So the fishing report for earlier this week involved a lot of hemlock and alder being hooked on the Skykomish, some of nice size, while anglers on the Skagit were hitting mostly dark cedar stumps and the occasional beaver-chew stick.
But don’t despair. When the cricks drop, in many cases by this weekend, floating timber will be replaced by fresh, bright winter steelhead. Fishing prior to the recent heavy rains was good to very good, depending on who you talked to, and the high water can’t have done anything but bring more fish in from the salt.
John Martinis of John’s Sporting Goods in Everett (425-259-3056) floated the Sky from Sultan down late last week, with Ken Danard, and the pair hooked seven fish and landed three.
“There weren’t a lot of boats on the river, but everybody we talked to had a couple of fish or better,” Martinis said. “Bank fishermen were getting ‘em too.”
He said some of the smaller streams are probably fishable today, and that the Wallace would be a good bet if the larger streams haven’t yet dropped in.
Guide and Marysville resident Tom Nelson (tom@fishskagit.com) adds the Pilchuck to the fast-dropping list, and says the Reiter Ponds stretch of the Skykomish should be hot.
Checks on the Cowlitz below the barrier dam late last week showed 248 bank anglers with 64 coho and 44 steelhead. On the Kalama it was 42 bank anglers with three coho and 14 steelhead, and three boat anglers with three steelhead. Lewis River checks showed 23 bank anglers with one steelhead, and 11 boat anglers with 11 steelhead.
One fishery that has everyone scratching their heads, however, is that on the Whidbey Island beaches. The action at Bush Point, Lagoon Point and Fort Casey has been practically nonexistent so far this season, according to knowledgeable anglers.
“It’s been terrible, and that’s highly unusual,” Martinis said. “I’ve been talking with a couple of the best fishermen on the island, and they say that the seals aren’t even coming up with any fish.”
Over on the Olympic Peninsula, Bob Gooding at Olympic Sporting Goods in Forks (360-374-6330) said his rivers were brown and ugly even on Tuesday.
“But it cleared and froze last (Tuesday) night, and if we don’t get a whole bunch more rain, they should be fishable by the weekend,” he said. “And there should be lots of fish around, if we can just get at ‘em.”
Gooding said fishing had been excellent before the rains, mostly on the Bogachiel, from the hatchery down to the Calawah, but that fish were also showing on the Sol Duc and the Hoh. The Hoh, however, is notoriously slow coming back into fishing shape.
The state’s creel check numbers support Gooding’s contention of fine winter steelheading so far this season. Checks on the Bogachiel Dec. 3-6 showed 105 anglers with 171 steelhead. For Dec. 7-9, it was 66 anglers with 37 steelhead.
“That’s pretty fantastic fishing,” said the state’s fish program manager for Region 6, Bill Freymond.
Winter blackmouth: Marine Area 10, south of Edmonds, is open through the end of the month for catch-and-keep blackmouth fishing, and Gary Krein, owner/skipper of All Star Charters (425-252-4188) says either the Appletree Point area, across from Edmonds, or Jefferson Head, across from Seattle, should be good producers during the short season.
Krein hadn’t been able to get out since the season opened Dec. 16, because of wind, and was just putting the downriggers down at Appletree point when we talked. He said there was only one other boat in the area Wednesday morning, and they had one fish in the box at about 10 a.m.
Krein was going to be fishing on bottom, in 90 to 150 feet of water, using a flasher and Coyote spoon combination.
Razor clams: The last scheduled winter razor clam opening on the coast is Sunday, Monday and Tuesday, at Long Beach, Twin Harbors, Copalis and Mocrocks, assuming tests show clams free of marine toxins. The low tide Dec. 30 is a minus 0.8 at 6:40 p.m.; Dec. 31, a minus 1.0 at 7:24 p.m.; and Jan. 1, a minus 1.0 at 8:09 p.m.
Biologists are contemplating more winter openings, on into the new year, depending on the results of this last round of digs and toxin levels.
Elk viewing: The great opportunity for the family to view and photograph elk at the state’s Oak Creek Wildlife Area, west of Yakima, is under way. Between 800 and 1,000 animals were already in residence for their winter hay handout at last count, and numbers should build to 1,600 or 1,800 at the peak of the season. Feeding time is 1:30 p.m., and there are Senior Environmental Corps volunteers on hand seven days a week in the parking lot and small visitors’ center, 9 a.m.-4 p.m., to provide information. Visit the regional Web site, www.wa.gov/wdfw/lands/r3oakcrk.htm.
Crab: All northern Puget Sound marine areas are open to Dungenss and red rock crab fishing, but Port Susan/Port Gardner could close most any time because of a soft shell problem. Check www.wa.gov/wdfw/fish/shellfish.
Gift for anglers: Covering the outdoor scene for almost 30 years has required a fairly large shelf of reference works, but only a small handful have proven irreplaceable. A state map book, called the Washington Atlas and Gazetteer, by DeLorme, is one. Another is the Washington State Fishing Guide, first published by the late Stan Jones of Seattle, and now being produced by longtime Washington outdoor communicator Terry Sheely of Black Diamond.
The newly revised, updated and expanded eighth edition of the venerable guidebook has just been released and, if you’re looking for a last-minute Christmas gift for the angler on your list, it should fit the bill admirably. This book has been, and continues to be, the fishing bible for Washington’s 1.3 million licensed anglers.
The list of subjects is almost endless, but its core is a lake-by-lake, stream-by-stream, county-by-county guide to what’s available to sportfishermen, and where. It’s been expanded to include saltwater fish and marine areas in the state this time around, including charters, fishing piers, artificial reefs and more.
If, let’s say, someone mentioned to you the great cutthroat trout fishing in Lake Lenore, the guide will tell you how to get there, the species available, boat launches or bank fishing opportunities, what to use, and the best time to fish it.
The Washington State Fishing Guide has 408 soft-cover pages, and sells for $19.95 at book stores, tackle shops and marinas. Or order it from Terry Sheely, TNS Communications, P.O. Box 86, Black Diamond, WA 98010; phone 360-886-9798; e-mail tsheely@sosnet.net.
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