Outdoors | Famous angler has tough day on local waters

Sometimes catching a fish is all about timing, and even after extensive planning it always doesn't go the way you want it to.

Such was the case when pro bass angler Mike Iaconelli, the 2003 Bassmaster Classic champion from New Jersey, paid a visit to the Emerald City this past Monday to film an episode of his upcoming 2009 show "City Limits Fishing" on the VERSUS cable channel.

In the show, Iaconelli is challenged to catch a limit of fish within a six-hour fishing time limit around some of the United States' greatest cities. Iaconelli has to quickly find fish in an unfamiliar area and then figure out how to catch them.

The morning on Puget Sound began at 6 a.m. under cloudy skies and calm waters for the first half of the show in which Iaconelli's quest was to catch a limit of king salmon.

Shooting a fishing show isn't all about heading out onto the water and going fishing right away.

First you have to get film shots of the group arriving at the dock, not once but three or four times before you even leave the marina.

Then come the shots of the boat heading to the fishing grounds, and interviews on technique and how you are going to fish and catch them.

Iaconelli's fishing partner for the day was veteran salmon fishing guide Keith Robbins, owner of A Spot Tail Salmon Guide in Seattle.

By the time the cut-plug herring hit the water it was already 7:30 a.m. and well after the typical morning salmon bite.

Everything looked right, though. The herring baitfish schools were thick and the fish finder showed a lot of salmon hanging in the area off West Point south of Shilshole Bay.

After two hours of catching undersized chinook or coho the group decided to move on to Elliott Bay, which was open for one final day for king salmon before closing.

Nothing showed in the bay so they headed north to Richmond Beach, where things started to look up as they caught more undersized salmon, flounder and a couple of nice rockfish.

However, time ran out in the saltwater, and Iaconelli headed into Lake Washington through the Ballard Locks to try his luck at bass fishing.

The sun came out and it started to warm up as Iaconelli caught a perch just east of Husky Stadium, and things were looking optimistic.

They started off at Webster Point in the northern part of the lake at Sand Point near a channel marker, and fishing from a salmon boat wasn't conducive so they switched into a bass boat owned by Glenn May, who runs bassresource.com.

Iaconelli moved to the pillars under the I-520 Bridge, off the north end of Mercer Island and under the east channel I-90 Bridge, but bad weather kept chasing them around the 21,500-acre lake.

The weather finally had the last say with strong northwest winds, lightning bolts, thunder and heavy rain squalls.

The mission was aborted at 5 p.m. as they headed back to the Mercer Island boat ramp.

"It was a fun event, but man it wasn't the outcome we were looking for, and as a fishing guide it is pretty frustrating to go through all that and not catch fish," Robbins said. "[Iaconelli] is an intense fisherman, and he got pretty grumpy when things weren't working his way on the water."

"The weather this summer season has been really unusual," Robbins said. "It definitely wasn't anything we did wrong. It was just the elements worked against us."

The "City Fishing Limits" show debuts in mid-February on VERSUS. Other destinations include Los Angeles, Houston, Detroit, Miami and Nashville.

Tokul Creek Hatchery public meetings set

State Fish and Wildlife will be hosting two meetings on the proposed operation changes at the Tokul Creek Hatchery on the Snoqualmie River.

According to fisheries biologists, the designs are made to support naturally spawning steelhead in the river's watershed.

The public meetings are 6-8 p.m., Sept. 9 at the State Fish and Wildlife Mill Creek Office, 16018 Mill Creek Blvd.; and 6-8 p.m., Sept. 11 at the Issaquah Salmon Hatchery, 125 West Sunset Way.

Fisheries staff will outline proposed changes to operations at the Tokul Creek Hatchery that meet requirements under the federal Endangered Species Act, and are consistent with the 2008 Statewide Steelhead Management Plan and recommendations from the Hatchery Scientific Review Group.

The changes could allow for all or part of the Snoqualmie watershed to be designated as a "wild steelhead management zone" that would be managed exclusively for wild fish populations.

Under the proposed operation changes, currently under discussion with tribal co-managers, the department could:

• Reduce Tokul Creek Hatchery steelhead production by 10 to 20 percent, and shift the remaining production of 150,000 winter steelhead to another state hatchery in the watershed.

• Eliminate about 20,000 steelhead plants annually in both the Tolt and Raging rivers.

• Relocate some or all of the 30,000 trout produced each year at Tokul Creek to other nearby facilities.

Those trout are produced for the lowland and high lakes fish-stocking programs.

Notes

• The Puget Sound Anglers SnoKing Chapter Edmonds Coho Derby is Saturday. Weigh-ins will be held at the Edmonds Marina and at Bayside Marine in Everett. Largest coho is worth $5,000, and two boats worth $85,000 will be given away. Ticket sales end Monday. Details: 206-624-6550 or 425-743-9505 or www.edmondscohoderby.com.

• The Seattle Rifle and Pistol Association hunter sight-in is 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Sept. 20-21, Sept. 27-28, Oct. 4-5 and Oct. 11-12 at 725 135th Ave. S. in Snohomish. Cost is $5. Details: 360-659-9362.

• The Ballard Elks Coho Derby is Sept. 14 in Central Puget Sound. Register at the Sloop Tavern or Ballard Elks Lounge by midnight Sept. 13. Cost is $10. Details: 206-227-0851.

• The Everett Coho Derby hosted by the Everett Steelhead and Salmon Club and Snohomish Sportsmen's Club is Sept. 20-21. Cost is $25, and kids under age 12 are free. Largest coho caught wins $2,500. Details: 425-415-1575 or 425-743-9505 or 206-624-6550.

• The National Parks Conservation Association is co-hosting a panel discussion on global climate change and how it will affect the area national parks: Olympic, Mount Rainier and North Cascades. The discussion will take place 6-9 p.m. Wednesday at the University of Washington's Kane Hall, Room 110. Details: www.wta.org.

• The Washington Steelhead Coalition free Fall Kick-Off and BBQ is 6-9 p.m. Sept. 11 at the UW Center for Urban Horticulture, 3501 N.E. 41st St. in Seattle. Details: www.wildsteelheadcoalition.com.

• The Washington Butterfly Association is hosting a seminar titled "Butterflies of the Peruvian Amazonia," at 7 p.m. Wednesday at the UW Center for Urban Horticulture, 3501 N.E. 41st St. in Seattle. Bob Hardwick will share photographs and adventures of his recent three-week stay in the Peruvian Amazonia where more than 3,300 butterfly species have been identified. Details: 206-364-4935 or www.naba.org/Chapters/nabaws.

• The Coast Guard Auxiliary's Edmonds Flotilla is offering fall 13-week public courses on Boating Skills and Seamanship Course ($55) beginning Thursday, and Advanced Coastal Navigation course ($75) beginning Sept. 9. There is also an America's Boating Course, a one-day, eight-hour class Sept. 13 and Nov. 1. The course covers all phases of boating, and those who complete it qualify for a newly required Washington Boaters Card. Details: 206-546-4171 or e-mail boatclasses@hotmail.com.

• State Fish and Wildlife is offering a women's workshop on fishing, hunting and outdoor skills Sept. 12-14 at Camp River Ranch in Carnation. The workshop is coordinated by Washington Outdoor Women. Classes offered are archery, basic fishing, fly-fishing and tying, canoeing, kayaking, preparing fish and shellfish, big-game hunting basics, map and compass reading, wilderness first aid, survival skills, wildlife identification, outdoor photography, and more.

Participants must be at least 18. Cost is $225 and includes the weekend's lodging, meals and use of all necessary equipment. Details: 425-455-1986 or www.washingtonoutdoorwomen.org.

• The Washington State Parks is inviting the public to participate in the International Coastal and Underwater Cleanup, Sept. 20-21. The goal is to focus attention on litter accumulated from water and land sources on Washington's ocean beaches.

State Parks will waive the camping fee for cleanup participants at Cape Disappointment (Long Beach area), Twin Harbors (south beach area) and Ocean City (north beach area) state parks. Details: 360-866-9253 or www.coastsavers.org.

• The Washington Trails Association offers statewide trip reports and trail conditions. Details: www.wta.org.

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