OUTRAGEOUS AMOUNTS OF pinks are hanging around off Port Angeles, boosting catch totals during a bit of a lull in the hatchery chinook run.
“PA is smothered with pinks. They are everywhere,” said Brian Menkal of Brian’s Sporting Goods and More (360-683-1950) in Sequim.
“People can’t get through the pinks to get to the kings.”
Last weekend, 663 pinks were caught by a 348 anglers in 157 boats in Port Angeles creel reports provided by the state Department of Fish and Wildlife.
Let that 1.9 pink-per-angler ratio settle in for a second.
“Port Angeles has just been loaded with them,” said Jerry Wright of Jerry’s Bait and Tackle (360-457-1308) in Port Angeles
Those same checks produced just 35 kings Saturday and Sunday.
“The chinook bite has really died off for now,” Wright said.
“There’s just not much bait out in front of Port Angeles recently.
“There’s been a few coho caught, but those are still really small.
“But we are supposed to get some rain over the weekend, so that might bring in some more fish.”
Wright held his annual king fishing contest last Saturday.
Don Gogos won the event with a mammoth 30-pound, 6-ounce hatchery chinook.
Mike Ladjack was second with a 17 pounder and Brook Boardman finished third with a 15-pound, 4-ounce specimen.
Fish PT immediately
Remember last week when I said the hatchery chinook fishery in Marine Area 9 (Admiralty Inlet) would likely be a short one?
The king season will be even shorter than expected. It will close Sunday in Area 9, the state announced late Thursday.
“The quota is 2,483 chinook for the Area 9 fishery, and through Sunday our estimate was 1,580, or around two-thirds of the quota had been caught,” Puget Sound Recreational Salmon Fishery Manager Ryan Lothrop said.
When I spoke to Lothrop early Thursday morning he wasn’t prepared to provide an estimated end date for the fishery.
“We’re still getting data in to make estimates, and the closer we get, the more accurate we can be,” Lothrop said. “But what I can say is people will want to get out there in Area 9 sooner rather than later.”
Lothrop’s advice certainly proved prophetic.
Mixed in Dungeness
Menkal said crabbing has been doing well recently in Dungeness Bay.
“The tribes apparently aren’t fishing, so crabbing has been excellent for a number of folks,” Menkal said.
He added there have been some mixed reports for the pink-only fishery in Dungeness Bay.
“One guy was doing okay for them on his kayak,” Menkal said.
“Another guy said he didn’t see any on his fish finder when he went out.”
Beach casting
My buddies Max Raymond and Darrell Fogerson of Port Townsend hit up Marrowstone Point for some shore-casting action on the incoming tide last Saturday night.
The pair stayed through the tide change, spending a good four hours on the cast, but came away empty handed.
Raymond said they only saw two small pinks caught the entire time they were fishing.
Ward Norden, a fishing tackle wholesaler and former fishery biologist from Quilcene had similar news from Salisbury Point County Park, just across the Hood Canal Bridge in Kitsap County
“Anglers have started their beach casting season at Salisbury Point with only limited success so far,” Norden said.
“Only a couple of coho and pinks have been taken.”
Salisbury Point has a good boat launch and 200 yards of beach casting shoreline that Worden says often provides excellent salmon fishing in the late summer.
“This weeks mediocre salmon fishing should not be surprising,” Norden said.
“The early large run of coho to the Quilcene hatchery is already over a week late for the first arrivals and it is a week too early to see significant numbers of pinks.
“The best is yet to come.
“Beach casters at Salibury Point have success casting herring, jigs such as rotators or Buzz Bombs, and large gaudy flies.”
Salisbury Point is a Kitsap County Park, so no state Discover Pass is required.
Trolling for silvers
Menkal said his store will host a seminar with area fishing expert Rick Wray on trolling techniques for silvers at 6 p.m. Thursday.
“Very few fishermen of his caliber will sit down and tell you what works,” Menkal said.
“He’ll let you in a lots of very closely guarded secrets. Rick’s not afraid you are going to catch all the salmon out from under him.
“He doesn’t feel threatened.”
Menkal said Wray’s talk will provide a great way to catch up, start and learn about where to go and what to do.
“He talks about tides, leader lengths, and even brings his boat to show you how to setup,” Menkal said.
“He does everything for a reason.”
And he does it well. Menkal said Wray’s boat hit into 14 kings back on opening day earlier this month.
Cost is $20. RSVP to Menkal at 360-683-1950.
Menkal also will offer his two-part salmon and steelhead class from 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Tuesday Aug. 4 and again Aug. 11.
In the $25 class, Menkal goes over setups, strategy, equipment and timing in detail.
Every attendee also leaves with maps of some of the more productive river fishing locations on the North Olympic Peninsula.
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.
