, with cooler weather, they could drop back in quickly, and both are holding chinook. Because fishing has been nearly impossible, the state has extended the season on the Yakima through the end of the month, from the I-182 bridge in Richland up to the SR 225 bridge at Benton City, and another stretch from the I-82 bridge at Union Gap up to Roza Dam. Lake Chelan combo: A relatively recent state program to plant triploid, landlocked, summer chinook in Lake Chelan has been so successful that the season has been extended indefinitely, according to state biologist Art Viola in Wenatchee, but the department needs information on abundance, location in the lake, and origin, to guide future management decisions. To get that data, they need sport-caught salmon for sampling, and are encouraging the fishery. Minimum size is 15 inches and the daily limit is one salmon. No salmon catch record card is needed. Chelan resident Anton Jones of Darrell and Dad's Family Guide Service (www.darrellanddads.com) said chinook and Mackinaw (lake trout) can both be taken trolling Ace Hi flies baited with Gulp strips at varying depths, along with T-4 purple glow Flatfish or whole herring rigged to spin. The benches off Minneapolis Beach have been most productive, Jones said, during evening or early morning hours at 120 to 170 feet. Surf perch derby: The recent coastal surf perch derby sponsored by Jim Jackson at Angler Charters in Westport was so successful, he said, that he's planning another for August 9. He had 77 entrants, from as far away as Seattle, Yakima and Vancouver, and there were prizes for everyone who stayed around for the weigh-in, he said. The big-fish prizes went to Richard Hall of Randall, at slightly over two and a quarter pounds, and the heaviest five-fish string was taken by Vern Coverdale of Westport, who was done fishing by 10 a.m. The weather and surf both cooperated for a great day on the beach, Jackson said. Details of the Aug. 9 event should be on his Web site soon, www.anglercharters.net. Halibut: Hein Bank has been the most productive spot for halibut anglers out of the Anacortes area, according to Bob Ferber at Holiday Sports in Burlington (above), and, except for Sucia Island, ling action has dropped off. State checks on Saturday at the Cornet Bay ramp showed 81 anglers with 15 rockfish, 9 lingcod and 5 halibut, while at the Washington Park ramp it was 49 anglers with 21 rockfish, 16 lings and 5 greenling. Some 15 anglers checked Sunday at the Mukilteo ramp had 3 rockfish and 6 lings. Saturday checks at Olson's Resort in Sekiu tallied 23 halibut for 62 anglers in Marine Area 5, and don't forget the Sekiu Halibut Derby coming up June 14. Go to www.olsonsresort.com. And last, the halibut season has closed off Ilwaco, but remains open two days per week off Westport. Shrimp: Once again the Hood Canal recreational shrimp fishery has been extended for one day, June 11, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. This will be the ninth shrimping day allowed this season on the Canal, compared to a total of seven days last year. A reduction of recreational effort contributed to a lower harvest of spot shrimp than had been expected, according to Therese Cain, state biologist. Shad: State biologist Joe Hymer in Vancouver said the Bonneville Dam shad counts are off to the slowest start in over 10 years, only 69,000 fish by June 3, compared to nearly a million fish by the same date last year. But last year was also the second-largest run on record, Hymer said. He said bank and boat fishermen in the Camas/Washougal area are catching a few fish. Sturgeon: Charter boat anglers out of Ilwaco and Chinook have been doing pretty well on lower Columbia sturgeon recently, averaging a legal kept per every 2.8 rods. The chances of a hooked sturgeon being a legal keeper was running about 40 percent. Permit deadline: Hunters have only until June 18 to apply for special fall hunting permits, and that includes those for early and late fall turkey. Application instructions and details on special-permit hunts are described in the 2008 Big Game Hunting pamphlet, available at state offices, license vendors, and online at http://wdfw.wa.gov/hunting/regs_seasons.html. In addition to turkeys, random drawing winners can win special hunting opportunities for deer, elk, mountain goat, moose, and bighorn sheep. This year's special permits include continuation of expanded permit levels for antlerless elk in the Mt. St. Helens area; an increase in branch-antlered bull permits in the Blue Mountains; and an increase in moose special permits in the Mount Spokane, 49 Degrees North B, Huckleberry Range and Hangman hunt units.

1. Gold Bar man became so sick, so fast 2. Arlington fire that killed two boys called accidental 3. Highway 9 straightening finished 4. Everett settles with woman for $120,000 5. $2 gas a relief to local drivers 6. Chicken pox outbreak quiets school 7. Edmonds man gets 15 years for drugs 8. Say a few Hail Marys, then watch a few 9. Seagulls sail into championship 10. Police arrest burglary suspect 2 - Top 10 Stories Most Talked about 3 - Top 10 Stories Most Emailed

• King's claims third-place in soccer • Shorecrest places fourth at state • Seattle Prep ends Shorecrest's title hopes • Deja vu: Seattle Christian thwarts King's title shot • Shoreline Christian's boys soccer title hopes dashed • Edmonds' Pink House staying put • King's wins first state volleyball title • RV in plain sight? City says 'That's illegal' • Timberwolves take Class 4A title • Building energy independence from the ground up