“Selective” Memory: Looking Back At Three Successful, Selective Chinook Seasons! Leave a reply
Selective salmon fisheries: they are the law of the land and our pathway to increased opportunity in our local waters. By my way of thinking, if I get to fish more days in increased areas in prime time?…I’m IN!
Yes, it’s a pain to release those big, wild kings but given the choice between fishing and the ever-increasing “honey-do” list?… Brother, it ain’t even a contest!
We have had this selective opportunity for four years now and a definite pattern is starting to develop. These chinook are prime, mature fish that are aggressive, on the move and still feeding.
What’s the biggest key for our Area 9 & 10 selective chinook opportunity?
Don’t scratch on the opener!
In other words, you have to move to find the fish and then expect to get bit. Don’t fish “spots”. Instead, target schools of baitfish and concentrations of salmon!
Now, it’s nice when the two coincide like the 2007 opener when Possession Bar on Whidbey Island’s south end held both bait and chinook.
Kevin Gogan and friends look over our '07 opening day limit which took us by surprise by both their size and willingness to bite!!!
So, in 2008 what did I do?
You’ve got it! I ran right back out to the bar and found: Nada, zip, zilch…bupkis!
However, I remembered what the Lowrance looked like on the ’07 opener and that was a nice full screen of bait and salmon. So, on the 2008 opener we did not linger, wondering where the bait went. Instead, I got on the horn and found that none of the “Brotherhood” was into fish or marking bait of any kind on Possession but there was bait out on Mid Channel Bank.
“Crank ‘em up boys! We’ve got a bit of run ahead of us.”
The run out to Port Townsend was punctuated by a knot in my stomach since I didn’t like having to leave the “killing grounds” of a year ago. However, with former NFL first-team All-Smartass Kevin Gogan on board, the verbal abuse was less on the run than it was on the skunk!
Fortunately, when we arrived the chinook were more than cooperative! We hooked fish on every drop of the cannonballs until the fishbox was full. A limit of kings up to 23 pounds by 8:30 in the morning!
Despite the fact that we pulled a blank on the bar we ended up with a quick limit because we were flexible enough to try a new spot, had faith enough in our electronics to believe that the fish were indeed not there and most importantly we knew the productive potential of this fishery because of our experience from the previous year.
Last year (2009) I dropped the hammer outside the Everett Harbor breakwater and didn't back off until we rounded Marrowstone Point on our way to Midchannel. You can read about that on last year's opener blog "Two Midchannel Mornings".
With only three years of “data” to work with, here’s what I’ve gleaned from our Area 9 opportunity: When we have stronger runs to the north Sound hatcheries on Tulalip Bay, Stillaguamish and Snohomish rivers, Possession will produce good numbers of chinook provided the bar is holding baitfish.
In ’08 and '09, Tulalip Bay and Stilly chinook pulled a no-show and Possession was flat poor.
The solution for me was to move up on the run and hit Mid-Channel, Point No Point and Pilot Point, targeting south Sound kings.
Area 10 is a bit of a different animal. The majority of chinook entering Puget Sound “turn right” as they come to the eastward end of Admiralty Inlet. It just takes a minute of looking at the chinook forecasts to confirm that there will always be more fish heading for the south Sound than the north. However, less feeding areas and therefore less opportunities to feed as chinook approach their terminal areas results in a rapidly maturing hatchery fish that can be more finicky on the bite than their Area 9 counterparts. Fortunately, the sheer numbers turning the corner at No Point minimizes the maturity factor to some degree and Area 10 flat produces fish. Don’t ignore Kingston, Tyee Shoal, West Point and yes, Jefferson Head as consistent producers of chinook.
What does 2010 have to offer? Brothers and Sisters, that’s anyone’s guess. However, we can take a look at the forecasts and recent events and offer a cautious guess.
First and foremost, there has been a good amount of baitfish in Puget Sound recently and the May shrimp fisheries were punctuated by limit catches of large coonstripe and spot prawns which is a great sign!
Second, the Stillaguamish is not the critically low “driver stock” it was just a year ago and numbers should be up for fish heading to the north Sound in general. Finally, a new Can/Am salmon management agreement resulting in Alaskan and Canadian harvest reductions along with increased oceanic productivity should allow more well-fed chinook unfettered passage to our home waters.
The bottom line is that due to the current sport-fishing friendly political climate and the willingness of fishermen to honestly participate in selective fisheries we are seeing the tide of decreasing opportunity turn. Don’t let this season pass you by, take a kid fishing and if you can’t be out there every day, let us at the Outdoor Line on ESPN 710 be your eyes and ears on Puget Sound! Good Luck!