I presented a program last night about fly fishing for pink salmon for the Northwest Fly Anglers, a family fly fishing club based in north Seattle
It was a good night and I learned a few things from club members who shared some of their experience fishing for humpies.
The consensus was that pinks are a little bigger this year and that they still aren’t in central and northern Puget Sound in big numbers.
I provided a handout for club members that I thought I would share with my blog readers. Here goes:
Pinks are the smallest Pacific salmon, averaging 3 to 5 pounds and reaching a typically maximum of about 12 pounds. The state record is a lot bigger. Despite their usually smaller size and the fact that they’re not the greatest fighters, pinks can be great sport, especially for fly fishers.
As they head for their native rivers, pinks often travel very close to the beach and are often in shallower water than other salmon. They also gather in large numbers near the mouths of the rivers as they await the fall rains to push up river levels.
Pink life cycle
Pinks, also called Humpies because of the large hump on the backs of males as they get ready to spawn, leave for the saltwater soon after they’re born, working their way along Washington and Canada to the Alaska coast. They are true omnivores, eating a variety of food from small crustaceans (krill) to shrimp, squid and, as they grow, baitfish. Many of the organisms they eat are pink or orange in color, and pinks like brighter colors, especially shades of pink. After feeding in the ocean for about 18 months, they come home to spawn.
Pinks are being caught right now off Seiku, and they arrived about three weeks early. It won’t be long before they head further into the Sound. They should start moving in local waters in late July and early August and continue into September.
Saltwater pinks
Pursuing pinks in the saltwater is a great idea because the fish are in good physical shape and pursue flies more aggressively. Fly fishers need a 6 or 7 weight rod. A 5 weight can handle pinks, but not the occasional coho you can expect to catch. In the saltwater, pinks are generally within 50 feet of the surface and frequently within 25 to 30 feet, especially when light levels are low in the early morning, at dusk, or on cloudy days.
The best line is probably a 24-foot sink tip weighted at 300 grains to get your fly down quickly. Leaders are 2X or 3X, about six feet long or less. An anodized reel is a must to protect it from saltwater. Whichever reel you use, make sure you clean it carefully in freshwater after each use.
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Finding fish
The best way to find a school of pinks is to look for individuals that are jumping and rolling on the surface. Pinks often show themselves, especially early in the morning. Since they are school fish, seeing one of two jump typically means there are many more below.
If you don’t see jumpers, look for other indicators like feeding birds, fleeing baitfish, tide rips and tide lines. Again, if you see salmon jumping, get your line in the water.
Good flies: Bucktail or marabou clousers in pale pink and hot pink. Try just below the surface and then left the fly sink further with each cast until you start getting hookups. Retrieves should be fairly slow. Before you start your retrieve, mend your line and let it work in the current or tide rips. Then bring the fly back slowly with short strips with frequent pauses.
Good area: Humpy Hollow between Mukilteo and Edmonds (near the shipwreck) is very popular.
The beach
As mentioned above, pinks often travel close to the beach and also gang up near river mouths as they get ready for their spawning runs. The will be found in many of the same areas that you would find sea-run cutthroat trout. A nine-foot, 6-weight rod is perfect, either with an intermediate line or a floater.
With the intermediates, I use about 4 to 6 feet of 2x or 3x tippet. With a floating line, a 9- or 10-foot leader is about right. You just need to get the fly below the surface.
Again early morning or later in the evening is best. Look for pinks breaking the surface. Or watch for jumping bait, feeding birds, rips etc.
Good areas: Picnic Point, Richmond Beach, Meadowdale beach, Mukilteo beach, Kayak Point Park and South Whidbey State Park are all good public areas to fish. There are many others here in central Puget Sound around Seattle. Brown’s Point near the Puyallup also puts out a lot of pinks. Don’t be afraid to work your friends to learn of people with homes or cabins who don’t mind providing you beach access.
Good flies. Again, pink clousers, Knutsen spiders or reverse spiders. Euphasids or amphipods (zooplankton) are popular with pinks. This time of year, they’re more likely eating baitfish, but they will take a euphasid fished just below the surface.
When first starting, especially if it’s early, don’t wade very far in the water. Look for jumping fish to find their location and cast with your feet still on the sand. If you have no luck or you see fish out further, wade in a little and go after them.
Cast into the current and let your line drift and sink a bit. Do not quickly retrieve across current because that will make your fly look unnatural. Retrieve with short twitches and regular pauses. The line should come in relatively slowly. Do not expect a sharp grab and swift run. Pinks often just stop the fly with a soft take. If you feel anything, set the hook. It could be a weed, but it’s just as likely to be a pink.
Staging areas
As mentioned before, pinks will crowd the mouths of their home rivers like the Snohomish or Stillaguamish. Look for saltwater access in these areas. Kayak Point park is one such staging area located just south of the mouth of the Stillaguamish.
Rivers
Fish start hitting the rivers in mid to late August if there’s enough water, reaching good numbers in the first part of September. I generally like to fish for them in the lower parts of the river because as the fish go further upriver, they are less interested in a fly, they are in worse physical shape and they are in smaller numbers. Pinks, when given the chance, will spawn as close to the Sound as they can because it makes it easier for the young salmon to get to the saltwater. If you have a boat, fishing in the Snohomish sloughs can be highly successful and you will encounter fewer people. I especially like Ebey Slough.
I have fished Ebey for many years and have seen pinks come in large groups as they push into the slough with the high tides. You can be sitting in the slough and see what looks like a group of small porpoises cruising upriver just below the surface. That’s almost always followed by immediately hookups.
Good flies: I like a Mike’s Comet (of course, it’s my fly) and flies like Preston Singletary’s Hubert Humpy. In rivers, color and action are much more important than the specific fly. Most styles of fly work, as long as they’re pink. I like flies with two or more shades of pink, but hot pink is certainly the most popular shade. Flies that incorporate rabbit strips or marabou provide good action. Weight is also important.
Dumbbell eyes or a nonlead wire wrapped a few times near the hook eye help to create a twitchy, jigging action that will trigger a strike.
With a 10-foot sink tip, I usually quarter the fly downstream, let it drift toward the bottom and bring it back slowly with short twitches, letting the fly drop, twitching it, letting it drop etc. The strikes are often soft, just stopping the fly.
With a floating line, use a long leader, sometimes 15 feet or more. Let the fly sink near the bottom and twitch it back slowly. If you can see the fish or have a sense of where the school is, work the edges rather than throwing the fly into the middle of the school. You can usually catch more fish that way rather than spook the school.
You can see a video on how to tie a reverse spider, one of my favorite flies in the saltwater, by Clicking here
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