The July king salmon fishery in Marine Area 9 offered a real summer bright spot — the best action on adult chinook around here in decades. It was made possible by fin clipping hatchery fish and by the efforts of a handful of sport-fishing activists who spent a lot of time in Olympia, lobbying for the clipping process and for selective catch-and-keep seasons.
The fishery provided a ripple-effect windfall of $3 million-plus in economic benefit for central- and north-Sound businesses and services, state officials said, and appeared to be a resounding success.
Dave Page of Edmonds wrote in an e-mail that “we had the best two weeks of fishing in 20 years. Would you please find out who lobbied to make this happen for us? Every single one of us who enjoyed this opportunity needs to contribute in some way so that we can have this season every year. Sportsmen have been sitting on their hands while the commercials and the Indians hire expensive lobbyists to get their way. Long past time when we should have joined the battle.”
Brad Johnson, fishing in buddy Dan Barnhart’s boat on July 20, nailed a 32-pound king on the east side of Possession Bar on an incoming tide, and could hardly believe that the trophy fish was clipped.
In an e-mail Johnson wrote, “I was born and raised in Marysville and have been an avid local fisherman for over 50 years. Although I have chased chinook from the Columbia to Ucluelet (Vancouver Island), this was my biggest king ever. We caught several other nice fish, some clipped and some wild that were carefully released, before the quota was reached. We are very pleased and supportive of the new selective chinook rules and want to thank the tribes for supporting the fin-clipping program.”
Not everyone was pleased, however.
The September issue of The Reel News, a popular sport fishing-oriented tabloid newspaper with headquarters in Lake Stevens, quoted some of the recreational fishing advocates involved in the North of Falcon season-set as saying they thought they had negotiated more and longer selective chinook seasons until they were “blind-sided” by secret, closed-door state/tribal decisions. More than one called for open, transparent negotiations by all parties in the future, including state and tribal representatives.
And one angry e-mail I received questioned the state’s method for determining the number of fish caught and suggested that the total was nowhere near the 7,000-fish quota.
Department of Fish and Wildlife Puget Sound recreational salmon fishing biologist Steve Thiesfeld weighed in with a response to questions about the accuracy of the department’s sampling and the logic of its management of the two-week marked Chinook catch-and-keep season.
“One major problem is that often people don’t fully realize how many folks were out there fishing,” he said. “I’m confident that our catch numbers for that fishery were right in the ballpark.”
Thiesfeld said the agency used techniques tested and proven over a number of years on the Strait of Juan de Fuca, on Elliott Bay and on Lake Washington during the occasional sockeye fishery.
“The methodology has undergone rigorous statistical review by our biometrician and all indications are that it is an accurate and robust method for estimating catch,” he said. “When we compare it to catch record card estimates, the two methods produce remarkably similar results.”
Methodology includes intensive dock-side sampling; on the water surveys; test fishing; voluntary trip reports; monitoring of all charter fishing boats daily; and interviews to determine accurate percentages of anglers exiting the water at places other than the staffed check points.
Perception of catch rates can vary widely, Thiesfeld said, depending on where the observing angler was fishing, on what day, and at what time.
“For the first week (of this chinook fishery), catch rates were outstanding at Port Townsend and very good in the Possession Bar/Point No Point area, but low throughout Area 10,” he said. “By the second week, Possession had slowed considerably except during the evening bite, and Area 10 picked up. Port Townsend remained strong throughout the fishery. Our test boat in Area 9 caught 15 marked, legal-size Chinook (fishing two rods for five days) during the first week of the fishery (all released), for a rate of 1.5 keeper chinook per angler per day — an extremely high catch rate.
“During the second week,” Thiesfeld continued, “the test boat caught 34 marked, legal-size chinook for a rate of 3.4 keeper fish per angler per day. Most people have never seen a catch rate like that for chinook even in Alaska. Effort was also extremely high during the fishery, with between 700 and 3,500 anglers fishing, per day.”
Thiesfeld said his staff’s actual catch estimate for July 21 in Area 9 was 2,310 anglers with 364 chinook, plus an additional 45 fish on charter boats that day.
No matter what your view, at least we had the two weeks, and perhaps — because it seemed to go well — the fishery was a first step toward expanded opportunities in the future.
There are a lot of recreational activists to thank for their hours of dedication to the resource and sport salmon fishing. A few names would include Larry Carpenter of Master Marine in Mount Vernon, representing the Northwest Marine Trade Association; Carl Burke, representing fishing tackle manufacturers and retailers; Clint Muns of Puget Sound Anglers; Gary Krein of the Puget Sound Charter Boat Association; Tony Floor of the NMTA; Curt Kraemer, retired state biologist and avid angler, and lots of others.
The best way to support these guys, according to guide, activist and Arlington resident Sam Ingram, is to join an organized club and make your voice heard. Any of the Puget Sound Anglers chapters would be a good choice, including the Everett Steelhead and Salmon Club. Contact past president Jim Brauch at 425-745-0444, or jbrauch@comcast.net.
Ingram said he would also be available, by phone (360-435-9311) to share ideas on becoming more active in the sport-fishing movement, but not simply to listen to complaints. “If you’re not a member of a club or involved in some other way, you’ve got no room to (complain),” he said.
The Reel News is a good source of information on issues and commentary. Write the tabloid at 621 State Route 9 NE, No. A-16, Lake Stevens, Wash., 98258, or e-mail thereelnews@comcast.net.
Bits and Pieces: Recent heavy rains pretty much put the boot to this fall’s in-river coho fishery, with one exception: The Skagit above the Sauk, and the Cascade, have been producing well and should still be fishable this weekend. The mainstem Stillaguamish had been the best of the area rivers before the deluge, but it’s probably blown out for the foreseeable future.
Catch-and-keep sturgeon fishing below Bonneville Dam has been extended, and the usual fall peak is on its way. Big, dangerous water, but scenic and exciting. Hire a guide or plunk from the bank downstream from the dam.
Pretty good reports are coming from British Columbia’s Vedder River for a mix of salmon species. Excellent fall fishing and a relatively easy drive.
The Grays Harbor salmon opener Monday for coho and chinook off the Johns River was pretty much a bust, according to local anglers who made the trek.
Lone Lake on Whidbey Island is putting out rainbows to 20 inches for fly fishermen tossing leech patterns or chironomids, and the Yakima River — with irrigation over — has dropped to a more manageable level.
If you’re a salmon highliner, the annual Roche Harbor derby, scheduled for Feb. 7-9 and costing $600 per four-angler boat to enter, is for you. Prizes are $10,000 for first place, $5,000 for second and $1,500 for third. Moorage and meals are included in the entry fee. Contact Debbie Sandwith at 360-378-5562; e-mail market@rocheharbor.com.
Hanford Reach perked last week, where state checks showed 265 adult kings and 97 jacks caught, compared to 204 and 21, respectively, last year at this point. The catch average was one chinook for every two rods.
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