A funny thing happened on the local saltwater scene while we weren’t looking — winter blackmouth fishing in marine areas 8-1, 8-2 and 9 jumped from lousy to not too shabby, almost overnight. Not smokin’ mind you, but at least worth a weekend morning of your time at any of the usually productive spots.
One indicator was the ticket sellout, 125 boats, for the Everett Blackmouth Derby on Saturday. Drawing a full house meant local salmon freaks must have been listening to a grapevine shouting “fish on!”
Another indicator of improved action in our backyard was the number of blackmouth, 71, weighed in on derby day. Coordinator for the Everett Steelhead and Salmon Club-sponsored event, Woody Woods, said the weather was great and the catch much better than last year’s, both in numbers and average size. Even though the $3.000 first-place fish was a little smaller than the 2015 winner — 14.51 pounds and 16.12 pounds, respectively — the top four fish were all well over 12 pounds.
Bragging rights and top cash went to Patrick Monroe; second, good for $1,500, went to Tina Taylor; third and $500 to Gary Hamlin; and fourth, worth $250, to Chuck Bright. Tom Nelson, host of The Outdoor Line radio show on 710 ESPN Saturday mornings, said all the big fish came from 8-1 and 8-2, and that he heard the winner was caught somewhere close to the middle of Saratoga Passage — in the Elger Bay/Camano State Park/Baby Island area. He said he would bet the fish was caught on herring, although he didn’t now that for sure.
Nelson and crew caught legal blackmouth at Possesson Bar, Double Bluff and Midchannel Bank, but nothing large enough to crack the top 20. Hot setup, he said, was a Luhr Jensen Coyote flasher and the new Chubby ‘Chovie sparkle fly by Olympic Tackle. Red-label herring worked well, too, and Nelson said John’s Sporting Goods in Everett had a supply of that size bait, but that it would probably sell out quickly.
All Star Charters owner/skipper Gary Krein of Everett didn’t fish the derby, but said he and skipper Nick Kester both put legal chinook in the box all four days they went out last week and over the weekend. Some of the fish were 10-pounds plus.
Krein agreed that local blackmouth fishing was much better than at this point last year and that the Everett derby had been a good one. “And even better,” he said, “is that the fish are scattered all over, not in just a couple of spots.”
Krein said he has taken fish recently on Possession Bar; on the south side of Hat Island; on the “racetrack” between Hat Island and Camano Head, and, Kester, at Pilot Point.
He likes a 3- or 31/2-inch Kingfisher Lite spoon, in black/white or green/white, behind a Gibbs 11-inch flasher.
North of Falcon
Krein has long been involved in the “North of Falcon” salmon season-setting process and is once again a recreational fishing advocate. The loose coalition of Puget Sound sport fishing interests this year, however, has brought in the cavalry in the form of Pat Patillo, a recently retired salmon manager for the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. Krein said the coalition raised the money to hire Patillo and feels that a professional, with contacts in the department, will give it a larger voice in negotiations between user groups. That will be particularly important this year, with predictions of limited numbers of fish.
The coalition putting in a lot of time and effort arguing our interests consists of Puget Sound Anglers, Charterboat Association of Puget Sound, Northwest Marine Trade Association, Coastal Conservation Association, Three Rivers Marine Inc., Everett Steelhead and Salmon Club, Snohomish Sportsmen’s Association Inc., The Outdoor Line, John’s Sporting Goods, and the Northwest Sportfishing Industry Association. Give ‘em a “thank you” when you can.
The coalition has issued a statement of purpose which says: “The very low abundance of Puget Sound wild coho and chinook stocks forecast for 2016 calls for fishery managers to employ all the tools available including, but not limited to, catch and release and selective fisheries that target hatchery-origin fish, to minimize the impact of any fisheries that are ultimately implemented by the tribes and WDFW. Despite the early calls of some to respond to this crisis by closing all fisheries, there is little doubt that salmon fishing will occur this year and that the impact of fishing will not be absolute zero. Any fisheries that are ultimately implemented should be justified by the capability to target healthy and harvestable stocks.”
Krein says, “It’s not all gloom and doom this summer, although it will surely be a tough year. But the tribes are not going to shut down fishing completely, and I’m convinced we can construct recreational seasons based on selective (retaining fin-clipped hatchery fish only) and/or catch and release rules. Recreational fishermen have proved they can conduct these kinds of fisheries with minimal impact on wild fish.”
Krein says river fishermen will probably end up at the bottom of the user-group heap. “The rivers are going to get hurt, no doubt about it,” he says. “Maybe no coho season at all on the Snohomish, Stillaguamish or Skagit systems.”
The popular summer chinook selective fishery in marine areas 9 and 10 are a high priority with the coalition, he says. And any in-Sound coho fishing must be selective only. “That would be a major change for Puget Sound fishermen in marine areas 8-1, 8-2, 9 and 10,” Krein says. “We’ve not had selective coho rules in-Sound before.”
The bottom line, Krein says, is that it’s better to be on the water than not, even if it’s catch and release.
Razor clams
Diggers have the green light to dig razor clams Friday, Saturday and Sunday at Mocrocks Beach, according to Dan Ayres, WDFW coastal clam manager. Marine toxin tests showed the clams there are safe to eat.
Another option is Long Beach, which is currently open to digging through March 31.
The dig at Mocrocks is scheduled on morning tides and ends at noon each day. The dig at Long Beach switches from evening to morning tides as shown on WDFW’s website, http://wdfw.wa.gov/fishing/shellfish/razorclams/current.html.
Low tides for the Mocrocks dig are: March 25, 8:31 a.m., plus 0.7 feet; March 26, 9:06 a.m., plus 0.6 feet; and March 27, 9:42 a.m., plus 0.7 feet.
Tentative digging dates in April include: April 3-12 at Long Beach and additionally April 7-8 at Copalis and Mocrocks, April 9 at Copalis and April 10 at Mocrocks.
April 20-28 at Long Beach and additionally April 23, 25 and 26 at Mocrocks.
Digs proposed for April 9 and 10 offer not only good tides (minus 1.3 feet and minus 1.2 feet respectively) but also the Long Beach Razor Clam Festival, featuring free clam digging lessons and other attractions. For more information, go to http://longbeachrazorclamfestival.com/.
Springers
Spring chinook fishing on the Columbia River continues to build, but it’s probably not quite yet worth a long drive down. State biologist Joe Hymer in Vancouver said the first week in April should be prime time, remembering that the fishery on the lower river closes on April 9. Catch data will then be analyzed by Washington and Oregon salmon managers and if there’s recreational quota left, the fishery could reopen.
Creel checks March 19 and 20 showed 562 boats from Bonneville to the mouth, with 59 chinook. Hymer said most of the fish were taken around either Cathlamet or Vancouver.
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