By WAYNE KRUSE
Outdoor Writer
Saltwater coho fishing locally is starting to decline, although catches last week were still pretty good on some days. Checks at the Port of Everett Ramp ran from close to one fish per rod, to one for every three rods, depending on the day.
River anglers are finding very spotty fishing, as is often the case when chasing coho in a terminal area. Lower Snohomish River checks showed about one fish for every five rods at Langus Park and in the Lowell area, but success rates on the upper Snohomish and on the Skykomish were sometimes much better than that.
The north Lake Washington fishery has been fair to slow, running about a fish for every 8 to 12 persons.
The best coho fishing remains on the southwest Washington rivers, where a much larger than anticipated run developed this year. Catches on the Toutle and its tributary, the Green, were running about one silver per person, when visibility allowed. Boat fishermen on the Cowlitz were also hitting at a rate of about one per person, and bankers, one for four. Fishing on the Kalama and Lewis was also very good.
There seems to be considerable confusion over what type of license is needed to fish salmon in the rivers this time of year. Some anglers apparently feel that if they have the saltwater license they bought to fish Possession Bar or the shipwreck earlier, they’re legal for salmon in the Snohomish or Skykomish rivers.
Not so. If you’re fishing saltwater, you need a saltwater license, regardless of whether you’re catching chinook or cutthroat. If you’re fishing freshwater, you need a freshwater license, regardless of whether you’re catching cutthroat or chinook. If you intend to keep salmon, of course, you must have a salmon record card, regardless of your license type.
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