Fishing | Anglers hoping June 1 is a day to remember

Hordes of anglers are expected to hit their favorite fishing holes this Memorial Day weekend, but some are holding out until June 1, when many other opportunities open up.

The Skykomish River opens June 1 from the Lewis Street Bridge in Monroe to the Wallace River mouth for hatchery-marked chinook [fish with a missing adipose fin].

"The Skykomish should be good when the king fishery opens, and success depends on the water conditions," said Bryan Nelson at Three Rivers Marine and Tackle in Woodinville. "I've had friends who did quite well on summer steelhead off the west side of Whidbey at Fort Casey, and all those fish are turning the corner and heading to the Snohomish system."

The Skagit River opens June 1 from the Highway 530 bridge at Rockport to the Cascade River mouth for hatchery chinook.

Other rivers to try on the June 1 opener for steelhead are the Stillaguamish North Fork [fly-fishing only], Snoqualmie [no bait allowed], Soleduck, Hoh, Bogachiel, Green, Skykomish, Satsop, Elochoman, Skagit, Calawah and Chehalis.

For the fourth year in a row, the Cedar River will open June 1 for trout fishing. The fishery has selective gear rules, and is catch and release only.

Saltwater anglers can target early summer hatchery chinook when the south-central Puget Sound [Catch Area 11], and the northern portion of the Central Puget Sound [Area 10] open June 1. Anglers should note Area 10 is open for catch and release only.

The Tulalip bubble chinook fishery runs from June 1 to June 22 and reopens June 24.

"When the Tulalip bubble salmon fishery opens it could be good, and I have heard Tulalip [tribal] netters are doing quite well already," said Mike Chamberlain at Ted's Sports Center in Lynnwood.

Top spots of the week

1. Trout and bass in lakes: "The fly fishermen at Lone and Pass lakes are doing quite well on trout, and I had a customer who trolled a flatfish at Lake Serene and released about 20 fish," Chamberlain said. "Kokanee fishing has been decent at Lake Stevens, and [retired state Fish and Wildlife biologist Curt Kraemer] fished American Lake and had five really nice kokanee up to 15 inches."

Trout lakes still worth a look are Meridian, Jameson, Warden, Cassidy, Roesiger, Green, Martha, Pine, Lone, Cottage, Mayfield, Rattlesnake, Langlois, McMurray, Wilderness, Bosworth, Spanaway, Angle, Wapato, Spectacle, Deer and Tanwax. Bass fishing remains good on lakes Sammamish, Stevens and Washington.

2. Spring chinook, steelhead, shad and sturgeon in Columbia River and tributaries: "We've got a lot of water spilling out of Bonneville [Dam], but we've had some pretty darn good catches of shad all the way down to Longview," said Joe Hymer, a state Fish and Wildlife biologist.

With all the water [270,000 cubic feet per second] spilling out of the Bonneville, Hymer cautions anglers below the dam to be careful. Other good shad catches have occurred at the Camas-Washougal area and on the Oregon side just below the Bonneville. So far, about 250,000 shad had been counted at the Bonneville, not including the fish entering the locks.

"Since the [hatchery] spring chinook fishery reopened [in the Lower Columbia River] last week, there has been just as many steelhead caught as spring chinook," Hymer said. "The catch is kind of spread out with most steelhead caught at Cathlamet and more spring chinook around Vancouver."

The Lewis River steelhead and spring chinook fishing is fading, but there is still decent fishing in the Kalama River in the Canyon area. Drano Lake is producing quite a few fish and most are jack spring chinook. The Wind River is good one day and salty the next for spring chinook.

Sturgeon fishing picked up for charter boats in the Desdemona area, and from the estuary upstream to channel marker 85.

3. Spring chinook in Icicle River: "The run is somewhere in the neighborhood of 2,900 to maybe 3,000 fish, which relative to other years is a small run but strong enough to support a fishery and for the hatchery to meet spawning goals," said Art Viola, a state Fish and Wildlife biologist.

Viola said they sampled 10 boats and about a dozen bank anglers on Tuesday morning with five fish. About two or three more fish were caught in the evening.

"Water conditions are good and the river level is dropping," Viola said. "I anticipate a lot more people showing up this weekend, and I caution those that fishing areas are very limited."

4. Halibut and lingcod off the coast, and from Sekiu to Puget Sound: "We've been getting a few lingcod, but it is not red hot and fishing could be better," said Gary Krein, owner of All-Star Charters.

For halibut try Mutiny Bay, the old Navy bombing range off Fort Casey, Green Point, Freshwater Bay, and Hein, Salmon, Partridge, Dallas, Eastern and Middle banks.

Lingcod anglers should hit the west and east sides of Possession Bar, south of Alki Point near the green buoy markers, Allen Bank off Blake Island, off the Edmonds and Everett Marinas, Point Evans, Toliva Shoal, Burrows Island, Smith Island and the San Juan Islands.

Areas from Port Angeles into Puget Sound are open Thursdays to Mondays for halibut; Sekiu opens today for halibut.

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