I’ll tell you what, my friend – it was a lot like old times on Puget Sound last Thursday, as the fish box filled up with not 3-pound pinks, not 4-pound coho, but sleek, bright, chunky king salmon going 12 pounds or better. Not huge fish, but prime chromers, fresh from the ocean and carrying an attitude.
We had six-fish limits in two hours and 15 minutes, way out on the west edge of Possession Bar, maybe a half-mile down-range from the Scatchet Head buoy, towing flashers and Coyote spoons at anywhere from 50 feet early in the morning, to 150 feet. This was king salmon fishing like I haven’t experienced – except for trips to the B.C. coast – in 20 years.
My two companions were equally awestruck. Ed Horstman of Seattle is a Port of Seattle firefighter, and his fishing buddy, Billy Wallace of Lake Stevens, is an ex-professional baseball outfielder. Both are experienced salmon anglers, but neither had seen fishing the likes of this.
“I learn something new every time I go out,” Wallace said (he owns his own boat and is still learning the Northwest lifestyle some 10 years after moving here from Georgia), “but this has been a real lesson.”
We fished with Nick Kester of Snohomish, who was running Gary Krein’s new Twin Vee catamaran hull (Krein, owner of All Star Charters, was running the older Morning Star), in the new, exciting, selective Area 9 and 10 fishery for hatchery chinook. This was the first catch and keep summer adult king fishing in Area 9 in almost 15 years and, as you might expect, it brought salmon anglers out of the woodwork.
The selective fishery concept (keeping clipped hatchery fish only) has been touted as the future of recreational salmon fishing in Puget Sound, and if this short season is any indicator of things to come, a whole lot of us will be looking forward to the next one. It will only work, state salmon managers say, if sport fishermen are scrupulous about observing the rules – handling wild fish gently and returning them all to the water. So far, at least, indications are that we’re policing ourselves pretty well.
The fishery opened July 16, and action was wild for the first week at Possession, at Midchannel bank, at Jeff Head, and at other spots in the two marine areas. Huge crowds on Saturday (some estimates put the number of boats on the water in Area 9 alone at 1,000 or better) resulted in lower catch rates, and WDFW checks on Sunday at the Port of Everett ramp dropped to 34 chinook and 11 coho for 112 boats. The catch per rod rate in Area 9, according to WDFW figures, was about a half a fish per person Monday through Friday last week (even though a lot of experienced anglers boated limits), but dropped to about one fish for every five or six anglers over the weekend.
By Tuesday, the number of boats on Possession had dropped to around 100.
“Monday was fair,” Krein said of Possession Bar, “but Tuesday was way down. That could be of benefit in the long run, however, since a reduced catch rate would probably extend the season.”
It’s a two-sided coin – catch lots of kings and reach the quota faster, or catch fewer and be able to fish longer, Krein said. The quota for the two marine areas is 7,000 hatchery chinook and/or blackmouth, but Area 10 will close sooner if the catch in the Seattle area reaches 1,700 fish. As of Monday evening, the cumulative catch figures stood at 4,245 fish for both areas, and 616 for Area 10 alone.
WDFW salmon manager for Puget Sound, Steve Tiesfeld, said he felt that if the catch rate didn’t bounce back up, unexpectedly, the fishery would probably stay open through this weekend.
“We’re monitoring it on a day-to-day basis,” Tiesfeld said, “and I would like to encourage fishermen to check the fishing hotline (360-902-2500) or the agency Web site (www.wdfw.wa.gov.; click on fishing/shellfish and the data will appear on the right side of the page) for the inevitable closure.”
Possession remains the most productive area, along with Midchannel Bank, Krein said. Checks at Port Townsend Boat Haven (Midchannel Bank) on Sunday showed 24 boats with 12 kings.
Krein recommends starting at 50 or 60 feet, dropping down as the sunlight brightens, and following bait schools. He likes glow-white Tomic plugs, both because they’re productive and they discourage dogfish, but says they’ve become (understandably) difficult to find in this general area. Two-tone green Coyote spoons are also good.
The bulk of the chinook catch has been three-year fish going 12 or 13 pounds and measuring 28 to 30 inches, Krein said, with the occasional fish to 15 or 20 pounds.
Elliott Bay chinook: If you’re feeling adventurous enough to brave Seattle traffic, both on the road and at the often-crowded Armeni ramp in West Seattle, slip on down there and try for one of those nice-sized chinook staging in Elliott Bay prior to heading up the Duwamish. And, some of them are really nice-sized. Kathy Goodsell of Woodinville boated a 41-pounder on July 14, working a Silver Horde spoon at 90 feet, off the grain elevators.
Not all are that big, said guide, avid angler and Lake Stevens resident Tom Nelson (tom@fishskagit.com), but there are trophies taken every year. Fishing has picked up recently, Nelson said, with checks at the ramp Saturday showing about 30 chinook for 100 boats – not bad for king salmon action in the shadow of Seattle skyscrapers.
Nelson said the fishery is a very early morning show – a daylight bite – and that access is an issue. It’s a long run from the Shilshole ramp, but Armeni can be a circus.
Start trolling right off the ramp, with a flasher/spoon setup, Nelson said, with a flasher-spoon setup at 60 feet, 10 feet behind the downrigger cable, on one side, and a Tomic or Silver Horde plug at 45 feet, 50 feet behind the cable, on the other side. Silver Horde Sonic Edge spoons have been popular, 4 or 5-inch, and the army truck color pattern has been productive. In plugs, white or pearl are good choices.
Strait of Juan de Fuca: This is a really great time of year to make the drive to Sekiu, for a mix of salmon species particularly amenable to a family fishing experience. Pinks are pouring down the strait, and anglers are going out in the morning for kings, then filling out, or switching over, to coho and/or humpies.
It’s an interesting potpourri, and WDFW checks over the weekend show how good it is: At Olson’s Resort on Saturday, 128 anglers had 18 chinook, 48 coho, 142 pinks, and 2 halibut. At Van Riper’s on Sunday, it was 41 fishermen with 8 kings, 19 coho, and 48 pinks.
Buoy 10, on the lower end of the Columbia River, opens Aug. 1, but prospects aren’t all that bright. The only legal fish on the opener will be hatchery coho, which only sometimes show up in catchable numbers for opening week. Chinook (either hatchery or wild) will be legal only from Aug. 22 to Sept. 3.
Skagit mix: Bob Ferber at Holiday Market Sports in Burlington said the lower Skagit is putting out decent fishing for a mix of sturgeon, cutthroat, and dollies. Sand shrimp for the sturgeon; flies, spoons, spinners or worms for the cutts and dollies.
Reiter open: The Reiter Ponds stretch of the Skykomish opened Saturday to fishing, a little early, because WDFW personnel had taken all the summer steelhead broodstock they need. Fair numbers of steelies are available on the Sky, although the chinook fishery has been the better of the two this season. Guide and Arlington resident Sam Ingram (360-435-9311) said this weekend could be a good shot at both species (chinook close on the 31st), because the river is just now dropping into shape from heavy rains over the weekend.
Derby: The Elger Bay Grocery Salmon Derby, benefiting local charities, is scheduled for Aug. 18-19 this year, for an entry fee of $40. Kids 12 and under fish free; weigh-in is 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Camano Island State Park launch ramp, and sponsors will provide a free barbecue. Sign up at Elger Bay Grocery (Camano Island), Three Rivers Marine (Woodinville), Jerry’s Surplus (Everett), or Sportsman’s Warehouse (Burlington). Call Josh Flickner at 360-387-2262.
Duck callers: The Washington Waterfowl Association announces the 2007 Washington State Duck Calling Contest, a sanctioned event and qualifier for the world championships. There will be three classes open to Washington state residents – senior, novice, and youth – at Civic Park, 4th and Chestnut, Moses Lake, on Aug. 4, starting at 1 p.m. Pre-registration fee is $25; registration on contest day is $40. For more information contact Rone Brewer, 360-652-1264; e-mail nwducks@snohomish.net.
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