Love ‘em or hate ‘em, chum salmon are in the spotlight this weekend, with big runs in all the area rivers.
The run forecast for the Snohomish system is about 70,000 adult chums, state Department of Fish and Wildlife biologist Curt Kraemer at the Mill Creek office said.
“That’s about average for the past few years,” Kraemer said, “and it should provide pretty good fishing in the Snohomish and Skykomish.”
Kraemer said the Snohomish chums showed up about two weeks early this year, and biologists won’t know for another week to 10 days whether that means a larger run than predicted, or just an early run. He also said the fish appear slightly smaller this fall than in recent years, with few fish reported in the 20-pound range.
The Stillaguamish main stem – if it’s fishable this weekend – should be full of chums. The forecast there is for about 125,000 fish, Kraemer said.
The Skagit run size has been upgraded from 120,000 to 145,000 fish, and a catch-and-keep season has been opened for two chums.
River guide and Arlington resident Sam Ingram (360-435-9311) said the mid-Skykomish produced a nice bunch of chums on Tuesday. And just because the fish color quickly, he said, is no reason to write them off as table or smoker fodder.
“Some of the chums we hooked,” he said, “were colored up pretty good, but still had sea lice on ‘em. Color is a function of sexual maturity, not how long they’ve been in the river, and if they’re still carrying sea lice, they’re completely useable.”
Sky chums are averaging 8 to 9 pounds this year, Ingram said, with a fair number in the teens. If you’re hunting for fresher fish, he said, stick to the deeper “traveling water.”
Reports have been excellent from the Skagit, according to Bob Ferber at Holiday Sports in Burlington (360-757-4361), with chums being taken through most of the river’s length. Additionally, fresh hooknose coho to 18 or 20 pounds have been sprinkled in the catch, particularly from Sedro-Woolley upriver to above the Lyman-Hamilton area.
Skagit chum hunters have been scoring on 10 or more fish per day, using a variety of Kwikfish, Dick Nites, larger Wicked Willies, and size 2 through 6 Spin N Glos in a number of metallic colors. Ferber also said some customers have been taking both late coho and fresh chums on the Snohomish system, using K-14 Kwikfish with sardine wraps, working the deeper slots and holes.
Another chum setup that has been particularly successful for some anglers, Ferber said, has been a No. 4 Spin N Glo in purple/chartreuse, sandshrimp, and a small purple mini-squid. “They tell me the mini-squid definitely enhanced the lure’s effectiveness, particularly for larger fish to 20 pounds,” he said.
The Hoodsport beach fishery is smokin’, with a state check last week showing 27 anglers with 34 chum and one coho. The similar Kennedy Creek fishery on Totten Inlet in south Puget Sound has been only a step behind, showing 28 chums for the 39 anglers checked.
Local saltwater: The winter blackmouth fishery, which opened Nov. 1, has been only fair so far, according to most knowledgeable anglers. There seem to be reasonable numbers of fish around, but the bite hasn’t been particularly aggressive and hordes of shakers make it difficult to keep gear in the water.
The popular Everett Bayside Marine Derby last weekend sold 155 tickets and weighed 63 fish, including the $2,000 first-place blackmouth, nailed by Mike Warner, at 15 pounds, 9 ounces. Second place went to Clay Erickson at 15-2; third to 7-year old Alex Yonke for a 14-6 coho; and the largest chum prize to Bob Pearson, at 12-1.
The derby collected 769 pounds of food for the Volunteers of America food bank.
Mike Chamberlain at Ted’s Sport Center in north Lynnwood (425-743-9505) said the Hat Island area has been putting out some of the larger blackmouth in the area, at 10 to 12 pounds. Other areas in Saratoga Passage, along with Possession Bar and Scatchet Head, are producing more fish in the 6- to 8-pound range.
“To cut down on the number of shakers they’re hooking, some guys are switching to 4- or 5-inch plugs instead of the usual flasher-hoochie setup,” Chamberlain said, “Silver Hordes in pearl or pearl/chartreuse are good, along with Tomic numbers 602, 603, 84-FLG, and 500.”
Those sticking with flasher and squid are using hoochies in glow green and mother of pearl, he said.
Chamberlain said fall chinook in the Humptulips, Satsop and Wynoochee are still worth a shot for fish running to the 40-pound range.
Razor clams: The latest coastal razor clam dig starts this afternoon, with a low tide of minus 0.6 feet at 5:33 p.m., on four beaches: Long Beach, Twin Harbors, Copalis and Mocrocks. There will be no opening at Kalaloch Beach, where the domoic acid level in clams is still too high to allow a dig.
The legal low tide on Friday is a minus 1.2 at 6:18 p.m., and on Saturday, minus 1.5 at 7:04 p.m. State razor clam manager Dan Ayres suggests starting to dig at least one hour prior to low tide.
Ayres also recommends buying a shellfish license prior to leaving home, to ease pressure on coastal outlets and to avoid long lines. A relatively new license option is for “razor clams only,” in both annual and three-day versions.
Smelt: Surprisingly slow so far. Cornet Bay has been the best of the bunch for smelt jiggers, and it should break loose any time now.
Squid: About the same as smelt jigging, with the occasional good night starting to show at the Edmonds pier.
Waterfowl: Windy days have produced some good duck shooting on state land near Samish Island, as birds start to find the 160 acres of corn planted there by the Washington Waterfowl Association. Skagit Wildlife Area manager John Garrett said the agency has added 100 acres on the east side of the existing 410-acre Samish Unit and, when ducks find the corn, it should hold them in the area for the whole season.
The 23 manufactured ponds on the original Samish Unit are holding water now, and so the unit should be in full production.
Garrett said there are 40 acres in barley and 40 acres in winter wheat on the Headquarters Unit, west of Conway on Fir Island which – when the birds find it – should offer some good decoy possibilities. The Island Unit, across a slough from the headquarters, was planted to 150 acres of corn this year. It’s now flooded, and also carries some leftover wheat and grasses. There are good numbers of ducks around this year, Garrett said, and prospects on all three units are good, weather cooperating.
“Our youth hunt this year was incredible,” Garrett said. “Anyone with a young hunter should think about participating next year.”
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