The weighmaster at last Saturday’s Lake Stevens Kokanee Derby had his hands full, trying to be scrupulously fair while attempting to separate a whole bunch of cookie-cutter fish of nearly the same size. This was one of those fishing tournaments where an ounce made the difference between first place and second, between second and third, between … well, you get the picture.
“It was sort of an odd derby,” said Mark Spada of the co-sponsoring Snohomish Sportsmen’s Club. “It’s the only one we’ve had in which there wasn’t a kokanee entered over a pound. It was good fishing — they weighed a bunch of fish — but the larger ones weren’t home.”
Spada said another oddity about this derby was the fact that the kokanee — normally a school fish — were not schooling,
“We got kokanee in from all over the lake, and from the surface clear down to 50 feet,” he said
The popular event sold 193 adult tickets and accommodated 52 kids fishing free. The most popular lure was some version of a Wedding Ring spinner tipped with white shoepeg corn, Spada said, although mini-squids landed a few fish.
First place and $1,000 went to Karen Swift, with an entry weighing 0.86 pounds; second and $500 went to John Lynch at 0.85 pounds; third and $250 went to Jesse Quiocho at 0.84 pounds; and fourth place, worth $100, went to Nate Kruger at 0.84 pounds (ties were decided by the earliest weigh-in).
The heaviest limit, up to 10 fish, was caught by Jody Wyse and weighed 6.06 pounds, and was tied by Doug Saint-Denis. The largest trout was a rainbow of 3.14 pounds, caught by Frank Linskey.
In the kids’ division, first place had to be a kokanee and it was caught by Conor Saint-Denis at 0.82 pounds. Second and third could be any species caught in the lake, and second place was filled by Mackenzie Ramsey’s 3.40-pound smallmouth bass. Third was a 1.86-pound rainbow taken by Nathan Larsh.
Shrimp
After a two-day recreational spot shrimp season in local waters (May 8 and 13), there looks to be about 2,000 pounds of the quota left to catch in Marine Areas 8-1 (Everett and the south half of Saratoga Passage) and 8-2 (north of Camano State Park), according to state Fish and Wildlife Department biologist Mark O’Toole in the agency’s La Conner office. The problem is how to take the 2,000 pounds without going over the quota. O’Toole said an average recreational day in 8-1 and 8-2 probably would result in a harvest of 5,000 pounds, with 8-2 usually accounting for 75 percent of that total.
“We may have to resort to opening Area 8-2 for a half-day,” he said. “We’ve done that before and it worked pretty well.”
The decision on an additional recreational opening in areas 8-1 and/or 8-2 will appear first on the agency’s website, www.wdfw.wa.gov/fishing/shellfishing.
Meanwhile, data from the opening period of the 2015 season showed the largest turnout of recreationists was on Hood Canal, at a first-day count of 1,647 boats. The heaviest catch per boat was the Bainbridge Island area, at 18.8 pounds, while Everett/Saratoga showed 17.3 pounds and Edmonds/Possession 17.1 pounds. The average recreational boat fishes 3.5 pots (four is the maximum) and carries 3.3 fishers on board.
The heaviest catch by area was Hood Canal, at an opening-day harvest of 28,023 pounds. By way of comparison, the 2014 opener totaled 27,300 pounds. The largest shrimp on the average were seen in Area 8-2, and the smallest in Hood Canal and Discovery Bay, according to data furnished by the state.
Eastside springers
The Icicle River opened to fin-clipped hatchery spring chinook on Wednesday. The Wenatchee River will follow suit on Saturday, and could be a hot little fishery. Rick Graybill at Hooked On Toys in Wenatchee (509-663-0740) said that as of Sunday, 18,500 springers had climbed Rock Island Dam on the Columbia below Wenatchee, compared to just 8,000 fish on the same date last year. The 10-year average is 5,100 springers, Graybill said.
“We’ve got a load of kings coming,” he said, “and the Wenatchee is a far better fishing opportunity than the Icicle, which will be a zoo. We were allowed to fish hatchery chinook on the Wenatchee last year for the first time ever, but it was running so high for most of the fishery you couldn’t work it effectively.”
The river was running early this week at 5,000 cubic feet per second, and Graybill said it fishes very well at that level. There are boat access points at Peshastin, Cashmere and Monitor, but check the regulations for the closure around Dryden Dam.
Graybill said boaters back-troll MagLips with a sardine wrap, or back-bounce tuna balls or eggs. Bank fishermen use herring on a plunking rig, or drift or plunk tuna balls and eggs.
Kids Trout Fish-In
Next up on the list of kids’ free fish-ins is the Boucher’s Pond event in Sultan, for youngsters 14 and under. The event runs from 10 a.m. to noon. Going east on Highway 2, cross the Sultan River bridge, take the second left (4th Street) and go about 10 or 12 blocks to the “T.” Turn right at the T and then left at the next stop sign. Go over the hill, and the pond will be on your right. Signs will be posted. For more information, call 425-870-4020.
Decoy competition
The recent Puget Sound Open Decoy Carving Competition at Holiday Sports in Burlington, sponsored by the Washington Brant Foundation, pulled some heavyweights among the 75 decoys entered. Winners included two former world champions and the competition drew entries from as far away as New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware and Michigan. One proud winner, Pam Wilson, entered from “across the pond” in the U.K. and took third place in the mini-brant classification.
Razor clams
Coastal razor clam digging closed for the year last week because of an uptick in marine toxins, but it was a banner season, nevertheless. State biologists estimate diggers harvested 5.7 million clams and had more digging days than in any season since 1989.
Since 1991, when domoic acid was first detected in clams on the Pacific coast, outbreaks have prompted the cancellation of three entire razor clam seasons in the state, the last one in 2001-03.
For more outdoor news, read Wayne Kruse’s blog at www.heraldnet.com/huntingandfishing.
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