SHOREBOUND MARINE AREA 9 anglers don’t have to put away their salmon rods until November’s early blackmouth season.
Just because you can’t fish for hatchery chinook at all and you can’t fish for any salmon from a floating device doesn’t mean there aren’t options.
But without a fish finder, anglers will need a little more luck and a different presentation.
Jigging from shore
Quilcene’s Ward Norden, a former fisheries biologist and owner of Snapper Tackle Company, said beach-bound anglers have a couple of productive options at their disposal in Buzz Bomb and Rotator jigs.
“They look similar and both have been used with dramatic success casting for salmon off the beaches in Area 9,” Norden said. “To the eye and hand, Buzz Bombs are much prettier, heavier for size and made in Canada.”
Buzz Bombs also have been on the market for decades, so brand familiarity helps keep them popular.
“Rotators, on the other hand, have a smaller variety of simple colors, are lighter weight for size, and have been put together right here in the Sequim area for just a few years,” Norden said.
“These reasons don’t explain why Rotators have almost displaced Buzz Bombs on Whidbey Island even though they both work extraordinarily well.
The difference is in the fishing. Buzz Bombs are almost a pure jigging lure where the jig is ripped through the water and allowed to fall with no forward motion. The salmon hit the Buzz Bomb on the drop about 90 percent of the time.”
Norden said the Rotators can be cast a longer distance.
“Rotators are made from a different metal alloy that is lighter and thinner causing it to sink more slowly while still casting long distances like a bullet,” he said. “Because of this thinner, lighter alloy metal, when jigged the lure stays in the strike zone longer.
“Also, because of its construction, the Rotator can be simply cast and retrieved since the lure has a swimming action. In the last couple years, anglers who fish Rotators have discovered that the lure is enhanced by covering the hook with a variety of colors of 1.5-inch Golden Bait mini squid in UV or glow-in-the-dark colors.”
Norden said there aren’t many purists in Area 9 when it comes to selecting jigs.
“Few don’t have several of each brand in their pocket tackle box,” Norden said.
“To add a little more confusion, some have recently been casting and retrieving Silver Horde Coho Killer spoons using a standard steelhead pencil lead rig for weight couple feet above the lure to make the lure castable.”
Avid Port Angeles angler and lure designer Pete Rosko likes to use his Kandlefish lure for horizontal jigging.
“Basically, I use the lightest Kandlefish to keep my lure suspended when horizontal jigging…varying between 1/3- to 1 1/2 ounce. One of my favorites is the bioluminescent all-glow (BLG) in 3/4 ounce or 1 ounce… . I retrieve with a continuous intermittent rod twitch and half turn of my spinning reel handle. This permits the lure to flutter backwards that triggers strikes. On a tight line, the Kandlefish is darting sideways and sending off strong sonic vibrations to attract fish from a distance, similar to a small flasher.
So, if you can’t use your boat and downrigger with flasher attached to get the fishing interested, try a lure that’s putting off some good vibes so to speak.
“Remember, when horizontal jigging, you want your lure to fall slowly on a tight line to allow suspended fish to see your lure for longer time,” Rosko said. “I have previously caught salmon over 20 pounds on a 1/6 oz Sonic BaitFish.”
And remember to swap out any treble-hook lure for a single-hook to stay within our state’s regulations.
Spot shrimp closure
Marine Area 6 (excluding the Discovery Bay Shrimp District) closes to recreational spot shrimp fishing at 9 p.m. tonight.
State shellfish managers estimate the spot shrimp quota will be reached.
Marine Area 6 (excluding the Discovery Bay Shrimp District) will remain open to coonstripe and pink shrimp fishing only with a 200-foot maximum fishing depth restriction.
It is unlawful to possess spot shrimp, and all spot shrimp must be returned to the water immediately. The Discovery Bay Shrimp District remains closed to all shrimp fishing until next season.
Lake fishing
Norden was surprised at the bass fishing recently during an evening at Lake Leland.
“I was testing my old gas motor which hadn’t been run in a year, so I didn’t bring my whole kit, just light spin gear,” he said. “The motor took a bit to start but ran sweet finally. One end of the lake had schools of two-year old bass (6-to-10 inches in size) swimming around everywhere and I evidently had just what they liked in an ultra-light plug. Hooks were too small for larger fish.”
And Norden ran into a couple of good-sized crappie while on a kayak tryout at the lake.
“The owner of the kayak shop in downtown Port Angeles was out this way yesterday morning at Lake Leland and he let us ‘test drive’ a Hobie kayak we are considering. While he was talking to [Norden’s wife] Holly, an angler came in with two very nice crappie, one dinner-plate size.
“I am more impressed by a dinner-plate size crappie west of the Cascades than I am by a 25-pound chinook.”
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Sports reporter Michael Carman can be contacted at 360-417-3525 or mcarman@peninsuladailynews.com.
