Once again the Seattle Boat Show folks, bless ‘em, have agreed to lop a day off the end of their run to accommodate — ahem! — the Seahawks and the Super Bowl. The 2015 show will therefore run Jan. 23-31 at the CenturyLink Field Event Center and south Lake Union. Admission is $12 for adults, $5 for youths ages 11-17, and free for youngsters 10 and under. For a variety of special ticket packages with free parking and other bonuses, visit www.seattleboatshow.com.
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. Sunday. At south Lake Union, hours are 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays, and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekends.
The event is expected to pull 50,000 to 60,000 water rats from more than three dozen states and provinces, making it the largest boat show on the West Coast and, in its 68th year, arguably the oldest boating/fishing show in the Western U.S.
For the 2015 show there will be 35 new seminars, bringing the total to 235 and requiring the addition of a fourth stage on weekends. On the fishing stage there will be 57 fishing-related seminars, featuring local and regional experts dealing the how-to, where-to and when-to of some of the best spots in the Northwest.
Mark Gavin joins the fishing team this year, offering seminars on how to catch trout, perch, bass and salmon in Lake Washington and Lake Sammamish. Both of those big (and intimidating) lakes are under utilized by fishermen, except on sockeye years, and this information should make them more available.
Clyde McBrayer, an ex-state Fish and Wildlife Commission member, will again share his encyclopedic knowledge of how to find Dungeness crab in Puget Sound, and Tom Nelson will take the mystery out of shrimping on the Sound.
For the tuna fishermen, Tommy Donlin’s talk on albacore fishing off the Washington coast is a must. Local experts Gary Krein and Nick Kester of All Star Charters in Everett have been the go-to guys for years on central Puget Sound saltwater action, and they’ll present tips on salmon and lings on Possession Bar, Jefferson Head and other hot spots.
T.J. Nelson, host of The Outdoor Line on 710 ESPN radio, will offer seminars on how to fish the San Juan Islands and some of the most productive areas of Puget Sound. His “Dirty Downrigger Tricks” is a classic.
For a complete list of fishing seminars, go to www.heraldnet.com/huntingandfishing.
While at the show, stop by to see the grand prize for 2015’s Northwest Salmon Derby Series — a 21-foot welded aluminum Hewescraft with four-stroke Mercury 150 and 9.9 outboards, an EZ Loader galvanized tandem axel trailer, fully outfitted with Scotty downriggers, Lowrance electronics and dual stereo system.
The boat will be unveiled at the show, followed by 14 derbies — beginning with the Roche Harbor Salmon Classic, Feb. 6-7 and finishing with the Everett Coho Derby in late September. For more information, visit http://northwestsalmonderbyseries.com.
One last tidbit: Show attendees are eligible to enter a drawing for a pair of 2015 Seahawks season tickets. Enter the drawing at the BoatUS display in the West Hall, booth 78.
Baker Lake sockeye
State Fish and Wildlife Department salmon management folks expect a large turnout for the public meeting Jan. 31 in Mill Creek to discuss prospects for a Baker Lake sockeye fishery and management tactics for the lake and for both recreational and tribal commercial sockeye fisheries on the Skagit River. The meeting starts at 10 a.m. at the department’s Mill Creek office (16018 Mill Creek Blvd.). The phone number there is 425-775-1311.
The meeting will cover the 2014 season, and draft management proposals derived from ideas the public presented at a similar meeting last November, according to state fish program policy lead Ron Warren.
Warren said the “certainty” issue seems to be of most interest among the recreational fishing fraternity — the timing of fish transport between the river and Baker Lake, the run-size forecast and a reliable estimate of the percentage of that run they can expect to see in the lake.
Prior to Jan. 31, the state will post draft meeting materials online at http://wdfw.wa.gov/fishing/salmon/sockeye/baker_river.html.
This past year, 13,788 sockeye were trapped below the lower Baker Dam and 6,819 fish were transported to the lake. The remaining fish were used for spawning.
Area 9 opener
Marine Area 9, including Possession Bar, reopened to salmon fishing Jan. 16 and results were pretty good for local waters. State creel checks at the Port of Everett ramp on Saturday tallied 19 boats and 39 fishermen with 12 chinook, which isn’t bad blackmouth fishing.
All Star Charters skipper Nick Kester fished between Point No Point and Pilot Point on Saturday, according to All Star owner Gary Krein, and boated five keepers. Two of those fish were pushing 10 pounds, Krein said.
Small spoons such as the 2½ or 3-inch yellowtail Kingfisher Lite worked well, Krein said, along with a new — and similar — spoon called a Herring Aide, being introduced at the boat show by Gold Star.
Another acquaintance fished that same area Monday and did well, Krein said.
Burbot info
A sturgeon fisherman at the sturgeon platform just below John Day Dam on the Columbia brought in an unusual fish for the big river — a burbot. State Fish and Wildlife Department biologist Joe Hymer in Vancouver passed along the information from Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife employee Wendy Martin, and added a list of waters in Washington where burbot, sometimes called “freshwater ling,” can be caught: Lake Chelan, Banks Lake, Lake Cle Elum, Lake Kachess, Lake Keechelus, Palmer Lake in Okanogan County, Bead Lake and Sullivan Lake, both in Pend Oreille County, and Lake Roosevelt.
The state has produced a video on how to catch burbot, Hymer said. See it at https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=w26msbijPks.
For more outdoor news, visit 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.
