I don’t want to alarm you, but if you haven’t had your fill of coho fishing on our local rivers, I would suggest you move right along. Why? Because the dogs are hot on the coho’s heels.
Jim Strege at Triangle Beverage in Snohomish (360-568-4276) said fairly good numbers of bright, early chums showed up last week along the upper Snohomish River plunking bars, joining what is still a good fishery for coho. An early influx of dog salmon makes it tougher to get a lure to the more desirable (in many anglers’ minds) coho.
Strege said it’s almost entirely a Dick Nite spoon show on the upper Snohomish for coho, using either of the two smaller sizes behind a 6-foot leader, bounced along the bottom. Corkies and yarn are a distant second, he said. As chums show in greater numbers, anglers will switch to sand shrimp and big bobbers in purple or blue.
Only the occasional coho is being taken on the lower river, he said, mostly on trolled diving plugs.
Snohomish resident Mark Spada didn’t do his reputation as a highliner any harm Tuesday, nailing a big silver that went 17-plus pounds on the upper river.
Strege filled out the Snohomish potpourri by noting that a few anglers are finding some nice sea-run cutthroat, using nightcrawlers on the upper river (not the lower, as you would guess).
River guide and Arlington resident Sam Ingram (360-435-9311) said the Skykomish has been putting out nice coho since the last high water a couple of weeks ago, but that dropping and clearing conditions have made it tougher to sink a hook.
“There are still nice fish to be had,” he said, “but you should probably forget the eggs now and drop down to small Dick Nites or Wicked Willies behind a lighter, longer leader.”
Backtrolled plugs also work, he said, fishing the shallower, “softer” water early in the day and moving to the deeper heads of holes as it gets lighter. He has had good luck recently (four fish Tuesday between 9 and 14 pounds) on Fatfish in two color patterns: The dark red with black herringbone design on the sides, and the green/red stripe firetiger.
He worked just two holes for his Tuesday fish, between Ben Howard and the Lewis Street bridge, but worked them hard, changing plugs and colors until he found something the fish wanted.
The mainstem Stillaguamish has been productive above I-5 in the area of Blue Stilly Park, at the confluence in Arlington, and below the Highway 9 bridge in Arlington.
Bob Ferber at Holiday Market Sports in Burlington (360-757-4361) said extensive tribal netting on the lower Skagit this fall has limited success rates on coho for sport fishermen, but that at least fair fishing has been available recently between Rockport and Concrete. Try a No. 3 Vibrax spinner.
On saltwater, coho action has become even more sporadic than it was earlier in the season, but it can still be good. State Fish and Wildlife Department checks on Sunday showed 107 anglers at the Port of Everett ramp with 35 coho and three chums. At the Edmonds sling, it was 36 with 13 coho and three chums.
There are still silvers coming down the Strait of Juan de Fuca, too. Checks at Port Townsend showed better than a coho per rod over the past two weeks.
And before leaving coho, some comments by Bill Dever of Puget Sound Salmon Charters (253-435-1834), who fishes mostly in south Puget Sound. Commenting in the October issue of The Reel News, Dever said: “The Everett Coho Derby in September was a great time; don’t miss it next year. I would like to see our state representatives show up, to see how many people have purchased tickets and are out there, trying to catch fish, and how important this revenue is to our state and local economy. Almost every hotel in town was booked up and the two restaurants we ate at were packed full, not to mention the marina and fuel docks.”
Yeah.
Razor clams: Prospects are excellent for clam diggers today, tomorrow and Saturday on Long Beach, Mocrocks, Copalis and Twin Harbors beaches, according to state clam manager Dan Ayres. Kalaloch Beach will remain closed.
Ayres said tests have shown safe levels of marine toxins at the four open beaches, despite a large algae bloom 15 miles offshore. “We’re hoping the bloom will break up and move offshore, so we can avoid the kind of closures we saw two years ago,” Ayres said.
Ayres recommends buying a clam license before going to the ocean beaches, where outlets are often overwhelmed, and to start digging at least one hour before low tide. Low tides during the three-day opening are as follows: today, 7:38 p.m., minus 0.6 feet; Friday, 8:20 p.m., minus 1.0 feet; and Saturday, 9:05 p.m., minus 1.2 feet.
Smelt: Fishermen using white smelt jigs did well over the weekend at Cornet Bay, on the northeast corner of Whidbey Island, Ferber said.
Eastside steelhead: The Methow River and the adjacent stretch of the Columbia have been at least fair for summer steelhead since the opener on Oct. 1, according to Brewster resident and fishing guide Rod Hammons (509-689-2849), but the vast majority of fish have been unclipped “put-backers.”
Hammons said walleye fishing is about over for the winter.
Chums from the bank: Of the several bank fishing creeks and beaches in south Puget Sound area that provide chum opportunity each year, John’s Creek is probably the earliest. Checks there over the weekend showed five anglers with two fish, so the show is starting.
Yakima River fall chinook: Slow, at about one fish for every 33 angler-hours last week.
Hanford Reach fall chinook: Only so-so last week, at one fish for every 14.3 angler-hours.
Deer: General deer and elk seasons open Saturday, with blacktail populations in this area apparently still below average. Neither can hunters count on the popular Game Management Units around Mount St. Helens, which are closed for safety reasons. The Department of Fish and Wildlife recommends hunters who normally would opt for those GMUs (Packwood, Winston, Margaret, Yale, Toutle, Marble, Lewis River and Siouxon) try the West Klickitat and Grayback units (578 and 588) instead.
Meet the director: The outdoor-oriented seldom get a chance to hammer out issues with the boss himself, but state Fish and Wildlife director Jeff Koenings will be one of the brass available at a meeting from 7-9 p.m. on Oct. 18 at the agency’s Mill Creek regional office (16018 Mill Creek Boulevard; phone 425-775-1311).
Koenings will be accompanied by staff members from this region, and because there is no formal agenda, they will take questions from the audience for the full session involving fishing, hunting, wildlife viewing, enforcement, habitat protection, and related issues.
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