Fishing | Chinook fishery to end on northern Puget Sound

Catches in the hatchery chinook fishery in northern Puget Sound [Marine Catch Area 9] picked up this past week, to the point where state Fish and Wildlife officials will close it after this SundayAug. 10.

"We are getting near the 4,000 [hatchery chinook] guideline for Area 9, and expect to meet or exceed it by Sunday," said Steve Thiesfeld, the state Fish and Wildlife recreational salmon manager. "Area 9 will stay open for hatchery coho, pinks and sockeye."

Thiesfeld says the Port Townsend area remains the best spot for chinook, and south of Craven Rock it is pretty slow. As a whole, Area 9 catch rates remain about one chinook caught for every five rods.

Through Aug. 3, a total of 3,470 hatchery chinook had been caught in Area 9, and 571 in Area 10. The combined catch quota is 7,000.

For those looking to get their last licks in Area 9, try Midchannel Bank [mainly a troll show using Coho Killers or Coyote spoons as baitfish anglers were getting into hordes of pesky dogfish], Lip Lip Point, Point No Point, Possession Bar, Double Bluff and Pilot Point.

Just south in Central Puget Sound [Area 10] the hatchery chinook fishery is off and on, and will likely stay open through Aug. 15.

"We had a few chinook and silvers over the weekend at Jefferson Head, and [yesterday] we had five chinook to the boat and kept [hatchery-marked fish]," said Gary Krein, owner of All-Star Charters in Everett.

The coho haven't been thick like last year off Jefferson Head, Krein noted, and yesterday the baitfish showed up big time in water of 180 feet or deeper.

Also try Kingston, Point Monroe, Richmond Beach, West Point, Southworth and Allen Bank off Blake Island.

The Elliott Bay chinook fishery [open Fridays to Mondays] has turned on, with some decent action for kings.

"I checked 59 boats Monday with 26 kings and two coho, and I'd say it has definitely improved from the weeks before," said Pete Sergeef, a state Fish and Wildlife checker at the Armeni boat ramp in West Seattle. "I also had a few fish come in from Dolphin Point [on Vashon Island], and the tribes start their full fishery [last night] in the bay so we'll see how they do."

In south central Puget Sound [Area 11], anglers were finding some fair king fishing around Tacoma and Gig Harbor.

The Des Moines Salmon Derby, hosted by the South King County Chapter of Puget Sound Anglers, was last Saturday, and drew about 500 anglers who weighed-in 66 fish.

Results: 1, Larry Mandella, Stanwood, 26 pound-12 ounce chinook caught at Point No Point, $3,000; 2, Clifford Moore, 22-6, $1,000; 3. Steve Wahls, 21-14, $500. The Gig Harbor Salmon Derby is this SaturdayAug. 9. Details: www.northwestsalmonderbyseries.com.

Salmon fishing off the coast has been fairly good at Ilwaco and Westport, but somewhat slower as you head north off La Push and Neah Bay.

"We are seeing some nice fish caught at Ilwaco and Westport with about a one fish per person average last week," said Wendy Beeghly, a state Fish and Wildlife biologist. "It is mostly coho at Ilwaco, but on some days there have been a lot more chinook in the catches."

"I'm a little concerned about Ilwaco because it doesn't take much to get up to their 10,000 coho catch quota," Beeghly said. "The problem with Ilwaco is that Buoy 10 is open and when things are slow there the anglers usually shift their effort back out into the ocean, which can increase the catches a lot."

Doug Milward, a state Fish and Wildlife resource salmon manager was out in the ocean just north of Westport with friends this past Sunday, and landed a limit of kings from 10 to 23 pounds.

Westport anglers were finding kings near the GH Buoy, straight out from Grays Harbor in 160 feet of water and along the surf line off Ocean Shores in 30 feet of water.

Willapa Bay is also starting to see some early king action, and a state Fish and Wildlife sampler there Tuesday checked four nice chinook that were caught along the surf line out toward the bar.

"Guys fishing inside on the buoy line at Willapa aren't doing well at all, but those fishing out toward the ocean were catching them and most of these are probably dip-in chinook heading down to the Columbia," Beeghly said.

At La Push, anglers averaged 0.6 fish per rod, and at Neah Bay it was 0.4 fish per rod.

Word is that at Spike Rock off Neah Bay in 20 to 30 feet of water the kings have been laying in the kelp beds.

Tuna fishing is gaining steam off the southern coast with some boats filling their coolers.

"We're seeing some good catches, and the guys at Ilwaco are going out only 25 to 40 miles, and I saw private boat catches of up to seven tuna per person," Beeghly said. "The Westport charter boats are doing quite well with a couple landings of over 200 fish, and they're running 50 miles out."

In the Strait of Juan de Fuca, the place to be for kings is Freshwater Bay, while Sekiu and Port Angeles have just been mediocre.

"The chinook fishing has been just so-so at Sekiu, but the ones they've been catching are nice in the 20- to 30-pound range," said Larry Bennett, the head state Fish and Wildlife sampler. "The coho fishing is starting to pick up, and I had a gentleman who stopped along the first riptide and got four coho of 5 to 6 pounds."

Fishing reports

• Sockeye in Lake Wenatchee: Open daily until the catch threshold is attained, which is dependent on the number of fish returning.

More than 24,000 sockeye have been counted at Tumwater Dam.

The daily limit is two sockeye, at least 12 inches long.

Sockeye with a colored, plastic tag near the dorsal fin, as well as all bull trout, steelhead and chinook, must be released without removing them from the water.

Selective-gear rules are in effect, except that fishing from a boat equipped with a motor is allowed

No more than three barbless hooks are allowed, no bait nor scent may be used, and the use of knotless nets for landing fish is required. Anglers may fish from one hour before sunrise to one hour after sunset.

Anglers fish it similar to the Lake Washington sockeye fishery.

Downriggers are most effective to catch sockeye or a 4- to 8-ounce lead crescent sinker attached to one or two bare red, blue or black hooks on a short 9- to 12-inch leader trailed behind a 0-size chrome dodger.

There are two places to launch a boat. One is a small, primitive ramp on U.S. Forest Service property and the other is located at Lake Wenatchee State Park, but parking is limited.

• Fish in local rivers: "We were up the Sky [Skykomish River] Sunday, and let go of a couple kings, but the river is getting low," said Bryan Nelson at Three Rivers Marine and Tackle in Woodinville. "Reiter Ponds is fair to good for steelhead."

, and a couple buddies from here went up for the evening bite the other day and nobody was fishing it."

The Skokomish River is open for chinook and coho fishing. Also try the Green, Stillaguamish North Fork, Snoqualmie and Samish.

• Trout and other game fish in lakes: "Been kind of slow for perch in Lake Washington because of the hydroplanes, but I expect it to start picking up this week as the perch move back in from the deeper water and it should be good perch fishing from here on out," said Jerry Beppu, owner of Linc's Tackle Shop in Seattle.

Try the docks off Leschi, Madison Park and Kirkland areas, and by this weekend head south from Mount Baker to Seward Park and Renton. Fair to good for kokanee in Lake Stevens. Ross and Big lakes are worth a try for bass. Try for trout at Pass and Lone lakes on Whidbey Island.

• Fish in the Columbia River and its tributaries: Fair to good for boat anglers in the Cowlitz, Drano Lake and White Salmon for steelhead.

Sturgeon fishing from the Wauna power lines up to Bonneville Dam is allowed Thursdays to Sundays only.

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