Washington Fishing Report

Washington Fishing Update

Come Aug. 1, salmon anglers can choose from a bevy of new fishing options, ranging from the popular Buoy 10 fishery at the mouth of the Columbia River to "Humpy Hollow" in northern Puget Sound.

Hundreds of boats are expected to converge in the lower Columbia on opening day of the Buoy 10 fishery, which runs upriver to the Rocky Point/Tongue Point line. Hundreds more are expected to ply the waters of marine areas 8-1 (Deception Pass/Skagit Bay), 8-2 (Saratoga Passage/Port Gardner - except Port Susan) and 9 (Admiralty Inlet), where anglers can keep two pink salmon in addition to the standard two-fish bag limit.

But a good case can also be made for the ongoing ocean salmon fishery, where catch rates are picking up and anglers can fish seven days a week starting July 29 in three out of four marine areas.

"The ocean fishery has definitely improved now that the warm water has moved farther offshore," said Doug Milward, ocean salmon manager for the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW). "In Ilwaco, anglers are now averaging nearly two fish per rod."
Because the number of anglers and the catch rates were lower than expected during the first few weeks of fishing, WDFW opened marine areas 1 (Ilwaco), 2 (Westport) and 3 (LaPush) to fishing seven days a week. In addition, anglers can include two - rather than one - chinook salmon in their two-fish daily bag limit. Fishing in Marine Area 4 (Neah Bay), where anglers have already caught nearly half of the area coho quota, will remain on a five-day, Tuesday-through-Saturday schedule.

In Eastern Washington, more than 200 boats a day have been congregating at the confluence of the Okanogan and Columbia rivers, where anglers have been reeling in chinook salmon ranging from 15 to 25 pounds. Approximately one out of three boats has been returning with fish.
Rich Pettit, a fish biologist working out of WDFW's Vancouver office, recommends a different option entirely.

"Sturgeon fishing is good in the lower Columbia River right now," said Pettit, noting that catch rates have been ranging from half a fish to three quarters of a fish from Ilwaco to Knappton.
Two options that won't be available this year are fishing for sockeye salmon in either Lake Washington or Lake Wenatchee. WDFW has ruled out sockeye fisheries on both lakes because fish returns have not met escapement needs.

Crabbing, meanwhile, remains open throughout Puget Sound. Three marine areas - 4 (Neah Bay), 5 (Sekiu) and 13 (south Puget Sound) - are open seven days per week. Eight areas are open for crabbing on a Wednesday-through-Saturday schedule, including Marine Area 6 (eastern Strait of Juan de Fuca), 7 (San Juan Islands, except the northern area around Point Roberts), 8-1 (Deception Pass to East Point), 8-2 (East Point to Possession Point), 9 (Admiralty Inlet) 10 (Seattle/Bremerton), 11 (Tacoma/Vashon) and 12 (Hood Canal).

Pro Guide Pat Long (509-751-0410) tells us that the Snake and Clearwater areas are holding about the same as the past couple of weeks - steelheading is slow on the Clearwater in both the C&R and the keep sections. Counts are improving slightly and show some promise for a better fishery soon.

Pro Guide Pete Grace (888.688.4386) has been fishing for sturgeon above Beacon Rock and doing well. Steelhead fishing on the Lewis is picking up and is OK at the mouth of the river. He's looking forward to Buoy 10!

Pro Guide Bob Barthlow (509.697.7125) just walked in the door from his final 7 days on the Cowlitz river for Summer steelhead.

He fished hard, side drifting and backtrolling from Blue Creek to Toledo and did very well, boating 51 Summer runs in 7 trips, hitting fish in almost every hole. He seemed to have the luck as most boats around us were not having much action.