Published: Wednesday, February 29, 2012, 6:44 p.m.
2012 salmon forecasts look promising
Sign up for Sports headlines
If you chase big, burly "upriver bright" fall chinook on the Hanford Reach, or are looking forward to nailing a few choice sockeye on impossibly beautiful Baker Lake, or feel that the best king salmon opportunity in Western Washington is the uber-popular July/August selective fishery in Marine Area 9, then your summer, my friend, is lookin' good.
Other 2012 recreational salmon fisheries? Maybe not so much.
The state Department of Fish and Wildlife released its salmon run-strength forecasts for 2012 on Tuesday, to start the annual "North of Falcon" season-setting process and, as usual, they were a mixed bag.
Columbia River fall chinook runs are expected to again be strong, contributing to a good king fishery on the coast and recreational fisheries in the river itself. Fall kings provided a record catch on the lower Columbia in October last year, and a prediction of 353,000 fall fish this year to the Hanford Reach above the Tri-Cities would be the fourth-largest run since record keeping began in 1964.
So look for buoy 10 and Hanford to again put out fine chinook fishing.
Predicted strong chinook runs, but coho 45,000 fish below last year, should provide a coastal charter and private-boat fishery on par with the 2011 season, state spokesman Doug Milward said.
Strong coho runs are expected to coastal rivers such as the Hoh, Queets, Quillayute and the Chehalis system.
About 35,000 sockeye are expected back to Baker Lake, an increase in the run that provided an excellent fishery last summer.
All Star Charters owner Gary Krein, who attended the Tuesday meeting, said the outlook for Puget Sound chinook and coho is generally a little below last year, but "probably not enough to warrant any season reductions."
He said this being a non-pink year lessens the impact on depressed wild chinook stocks in-Sound, and that might be enough to increase the length of the Marine Area 9 selective (fin-clipped) king fishery.
"That proposal is still on the board," Krein said. "It would open the fishery in Area 9, but not Area 10, on July 1 instead of the usual July 16th."
New selective fisheries may also be added in parts of areas 6, 11, 12 and 13, he said, in an attempt to save wild fish while increasing recreational opportunity.
Early trout
A relatively mild winter has left most of the Columbia Basin trout lakes that open today ice free and ready to go for the weekend, said state biologist Chad Jackson at the agency's Ephrata office. Exceptions include Lake Lenore, with an ice cover of about 25 percent, and Burke Lake, still iced over on the east end.
Jackson said the top lakes should include Burke and Quincy, with last fall's plants running a fat 12 inches or better and a good percentage of larger carryovers. The east half of both lakes would be the better choice, particularly for shore anglers, Jackson said.
Martha and Upper Caliche are in their first season after rehabilitation and should be good, but even better next year.
Lenice and Nunnally, favorites with fly fishermen, should produce well -- Lenice being the better of the two and easier to fish. Dusty would be a good bet for those willing to walk-in a short distance.
Lake Lenore and its big Lahontan cutthroat has become a predominantly October/November show over the years, Jackson said, so he doesn't tout it at this point.
He recommended using a boat, if possible, and covering a lot of water. Fish will be shallow, seeking warmer temperatures, so troll Blue Fox spinners or any of a wide range of other small lures with a little weight in the top 10 feet of the water column. If bait fishing from shore, try to not put it out too far or too deep.
Derby results
Hats off to those hardy souls who braved wind and three- or four-foot swells to fish the Bill Hayes Hot Plug's Salmon Derby on Saturday. Coordinator Ed Keller said the event sold 58 tickets, compared to 77 last year, because the forecast wasn't great, but he estimated that three-quarters of the ticket holders actually hit the water.
"It was pretty bad out there," Keller said. "We got to the Camano State Park ramp about 5 a.m. and the pier was really bouncing. Couldn't actually get out until about 9 o'clock."
The derby weighed five chinook, with first place and $1,450 going to Gordon Taylor at 11.4 pounds; second to Al Audet at 8.5 pounds; third to Tina Taylor at 6.4 pounds, and fourth to Nate Bisson at 4.7 pounds.
Anacortes Derby tickets
Anacortes Salmon Derby coordinator Jay Field said there were about 50 tickets remaining unsold for the event as of Monday and that a sellout was imminent. If interested, you might call Holiday Sports at 360-757-4361 to see if they have any left.
Field said blackmouth action in the San Juans has been slow and spotty recently, with a noticeable -- and unusual -- lack of bait in the area.
"I've heard they're hitting fish on Constance Bank outside Victoria, so there are some around," said Field, who runs Dash One Charters. "But the ones we're seeing are smaller than last year, too. A lot just legal to the low teens, with very few of the 20-pound-class fish around this winter."
For more outdoor news, read Wayne Kruse's blog at www.heraldnet.com/huntingandfishing.
Other 2012 recreational salmon fisheries? Maybe not so much.
The state Department of Fish and Wildlife released its salmon run-strength forecasts for 2012 on Tuesday, to start the annual "North of Falcon" season-setting process and, as usual, they were a mixed bag.
Columbia River fall chinook runs are expected to again be strong, contributing to a good king fishery on the coast and recreational fisheries in the river itself. Fall kings provided a record catch on the lower Columbia in October last year, and a prediction of 353,000 fall fish this year to the Hanford Reach above the Tri-Cities would be the fourth-largest run since record keeping began in 1964.
So look for buoy 10 and Hanford to again put out fine chinook fishing.
Predicted strong chinook runs, but coho 45,000 fish below last year, should provide a coastal charter and private-boat fishery on par with the 2011 season, state spokesman Doug Milward said.
Strong coho runs are expected to coastal rivers such as the Hoh, Queets, Quillayute and the Chehalis system.
About 35,000 sockeye are expected back to Baker Lake, an increase in the run that provided an excellent fishery last summer.
All Star Charters owner Gary Krein, who attended the Tuesday meeting, said the outlook for Puget Sound chinook and coho is generally a little below last year, but "probably not enough to warrant any season reductions."
He said this being a non-pink year lessens the impact on depressed wild chinook stocks in-Sound, and that might be enough to increase the length of the Marine Area 9 selective (fin-clipped) king fishery.
"That proposal is still on the board," Krein said. "It would open the fishery in Area 9, but not Area 10, on July 1 instead of the usual July 16th."
New selective fisheries may also be added in parts of areas 6, 11, 12 and 13, he said, in an attempt to save wild fish while increasing recreational opportunity.
Early trout
A relatively mild winter has left most of the Columbia Basin trout lakes that open today ice free and ready to go for the weekend, said state biologist Chad Jackson at the agency's Ephrata office. Exceptions include Lake Lenore, with an ice cover of about 25 percent, and Burke Lake, still iced over on the east end.
Jackson said the top lakes should include Burke and Quincy, with last fall's plants running a fat 12 inches or better and a good percentage of larger carryovers. The east half of both lakes would be the better choice, particularly for shore anglers, Jackson said.
Martha and Upper Caliche are in their first season after rehabilitation and should be good, but even better next year.
Lenice and Nunnally, favorites with fly fishermen, should produce well -- Lenice being the better of the two and easier to fish. Dusty would be a good bet for those willing to walk-in a short distance.
Lake Lenore and its big Lahontan cutthroat has become a predominantly October/November show over the years, Jackson said, so he doesn't tout it at this point.
He recommended using a boat, if possible, and covering a lot of water. Fish will be shallow, seeking warmer temperatures, so troll Blue Fox spinners or any of a wide range of other small lures with a little weight in the top 10 feet of the water column. If bait fishing from shore, try to not put it out too far or too deep.
Derby results
Hats off to those hardy souls who braved wind and three- or four-foot swells to fish the Bill Hayes Hot Plug's Salmon Derby on Saturday. Coordinator Ed Keller said the event sold 58 tickets, compared to 77 last year, because the forecast wasn't great, but he estimated that three-quarters of the ticket holders actually hit the water.
"It was pretty bad out there," Keller said. "We got to the Camano State Park ramp about 5 a.m. and the pier was really bouncing. Couldn't actually get out until about 9 o'clock."
The derby weighed five chinook, with first place and $1,450 going to Gordon Taylor at 11.4 pounds; second to Al Audet at 8.5 pounds; third to Tina Taylor at 6.4 pounds, and fourth to Nate Bisson at 4.7 pounds.
Anacortes Derby tickets
Anacortes Salmon Derby coordinator Jay Field said there were about 50 tickets remaining unsold for the event as of Monday and that a sellout was imminent. If interested, you might call Holiday Sports at 360-757-4361 to see if they have any left.
Field said blackmouth action in the San Juans has been slow and spotty recently, with a noticeable -- and unusual -- lack of bait in the area.
"I've heard they're hitting fish on Constance Bank outside Victoria, so there are some around," said Field, who runs Dash One Charters. "But the ones we're seeing are smaller than last year, too. A lot just legal to the low teens, with very few of the 20-pound-class fish around this winter."
For more outdoor news, read Wayne Kruse's blog at www.heraldnet.com/huntingandfishing.
Story tags » • Fishing
Comments
(