Originally published July 28, 2010 at 7:29 PM | Page modified July 28, 2010 at 8:06 PM

Action remains fine as fishing effort down

Heading into the heart of summer the wide variety of fishing opportunities continue to offer decent action.

Seattle Times staff reporter

Seattle native and lifelong angler Mark Yuasa blogs on fishing in the Pacific Northwest.

Heading into the heart of summer the wide variety of fishing opportunities continue to offer decent action.

The northern and central Puget Sound (Marine Catch Areas 9 and 10) hatchery-marked chinook fishery remains the highlight this week, with fairly good catches for anglers.

"If you look at it on a historical basis this summer has been one of the best years we've seen since 2007 in Areas 9 and 10," said Mark Baltzell, a state Fish and Wildlife biologist. "I would say effort is down compared to previous years, and Area 9 is the better place primarily off Possession Bar and Point No Point."

The catch estimate of chinook (only those with a missing adipose fin may be kept) from July 16-25 is 2,150 fish in Area 9 and 550 in Area 10. The hatchery mark rate of chinook is 80 percent. The catch average is 0.2 fish per rod in Area 9 and 0.1 in Area 10.

The ocean from Westport to Ilwaco has come alive with chinook and coho, but La Push and Neah Bay have been downright slow.

"Westport was the hot spot (1.4 fish per rod) for about three chinook landed for every coho," said Wendy Beeghly, a state Fish and Wildlife biologist. "The Columbia River area (Ilwaco) saw about 1.2 fish per person, and it was mostly coho although a good number of chinook showed up, which is encouraging for the Buoy 10 (Aug. 1) opener."

At La Push it was 0.2 fish per rod, and Neah Bay saw a meager 0.3 fish per rod

The Oregon Tuna Classic out of Ilwaco is Saturday, and is expected to draw hundreds of anglers onto the ocean. Details: www.oregontunaclassic.org.

The Baker Lake sockeye catches have increased this week now that anglers are dialed in on what to use and where to catch them.

"The sockeye fishery has been very good, and most of the fish are congregated in the upper end of the lake at depths of 45 to 50 feet," said Mike Chamberlain at Ted's Sports Center in Lynnwood.

Mark Yuasa: 206-464-8780 or myuasa@seattletimes.com. Also follow him on twitter.com/MarkKYuasa


Fishing report
Location	Comment
Columbia River	Still doing pretty well for steelhead in Lower Columbia, said Joe Hymer, a state Fish and Wildlife biologist. Some steelhead ducking into the Bonneville Pool tributaries, and this should break loose soon. Fair for steelhead in the Cowlitz, Lewis, Drano Lake, White Salmon and Klickitat. The Columbia above Highway 173 Bridge in Brewster and the Okanogan are good for sockeye. Chinook catches improved below Wells Dam and mouth of the Okanogan. Sturgeon catch in the estuary is about one keeper per boat. Fisheries managers will meet Thursday to discuss the sturgeon fishery, but it doesn't appear an extension will go beyond the scheduled Aug. 1 closure.
Biting: Yes Rating:
Trout lakes	Perch and bass fishing are good in Lake Washington. Swift Reservoir was planted with 2,900 1-pound and 1,260 5-pound trout. Fair to good in Riffe Lake for coho. Fair for kokanee in Lake Stevens.
Biting: Yes Rating:
Marine salmon	Still more blackmouth than kings around Sekiu, but those spending a lot of time on the water were having good success. Spotty for kings off Port Angeles and Freshwater Bay. Slow to fair for hatchery-marked kings in Tacoma area. Slow for kings off the Edmonds Pier. Inconsistent for kings in the San Juan Islands at Decatur Island, Point Thompson, Obstruction and Point Lawrence. Inner Elliott Bay chinook fishery (open Fridays to Sundays only) remains very spotty.
Biting: Yes Rating:
Local rivers	Slow for steelhead on Skykomish at Reiter Ponds and from Sultan to Index. Skokomish River opens Aug. 1 for hatchery-marked chinook; check the regulations carefully before going.
Biting: No Rating:

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