NEAH BAY AND La Push are now the only areas in which anglers can retain chinook off the Pacific coast after Ilwaco and Westport saw their seasons close early.
There are still some kings coming in, but the fishery has switched to predominately wild coho.
In the most recent fishing totals released Monday, a total of 1,465 anglers participated in the salmon fishery Aug. 12-18, landing 284 chinook and 1,474 coho.
Through Sunday, 5,985 chinook (63 percent of the area guideline) and 4,738 coho (57 percent of the area quota) have been landed.
La Push is bumping up against its coho quota as 1,978 silvers (96 percent) have been landed as of Sunday. King numbers are lower, with 652 landed, 40 percent of the area guideline.
In recent seasons, the state Department of Fish and Wildlife has added La Push’s remaining chinook to Neah Bay’s quota to extend the Neah Bay season. That’s not an issue this year, but it would be nice to see remaining chinook guideline added to Neah Bay. Those kings may not be caught, but the principle of not foregoing any opportunities while staying inside catch numbers is what matters.
Quilcene coho moving
In southern Jefferson County, hatchery coho are on the move into the Big Quilcene River and heading up to the Quilcene National Fish Hatchery.
“The coho run to the Quilcene federal hatchery is now starting in earnest,” Quilcene resident and retired tackle maker Ward Norden said last week. “More are coming after we saw lots jumping next to the Hood Canal Bridge while we were waiting for the bridge to reopen to autos.”
Norden also saw coho that have made the journey back to the hatchery.
“A quick trip to the hatchery this morning during a bicycle trip allowed me to take a look at the returnees in the raceway,” Norden said. “The good news is that this year’s returning coho are easily 30 percent larger than those that returned at the same time last year — as I predicted some weeks ago after observing ocean feeding conditions by satellite. Very nice! These returning coho are also a signal that next summer’s coho and humpy [pink] salmon runs should also be excellent.”
Coho were trickling in early on in August.
“The first half-dozen coho are likely strays from other rivers with the rare Puget Sound summer coho that are unique to rivers near Hood Canal,” Norden said. “Like the endangered Puget Sound summer chum, both of these genetically distinct subspecies of salmon were near extinction a couple decades ago and were brought back from the abyss by wonderful work at the Quilcene hatchery. Sadly, the Quilcene hatchery no longer works with these mysterious fish.”
Juan de Fuca derby
U.S. anglers are invited to purchase a Canadian license and head across to fish in the Juan de Fuca Fishing Tournament on Sept. 8.
The one-day derby will pay out $45,000 in cash (approximately $33,000 U.S.) in prizes for the top 10 salmon, including $20,000 for first place.
Pedder Bay RV Resort and Marina, west of Mechosin, is the host of the event and the weigh-in location.
Tickets are $150 and are available at anglerscoalition.com.
The event is put on by the South Vancouver Island Angler’s Coalition, which works to enhance Strait of Juan de Fuca chinook populations during the months of July, August and September and provide more prey for orca whales.
The derby is a “restart” of the historic Juan de Fuca Salmon Tournament. The last running of the event occurred in 2017.
For more information, call 778-967-2363.
Make sure to understand the check-in regulations for U.S. citizens fishing in Canada.
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Sports reporter/columnist Michael Carman can be contacted at sports@ peninsuladailynews.com.
