If you’re in the market to break a rod, tear a rotator cuff or otherwise converse with a couple of mean, beefy chum salmon, it’s peak season right now at the Hoodsport Hatchery on Hood Canal. And it’s a fishery not subject to cancellation by wind, rain or other foul factors that have wreaked havoc on recreational pursuits around much of Puget Sound.
State Department of Fish and Wildlife creel checks on Saturday tallied 84 beach fishermen at the mouth of the hatchery creek, and they had an incredible 170 hatchery chums. Yes, the fishery is a little less than aesthetic – some of the fish are on the dark side – but man, if you want action, that’s action.
Similar fishing, albeit not quite as fast and furious, is available on a couple of south Puget Sound streams, including Kennedy Creek, and up north in Bellingham at the mouth of Whatcom Creek. The latter is an urban fishery in downtown Bellingham, according to Bob Ferber at Holiday Market Sports in Burlington. Anglers cast and retrieve green, chartreuse or purple Corkies, or work a float and jig combo, Ferber said, for fish averaging 8 to 10 pounds. As of last weekend, there were still fresh, bright fish showing up.
Blackmouth fishing in Marine Area 9 is also a prime possibility, between storm fronts. All Star Charters owner/skipper Gary Krein said the fish aren’t big – 9 pounds or so is about tops recently – but the catch rate on legal-size chinook has been better than was the case earlier in areas 8-1 and 8-2.
The “tin shed” area on the east side of outer Possession Bar has been a consistent producer, Krein said, fishing 10 or 20 feet off the bottom at 100 to 150 feet. Working the tide changes and finding bait have been crucial factors, he said, and he’s gone to 5-inch Tomic plugs much of the time to discourage the large population of shakers. His favorite plug is the 603 mother of pearl, he said.
Steelhead: Mike Chamberlain at Ted’s Sport Center in north Lynnwood said the Reiter Pond stretch of the upper Skykomish was putting out pretty good steelhead, mostly leftover summer fish, until it blew out entirely. When fishable, it should continue to be productive, he said, and probably produce a few early winter-runs.
This is the time to hit the Lewiston-Clarkston area for Snake River summer steelhead, before the really cold weather sets in. Fishing can be excellent at places like the mouth of the Clearwater and the mouth of the Grande Ronde, backtrolling plugs such as Fatfish in metallic red, green, blue or purple, or diver/sandshrimp combinations. Free drifting, or “boondogging,” with standard westside bobber-and-yarn rigs also should produce, but backtrolling is probably the most consistent method.
This is big water and sometimes difficult to read, so it pays to hire a guide if you’re unfamiliar with the area.
The bank fishery for steelhead on the central Columbia at the Ringold Hatchery is also in full swing. State personnel estimated 140 steelhead taken there last week, with fishermen averaging one fish for each six hours fished. The hatchery is on the east side of the river, above the Tri-Cities.
Up at Brewster, guide Rod Hammons said steelheading on the Columbia is only fair, and that “the numbers of fish just aren’t there this year.” Best bet, he said, is working float and jig, with red-dyed shrimp, off the docks at Pateros. The water is starting to clear from recent high and dirty conditions, he said. The Rock Dancer jigs are popular, but Hammons prefers the marabou variety.
“I hear a lot of people complaining about the WDFW not opening the Methow and Okanogan to steelheading this fall, but I think it was a smart move. They could just as well have closed the mainstem Columbia, too,” Hammons said.
And while on the subject, don’t forget Saturday’s steelhead and river fishing clinic, sponsored by the Everett Steelhead &Salmon Club and Everett Parks and Recreation. It will be held from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at Floral Hall in Forest Park in Everett. The event is free and open to all interested fishermen. Experts will cover how and where to catch steelhead and salmon.
Squid jigging: Fishing at the Edmonds pier picked up a couple of weeks ago, according to Chamberlain (above), but has been hit and miss since then.
Sturgeon: Fishing on the Columbia, from the lower end up to Bonneville Dam, has been very good recently, with state checks showing 60 bank anglers on Nov. 9 in the Gorge, just below the dam, with 26 legal sturgeon kept and 30 sublegals and seven over-legals released.
According to state biologist Joe Hymer in the agency’s Vancouver office, the cumulative recreational sturgeon catch in the lower river is 6,700 fish for 51,100 angler trips, through Oct. 31. Since the annual catch guideline is 12,000 sturgeon for this section of river, recreational fishermen probably will not take their quota this season and a substantial number will be rolled over, uncaught, into 2007-08.
Hymer said the reopened season probably will be the best chance for bank anglers to catch and keep a sturgeon in a long time, from Camas up to Bonneville. Keepers must be within the minimum of 42 inches and maximum of 60 inches.
Southwest rivers: Even though streams are yo-yoing up and down, anglers are still hitting big populations of coho below the barrier dam on the Cowlitz and below the hatchery on the Lewis. This in spite of the Cowlitz running at 27,800 cubic feet per second Tuesday morning.
Columbia triploids: It’s rainbow time on the Columbia pool above Chief Joseph Dam known as Rufus Woods Lake – both for “standard” Spokane-strain rainbows going 14 to 18 inches, and for the big net-pen triploid brood stockers to 20 pounds. Guide Anton Jones of Chelan said the big trips are there and visible, but difficult to tempt. He recommended trolling Wedding Rings baited with worms or corn, or a Double Whammy, down along the buoy line above the dam, or upriver around the net pens.
“There are fish throughout the system,” he said. “If trolling isn’t working for you, try throwing Rooster Tails off points and other structure along the shoreline.”
Chelan Mackinaw: Jones (above) said trout action on Lake Chelan has been excellent when the weather has allowed his guides to get out. A local party – Leo Odore of Mill Creek, his son Tim and grandsons Brandon and Matt – fished with Jones on Nov. 10 and nailed 11 Macs to under 9 pounds on a four-hour trip.
Hood Canal video: Rare underwater video showing conditions in Hood Canal during a recent low-oxygen event is available on the state’s Web site (http://wdfw.wa.gov/hab/hood_canal_oxygen.htm). The streaming video shows effects of the event on lingcod, rockfish and octopus, near Sund Rocks on the west side of the Canal. The footage was taken by research biologist Wayne Palsson in mid-September.
Algae blooms in the narrow body of water, and the resulting low oxygen levels, have become a recurring problem and have resulted in recent die-offs of fish, shellfish and invertebrates.
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