The first few days of the coastal salmon opener are always a hit-or-miss proposition as charter and private boaters fan out and look for schools of fish. The May 30 opener for marked chinook this year was no different, according to state Fish and Wildlife Department creel sampling coordinator Wendy Beeghley.
“The weather was pretty good over the weekend,” she said, “but fishing at Westport was slow. The private boats averaged about one-third fish per boat on Saturday, and that picked up to two-thirds of a fish per boat on Sunday.”
Not many charters participated in the chinook opener, Beeghley said, and those that did fared poorly.
“Most of the charters tend to stay with bottomfish until the salmon action improves,” she said, “which could be any day now. Commercial trollers in the area are doing OK, and it’s just a matter of finding the fish.”
The mark-selective chinook season on the coast is open seven days per week in all four marine areas, and will run through June 12 or until the quota is met. On the June 13, it changes to a daily limit of two salmon, but only one chinook, wild or hatchery, and only marked coho. In Marine Areas 3 and 4 (LaPush and Neah Bay), add two bonus pinks to the limit.
Beeghley said most of the marked chinook caught over the weekend were running 8 to 12 pounds, but she did see one fish in the 20-pound range.
“The first two days are always tough,” she said. “But we’re seeing weird water temperature variations and I’m guessing this could be an off-and-on season.”
Steelhead, river salmon
Various rivers or portions of rivers opened Monday to salmon and/or steelhead, and one of the high-profile spots for steelhead — Reiter Ponds on the Skykomish — was a relative bummer.
“Reiter was poor, very disappointing,” said Mike Chamberlain at Ted’s Sports Center in Lynnwood. “I heard from a customer that the Cable Hole, below Reiter proper, had probably 70 fishermen working it Monday morning, and there were only a half dozen fish caught. And up at the ponds there was also a crowd, but maybe 20 steelhead taken all morning.”
The river was low and clear, perhaps accounting for an opener down from last year’s, but “we had expected better,” Chamberlain said.
Kevin John at Holiday Sports in Burlington said the whole Skagit River system is now open to selective gear fishing and that the opener showed fair numbers of chinook above Rockport to the mouth of the Cascade River, and pretty good steelheading below Rockport. Steelheaders were using plugs and traditional drift gear.
A couple of kings were caught on the Cascade and a couple more hooked, but the river was so low and clear it was tough fishing, John said.
Shad
The number of shad counted over Bonneville Dam is getting high enough to warrant thinking about a trip to the Columbia. Over the weekend, counts were in the 40,000- to 50,000-fish range, which isn’t peak yet, but it’s getting there.
Chamberlain (above) said “some customers did very well there over the weekend, bank fishing either from the gated, limited access area at the dam, or at various spots down Hamilton Island. Most of the guys save their shad for crab, shrimp or sturgeon bait.”
It’s a good family fishery for hard-fighting fish going 2 to 4 pounds and the tackle setup is simple. Use a thee-way swivel, a light dropper to about an ounce of lead — either pencil lead or a cannonball — 4 to 5 feet of leader and a shad dart or a chartreuse/flame Dick Nite spoon. Cast and drift, trying to stay just above bottom. You’ll lose some gear, so Chamberlain suggests that the darts, at under $3 for five, are a more economical way to go.
Tulalip bubble
The Tulalip terminal chinook fishery opened Friday, and it’s a mark of the dismal prospects for the “bubble” that at least one fish, a 19-pounder, was caught on the opener and was celebrated as a major event.
“Everyone knows it’s been a dud the last few years,” said All Star Charters owner/skipper Gary Krein in Everett, “ever since the tribal hatchery switched from fall to summer chinook.”
Lings close on June 15, Krein said, and from that date to the end of the month, the bubble or the catch-and-release fishery in Marine Area 10 are about the only options. On July 1, areas 9 and 10 and the San Juan Islands open for coho, with chinook released until July 16 when the very popular catch-and-keep mark selective chinook fishery opens in Marine Area 9.
Crab
Recreational crab seasons have been set by the state for Puget Sound, and both the seasons and quotas are similar to last year. Marine Areas 4, 5, 8-1, 8-2, 9, 10, 11 and 12 open July 2 through Sept. 7, on Thursdays through Mondays each week, closed Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Marine Area 7 opens July 16 through Sept. 28, Thursdays through Mondays.
A thumbnail rundown of crabbing prospects by state biologist Don Velasquez at the agency’s Mill Creek office, lists our backyard water, Marine Area 8-1, as looking very good this year; Area 8-2 as average; 10 as good, 11 as average, 13 as poor and Hood Canal as slow.
Shrimp
Marine Areas 8-1 and 8-2 will open to recreational spot shrimp fishing for four hours on June 24. According to biologist Velasquez (above), not enough quota remained for a full day of fishing, so the opening has been modified to take the small amount remaining. This is an experiment to determine if smaller amounts of quota can be targeted and harvested by the recreational fishery. The opening will be from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on June 24, and both marine areas will be closed to all shrimp fishing on that date except during the 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. time period. All non-spot shrimp gear must be removed from the areas by the evening of June 23 and can be reset June 25.
Coonstripe and pink shrimp fishing opened Monday in Marine Areas 8-1, 8-2, 9 and 11, with a 150-foot maximum depth restriction. Marine Area 7 East is reopening for coonstripe and pink shrimp fishing as well, with a 200-foot maximum fishing depth restriction. Open daily. All spot shrimp caught must be returned to the water immediately.
Biologist Velasquez said the smaller shrimp are found in shallower water than spot shrimp, and tend to school more tightly. That makes it more important to cover water and learn the hot spots.
Saratoga Passage is a known shrimp producer, but “if it hasn’t been hit yet commercially, it will be,” Velasquez said.
For more outdoor news, read Wayne Kruse’s blog at www.heraldnet.com/huntingandfishing.
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