Outdoors notebook | Tenino angler Bruener reels in big fish story

For Eric Bruener of Tenino, July 2 will go down in the memory book as a truly impressive day of salmon fishing in British Columbia.

Bruener and his brother-in-law, Andy Billings of Tenino, were at the midway point of a five-day fishing trip aboard the Oak Bay Marine Resort's MV Marabell. They were anchored late that afternoon near the northern Queen Charlotte Islands when Bruener got the surprise of his life.

"We were planning on quitting and heading back to the main boat when one of our tanks ran out of gas. So we hooked up the other gas tank and decided to keep fishing a little bit longer," said Bruener, who had been fishing since 5:30 a.m.

Billings hooked and caught a small chinook, and shortly thereafter Bruener — using a brand new Islander mooching reel — let out 33 pulls (about 66 feet of line) with an 8-ounce crescent weight tied to a cut-plug herring.

Around 4 p.m., while motor mooching off Cohoe Point near Langara Island in 150 feet of water, Bruener's pole jerked with the telltale sign that a big salmon was on the other end.

"It hit like a ton of bricks, and it definitely wasn't playing around," Bruener said. "Initially, when it came up to the surface after the first 15 minutes of the battle, the fish jumped right out of the water over the rear transom of the boat, and Andy had to get out of the way as it almost hit him."

It took Bruener about two hours to land the big king, which weighed 65 pounds and was 49 inches long, with a girth of 33 inches.

"Andy helped me out a lot to catch that big king by keeping the fish out of the kelp beds and with netting the fish," Bruener said. "If it wasn't for his help, I don't know if I could've landed that fish."

Bruener has fished the Queen Charlottes several times in the past with his father, Fred Bruener of Westport, who had caught a 50-pound king about six years ago.

"I used to salmon fish a lot with my dad, who is an avid angler, and he taught me how to fish," Bruener said. "Getting that experience from my dad really paid off.

"My dad used to brag about his big fish, but now I am one up on him," Bruener said jokingly. "I am heading back up there on August 4, and I am sure my dad will try to outdo me."

Bruener said employees aboard the MV Marabell claimed it was the biggest king landed in the past 10 years.

According to Wendy Oppelt, a spokesman for the Oak Bay Marine Group, Bruener's king was the largest caught this season, and he will be entered into the resort's Masterfisherman Club, with his name placed on a plaque on the MV Marabell.

Word on sockeye

This summer's Lake Washington sockeye numbers are grim, to the point that fisheries officials are starting to say it could be one of the worst in 37 years.

According to Bill Robinson, a member of the Seattle Public Utilities Fisheries Committee, this summer's count from June 12 to July 31 will probably end up as the second-lowest since the first year of counts in 1972.

"This is a disaster for sockeye," Robinson said. "It is also a mystery why the run isn't materializing like we thought it would."

The lake's sockeye — just like this year's record return for Columbia River sockeye — all migrate to the same pasture in the ocean around Kodiak, Alaska.

Two reasons for the success of the Columbia run were the increase in water flow four years ago to flush the smolts out of the big river in a timely fashion, and the huge sockeye fry enhancement program that began four years ago in the river's mid-British Columbia system.

"Those fry equate to more smolts, and the more smolts then equate to more adult returns," Robinson said.

Through Wednesday, just 32,963 sockeye had been counted at the Ballard Locks. The parent run of this year's sockeye produced a return of 376,659 in 2004.

The top-five lowest counts are: 1, 34,280 in 1995; 2, 51,941 in 1999; 3, 60,116 in 2007; 4, 74,821 in 2005; 5, 86,594 in 1991.

In an e-mail, Muckleshoot tribal biologist Mike Mahovlich said it is still too early to tell what these numbers mean. But if the run timing is normal, the projected run size is 70,000 fish.

"This is not good news, especially being that this is the dominant year class for Lake Washington sockeye," Mahovlich said.

Notes

• The Eastside Audubon Marymoor Bird Festival is 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Aug. 2 at Marymoor Park in Redmond. The event is part of the grand opening of the two-mile Audubon BirdLoop Nature Trail. Visitors can also enjoy bird and native plant walks, food, entertainment, hands-on activities for children and adults and informative displays. Details: www.elwas.org.

• The Puget Sound Anglers SnoKing Chapter Edmonds Coho Derby is Sept. 6. Weigh-ins will be held at the Edmonds Marina and at Bayside Marine in Everett. Largest coho is worth $5,000. Tickets are now on sale and will end Sept. 1. Details: 206-624-6550 or 425-743-9505 or www.edmondscohoderby.com.

• The 50th anniversary of the first Thunderbird class sailboat is Aug. 1-3 in Gig Harbor. Festivities begin at the free kick off from 4-6 p.m. Aug. 1 at the Eddon Boatyard, the birthplace of Thunderbird Hull Number 1. Learn about the history of the property and its new life as the Gig Harbor BoatShop. Events begin at 9 a.m. Aug. 2, and include the launch of Thunderbaby, the newest addition to the Thunderbird fleet; a regatta at noon in the Narrows waterway; and music, sailboat displays and a banquet. Details: www.gigharborguide.com or www.tbird50years.com or 888-VIEW-GIG.

• Fly-tying expert Steve Rohrbach will host a free seminar titled "Fly-fishing Puget Sound" at 1 p.m. Aug. 9 at the Orvis Store, 10223 N.E. 10th St. in Bellevue. Rohrbach will be tying some of his favorite Puget Sound baitfish patterns and discussing his secret fishing spots. Details: 425-452-9138.

• The Hood Canal Salmon Enhancement Group is seeking volunteers to help with the summer chum project on the Union River in Belfair. Work is needed from Aug. 15 to Oct. 15. Details: 360-275-3575.

• The Tacoma Outboard Association Salmon Derby is Aug. 23. Largest salmon is worth $1,000. Cost is $10. Weigh-in at the Narrows Marina. Details: 253-564-1468.

• The Buoy 10 Salmon Challenge is Aug. 21-22 at the Lower Columbia River mouth. All activities will be at Warrior Hall at Camp Rilea in Astoria. Derby is limited to 245 entrants. Cost is $270 for a team of three anglers. Details: 503-631-8859 or www.nsiafishing.org.

• The Seattle Audubon Society offers field trips and classes every month. Details: 206-523-4483 or www.seattleaudubon.org.

Mark Yuasa: 206-464-8780 or myuasa@seattletimes.com