A WAVE OF wild coho swept in along the Strait of Juan de Fuca after the recent rains.
It’s done little to knock down catch rates for hatchery silvers, but has slowed anglers down a bit as they catch and release the natives.
“They aren’t getting them in 30 or 45 minutes like they have been,” said Brandon Mason of Mason’s Olson Resort (360-963-2311) in Sekiu.
“It’s more like a couple of hours now. They have been having to throw back the wilds. A big patch of wilds have come in recently.
“But they are catching a lot of fish. You just have to weed through the natives to get to the hatcheries. And everything and anything is working — spoons, coho killers, bait — you name it.
Mason said the bait balls have been found in waters between 500 and 700 feet deep.
“The bait schools seem to be out there and then it’s 20 to 45 feet down on the [downrigger] wire to find the coho,” Mason said.
“And folks are catching them closer to shore, as well. A lot of guys are catching their limits, coming back and then going out bottom fishing for sea bass or cabezon. And if you make that 3-mile run past the [mouth of] the Sekiu River [to Marine Area 4B] you can catch a bigger limit (six rockfish compared to three in Marine Area 5 west of Slip Point).”
Mason said having the September hatchery coho fishery has been good for the Clallam Bay/Sekiu community.
“Two years of not having any fishing hurt,” Mason said.
“It will be nice to get October back [on the fishing calendar] and get our wild coho back.”
Amen, Brandon.
Good off Port Angeles
Travis Stoken of Brian’s Sporting Goods and More (360-683-1950) in Sequim also said Sekiu is the place for silvers.
“The salt has been good, a pretty darned good salmon season overall,” Stoken said. “And guys are killing it at Sekiu, limiting their boats lickety-split.”
Stoken said the fishing has been good between Sekiu and Port Angeles.
“The Yellow Buoy [Port Angeles] and the Rockpile has been really good for most guys,” Stoken said. “You do get a few guys who come in and say they haven’t caught one, but they are out there.
“Most have been in the 6- to 9-pound range. I haven’t heard of any big ones yet.”
Sequim angler Dave Croonquist passed along some recent fishing reports, his own and from fellow members of the Puget Sound Anglers.
“Started off with a white hootchie with a Gibbs BonChovy Flasher (has a pinkish flash on the glow side) at 75 feet and kept that one there all morning. The other downrigger had a green/silver hootchie on army truck flasher at 45 feet,” Croonquist said of an outing Wednesday.
“First hit was almost immediate at 75 feet, but was a 10-pound wild king. Then we started get really nice wild coho on both lures, but mostly on the 45-feet downrigger [with a 10-pound weight].
Croonquist said the boat had “12 very nice wild coho estimated up to 10 pounds before getting the first hatchery coho on the 75-foot downrigger.”
A switchup in gear to a white hootchie with a silver Betsy flasher and a move to 100 feet deep on the downrigger produced a 6-pound sockeye.
“Then he came back to 45-feet when nothing else but shakers happened at 100,” Croonquist said. “The catch continued [at a] 2 for 1 [ratio] of wild coho vs. hatchery for the next 90 minutes at both 45 and 75 feet. Maybe three times we had doubles, with all the hatchery coming on the 75-foot downrigger. The largest hatchery coho was 7 pounds.
Area 9 poor
Coho are moving through Marine Area 9 to other spots in Puget Sound and are being caught on the Whidbey Island side of Admiralty Inlet, but shore fishing has been a bust at Fort Worden and Fort Flagler.
“They are giving us a wide berth,” Stoken said.
“Whidbey has been good on that side, but shore fishing has been terrible.”
“My old man has been out there at the tip of Flagler and the Indian Island lagoon [the end of the ship canal between Indian Island and the mainland] and its been dead. And Fort Worden [Point Wilson] has been dead, too.”
Stoken said that normally the lagoon is a good spot to fish during the outgoing tide.
“Coho will filter in during the outgoing tide because feed fish are schooling in the lagoon,” he said.
Shellfish closure
The state has closed Clallam County’s Strait of Juan de Fuca beaches from the Lyre River east to the Jefferson County line to recreational shellfish harvest because of a high level of toxins, it was announced Wednesday.
That means that most areas on the North Olympic Peninsula are closed for recreational harvest. Shellfish harvested commercially are tested for toxin prior to distribution and should be safe to eat, the state said.
All beaches are closed for all species except for Discovery Bay and Port Ludlow, including Mats Mats Bay, which are closed only for harvesting of butter clams and varnish clams.
Ocean beaches are closed for sport harvesting from April 1 to Oct. 31 each year.
Recreational shellfish harvesters can get the latest information before they leave for the beach by visiting www.doh.wa.gov or calling 800-562-5632.
The emergency regulation hotline is 866-880-5431.
Anglers meet
The Coastal Conservation Association’s Regional Fisheries Director Heath Heikkila is the featured speaker at the Thursday, Sept. 20 meeting of the North Olympic Peninsula chapter of Puget Sound Anglers.
The meeting will be held at Trinity United Methodist Church, 100 S. Blake Ave. in Sequim.
A viewing of raffle prizes and swapping of fish stories begins at 6:30 p.m., with Heikkila’s presentation at 7 p.m. followed by a business meeting.
Heikkila has nearly two decades of experience working with regional natural resources, including time as a policy advisor for NOAA where he focused on endangered salmon recovery efforts on the west coast.
With CCA, Heikilla is involved in fisheries advocacy issues at the highest level whether in Olympia, or Washington D.C. He will discuss CCA’s efforts in Washington, along with explaining how the organization works and how to get involved in fisheries issues.
For more information on CCA, visit www.ccawashington.org.
Refreshments, a raffle for fishing gear and a membership drawing also are planned.
The public is welcome to attend.
Fly fishers meeting
The Sequim Greywolf Fly Fishers will meet at the Sequim Masonic Lodge, 700 S. Fifth Ave., from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesday.
There will be a brief business meeting followed by fishing reports on local lakes and favorite flies that successfully catch fish.
The remainder of the meeting is reserved for individual fly tying.
Tie a fly of one’s choice (bring fly-tying equipment and materials) or observe this month’s tying event. There will also be a fly raffle and discussion about recent fishing adventures.
For information, call Erik Simpson at 360-683-6684.
Salmon/steelheading course
Brian Menkal of Brian’s Sporting Goods and More will offer another two-part Introduction to Salmon and Steelhead River Fishing course at his store, 609 W. Washington St., No. 21 in Sequim, from 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Tuesday with part two following at the same time Tuesday, Sept. 25.
Menkal knows a ton of tips, tricks and locations and offers the course for $40 per person.
To reserve a space, phone 360-683-1950.
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Sports reporter/columnist Michael Carman can be contacted at 360-417-3525 or mcarman@peninsuladailynews.com.
