CHINOOK ANGLERS FOUND plenty of success on the Marine Area 9 (Admiralty Inlet) summer salmon opener last week, but catch rates have cooled a bit in the interim.
That’s not necessarily a negative — as the fishery will remain open for at least this weekend if not longer.
State Fish and Wildlife biologists said Area 9 anglers had eaten up 1,654 of the 4,700 hatchery chinook harvest quota (35 percent) during a meeting with sport fish advisory council members Tuesday.
A catch ratio of more than 1.01 chinook per rod average was recorded for anglers checked at the Port Townsend Boat Haven ramp on opening day, with 75 anglers reporting 76 chinook, 10 coho and five pink.
Midchannel Bank has been the spot to be off Port Townsend, with combat fishing conditions for those trying to find room to work their downriggers.
Beachcasters have found fish off Point Wilson in Fort Worden State Park and Marrowstone Point in Fort Flagler State Park.
“A quick visit to Marrowstone Point between business stops [Wednesday] allowed me to chat with an angler hurriedly loading his two salmon into his car because he was late for work,” said Quilcene’s tackle supplier Ward Norden. “He had a 4-pound coho and a 2.5-pound humpy [pink].
“Both were caught on orange label herring, but he said anglers with Rotator Jigs were doing just as well. A couple days earlier, he watched a woman land a 25-pound king on the beach and had seen a couple 10- to 12-pound kings.
“At Point Wilson, anglers are also doing well. The favorite lure there is a chrome Rotator as well as the customary pink Rotators, according to Erik Elliott, who runs The Fishin’ Hole gas dock at Port Townsend’s Boat Haven and sells both the Rotators and the orange label herring.”
Norden thinks anglers should move fast.
“Fishing has been so good for kings on the Midchannel Bank and off Possession Point that it is hard to imagine the chinook season lasting beyond next Sunday, so anglers better fish hard and fish often,” Norden said. “The big question now is whether the state will allow fishing for pinks and coho to continue after the upcoming chinook closure.”
Fish and Wildlife also offered catch estimates through Monday for Marine Area 5 (Sekiu) and 6 (Eastern Strait of Juan de Fuca).
Sekiu was at 92 percent of the legal-size chinook encounters (6,937 out of 7,565). The sub-legal encounter rate is 6,830 of the allowable 17,041 (40 percent), and the unmarked wild chinook encounter rate is 5,886 of the 11,401 ceiling (52 percent).
Chinook retention closed in Area 5 on Monday, so anglers can elect to fish for hatchery coho, pinks or sockeye going forward.
And angler Rand Pierce reminds others that there is no salmon fishing at all from the Sekiu River west to Seal and Sail Rock.
Port Angeles-area anglers have hit 30 percent of the legal-size chinook encounter number, 2,085 out of 6,843 through Monday.
The sub-legal encounter rate is 944 of the allowable 3,573 ceiling (26 percent), and the unmarked wild chinook encounter rate is 903 of the 2,158 ceiling or 42 percent.
Neah Bay king limit
With Sekiu closed to king retention and Neah Bay (Marine Area 4) likely to see increased effort as a result, Fish and Wildlife has trimmed the daily limit to one chinook with a minimum size of 24 inches beginning Saturday.
Anglers can keep hatchery coho a minimum of 16 inches but must release wild coho.
The move will allow Neah Bay to remain open longer into the season without depleting quota so quickly.
Through Sunday, Neah Bay was at 57 percent of the chinook guideline (3,307 out of 5,825) and 8 percent of the area’s coho quota (471 out of 5,730).
Halibut confirmed
Fish and Wildlife confirmed this week that the North Coast (Marine Areas 3-4) and Puget Sound (5-10) halibut seasons will re-open Aug. 19.
The fishery in these areas will be open three days per week, Thursday through Saturday, until the remaining quota is reached or through Sept. 25, whichever comes first.
Steelhead town hall
Save the date for the first coastal steelhead virtual town hall, an effort by Fish and Wildlife to hear from the public before preparing for next season, which will be held at 6 p.m. Wednesday.
Attendees will hear initial indications for 2020-21 fishery returns, get more information about upcoming opportunities to stay engaged in preseason planning and provide feedback on the 2021-22 season.
Later this year, WDFW will be soliciting applicants for an ad-hoc coastal steelhead advisory group.
For more information, visit wdfw.wa.gov/fishing/management/steelhead/coastal.
