Sockeye on Baker Lake bite best at tail end of fishery

Don’t give up on the Baker Lake sockeye fishery just yet anglers — the best could be still to come.

Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife biologist Brett Barkdull said the last two weeks of the recreational sockeye season has in the past provided the highest per-person catch averages of the entire fishery. That could be because the cumulative total of salmon transferred to the lake from the Baker River trap is at its peak, or because the end of the season draws mostly the hardcore, experienced fish whackers. Or probably some of both.

Whatever, we find ourselves in that two week sweet spot, with the season scheduled to end on Sept. 7. Sockeye are still being transferred to the lake — 220 more on Monday, Barkdull said — and most of the fish are still in good shape. “Even the ones starting to color up are good eating,” he said.

Fishing recently has been pretty decent, according to Kevin John at Holiday Sports in Burlington, and he says the lake’s cold water temperatures keep the sockeye from deteriorating too quickly.

John says most of the fish now are hanging at about 50 feet, give or take, with some at 40 or 45 early in the day, and some much deeper.

“The thing right now,” he says, “is that the fish are tending to become lethargic. To counter that, some of the guys are shortening or lengthening their leaders to give ‘em a different look.”

While the majority of fishermen are scoring above the “elbow,” according to John, anglers are still learning the migration patterns in the lake. “Early in the season, the best catches were down by the dam,” Barkdull said. “Then the bite moved up to the lower basin/Horseshoe Cove area and now it looks like they’re scattered all over the lake.”

Walleye tourney

The 2016 Washington Walleye Circuit final was held Aug 13-14 at MarDon Resort on Potholes Reservoir, with 212 walleye weighed in over the two days. Big fish was just under 9 pounds, caught by the team of Tony and Andy Lusk, but first place and $8,000 in prize money went to the team of Derek Baker and Andrew Barboe, with a total two-day catch of 47.34 pounds.

Next up is the MarDon Dock Tournament, Sept. 16-18. Sign-ups can be done over the phone, at 509-346-2651.

Hunter sight-in

The Seattle Rifle & Pistol Association again offers hunter sight-in opportunity to the public at their range in Machias, starting Sept. 17-18 and running for four weekends, 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. each day. The fee is $15 per day for non-members; the range address is 725 135th Ave. S.E., Snohomish.

For more information contact curt.langager@gmail.com, or kevinknowles55@gmail.com.

Saltwater regs

State fishery managers are seeking public comment on sportfishing rules for Washington saltwater, and have scheduled three public meetings to discuss proposed rules for the 2017 season. The meeting closest to this area is Aug 29, 6-8 p.m., at the agency’s Mill Creek office, 16018 Mill Creek Blvd.

To review and comment on the proposed rules, visit the WDFW’s web site. For a hard copy, call 360-902-2200.

Proposed regulations would:

Require fishing vessels to carry a descending device when fishing for bottomfish or halibut in areas east of the Bonilla-Tatoosh line. The devices are used to return rockfish to deep water safely.

Make it unlawful to possess another person’s shellfish or food fish (including halibut, salmon and sturgeon) without written permission while in the field or in transit.

Implement a 4 1/2-inch minimum size for Tanner crab harvested in Puget Sound. Tanner crab are a less common, less seen, deeper water species than Dungeness or red rock crab.

Prohibit shellfishers from cooking oysters in the shell or using heat to open oysters on the beach.

Allow squid harvest year-around, including Humboldt squid in Hood Canal.

It had to happen

Catfish Magazine can now be yours. The initial August/September issue is available and you can view it at www.catfishmagazine.ca where you can subscribe to the digital edition.

Buoy 10

The popular fishery on the bottom end of the Columbia River is probably a little past its peak now, but still producing some good fishing. Checks on the Washington side Saturday showed 368 anglers with 28 chinook kept and 7 coho kept. On Sunday, it was 276 anglers with 16 chinook kept and 10 coho kept, on a day when wild fish could not be retained.

Biologist Joe Hymer in Vancouver said Washington didn’t run checks on Monday, but fishing picked up to about 1/3 fish per rod according to Oregon checkers.

Wendy Beeghley, WDFW coastal salmon manager, said 1/3 to 1/2 fish per person would probably be about average for the buoy 10 fishery, which usually peaks in early August.

Marine Area 1 (Ilwaco) is the only coastal salmon fishery remaining open, and Beeghley said the area had a good week. Creel checks showed about 1 coho per rod and 0.2 chinook per rod, for an average of 1.2 salmon per person.

Area 7 salmon

The San Juan Islands season started slowly and has been plagued with undersize fish, but Kevin John at Holiday Sports in Burlington said it had picked up this past week. Try Point Lawrence.

Checks Saturday at the Cornet Bay launch tallied 41 anglers with 2 chinook. At the Washington Park ramp in Anacortes it was 26 with 2 chinook; and in Friday Harbor it was 11 with 9 chinook.

Hanford Reach chinook

The fall chinook fishery from the Tri Cities to Priest Rapids Dam kicked off Aug. 16 and underwhelming creel checks confirmed that the Hanford Reach doesn’t really get cooking until well into September. WDFW biologist Paul Hoffarth said 18 boats with 35 anglers had two adult chinook and one sockeye released.

Hoffarth said fall chinook counts over Bonneville have picked up, however, and are running about 5,000 adult fish per day — a number well above the 10-year average. A strong run is expected, he said, and chinook regulations for the Reach allow three adult salmon, hatchery or wild. The steelhead season on most of the Reach does not open until Oct. 1.

Cowlitz River

Some 55 boat anglers over the weekend of Aug. 20-21 on the Cowlitz kept 1 adult chinook and 45 steelhead, while 63 bank anglers had 8 adult chinook and 1 steelhead. Steelhead came mainly from Mission Bar to Blue Creek, and chinook at the barrier dam.

Drano Lake

The mouth of the Little White Salmon River put out some good fishing over the weekend, showing 149 boat anglers with 23 chinook and 81 steelhead kept, and 63 steelhead released.