High water washes out Sky opener

  • Wayne Kruse / Outdoor Writer
  • Wednesday, June 5, 2002 9:00pm
  • LifeGo-See-Do

Snow melt and very high water conditions made opening weekend of the new Skykomish River summer chinook season a non-event, according to fishing guide and Arlington resident Sam Ingram (360-435-9311).

“The river was clear up in the brush,” Ingram said, “and running at 9 or 10 feet, it’s not only not really fishable, but could be downright dangerous. With that much water, there are things coming downriver at you.”

Ingram said there were lots of rumors of fish floating around, particularly late winter steelhead, but he said he takes most of them with a grain of salt. Particularly one that had a party of anglers in a jet sled hooking 20 chinook over the weekend, in the brush.

“With cooler weather this week, the river could drop into fishable shape by this weekend, or early next week,” Ingram said.

In case you missed the story in Wednesday’s Herald, by the way, the Snohomish launch has been reopened by the new city manager, Larry Bauman. The concrete ramp had been closed in March by interim city manager Jack Collins because of insurance concerns, and a committee formed to explore options had come to no conclusions.

The local fishing and boating community, upset about the closure, was obviously pleased that Bauman made the decision to reopen the facility while a longer-term solution is explored.

“We’ve had good cooperation from the new city manager,” said Snohomish County Sportsmen’s Association president Bob Heirman, Snohomish.

The ramp is marginal at best, and damaged besides, but it allows access to the entire central/upper Snohomish River and handles an enormous amount of boat traffic during the summer and during steelhead and salmon seasons.

Columbia springers: The spring chinook fishery at Drano Lake is just about through, according to state biologist Joe Hymer in Vancouver. On the Wind river, fishing effort has moved upstream to the cofferdam area, where anglers averaged about 1.25 adult kings per rod last week.

The Cowlitz is putting out pretty good fishing for a mix of hatchery springers and steelhead. Boaters last week in the Blue Creek area averaged nearly a half-steelhead per rod, according to state creel checks.

Coastal salmon: Fishing continues fair to good out of coastal ports for charter boaters, where some took two-fish limits in an hour last week. Anglers off Ilwaco averaged just under one chinook per rod, while checks at Westport showed an average of about 1.3 per rod. Kings were going 12 to 14 pounds.

Shad: Peak time is here for shad fishing below Bonneville Dam, where creel checks Tuesday averaged better than six fish per person. Counts over the Bonneville ladder reached the 1,000-fish level for the first time Friday.

Sturgeon: Some of the best lower-Columbia sturgeon fishing occurs each year during both the smelt and shad runs, as the big fish follow the smaller ones in from their estuarine environment. Good fishing is available now, where 50 charter boats and 488 anglers out of Ilwaco last week had released 816 sublegal sturgeon, released eight oversize sturgeon, and kept 428 legal fish.

Hood Canal shrimp: The 2002 recreational spot shrimp season in Hood Canal closed May 29, after four days of fishing, and shrimp managers say it was an excellent fishery. Therese Cain, biologist at the Fish and Wildlife Department’s Brinnon shellfish lab, said the weather was good, and catch rates were high for the large crowd hitting the water. The recreational take was estimated at 73,500 pounds of the large shrimp, and observers estimated the average shrimper took home 4.3 pounds per person.

Lingcod: Lings have come back strongly in recent years, under more conservative management by the state, and catch rates so far this season are reflecting that fact. Checks Sunday at the Washington Park ramp in Anacortes showed 66 anglers with 33 lings, averaging 10 pounds; 18 rockfish; 16 greenling, and one cabezon. Similar checks at Cornet Bay on Saturday tallied 25 lings, averaging 14 pounds, for 54 anglers, and at the Mukilteo sling on Sunday, it was 21 lings, averaging 8 pounds, for 50 anglers.

Halibut: The Port Angeles Halibut Derby on Sunday produced 15 fish for the 98 anglers registered. Largest was an 84-pounder.

Local trout: There are still plenty of rainbow left in many local lakes, according to avid angler and river guide Sam Ingram (above). He says McMurray is still producing pretty good fishing, and that he did well at Lake Goodwin over the weekend. Where does a steelhead and salmon guide go when he has a day at leisure because the river is high and dirty? He goes trout fishing, of course.

“I launched at the park and put on a brown carey, with a touch of red, to troll over to the hedges (a popular bait fishing spot, across the lake southwesterly from the park launch), and caught four or five trout in the 9- or 10-inch range on the way over,” Ingram said. “I anchored up, next to the regulars, off the hedges, but bait wasn’t producing much at first. Finally, about 8:30, the bite came on (green Power Bait was the ticket) and we all caught fish.”

Ingram said the main target by the regular anglers at the hedges is a group of rainbow in the 18- to 22-inch range. There aren’t a lot of them, he says, but that morning each boat probably took at least one fish that size.

“I also saw fish caught in and near the park’s swimming area,” Ingram said. “If you don’t have a boat, and can get there early enough in the morning, before the swimmers arrive, you can catch rainbow off the boat launch dock.”

Eastside trout: Everett Steelhead and Salmon Club member Jim Brauch took a several-day trip over the Cascades to Douglas County’s big Jameson Lake, a topnotch water he had never before fished, last week, and says he’ll go again.

The lake, arguably the top single rainbow lake in the state, operates under a split season. It will be closed in July and August, reopening for October. Fall, and fishing, in the basalt-and-sagebrush Coulee country, can be great, and many Jameson aficionados plan a specific trip for October, when rainbow are fat and there’s a nip in the morning air.

Brauch found the best action in the south end of the lake, where a couple of smaller, shallower arms of the larger lake can often outfish the main water. He trolled black leech patterns, or anchored and fished chironomids off bottom, and scored well on chunky, hard-fighting 10- to 12-inchers.

“Jack’s Resort, on the south end of the lake, is not only one of the few places to stay, but a great place to stay (509-683-1095),” Brauch says. “It’s well-run, spotless, and the food – particularly the homemade pies – is excellent.”

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