If you still haven’t put a few sockeye fillets in the freezer, this weekend may be your last chance.
The current extension of the recreational season on Lake Washington – through Sunday – likely will be the last, according to salmon manager Tim Flint with the state Fish and Wildlife Department in Olympia.
And because fishing pressure has been falling off, the department has sweetened the pot by upping the daily limit from two to four salmon per person.
As of Sunday, anglers had caught an estimated 43,000 sockeye of the 57,000 fish available for harvest by non-tribal fishermen. Flint said the first few days of the fishery resulted in a success rate of about one salmon per rod. The rate has since dropped off but has been holding steady through three season extensions at about 80 percent. That’s phenomenal success for an urban fishery that draws a high percentage of casual, less-knowledgeable anglers.
Flint said the best fishing recently has been in the south end of the lake, as sockeye drift toward their spawning stream, the Cedar River. He recommended fishing in 70 to 90 feet of water, using a dodger with a black hook on 14 to 16 inches of leader.
“Try it this weekend when fewer boats mean less congestion at the launch ramps,” said Mike Chamberlain at Ted’s Sport Center in Lynnwood (425-743-9505). “Many of the fish on the south end of the lake are coloring up now, but you can still find bright ones. I would suggest the south end of Mercer Island, in the 50- to 60-foot zone or a little deeper.”
Chamberlain said a chrome size “0” or “1” dodger with scalelight is the way to go, followed by 12 to 15 inches of leader and a 2/0 or 3/0 hook in red, black, blue or green, often tied double, in close tandem. Some anglers have experimented successfully with fluorescent hooks as well, he said.
“If you’re not catching fish, you’re probably doing one of two things,” Chamberlain said. “You’re not going slowly enough, or you’re not finding a school and sticking right on top of it.”
Chinook: Elliott Bay continues to produce good king salmon fishing for those who know how to work it and who are willing to be out there really early in the morning. A tribal fishery late last week slowed things a bit, but by Friday evening and Saturday morning action had resumed. Mike Chamberlain (above) said the average has been running close to a fish per rod at times, from 9 to 13 pounds with a few in the 20s.
The Tulalip bubble has been slow.
South Puget Sound has become one of the prime summer chinook fisheries in Western Washington the past several years. The area – which includes the Puyallup River, Nisqually River and Chambers Creek -is approaching its peak, with checks at the Point Defiance ramp on Saturday showing 50 chinook and 11 coho for 98 boats.
The coast: After a slow week, Ilwaco enjoyed a good weekend, putting out about a fish and a third per rod, with about 80 percent coho in the 9-pound range. Westport struggled, as it has most of the season, at under a half-fish per person and, for the first time, more coho than chinook. LaPush came on strong at over a salmon per rod, and a nice 50-50 mix of big silvers and good-sized kings.
Neah Bay was slow for about the third week in a row, as chinook somehow bypassed that fishery and showed up off Sekiu. At Sekiu, by the way, the state closed chinook fishing on Tuesday for an assessment, as the quota of hatchery fish was close to being filled. They decided to reopen this weekend – Friday through Monday – with about 300 kings still to be taken. Good fishing; good opportunity.
Buoy 10 at the bottom end of the Columbia River started out dead slow and hasn’t improved all that much. Recent checks showed one king for every 15 to 16 rods.
Coho: All Star Charters owner/skipper Gary Krein of Everett said Jefferson Head continues to produce good coho fishing, mostly on the south side of the bar, for fish averaging 5 or 6 pounds. Not as hot as it was several weeks ago, but still a lot of limits, he said. Fish the early morning bite and the morning tide change, starting at 40 or 50 feet and moving down to maybe 90 feet later in the day. Krein likes a chrome dodger, followed by a green or white squid, trolled fast.
Popular coho fisheries at various Puget Sound and Saratoga Passage beaches are just getting under way, but it’s perhaps two weeks early for top action. Beach casters use Buzz Bombs in humpy pink, white pearl, blue pearl and several other colors in the small 2- or 21/2-inch sizes; the Rotator; 1-ounce Krocodile spoons in pearl fish scale and, starting a little later, float and herring rigs.
Steelhead: The Cowlitz is top dog right now, putting out one summer-run per rod last week. Reiter Ponds on the Skykomish is worth a shot, as is the North Fork Stilly.
Washington Outdoor Women: Time is running short for women to register for the popular annual WOW fall workshop at Camp Waskowitz near North Bend. The workshop runs Sept. 15-17, but the registration deadline is Aug. 31.
The weekend seminar offers outdoor skills education to women. Among this year’s scheduled clinics are backpacking basics and cooking with wild foods, fly fishing, big game hunting and outdoor photography.
For registration or more information, call Ronni McGlenn in Bellevue at 425-455-1986.
People: Stepping down after 31 years as president of the Snohomish County Sportsmen’s Association is Bob Heirman, avid angler, conservationist, historian, author and raconteur extraordinaire. Heirman’s name is practically synonymous with “fishing,” and “outdoors” in Snohomish County, but he says his shoes will be ably filled by Doug Cooper. Anyone interested in finding out more about either the county association or the Snohomish Sportsmen’s Club is invited to a potluck at Hill Park, on the east side of Blackman’s Lake, at 6:30 p.m. Monday.
Heirman and other club members have always been interested in local high lakes and beaver ponds, and he mentioned that the group recently planted rainbow and/or cutthroat in Heather Lake, Bear Lake, Evan Lake, Boardman Lake and Canyon Lake, all in the Mount Pilchuck area. They skipped Pinnacle this year because of the criminal investigation going on there.
Max Burton, a 12-year-old Edmonds resident headed for Meadowdale Middle School this fall, just got back from a trip to the famous Campbell River area on the east side of Vancouver Island. The boy out-fished his father, Mark Burton, three kings (18 through 24 pounds) to one, but learned one of the less positive truths about salmon fishing when a seal nailed another, smaller chinook, and took it clear to the beach – salmon, hook, line and all.
Making the best of the situation by cutting the line appeared the only option, the boy decided.
George Newland, of Newland Construction fame, and his fishing buddy, Denny Brawford, a Lake Stevens resident and pilot with United Airlines, have gone salmon fishing at Langara, B.C., for several years, but decided to take their wives to Sitka, Alaska, this year instead. It was Maribeth Newland, of course, who boated the biggest chinook – a gorgeous king of just under 30 pounds, Brawford said.
He, by the way, was a Herald carrier in the mid-1950s and had a 200-paper route that included the Best family home, owners at that time of the paper. You can bet the daily product arrived at that particular house dry and in pristine condition, Brawford said.
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