For salmon anglers, the
thrill of a fish peeling line off the reel in July resembles a sugar rush,
free-for-all in the candy store.
I’m hooked on that feeling
and judging by the early signs we experienced last month in open salmon fishing
areas, there’s enthusiasm in the air of what lies ahead from the coast clear
into Puget Sound.
I harken back to my early
college days when summer was a three-month, job-free fishing affair with many
fond memories created at a nearby lake, river or a marine area from Sekiu to
Elliott Bay and many stops in between.
It was a great time when
being young and willing to live on two hours of sleep just to be on the water
by 4 a.m. and staying out until well after dark was simply a rite of passage. I
confess it’s been more than three decades since those hey-days and while I
can’t quite kick up the rpm’s like I did in the past, I still live for those
glory moments.
A rush of early excitement
occurred in June with the spotlight beaming brightly on south-central Puget
Sound in the Tacoma area (Marine Catch Area 11), central Puget Sound (10) and
the Tulalip Bubble Fishery (8-2) where fishing took off right when it opened.
“This early part of the
summer reminds me of what we used to see in the good old days,” said Art
Tachell, the technician at the Point Defiance Park Boathouse in Tacoma.
This year’s projection of
227,420 hatchery chinook migrating to Puget Sound is up 21 percent from the
10-year average and a 35 percent boost over last year.
The Strait of Juan de Fuca
opened July 1 off Sekiu (5) for salmon, and Port Angeles opens July 3. Sekiu is
the main intersection of fish runs heading east into Puget Sound and south to
the Columbia River and beyond. In the past few years, Port Angeles has gotten
off to a hot start and the hope is for another blissful season.
Many are licking their
chops on what should be a “summer to remember” for hatchery kings in northern
Puget Sound (9) and central Puget Sound (10).
The Area 9 summer hatchery
king fishery has a 5,563 quota – which is a similar figure to the 2017 quota
and up from 3,056 in 2016. Modeling by WDFW staff suggested this change would
likely result in a shorter 2018 season given the forecast of increased hatchery
chinook in the area.
“I’ll be happy if the Area
9 hatchery chinook fishery lasts two weeks,” said Mark Baltzell, a WDFW salmon
manager. “It was lights out king fishing at Midchannel Bank (last summer) and
that seems the place to be when it opens in July.”
Many will focus their time
in late July and August in Area 10 that has a cap of 4,743 hatchery chinook.
Shore-bound anglers can
get in on the action with numerous piers scattered across Puget Sound that are
open year-round for salmon. The Edmonds Pier has already been producing fish
since early-June. The steep drop-offs around the Point No Point Lighthouse
offer an easy cast to prime fishing holes.
The San Juan Islands are
open until July 31 for hatchery kings, and switches to wild and hatchery kings
from Aug. 1 through Sept. 3.
Hood Canal south of Ayock
Point is open through Sept. 30 with a liberal four-hatchery chinook daily
limit. The forecast is 57,558 up from 48,300 in 2017 with many kings destined
for the George Adams and Hoodsport hatcheries.
The coastal chinook and
hatchery coho fishery got underway on June 23 at Ilwaco (1), La Push (3), and
Neah Bay (4). Westport (2) opened July 1 where salmon fishing is allowed
Sundays through Thursdays. All areas
close Sept. 3 or when the quota is achieved.
A downtrend in Columbia
River salmon returns could result in mixed success for coastal anglers although
“paper fish” forecasts have been proven wrong in the past, so watch for catch
trends each week to see when’s a good time to go.
In between the Puget Sound
salmon action, be sure to bring along the crab pots for a chance at some tasty
Dungies!
Areas 6, 8-1, 8-2, 9, 10
and 12 are open through Sept. 3. Area 4 east of Bonilla-Tatoosh line and 5 are
open through Sept. 3. Area 7 South opens
July 14 through Sept. 30, and 7 North is open Aug. 16 through Sept. 30. Fishing is allowed Thursdays to Mondays of
each week only (closed on July 4). Areas 11 and 13 are closed this summer due
to a poor Dungeness crab abundance.
Lastly, some local rivers
were bursting at the seams with kings and sockeye; and follow the trout plants
in lakes at https://wdfw.wa.gov/fishing/plants/weekly/.
Northwest Salmon Derby resumes
Salmon derby anglers start your motors!
The PSA Bellingham Salmon
Derby is July 13-15 and Big One Salmon Derby is July 25-29 at Lake Coeur
d’Alene in Idaho.
Those will be followed by
the Brewster Salmon Derby on Aug. 2-5; South King County PSA Derby on Aug. 4;
Gig Harbor PSA Derby on Aug. 11; and the Vancouver, B.C. Canada Chinook Classic
on Aug. 18-19.
It’s also not too soon to
start getting excited about coho in September. I’ve confirmed the PSA Edmonds Coho
Derby is Sept. 8, and the biggest derby on West Coast – the Everett Coho Derby
is Sept. 22-23.
That is where we’ll draw
the lucky name to win a grand-prize $65,000 KingFisher 2025 Falcon Series boat
powered with Honda 150hp and 9.9hp motors on an EZ-loader galvanized trailer.
It is fully rigged with Scotty downriggers, Raymarine electronics, a WhoDat
Tower and a Dual Electronic Stereo. Details: www.NorthwestSalmonDerbySeries.com.
Now it’s time for me to
take that first bite of chewy goodness in a “PayDay” candy bar and bee-line out
the door to see if I can score a fish or two. See you on the water!
