The next Dioxin?
The next DDT?
The next spotted owl or lead-killed-loon scenario?
Probably not, but it’s the latest fish/wildlife-related issue to raise a red flag — or at least pink — here in the northwest corner of the country.
“It” is a recent study by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife concerning the effects of sodium sulfite, a common bait curing agent, on captive populations of juvenile salmonids.
According to Trey Carskadon, spokesman for the Northwest Sportfishing Industry Association, the study concluded that bait cures with higher concentrations of sodium sulfite fed to fish in hatchery pens created various levels of mortality.
And the gut reaction is, “Hey — you mean a gob of cured salmon eggs diluted by tens of thousands of gallons of Skykomish River water is going to poison steelhead smolts?”
Get serious.
Well, apparently some biologists are. And maybe in the long run that’s a good thing.
“Who knows,” said Mike Chamberlain, owner of Ted’s Sport Center in Lynnwood. “It’s at least possible that at some places, such as Reiter Ponds, there’s enough sulfite being used and lost to have some effect on juvenile fish foraging in the area over a period of time. Add even a very small percentage of sulfite-caused losses to other smolt mortality factors, and it could have, maybe, a significant effect.”
Carskadon said Oregon officials did not identify this issue as a substantive conservation problem. He said they were clear that the study has not undergone necessary peer review, was not conducted in a representative environment, has not been replicated, and warrants no immediate regulatory action. Still, he said, NSIA’s position is to voluntarily eliminate sulfites pending further study, and that the position will likely result in the closure of some sport fishing-related businesses.
“We have elected to take this action in NSIA’s continuing effort to put the fish first,” he said.
Predictably, response from some of those engaged in the bait-cure industry was in opposition to the study results.
“You mean the non-study?” said one employee, requesting anonymity. “A lot of us are up in arms about this. It’s an insane situation.”
Those in a position to comment for the record at firms such as Pro Cure, Pautzke’s and BeauMac were on the road at tackle trade shows and were unavailable for comment.
Local blackmouth
Marine Area 9 reopens Jan. 16, including popular Possession Bar, and All Star Charters owner/skipper Gary Krein in Everett expects a good start.
“They’ve been catching fair numbers of fish all around the bar — at Kingston, at the Bait Box, and at the shipwreck — so there’s no reason to expect anything different from Possession,” Krein said.
In the meantime, a successful blackmouth season continues in areas 8-1 and 8-2, open through April. Krein said fishing had been pretty good through December — with success rates as high as 20 or 25 percent at times — although it slowed a little over the weekend. Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife personnel checked 8 anglers at the Port of Everett ramp on Saturday with 1 chinook, and 64 on Sunday with 6.
Columbia Beach has been producing, Krein said, best on the low slack and the first part of the flood, in 125 feet of water south of the Ferry terminal. Try a number 4 Kingfisher Lite spoon in the “cookies and cream” color pattern (a little like the old “cop car”), 40 inches behind a green Hot Spot flasher.
Farther north, Elger Bay is still worth a shot, although seals have moved into the area. Krein likes the high slack and the early ebb, from the Camano State Park ramp south, around the corner, looking for bait in 90 to 140 feet of water.
Anthon Steen at Holiday Sports in Burlington said the San Juans have have been offering some pretty fair fishing when weather conditions permit. Try Rosario Strait from Lopez to Cypress, at Lopez Pass, the east side of Blakely, Guemes Channel and Eagle Bluff. Fidalgo Head and Point Thompson are also worth a try, Steen said. Top gear has included green Coho Killer and Kingfisher spoons, and small cut-plug herring.
State checks at the Washington Park ramp on Saturday showed 14 anglers with 4 chinook, and on Sunday, 35 with 5.
Steelhead
It’s possible that at least a portion of the winter steelhead run to lower Columbia tributaries was simply late. Early counts showed substantially fewer adult winter fish returning to some rivers, compared to the same point last winter, but that has changed recently. State biologist Joe Hymer at the agency’s Vancouver office said that through December, 320 winters had returned to the Kalama Falls Hatchery on the Kalama, compared to 94 fish through December 2008. At the Lewis River traps, it was 1,337 fish in December, compared to 1,219 last year.
Fishing was at least fair over the weekend on the Cowlitz, at both the salmon and trout hatcheries; on the Kalama; and on the North Lewis around the salmon hatchery.
Mike Chamberlain (above) said the winter season locally has been below average, and remains slow to fair, at best, and that he expects more emergency season closures fairly soon. The Skykomish is booting out a few fish at Reiter Ponds and, occasionally, in the Sultan area, he said. The Skagit is hit and miss, with a good day now and then in the Marblemount-Rockport stretch. Forks-area rivers have been fairly decent, he said, with wild stocks starting to show on the Sol Duc and Hoh.
Smelt
After a slow spell, Cornet Bay is again putting out pretty good smelt jigging. Oak Harbor Marina is also a good bet, and jiggers on the Everett waterfront have been scoring off and on, best on the flood tide.
Trout
Locally, planted lakes such as Blackman’s, Flowing, Gissberg Ponds (north pond is juveniles only) and, to a lesser degree Silver, in south Everett, are worth a couple of hours when the rain lets up. Goodwin has also been productive for rainbow to 16 or 17 inches. Try Sammamish for nice cutthroat, but Lake Washington has slowed recently.
Squid
Not a great season so far, according to Mike Chamberlain at Ted’s Sport Center in Lynnwood, with jiggers on the Edmonds pier hitting at a rate of only about one per hour or so, and seals in the area don’t help any. The Seattle waterfront — piers 68, 69, 86 — and Des Moines have been better.
Hunter Ed classes
Mark your calendar if there’s a hunter in the family born on or after Jan. 1 1972, wishing to purchase a first Washington hunting license. The Seattle Rifle and Pistol Association offers two separate qualifying hunter education classes this year at their Evergreen Sportsman’s Park range, near Machias: Class 1, Feb. 16, 18, and 23, 25, plus Feb. 27; and Class 2, May 11, 13, and 18, 20, plus May 22. Both classes Tuesdays and Thursdays, 7-9 p.m.; Saturdays 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
For more information and/or directions to the range, contact Dick Abbey, 206-542-2792, or Myron Olson, 360-659-8617. Leave a message if no answer.
Eastside
The next month or so is the best time of year for a shot at larger Mackinaw on Lake Chelan, according to guide Anton Jones (ANTONJ@aol.com; 509-687-0709) in Chelan. The fish are showing on schedule, above the Yacht Club, he said. Or, you could opt for numbers of smaller fish in the lower basin.
Other north Columbia Basin possibilities include a still-good summer steelhead run on the upper Columbia, drifting baited jigs under a float, and Rufus Woods Reservoir for fewer, but some of nice size, triploid rainbow. Cast marabou jigs from boat or shore for trips to 8 or 9 pounds, Jones said.
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