Webster’s Dictionary defines “potpourri” as a “medley” or “mixture,” and when applied to the Western Washington sportfishing scene, the potpourri might read as follows: 260 anglers in 98 boats caught 14 chinook, 35 coho, 466 pinks, one steelhead, one red Irish lord and four greenling.
That wa
s the state Department of Fish and Wildlife creel check at Olson’s Resort in Sekiu on Sunday, and it pretty much proves that if you’re a fisherman and can’t find SOMETHING to catch at this point in the summer, you’d best take up golf.
Some possibilities:
Sockeye
Baker Lake reds are still on tap, but get ’em quick as the run has started tailing down and a percentage of the fish are taking on a little color. One fish per rod or so, slow trolling with a size “0” dodger, white or chrome, followed by 10 or 11 inches of stiff leader, two hooks in tandem, pink or red mini-hoochie on the top hook, with a small piece of raw shrimp and krill scent. Start very early at 20 or 25 feet and go down later in the day to 45 or 50 feet. Use riggers or a 6-ounce crescent sinker and be prepared to clean the fish quickly and put ’em on ice.
Saltwater pinks
Humpy mania is just around the corner, as a big run of pink salmon pours into Puget Sound. Not as large as two years ago, but a substantial number of fish nevertheless.
Mike Chamberlain at Ted’s Sport Center in Lynnwood said 50 or 60 boats hit the Meadowdale shoreline over the weekend and nailed a fair number of fish.
“The big push is just starting,” Chamberlain said. “Fishermen had a reasonable chance of finding humpies Saturday and Sunday, but by this weekend it should be good.”
All Star Charters owner/skipper Gary Krein said there were enough pinks on Possession Bar to start fishing for them last weekend, and by this weekend there should be some — not the peak — in “humpy hollow,” south of Mukilteo. Krein likes a white dodger or flasher, a single 5/0 red hook with red or pink mini-squid, about 16 inches of leader with a dodger and 26 inches with a flasher. Start early, at 30 to 40 feet, going down to 90 feet or so later in the day. Vary your speed; faster (2 mph) to find ’em, then slower (11/2 mph) to fish on ’em.
Chamberlain recommends a size “0” white or pearl dodger, pink mini-squid on tandem 2/0 (top) and 1/0 hooks, tied close together, or a 3/0 single, of any color, with krill scent or a small herring strip. Leader length should be 11/2 times the length of the dodger, or approximately 12 inches for a size “0” and 15 inches for a size “1.”
Troll slowly enough so that the dodger swings only side to side and fish with the tide, Chamberlain said. Start at 35 feet early, going down later to 65 or 70 feet or a little deeper.
Those without boats can still fish saltwater humpies at many spots, such as the Deception Pass beaches, the west-side Whidbey beaches, Point No Point, the Edmonds Pier, Kayak Point, Picnic Point, Mukilteo Park and a number of others. Toss pink Buzz Bombs, or a pink Rotator (with or without a hoochie), or pink or red lead-head river-type jigs.
Checks at the Port of Everett ramp on Sunday tallied a big crowd of 446 anglers, with 19 chinook, 15 coho and 55 pinks. At Cornet Bay on the north end of Whidbey Island, it was 39 anglers on Saturday with five chinook and 41 pinks, and at the Deception Pass beaches, 48 anglers with one coho and two pinks.
River pinks
The Skagit hosts the earliest humpy run in the area, and anglers are already finding some limits at such spots on the lower river as Gardner Bar, Young’s Bar, Spud Bar, and the train trestle, according to Kevin John at Holiday Sports in Burlington. The Skagit is high, John said, so fishermen are going with bait, and plunking with 5 or 6 ounces of lead.
Coastal salmon
Better than a fish per rod average, 90 percent coho, out of Ilwaco last week, and more than one per rod at Westport also, but three-quarters chinook (two kings per day now). Neah Bay continues to show a great mix of chinook, coho and pinks.
Reader Bill Lacount of Samish Island reports he and members of his family have experienced great fishing twice in the past three weeks on trips to LaPush. Last Wednesday, with his wife, two young daughters and a couple of cousins (half the party was between ages 6 and 8), the group took nine nice chinook in the teens, an extra limit of humpies and one hatchery silver.
Eastside Chinook
The first salmon season on the Wenatchee River in at least 25 years opened Aug. 1 to hatchery chinook, thanks to funds generated by the Columbia River salmon/steelhead endorsement program, and it’s putting out fish. Don Talbot at Hooked On Toys in Wenatchee said it took him about 15 minutes on opening morning to hook and land his first clipped king.
The river is open from its confluence with the Columbia upstream to a point 400 feet below the Dryden Dam. Talbot said there are several good salmon holes downstream from that point.
“Access can be difficult on the Wenatchee,” he said, “so a good way to fish it is to tube it and then get out to fish the holes. Go with someone and wear life jackets, because the river is high and cold, and you don’t want to use any inflatable where your lower body is submerged, because of a lot of logs and rocks under the surface, which can be dangerous.”
Talbot said hardware is effective — spinners, and spoons such as the Steelie and Little Cleo among a lot of other — but that fly fishing, surprisingly, is one of the most effective methods, using as realistic an egg pattern as you can find.
He said the fishing should continue to get better as more fish swing in from the Columbia.
The Brewster pool chinook fishery has also picked up, finally, according to Talbot.
For more outdoor news, read Wayne Kruse’s blog at www.heraldnet.com/huntingandfishing.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
