DEJA VU ALL over again in the salmon fishery to paraphrase the late, great Yogi Berra.
It’s a report similar to last Friday as salmon catch totals along the Strait of Juan de Fuca dipped over the weekend only to rebound mid-week — just in time for the west wind to pick up with another push of weather forecast today.
“Hit and miss still,” said Tony Dunscomb of Swain’s General Store (360-452-2357) in Port Angeles.
“[The waters west of] Freshwater Bay has been producing a few. Jigging has been producing there, trolling hasn’t been getting great results.”
The nearly 20-pound hatchery chinook pictured at the top of the column was caught west of Tongue Point while jigging a 1½-ounce Natural Shad Kandlefish.
But running lines off a downrigger is what the majority of anglers are doing off the kelp line west of Freshwater Bay.
“The other day there were 150 boats trolling out there and it was mayhem,” Dunscomb said.
Some pinks are showing up, too.
“The pinks are in out off the humps [near Port Angeles],” Dunscomb said. “It hasn’t been bad to get through them [while targeting kings].
“And they’ve been getting a few more kings out in deeper water, 200 feet or more.”
Be careful
Brian Menkal of Brian’s Sporting Goods and More (360-683-1950) in Sequim heard from some friends who caught some hatchery kings while trolling in 30 feet of water last Sunday west of Freshwater Bay.
Menkal said trollers have to be careful when they send down the lines in that area. Otherwise they are going to spend more time rigging than fishing.
“There’s lots of kelp to snag up on and hang up on, so jigging is a whole lot easier the closer you fish to the kelp line. Some guys will even cast small buzz bombs and Point Wilson Darts into the kelp.”
Overall, Menkal nearly echoed what Dunscomb has been hearing about the fishery at Swain’s.
“Hot and cold,” Menkal said.
“Those guys that fished Freshwater got two fish last Sunday and then it was a day or two of nothing. “The weather has been tough on guys. Too much wind this summer and it’s really been a factor for them. It’s not been real consistent, but there are fish.
“You go out and have a great day and then you want to go out again and it’s blowing so hard it’s not worth the trip.”
Menkal is encouraging, however.
“Keep going out there if you are metering fish, if you aren’t metering fish on your fish finder, pull your gear and set up elsewhere.”
Opening day off Port Townsend
Eric Elliott of The Fishin’ Hole (360-385-7031) in Port Townsend was all sorts of busy when I called in to get an early idea of the hatchery chinook fishery in Marine Area 9 (Admiralty Inlet) on opening day Thursday.
“I just talked to the [state Department of Fish and Wildlife] fish checker and she had checked in 43 boats with 18 fish,” Elliott said. “I don’t know what you would call that…but people are having a good time, it’s sunny and it’s beautiful out.”
Elliott said many of the anglers he’s talked to plan on taking full advantage of the short hatchery king season in Marine Area 9 (ends at 11:59 p.m. Sunday).
“They are planning on hitting both low tides every day,” Elliott said.
Squid off pier
Dunscomb said his Swain’s coworker Nick Roberts had been finding success squidding off City Pier in Port Angeles.
Squid love the bright light, big City Pier atmosphere at night.
“You get yourself a squid jig and use a trout rod that has some sensitivity to it,” Menkal explained in a 2016 Outdoors column.
“If a squid grabs it, or you snag it, you’ll feel that.
“That works just fine.”
Menkal said the more adventurous squid will sometimes grab on to the jig with their tentacles.
Port Angeles angler and lure designer Pete Rosko differs from the general consensus, preferring to use a setup of his own.
“I use a 1/2-ounce, glow white Sonic BaitFish jig with a treble hook on the tail and the nose,” Rosko said.
“The line/snap is attached to the nose.
“I hold it about 10 ft below the surface and twitch it as if ice-jigging.
Rosko said the squid attack the jig like they would prey.
Crab Sequim Bay
Menkal had a Sequim-centric crabbing report.
“Crab has been very good so far,” Menkal said. “I haven’t heard of any commercial pots being set in Sequim Bay yet, but now is the time, so I would get the pots in before the commercials come in.”
Release sockeye
Anglers must release sockeye in Marine Area 12 (Hood Canal) through Sept. 30.
An effort to reintroduce sockeye salmon to Lake Cushman in Mason County is underway. This is the first year sockeye are returning to this program from a small release in 2017.
Managers anticipate the total return to be small in number and are seeking to maximize broodstock available for the program, thus the closure.
The state said “future fisheries for sockeye salmon in Marine Area 12 will be considered when a healthy sockeye run is established.”
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Sports reporter Michael Carman can be contacted at 360-417-3525 or mcarman@peninsuladailynews.com.
