The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife will host a public meeting on Saturday morning, starting at 10 a.m. at the Agency’s Mill Creek office, 16018 Mill Creek Boulevard, phone 425-775-1311.
Yeah, I know. Meetings. Yawn.
This one, however, might actually get interesting. It has been called in response to unrest among the troops. Seems a number of Baker Lake recreational sockeye fishermen have complained to the department that this past summer season was not as productive as might have been expected from a very strong run of fish which entered the Skagit River. That even though some 13,800 fish were trapped at Lower Baker Dam and 6,800 of those transferred to Baker Lake, there should have been more — a lot more.
“While we met our conservation goals for Baker Lake this year, we know many recreational anglers expected more fish in the lake,” said state fish program manager Ron Warren in Olympia state in a press release. “We’re asking the public for constructive ideas that we can evaluate and develop before the salmon season setting process (‘North of Falcon’) starts in March.”
Fisheries program personnel at the meeting will explain how the Baker Lake run has been managed, and provide state and tribal harvest numbers. Input from attendees will be taken by the department.
If Frank Urabeck is at the meeting, he should add a dash of spice. He has been a major voice for years in the agonizingly slow development of the Cedar River sockeye hatchery project, as an advocate for the sport fisherman.
The guess from this corner is that most of the discussion will revolve around the difficulty in apportioning the run evenly between sport fishermen and Swinomish and Upper Skagit tribal commercial netters. That problem is exacerbated by the fact that sockeye tend to come up the river all at one time, making in-season harvest adjustments a lot harder.
Blackmouth opener
Marine areas 9 and 8-2 open for the winter blackmouth season on Saturday, a major happening on the local saltwater scene. Area 9 will close at the end of November and reopen on Jan. 16, while Area 8-2 will remain open through April 30.
All Star Charters owner/skipper Gary Krein of Everett said that feeder chinook catches over the past month in Marine Area 10, primarily at Jefferson Head, have been perhaps not great but at least pretty good, and that the first couple of weeks of fishing in 8-2 and 9 will most likely follow suit.
Possession Bar will probably be the top producer in the area, with Point No Point and Double Bluff completing the golden triangle. Krein said spoons have been the hot item in the area over the past two or three season — stuff like the 3- or 31/2-inch Kingfisher in white or some shade of green, on 36 to 40 inches of leader, behind a green Gibbs flasher.
Fish within 20 feet of bottom for most blackmouth, most places, Krein said. Flounder tend to give you a hard time if you’re fishing right on the deck.
Krein suggested the south end of Hat Island, or the “racetrack” between Hat and Camano Head, as good prospects in Area 8-2.
Salmon checks
State creel samplers tallied 15 fishermen with five coho late last week at the Ediz Hook public ramp in Port Angeles, and 21 with 24 coho on Sunday. Some 29 shore fishermen at the Hoodsport Salmon Hatchery on Sunday had nine chums, while 12 at the mouth of Kennedy Creek also had nine chums.
At the Everett ramp, the most recent check counted 135 anglers with 19 coho, while at the Washington Park ramp in Anacortes, three fishermen had two coho and one chinook.
Razor clams
The conversation on the state’s ocean beaches recently was less about the latest razor clam dig and more about the storm that hit the coast last Saturday.
“That front pretty much wiped out the Saturday dig,” said state coastal clam manager Dan Ayres in Montesano. “We had gusts to 65 mph and the surf went from 8-foot swells to 20.3 feet in an hour and a half. I pulled my crews, not so much because of conditions on the beaches but because driving was getting hazardous.”
Ayres said digging Friday was excellent, with light crowds, and very similar to that on Sunday. The larger clams, as predicted, came from Mocrocks beaches, at an average of about 43/4 inches. Twin Harbors clocked in at an average of 41/2 inches, and Long beach at about 4 inches.
The last dig ended Tuesday, and the next will start Nov. 4.
Trout plants
The second round of the state’s special fall “trout” plants, using steelhead smolts, will put 2,000 fish into Lake Tye, on the west edge of Monroe, sometime between Nov. 3-12; 1,250 fish into North Gissberg Pond, during the same time frame, and 1,250 fish into South Gissberg Pond, also during the same time frame. The north pond is juvenile fishing only.
These plants will be in addition to the ones between Oct. 13-22, and will be followed by a third round, Nov. 17-26.
High trout
Fall is a traditional time to hit the high country, if you’re a high lake angler willing to risk an early snowstorm. An easy, family-friendly lake high enough to be called high country, but low enough to still be snow clear, is Bear Lake, off the Mountain Loop Highway east of Verlot. It’s only fair fishing for eastern brook and rainbow, but then it’s only a one-third of a mile walk from the end of the road.
Check current conditions at the United States Forest Service Verlot Service Center, 11 miles east of Granite Falls, before setting out. Phone number there is 360-691-7791.
The 19-acre lake is at 2,780 feet and is stocked on an occasional basis with rainbow. Most fish are found close to shore on the high lakes, where insect activity is highest, so long casts are unnecessary. Flies are very effective — dries if the fish are rising; nymphs or leeches if not — but the lakes are so clear that light or ultra-light tackle is a must, about 4-pound test leaders max. Backcasts with standard fly tackle are difficult on a lot of lakes, so a spinning outfit and a casting bubble can be effective.
Rules at Bear Lake require camping no closer to the water than 100 feet, and the use of a camping stove because of a scarcity of wood.
From the Verlot Service Center, go east on the Mountain Loop Hwy 4.5 miles, turn right (south) on Schweitzer Creek Road (USFS 4020), go 2.3 miles to Bear Lake Road (USFS 4021) and then 3.4 miles to the trailhead.
Columbia Basin waterfowl
The first storms of autumn have provided good waterfowl hunting in the Columbia Basin, according to Mike Meseberg at MarDon Resort on Potholes Reservoir. A good hatch of local birds this year has carried most of the hunting so far, but Meseberg said he’s beginning to see small numbers of early flights of northern birds — a few arctic lesser Canadas, and some northern honkers. Several groups of 50 or more snow geese have also been sighted in the Royal Slope area, Meseberg said.
Don’t forget pheasant hunting opportunity on the 28,000 acres of private Royal Hunt Club properties, enhanced with pen-raised birds, for a modest fee. Proceeds go toward youth programs in the Royal City area. for more information call 509-346-2651.
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