Fishing
Notebook: Chinook starting to pick up

By Mark Yuasa
Seattle Times staff reporter

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All eyes up and down the Columbia River are on the expected large spring chinook run, and catches of late have improved.

"I had a report from two anglers on Saturday that hooked four at Cathlamet, and released one (unmarked fish) in the low 20s and kept one hatchery fish in the high teens," said Tony Floor, a spokesman for Northwest Marine Trade Association. "It's starting to pick up."

The Lower Columbia River commercial gill-net fishery on Tuesdays and Thursdays shows a predominance of Willamette River spring chinook, and sources say it appears the lower river hatchery run is late this year.

"We have a long ways to go to the peak of the spring chinook run, especially in the lower river, where by early April it should be pretty good," Floor said.

Lower Columbia River boat anglers averaged one chinook (kept or released) per every 27.7 rods wetting a line.

"There are a couple of factors why the run is late this year," said Joe Hymer, a state Fish and Wildlife biologist. "The water temperature remains cold, and the majority of fish this year are made up of 4-year-olds, which tend to migrate back later than the 5-year-old fish that returned last year."

Currently, the Lower Columbia River below Interstate 5 is open for spring chinook.

Starting Tuesday, the area from I-5 to Bonneville Dam, and Tower Island power lines, located about six miles below The Dalles Dam, up to McNary Dam, opens for hatchery spring chinook and steelhead and shad fishing.

Also Tuesday, two Bonneville Pool tributaries — Lower Wind River and Drano Lake — open for spring chinook and hatchery steelhead.

Don't expect much action there since fish counts at Bonneville Dam show very few spring chinook are heading upstream yet. The Skamania County boat ramp and parking facility at Drano Lake is closed through March 31 due to construction. It will reopen April 1, then close again June 1-July 31.
 
Top spots of week

1. Smelt in Cowlitz River and Lower Columbia tributaries: "The smelt are back in large numbers," Hymer said. "Because of clear water conditions, dipping is better in darker hours from 6 a.m. to 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. to 10 p.m.

"One of our enforcement officers said there were thousands of birds at Cowlitz mouth, and a lot of smelt were moving up at Gearhart Park near the Longview Bridge. This could be the main body of the run, and it is definitely time to go smelt dipping. No smelt have moved up to Castle Rock area yet."

2. Steelhead in coastal rivers: "I got a report of two anglers who hooked and released 15 steelhead on the Satsop, and as of (Tuesday) fishing was on fire," Floor said. "The Wynoochee River has been good for steelhead, and I had reports of people getting anywhere from two to eight fish per boat," said Mike Chamberlain at Ted's Sports Center in Lynnwood.

Other fair to good options for steelhead are the Soleduck, Hoh, Calawah, Bogachiel, Queets, Quinault, Clearwater and Humptulips rivers.

3. Chinook in open marine areas: "Fishing is holding up very well around the Anacortes area, and Guemes and Blakely islands," Floor said.

When the weather is calm, chinook fishing has been fair to good on Coyote, Middle and Hein banks. Other island spots are Thatcher Pass, Spring Pass and Parker Reef, Point Lawrence and Thompson Point off Orcas Island.

Fishing in Saratoga Passage and northern Puget Sound is fair for small-sized chinook. Try Possession Bar, Point No Point, the southeast corner of Whidbey Island, Greenbank, Utsalady Bay, Onamac Point, Hat Island and Camano Head. In southcentral Sound, it's spotty around the Tacoma area.

In the Strait of Juan de Fuca, fishing was fair at Sekiu and Port Angeles; in Hood Canal the Misery Point area was slow to fair.

4. Smelt in Oak Harbor: "Smelt jigging remains quite good off the public marina dock, and the best bite is happening during the high tide," Chamberlain said.

5. Trout in statewide lakes: "The guys heading to Eastern Washington for the Seeps Lake trout fishery have done OK," Chamberlain said. "Fly fishermen fishing the quality lakes, like Lenice, Nunnally, Bobby and Merry, were getting anywhere from three to five fish per rod, and the colder weather may be having an impact on the fishery."

In Columbia Basin, Quincy and Burke lakes are good, as well as Lower and Upper Caliche and Martha lakes.

Locally, trout fishing in Blackman's and Flowing lakes in Snohomish County has been poor despite a hefty plant last week of trout from 14 inches long to 10 pounds. This could change once the weather warms up. Other Puget Sound region fly-fishing lakes worth a try are Lone Lake on Whidbey Island and Pass Lake near Deception Pass.

"It has been good at Green Lake (in Seattle) for trout, and I have a customer who is doing well for cutthroat in the south end of Lake Washington around the Rainier Beach area," said Maria Beppu, owner of Linc's Tackle Shop in Seattle.

Other fishing spots

Ilwaco, Westport and La Push: Lingcod fishing season opens Saturday. Fishing should be excellent.

Snohomish and Skagit river systems: "Steelhead fishing is all but closed, except the Skagit and Sauk," Chamberlain said. "I've been talking to the guides on those rivers and they've been getting one or two fish per day, including some nice ones in the upper teens with an occasional Dolly (Dolly Varden trout) thrown in the catches."

Cowlitz River: "We've seen an improvement in fishing for steelhead and they are scattered from barrier dam downstream," Hymer said.

Kalama River: Fair for steelhead and a few early spring chinook.

Lewis River: Slow for steelhead and spring chinook.

Yakima River: "Fair fishing and some stone fly hatches have started, so early mornings using a sculpin-type fly like leeches or a woolly bugger should get the job done," Chamberlain said.

Columbia River: Slow to fair for sturgeon just below Bonneville Dam. Good for steelhead in The Dalles Pool and John Day Pool with anglers averaging nearly one to two steelhead per rod.

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

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