Fishing Notebook | Coho catch picking up in Puget Sound

A few choices this weekend could bring excitement to salmon anglers.

In Puget Sound, the coho are starting to mass from West Point off Shilshole Bay north to Edmonds, and finally some fish showed up in the Shipwreck area just south of Mukilteo.

"There is a bunch of coho around at West Point, and it has been very good for four days in a row now," said Gary Krein, owner of All-Star Charters in Everett. "It is a typical mix of resident coho in the 3- to 5-pound range, and ocean-migrating coho in the 6- to 9-pound range."

Krein mentioned his guests Monday landed a coho of 14 pounds, 10 ounces, and has been getting most of them on dodgers with a white squid or coho fly in water 30- to 90-feet deep.

Other places like Possession Point, Point No Point, Jefferson Head, and Bush and Lagoon points off the west side of Whidbey Island have been fair for coho. Note: Anglers in Area 9 may keep hatchery coho only.

Up in the Strait of Juan de Fuca at Sekiu remains the best bet for coho at midweek.

"One of my samplers at Sekiu said they had pretty good coho fishing, and some of the guys were back at their trailers by 8 a.m. with limits of fish, and a lot of them are good-sized in the 10- to 15-pound range," said Larry Bennett, the head state Fish and Wildlife sampler in the Strait area.

The Sekiu "No Fin, You Win" Coho Derby is Saturday. Cost is $10. Details: 360-963-2311. In hindsight, coho catches at Port Angeles have been virtually nonexistent.

Those looking for some late fall chinook action should head to the Lower Columbia River where Monday's opener was decent.

"We were out in the Columbia mainstem just below the mouth of the Cowlitz, and they were spanking the chinook left and right on Monday," said Wil Morrison, a state Fish and Wildlife spokesman in Vancouver. "There was always five or six anglers fighting a fish, and I was marking so many fish on my [fish finder] screen."

However by Tuesday, Morrison pointed out the chinook catches in the lower river were fair, and not nearly as good as opening day. Chinook counts at Bonneville Dam remain robust with 13,265 checked on Monday, and 13,682 more on Tuesday.

Fishing reports

• Tuna and salmon off the coast: "Westport anglers last week averaged over a fish per person, and almost all the catch was coho," said Wendy Beeghly, a state Fish and Wildlife biologist. "Tuna fishing was quite good, and at Ilwaco we saw private boats with three to 10 tuna per person. Typically they are going 40 miles out, but some were finding fish inside 30 miles."

At Neah Bay, the Area 4B fishery saw 528 anglers with 111 coho last week. Turnout at La Push has been very low, and anglers averaged just under half a fish per rod, and two thirds were coho.

Westport, La Push and Neah Bay are open daily for salmon through Sept. 13. The late season salmon fishery at La Push opens Sept. 20.

• Coho and chinook at Willapa Bay: "Fishing at Willapa Bay was very slow over the weekend [250 anglers caught 30 chinook and coho], and the winning derby fish weighed 20 pounds," said Tony Floor, director of fishing affairs for the Northwest Marine Trade Association.

Catches by Monday improved somewhat with 158 anglers catching 24 chinook and 15 coho. Jay Field, a member of the Fidalgo Chapter of Puget Sound Anglers fished Willapa on Tuesday, and while he caught a 36-pound king, the catches remained sparse.

"My take on Willapa is if you look ahead to this weekend you've got the flood tides happening in the morning, which is usually better than an afternoon flood like we had last weekend," Floor said. "I'd try between markers 8 and 15."

• Salmon and steelhead in Western Washington rivers: "There have been a few coho caught since it opened [Monday] at the confluence of Snohomish and Snoqualmie down to Lowell Road," said Bryan Nelson at Three Rivers Marine and Tackle in Woodinville. "The colder water temperatures should keep the fish more on the bite."

The Duwamish/Green River from Old Highway 99 Road up to I-405 is open for chinook, and Steve Foley, a state Fish and Wildlife biologist who recently checked the area reported a few coho and chinook caught by anglers. The river below Old Highway 99 opens Sept. 16 for salmon.

Fair to good on the Cowlitz for steelhead. Fair in the Kalama River for coho and steelhead. The Lower Samish is producing some fair king action. The Puyallup and Nisqually rivers are open for hatchery kings, but slow.

• Other fish reports: "I know Area 11 [south central Puget Sound] has been pretty slow for chinook catches, and same for coho, but it is still early for them," said Mark Baltzell, a state Fish and Wildlife biologist.

"They're still getting a lot of squid at the Des Moines pier, and perch fishing should remain good in Lake Washington with the warm weather that is supposed to hold up through next week," said Jerry Beppu, owner of Linc's Tackle Shop in Seattle.

Anglers are catching some kings in Lake Sammamish near the mouth of Issaquah Creek.

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