Marine Area 9, including popular fishing spots Possession Bar, Double Bluff and Point No Point, reopened on Jan. 16 to high hopes but produced only mediocre results for local winter blackmouth fishermen, according to All Star Charters owner Gary Krein in Everett.
High hopes because when the season closed at the end of November, fishing had been very good.
“We’ve had only so-so results the past few days,” Krein said. “Certainly not as good as the November finish.”
Possession Bar and Double Bluff probably have been the best producers so far, according to Krein. He’s been doing fairly well at the “tin shed” area on the outer bar, at 100 to 120 feet, pulling spoons behind a flasher — 4-inch Coyote, 3-inch Kingfisher Lite, or Coho Killers in cookies ‘n cream, neon green or green/white color combinations.
Most of the blackmouth have been runing 6 to 8 pounds, Krein said.
Action has been much better in surrounding waters. In the San Juans, state Fish and Widlife personnel checked 23 anglers at the Washington Park ramp on Friday with 19 chinook; on Saturday, 52 with 18; and on Sunday, 32 with 10 fish.
At Port Townsend on Saturday, 9 fishermen had 8 chinook.
Seattle Boat Show
The Seattle Boat Show docks at the CenturyLink Field Event Center, Jan. 25 through Feb. 3, and on the water at south Lake Union, 901 Fairview Ave. N., with a free shuttle running continuously between both locations. Hours at the Event Center are 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday; 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Fridays; 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturdays; and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sundays (except closing at 4 p.m. Feb. 3). Hours at Lake Union are 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays, and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekends.
Tickets are $12 for adults; $5 for youth 11-17; free for kids 10 and under. A family pack of two adult tickets, two youth tickets, four hot dogs and one day of free parking is available for $49, a $70 value.
Fishermen will want to get a look at the grand prize for this year’s Northwest Salmon Derby Series — a 21-foot welded aluminum River Hawk with Mercury 150-horse 4-stroke outboard and Karavan galvanized trailer, equipped with Scotty downriggers, Lowrance electronics and a dual stereo system. The first derby in the 2013 series, the Roche Harbor Salmon Classic, comes up Feb. 7-9.
Here’s a list of the free fishing seminars available at the show:
Saltwater fishing in B.C., Tom Nelson, 2 p.m. Friday; noon Saturday; 1 p.m. Sunday; 2 p.m. Tuesday; 3 p.m. Wednesday; and 2 p.m. Thursday.
Salmon fishing in central Puget Sound, Gary Krein, 3 p.m. Friday; 3 p.m. Saturday; and 1 p.m. Sun., Feb. 3.
Dungeness crabbing, Clyde McBrayer, 4 p.m. Friday; 2 p.m. Saturday; 2 p.m. Sunday; 6 p.m. Thursday; 6 p.m. Fri., Feb. 1; 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. Sat., Feb. 2.
Mooching for Puget Sound salmon, Keith Robbins, 5 p.m. Friday; 1 p.m. Saturday; and 4 p.m. Sunday.
Puget Sound chinook and coho, Tom Nelson, 6 p.m. Friday; 6 p.m. Saturday; 7 p.m. Tuesday; 6 p.m. Wednesday; and 4 p.m. Thursday.
Productive ocean salmon techniques, Mike Jamboretz, 7 p.m. Friday; 3 p.m. Monday; 3 p.m. Tuesday; and 2 p.m. Wednesday.
Fish Sitka and get hooked; Kevin McNamee, 4 p.m. Saturday; 4 p.m. Tuesday; 5 p.m. Thursday; and 2 p.m. Sun., Feb. 3.
Lingcod fishing in central Puget Sound, Gary Krein, 5 p.m. Saturday; and (Nick Kester) 6 p.m. Sat., Feb. 2.
Salmon fishing in central Puget Sound, Nick Kester, 3 p.m. Sunday; 2 p.m. Monday; and 3 p.m. Thursday.
Fishing the San Juans, Jim Aggergaard, 5 p.m. Sunday; 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. Monday.
NW kayak fishing skills, Bryce Molenkamp, 5 p.m. Monday; 7 p.m. Wednesday; and 5 p.m. Sun., Feb. 3.
Northwest albacore, Todd Schwartz, 6 p.m. Monday; 5 p.m. Tuesday; 4 p.m. Wednesday; and 4 p.m. Sun., Feb. 3.
Sitka; salmon, halibut ling and rockfish paradise, Tom Ohaus, 6 p.m. Tuesday.
Mooching, Tom Ohaus, 5 p.m. Wednesday; noon Sat., Feb. 2; and 3 p.m. Sun., Feb. 3.
Dirty downrigger tricks, TJ Nelson, 7 p.m. Thursday; 4 p.m. Fri., Feb. 1; and 1 p.m. Sat., Feb. 2.
Triple threat salmon angling, TJ Nelson, 2 p.m. Fri., Feb. 1 and 3 p.m. Sat., Feb. 2.
Top tactics for winter blackmouth, John Keizer, 5 p.m. Fri., Feb. 1.
Summer kings, ocean and Puget Sound, John Keizer, 7 p.m. Fri., Feb. 1.
Maximize your marine electronics to locate fish, John Keizer, 4 p.m. Sat., Feb. 2.
DNR citations
A fisherman returning from a trip to the Reiter Ponds section of the Skykomish River on Sunday reported a half-dozen vehicles with citations under their wiper blades parked at a turnout on Reiter Road, an area popular with walkers, cyclists, dog exercisers and others. The turnout lies between the gravel pit and the hatchery entrance, and is adjacent to a gated, signed, state Department of Natural Resources road.
One of the vehicles displayed a Discover Pass and had no citation.
A call to the DNR’s Northwest Region office in Sedro-Woolley put me in touch with enforcement officer Ron Whitehall, who said yes, he had issued the $99 citations. The law requires anyone recreating on DNR land, he said, to display a Discover Pass on their vehicle. These rigs, he said, were clearly off the county road right of way and on DNR property. Other rigs in the area, parked on county right of way, were given only informational material, he said.
Readers can find department rules and regulations online, at www.dnr.wa.gov. The Northwest Region office phone number is 360-856-3500.
Derbies
Tickets are either on sale or will be soon for three upcoming salmon derbies:
Roche Harbor Salmon Classic, Feb. 7-9, a team event, up to four anglers for $700 plus tax. First place is worth $10,000, plus a whopping $30,000 bonus if the top chinook is 30 pounds or better. Call 360-378-5562, or go to www.rocheharbor.com/fishing_derby. There were only four spots left as of Jan. 22.
Olympic Peninsula Salmon Derby, Feb. 16-18, $10,000 first prize, tickets $40 per person, for one or all three days. Closest ticket outlet is Ted’s Sport Center in Lynnwood, 425-743-9505; or buy tickets online to pick up at any of the five derby ramps, www.gardinersalmonderby.org.
Anacortes Salmon Derby, March 30-31, top prize $15,000, tickets are $60 and go on sale Feb. 1. Anyone interested may want to get right on it, because this derby sells out quickly. Among others, ticket outlets include Holiday Sports in Burlington, John’s Sporting Goods in Everett, and Ted’s Sport Center in Lynnwood.
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