COHO CONTINUED THEIR migration east in the past week, with outstanding catch totals off Port Angeles, steady numbers out west off Sekiu, and good numbers in Marine Area 9 (Admiralty Inlet), if not off Port Townsend itself.
Last Saturday’s creel report numbers were off the charts at the Ediz Hook boat ramp, with 150 coho landed by 99 anglers in 44 boats.
“Silvers are just picking up in the past few days,” said Nick Roberts of Swain’s General Store (360-452-2357) in Port Angeles.
“Most of them are smaller, in the 4 to 8-pound range, but people are catching their limits.”
Numbers for the first run of coho were beginning to taper at Sekiu, with less than a fish per boat average last Sunday.
Sekiu salmon derby
The “No Fin, You Win” salmon derby is set for Saturday in Sekiu.
The Clallam Bay-Sekiu Chamber of Commerce is sponsoring the event.
The first-prize winner takes home 50 percent of ticket sales, second place comes back with 20 percent and third place receives 10 percent.
Derby tickets are $15 and available at Olson’s Resort (360-963-2311) and Van Riper’s Resort (360-963-2334) in Sekiu.
The derby wraps at 3 p.m. with a weigh-in at Van Riper’s.
Hopefully, numbers pick up for the derby, but if not, rain is in the forecast next weekend out west.
I’ll root for anything that can push more fish in from the Pacific Ocean and down the Strait of Juan de Fuca.
Jefferson County
No specific checks were conducted at the Port Townsend boat ramp, nor at the beach at Point Wilson, the most likely spot a Quimper Peninsula angler would score a prime catch.
Eric Elliott of The Fishin’ Hole (360-385-7031) in Port Townsend passed along that he had heard of trickles of coho coming in.
“This year certainly isn’t a banner one for coho so far near Port Townsend,” Elliot said.
“There are a few fish coming in, a few here and there at the ramp, and even at Point Wilson I’ve only heard of a few.”
Elliott said most coho-focused anglers are speeding past Midchannel Bank for spots like Bush Point off the west side of Whidbey Island and green buoy on the island’s south side.
My buddies Gabe Barry and Chad Paul fished in the Edmonds Salmon Derby last Saturday, landing three coho in the range of 3 to 5 pounds between the two of them.
They were putting down glow green/white hoochies or Coho Killer spoons at a depth of around 40 to 60 feet.
The winning fish weighed in at just more than 11 pounds, with the runner-ups all much smaller than usual prize-winners.
“The bulk of the fish were in the 3- to 5-pound class, which is about right for an El Niño season,” according to Ward Norden of Quilcene.
Barry and I worked at Jerry’s Bait in Mats Mats Bay way back in the summer of 2000, he on the herring boat crew and I toiled as a ziplock bagger of the frozen trays of baitfish.
Those were some good slimy, scaly, stinky times out there with Roger and Pam Botnen, who still run Jerry’s Bait, as bosses.
Norden said that beach casters on Whidbey Island are having some luck on rotator jigs with pink trailers.
“Beach anglers have discovered that rotators, unlike Buzz Bombs, work very well on a steady retrieve instead of the rise and fall required for Buzz Bombs,” Norden said.
Hoh closed in park
Wednesday afternoon saw Olympic National Park issue an emergency closure of all fishing in the upper Hoh and South Fork Hoh rivers within Olympic National Park boundaries.
According to park administrators, the closure was put in place due to concerns about the status, trends and escapement of Hoh River chinook salmon.
The closure is in effect through Oct. 15, with both the upper Hoh and South Fork Hoh River set to reopen Oct. 16.
The park says the Hoh’s spring/summer chinook population has failed to meet the minimum escapement goal in six of the last seven years and remains at low levels of abundance.
Escapement refers to the allotment of fish allowed for harvest, while leaving enough for spawning.
Additionally, the number of spawners this year is projected to be below the escapement floor.
Spawning for this wild population primarily occurs in Olympic National Park.
Two bay’s closed
Just a day after marine biotoxins that cause Paralytic Shellfish Poisoning, or PSP, were detected in high levels in shellfish taken from Quilcene Bay, word comes from the state Department of Health that nearby Dabob Bay has also been closed to the recreational harvest of shellfish.
Shellfish harvested commercially are tested for toxin prior to distribution and should be safe to eat.
The closure includes clams, oysters, mussels, scallops and other species of molluscan shellfish.
Symptoms of PSP can appear within minutes or hours and usually begin with tingling lips and tongue, moving to the hands and feet, followed by difficulty breathing and potentially death.
Recreational shellfish harvesters should visit
tinyurl.com/PDN-BeachClosures or phone the state’s Biotoxin Hotline at 800-562-5632 before harvesting shellfish anywhere in the state.
Send photos, stories
Have a photograph, a fishing or hunting report, an anecdote about an outdoors experience or a tip on gear or technique?
Send it to sports@peninsuladailynews.com or P.O. Box 1330, Port Angeles, WA 98362.
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Outdoors columnist Michael Carman appears here Thursdays and Fridays. He can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5152 or at mcarman@peninsuladailynews.com.
