Saturday, August 29, 2009

Humnpy Hollow Pinks

Most everyone in today had good numbers of pinks in the Humpy Hollow area south of Mukilteo. Lots had early limits and back home to eat breakfast. Other anglers took a little longer to land there fish, and then there were a few that didn't do well at all. However, if one did not do well it was more than likely that they made more than a few mistakes.

Most did well fishing the typical white flasher / dodger and mini pink squid combination. The fishermen that were out early found fish shallow, typically in the 30 - 50 foot zone. those fishing latter found the fish pushing the 100 foot mark.

Should see good fishing for the next 10 days to 2 weeks and then see it slow down, but the silvers are just behind the pinks and we should see better numbers of coho with every tide.

Friday, August 28, 2009

South Sound Kings - Good Fishing

John from "Captain Downriggin" was in this afternoon and mentioned that the king fishing in the south sound was finally happening. Though the fish are very late he said that they were still biting fairly well. Didn't get too much in the way of particulars as we were just a little on the busy side.

Edmonds Pier - Didn't Happen This AM

Heard from a couple of the pier regulars today and it just didn't happen this morning. From what we were told there was just a single coho caught there this morning by an angler fishing a float and herring. And to make matters worse it was a smaller 4 pound or so fish.

Perhaps this evening or tomorrow morning will be better!

950 UV Jelly Crush Hot Spot Flashers

Just a quick note to any of you out there that have been looking for Hot Spot 950 UV Jelly Crush Flashers - We received another 144 of them this afternoon. For those os you that have not heard about this flasher color, it is perhaps the hottest flasher that we have heard of in years. The reports that we have received from anglers fishing it has been outstanding.

Stop by and take a look at one outside in the sun - that's what it takes to see what they are about.

Thursday, August 27, 2009

Now Is The Time - Saltwater Pinks

If you are wanting to partake of some of the best pink salmon fishing that we have seen in the past forty years here in Puget Sound, then you had better get off your butt and get out there. It is at the peak of the run at the present time and we should see the fishing continue like this for the next ten days to two weeks before it starts to slow down. The fishing has been outrageous for those that have a idea of whats going on with many getting their limits in short order, many have had doubles, triples or quads on time after time when the bite comes on! Not to say that there are not those that have had some trouble getting fish, but for the most part most everyone has been getting some. If one is not doing well then there are some things that you are more than likely doing incorrect. You do have to pay attention to some little details.

If you are one of those that are not doing well - stop by and we'll be glad to help you out and hopefully turn you into a more successful angler.

Snohomish River - Pink Salmon

Fishing for humpys on the Snohomish has gone into full swing. We have been hearing of good fishing for the past few days, with lots of individuals taking their limit (4) in a short matter of time. There are good numbers of fish through out the system from the mouth to the deadline of the Lewis Street bridge in Monroe on the Skykomish River.

As far as techniques go, they are wide and varied, and everyone has a favorite that they think is better than anything else. Whatever one finds that works for them is just fine! One of the more successful techniques is that of fishing jigs. Jigs in the 1/8 -3/8 ounce range dressed in marabou, rabbit or plastic squid skirts in hot pink, pink or white colors or combinations of colors are the norm. These are generally casted out and twitched slowly back to the bank or boat. Some anglers sweeten the jig with a small portion of sand shrimp or smear a little Pautzkes Krill Gel on the head of the jig to cover over the human scent you impart when handling the lure.

I will cover another technique tomorrow - when I find a spare moment - as things have been a little on the hectic side - as anyone that has dropped by in the past month or so has seen - A Big "Thanks" for everyone for being understanding!

Silvers - Becoming More Numerous

With each and every day we are seeing greater numbers of silvers in the catches from the local waters. There have been some fairly good catches the past couple of days by some of the regular customers. Most of the ocean fish we have been seeing have been in the 7 - 13 pound range. Nice average silver salmon that make for some fine eating.



The fish that have been caught have been from a variety of places and there has not been any one hot spot. We have been seeing fish in the Edmonds area, anywhere from just north of the ferry slip down past the breakwater and south toward Richmond Beach. One of our regular guys has been catching a fair number in the Shilshole / Meadow Point area for the past few days.



There has been a few caught in the shipping channel between Possession Point and Mukilteo in the deep water. One of the guys called me yesterday afternoon and had found a batch in the open water at 35 feet and managed a limit to 12 pounds.



This fishery will just get better with each passing tide. We should see some excellent silver fishing over the next few weeks. The run generally peaks around the 22 of September.

Don't forget your Edmonds Coho Derby tickets as they have sold better than half already.

Edmonds Pier - Pinks, Coho & Kings

The Edmonds pier continues to turn out some fairly good fishing for a mixture of pinks, coho & still an occasional king. I would have to say that your chances of catching a pink or two off the pier is quite good, with many being landed by those anglers targeting them with pink Buzz Bombs or Wannabees. The coho have been coming by those targeting the pinks or by those tossing better coho fare, such as pearl pink, pearl blue, pearl green or holographic colored Buzz Bombs. There are still some kings being landed by those targeting them by pitching lead minnows in pearl white or pearl green. Point Wilson Darts and Gibbs Minnows are the lures most commonly tossed. Though not "Great" king fishing, there will still be more caught even into mid to late September.

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Grimes Lake - Lahontan Cutthroat


Though there isn't much time to fish this premier Lahonton cutthroat lake just north of Jamison Lake, there is in fact some really good C & R fishing to be had. Pete Newman from New Jersey fished with Jeff Witkowski (Big Dog Fishing) Guide Service and connected with 27 of these beauties ranging from 16 - 24 inches. Pheasant tail nymphs and chironomids were the ticket to success.

Grimes closes August 31st.

If you would like a last minute trip contact Jeff at (509) 860-7345.

Fresh Sand Shrimp

With the popularity of plunking for pink salmon in the Skagit and Snohomish rivers, our bait dealer has been very diligent to make sure that we have lots of fresh bait on hand for this season. We have been trying to keep up with the demand and for the most part we have been able to accomplish such. Let us know ahead of time if you are going to be needing a large number of shrimp and we will make sure to hold them for you.

Edmonds - Salmon Fishing

The fishing in the Edmonds area has continued to be quite good over the past weekend and the past few days. even though it is getting a little late in the king season, we are still hearing of kings caught in the Edmonds / Richmond Beach are virtually every day. Not to say that the fishing has been hot but good enough that many of the regulars are still managing to boat around a fish per trip out. Not only has the AM fishing been putting out a few fish but also the evening tides also. As far as productive gear goes, it is still a little of this and that. We have heard of fish coming from from just plain herring, flashers and squid to spoons of a variety of brands.

As far as the pink salmon fishing goes, it is right at the height of the run. Lots of individuals are having no problem getting their limits every day. Most have been finding the fish in the 35 - 60 foot depth range. though many of the pink anglers are fishing the typical white flasher / dodger and mini pink squid, many anglers are finding "Cotton Candy" Coho Killer Silver Horde spoons have been extremely productive in lieu of the squid. We should see good numbers of pinks in the catches until around the 10 th of September.

Along with the pinks and kings we have also been seeing better numbers of coho in the catches virtually every day. One of our customers had 6 coho on Sunday with a few being the smaller resident fish but most were ocean fish in the 7 - 9 pound range. We did see a nice 13 pound coho at the end of last week. Fishing for coho should continue to just get better every day. The run generally peaks around the 22 or so of September. Just remember that these early coho do bite and as the run continues there is a greater percentage of the fish that do not want to hit anything.

To have this many early retuning coho does look good for the upcoming Edmonds Coho Derby on September 12th. Don't wait to get your tickets as sales have been brisk.

Remember that the king seasons ends in areas 9 & 10 at the end of the month.

Saturday, August 22, 2009

Pink Salmon - In Full Swing

Without a doubt we are in full swing of the 2009 pink salmon season here in Puget Sound. The next 2 to 3 weeks should see the peak of the saltwater pink salmon fishing. We have had "Great" reports coming in from just about everywhere this past week. No matter if you are fishing the West side of San Juan Island, the western side of Whidbey Island, Possession Bar, Humpy Hollow, the Edmonds shoreline or the Pt No Pt to Kingston shoreline everyone has been catching lots of humpys.



Is there just a single spot that has been turning better numbers than other places? No! You just have to get out there and fish! When you get into them there is no doubt about it as you will be seeing "Lots" of sign on you sounder and perhaps fish fining or jumping (especially early in the AM). The biggest thing is to find where the fish are and fish that zone. We have talked with anglers that had great results fishing in the 35 - 50 foot zone and others that did best fishing over 100. Keep versatile and don't get stuck in a rut. Watch your sounder for signs of fish and wherever they seem to be located fish that zone - some of the old rules don't seem to pertain anymore - so remain versatile.

Even though the typical white dodger / flasher & pink mini squid are always a good producer don't be afraid to try something a little different such as a cotton candy coho killer by Silver Horde or an FST spoon in pink & white as both are good fish catching combinations.

Edmonds Coho Derby - September 12th

Ticket sales for the Edmonds Derby have been very brisk, according to the derby coordinators over half of the tickets have been sold already. Due to the limited number of 750, I would recommend that if you have any desire to fish in this final event of the Northwest Marine Trade Association Derby Circuit that you get your tickets very soon before they are sold out. In most derbies 90 % of the ticket sales come in the last few days. This is not the case in this event! Get your while you still can.

We have already been seeing good numbers of ocean coho showing up in the recent local salmon catches. The largest that we have heard of this week pushed the scales at a little over 15 pounds.

Sunday, August 16, 2009

Edmonds - Kings, Silvers & Pinks

Heard from a number of our regular customers today that did well fishing the Edmonds area. Most everyone that I talked with landed at least a king per boat, though most were smaller teen sized fish with a few in the low twenties. There were also a few ocean coho in the catches in this area, most around 8 pounds. It's a good sign to see them at this time. The earlier they come in the better biters they are. Most everyone that fished this area found "Great" numbers of pinks with many of them have double headers on time after time. Most of the pinks were caught in the 30 - 50 foot zone. Typical gear was the white Flasher / Dodger & pink squid combination.

Snohomish Pinks - Opening Day

Talked with both John of Rotten Chum Guide Service this afternoon and Jim Stahl of J & J Guide Service to see how the first day of the Pink Salmon Fishing season was for the both of them. Both of them had limits for thier clients, though both ended up with limits they did really have to work for the fish they landed. Jim fished below Hwy 9 in the tide water and John fished below 522 and down to the mouth of the Pilchuck. Both did well fishing pink lead head jigs.

If you would like to book a trip with either one of them here is their contact information.

Jim Stahl - J & J Guide Service (425) 347 - 1615

John - Rotten Chum Guide Service (425) 280 - 5494

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

We also talked with a number of customers that had fair results fishing on the Snohomish today. Many of them did fairly well fishing smaller 2 or 2 1/2 inch Buzz Bombs or Wannabees in the tidal stretches of the Snohomish as well as the deeper holes in the upper river such as Thomas Eddy.

Most of the fish caught were smaller sized pinks in the 3 - 5 pound range.

Saturday, August 15, 2009

Skagit / Snohomish - Open for Pink Fishing

The Skagit and Snohomish both are open for pinks as of the 16th (Sunday). It sounds as if there are a fair number in the Skagit, as there were quite a few that were landed during the last few days of the Skagit king season. The Snohomish sounds as if it has a few fish in it, though I would say that it is not a going to be exactly "Fantastic" by any means. We have talked with a number of individuals that have taken the time to run the river in the past few days and all mentioned that they did see some fish, but not any great numbers.

We will have a number of guys check in with us tomorrow to tell us what the fishing was like. We will update the reports as we get them in.

We have "Lots" of pink gear in stock not only for the salt water but lots for the fresh also.

We have lots of "Fresh" sand shrimp on hand.

Pinks - Pinks - Pinks & More Pinks

The Edmonds area was "Full" of pinks this morning. Almost everyone that we talked with caught numerous pinks no matter what they were fishing. The king anglers trying to scratch out some of the declining numbers all mentioned that they had trouble getting through the pinks. We had one fishermen saying that the pinks took quite a toll on his coho killers and did quite a job in twisting them up.

If you are really looking for pinks the Edmonds ferry area south would be a much better bet than fishing the usual "Humpy Hollow" area south of Mukilteo. Though we did hear of pinks being caught in this area it was not even close to the numbers that were caught in the Edmonds area.

The other area that we heard of good pink catches was the area from Point No Point all the way past Jefferson Head. Lots of pink limits were boated there.

By the way, there were a few kings still landed in the Edmonds area today. Not "Hot" by any measure it still seemed to be more productive than many other areas.

Friday, August 14, 2009

First Ocean Coho Landed - Float & Herring

We saw the first of our returning ocean coho yesterday. A nice pair of 9 pound fish were caught from the beach at Ebey Landing on the west side of Whidbey Island. They were caught fishing a plug cut herring under a float. For those of you that have never tried fishing this manner it is something that you really need to try. It's really fun way to fish. When the fish really take the float down or take the bait and take off pulling the float behind them it is really a kick.

Stop by and we'll be glad to help you out.

UV Jelly Crush Hot Spot Flashers - New Shipment

Just to let any of you looking for this years "Hot" Flasher (Hot Spot 950 UV Jelly Crush), we have just received another shipment of 120. Give us a call and we will reserve some for you.
(425) 743-9505

Edmonds / Richmond Beach - Kings

Though fishing for Chinook has slowed down, some of the regulars are still getting their fish from the Edmonds / Richmond Beach / Meadow Point stretch of shoreline. Most have been dragging their offerings in the 90 to 140 foot range. As far as offerings go, most have been fishing Flasher / Squid offerings. Wouldn't say that the fishing has been outstanding overall - but there are still good numbers of kings to be caught by those willing to put in the time.

The fish we have seen in the last few days have been in the low teens to low twenties.

Pinks - Satchet Head - Whidbey Island

Had a couple of different guys in today that did well on the Satchet Head side of the Possession Bar. They found them in the rips on the west side in the 30 - 50 foot depth range. They caught their limits fishing typical pink gear, a small white flasher followed by a pink mini squid.

When they returned to the Everett, Amy (The WDFW fish checker) said that overall it averaged just a pink per boat. Most anglers checked fished the Mukilteo / Everett area.

From what we are seeing it appears that the south sound pinks seem to be returning stronger at the present time. thus the better reports coming from the west side of the Sound and Edmonds south.

It could be just another tide before we see a greater push of Stilly and Snohomish fish.

Mukilteo Beach - Pink Fishing

Want an area to go chase a pink or two if you have an hour or two to spare, then the public beach at Mukilteo Park might be just the place for you! They have been catching them off the beach here for awhile. All you need is a medium spinning rod filled with 8 - 12 pound line and a couple of pink Buzz Bombs or pink Wannabees and you are ready to go. Make sure you take a knife to dress your catch and a cooler with ice to keep them fresh.

If you need a hand at setting up just stop by and we will be happy to give you a hand. This pink fishery is fantastic to introduce that new angler into fishing.

Point No Point - Pilot Point - Apple Tree Point / Lots of Pinks

Yesterday the stretch from Point No Point to Apple Tree Point was loaded with pinks. Most of the anglers I talked with had numerous pinks in this area no matter if they were fishing for them or not! Some of the die hard king anglers were in fact a little dismayed with them as they took valuable time away from their pursuit of choice. Though they do not make everyone happy, there are in fact many that are please with the prospect of catching them.

Though at times they will hit just about anything, the typical white flasher / dodger trailed with a small mini squid will account for the numbers. You can also fish a small pink colored spoon such as an FST or Gold Star Coho Killer.

Thursday, August 13, 2009

Apple Tree Point - Kings, Silvers & Pinks

One of the regulars was in this AM buying a little more tackle to replace some that he lost fishing this morning. He had a good morning fishing Apple Tree Point. Though he targeting kings, which he did manage to get one that was 14 pounds; he had four resident silvers to around six pounds and a dozen incidentally pinks. What was he replacing - Coyote 3.5 spoons in the red racer color pattern. Though they are no longer being made we still have a few on hand.

King Salmon - Areas 9 & 10

We are still hearing "Good" reports of king salmon fishing in areas 9 & 10. I would still have to say that the eastern side of the sound (Edmonds south) has been producing better that the Possession Point / South Whidbey area. We have seen some good catches of kings from the low teens into the low thirties coming from the eastern shoreline with the Edmonds / Richmnond Beach / Meadow Point / Elliot Bay still turning out more fish that other areas. Wouldn't say that the fishing has been "Hot", but the regulars are still getting a king or two for their efforts. Another good bet has been the Kitsap side of the sound from Point No Point / Pilot Point / Apple Tree Point / Kingston / Jefferson Head. Fish are moving and you have to find them, they are not stopping for any length of time as they have their natal streams on their mind and are motivated to get there. We should see a fair amount of decline in the king catches over the next weeks. Many are turning their attention to the greater number of pinks coming into the catches.

Tuesday, August 11, 2009

Edmonds Coho Derby - September 12 th

Don't forget to get your Edmonds Derby Tickets soon, as there are just 750 total tickets to be sold. Our tickets sales have been brisk and there is lots of interest in this final derby in the Northwest Marine Trade Association Derby Circuit. This is a "Great" event with which looks to be a good coho fishery upcoming. We have seen lots of nice coho coming from the north coast which bides well for our Puget Sound fishery.

Don't Wait! Get Your Tickets Now!

Kingston / Apple Tree Point - Kings

Just had one of the customers stop by to say he did well today, landing a limit of kings off of the Kingston / Apple Tree point area. The kings he had were high teens / low twenties. He found a Hot Spot flasher with a trailing Mother of Pearl OGL 161 R Golden Bait Hoochie to be the productive combination. He found his fish fairly deep today, fishing the 140 foot zone.

He said angling pressure was slight in this area - I suppose most every one stayed in the Edmonds area today.

Picnic Point Pinks

The beach front at Picnic Point has produced some fairly good pink fishing in the last few days. There is a mix of anglers fishing here with about a 50 / 50 mix of fly anglers and gear fishermen.
The gear fishermen are fishing Buzz Bombs in 2 - 2 1/2 inch models in hot pink or Wannabees in hot pink with scale lite. Make sure to gear your selections with barbless single hooks.

Fly fishermen are fishing floating or intermediate sink lines with a variety of pink or pink / white offerings such as clouser minnows, crazy charlies or shrimp styled flies.

Fishing has been fairly good and will only get better with the rain and the migration just getting started.

Edmonds / Richmond Beach - Kings, Coho & Pinks

We talked with quite a few of our regulars this morning that fished the Edmonds / Richmond Beach shoreline and all had good reports to share with us. There were good numbers of kings landed in the teens to mid thirties this morning. Along with the kings, some of the guys complained of the number of incidental pinks they landed. Some of them had as many as a dozen, and that's not even fishing for them. Undoubtedly there are substantial numbers of them on the way to the Green and the Puyallup River systems. Along with the kings and pinks there were a few resident coho in the catches also.

Most of the kings were caught using Hot Spot Flasher / Spoon Combinations, with Gold Star Coho Killers or KF4L's in UV White Lighting color schemes producing well.

King fishing should continue through the end of the month, though it is slowing down.

Friday, August 7, 2009

2 1/4 ounce Point Wilson Darts - Pearl White / Pearl Green

Just a quick note to let any of you that are regular Pier anglers that have been awaiting more Point Wilson Darts to arrive, this is to inform you that we just received another shipment.

Guides Day Off - Brewster


What does a guide do when he has a day off? Of course he goes fishing! Here's a couple of Brewster Kings that Jeff Witkowski and his fishing companion Jack (The Big Dog of Big Dog Fishing), the fish weighed 17 and 20 pounds respectively. Both came from a Lemon / Lime Superbait.


Big Dog Fishing - (509) 860-7345

Local Pinks - Puget Sound

With each and every day we are hearing more and more reports about pinks being caught around Puget Sound. Though it isn't exactly "Red Hot" at the present time, I would have to say that they are numerous enough to get out all you pink salmon gear and get after them. We have heard of them being caught in the traditional "Humpy Hollow" area below Mukilteo. Some of the customers have caught numerous pinks in the past couple of days. For the beach fishermen the Deception Pass area on the south western side of the bridge has been putting out fish for the beach fishermen. The Northwestern side of Camano Island has fish also showing for both the beach and boat anglers. For those in South Sound try the Browns Point area. The Western beaches of Whidbey Island are still without a doubt the number one spot to fish at the present time.

Thursday, August 6, 2009

Brewster King Salmon


Here's a picture sent to us from Jeff Witkowski of "Big Dog Fishing" of a nice Brewster Chinook. The king was caught on a Hot Tamale Superbait by Stan Arbogast from Cashmere. The fish weighed 28.4 pounds. Congratulations to Stan and his wife Gloria. Nice King!

If you are wanting to fish the Chelan / Brewster area for virtually anything get ahold of Jeff at (509) 860-7345.

Tuesday, August 4, 2009

Marine Areas 5 & 6 Closing For Chinook - Midnight August 6 th

Marine Areas 5 & 6 will close for Chinook retention at the end of the day Thursday August 6 th. This closure is nine days earlier than scheduled. The reason behind the early closure is that WDFW has concerns that sport anglers have exceeded the wild mortality factor due to the fishing being better than what was expected. They do have concerns that with additional fishing that conservation goals might not be meet and have adverse impacts upon wild fish.

This closure does not affect the fishery on pinks or coho.

Esperanza Inlet - Vancouver Island

Seems like the whole west side of Vancouver Island is nothing but "Great" salmon reports. Heard from George who is up in Esperanza this afternoon and got the run down of whats happening in this north central portion of the island. Fishing is very good for Chinook for those fishing offshore on the "Highway" lots of kings in the 22 -28 pound range. The pinks and coho are so thick that they have had to resort to larger Tomic plugs to keep the smaller species off.
There is "Lots" of bait offshore, mostly candlefish.

Halibut fishing has been outstanding for fish in the 30 - 60 pound class.

Nice Elliot Bay King


Here's a "Better than Average" Elliot Bay King from last friday evening. Not a bad fish O Claire! Caught on a flasher / hoochie combination. He keep the particulars to himself! This king pegged out at 39 pounds.

Bush Point - Humpies - Whidbey Island

Pink salmon fishing at Bush Point really turned on yesterday. Everyone that we talked with that was there yesterday caught at least a couple with many catching their limit of four. The outgoing tide seemed to produce the best. Most everyone was fishing pink Buzz Bombs or Wannabees. Make sure to use a single barbless hook to conform with the regulations. We should see nothing but improvement in this popular fishery over the next few weeks.

Marrowstone Point Beach Fishing

Marrowstone Point (Fort Flagler State Park) on Marrowstone Island has been putting out fair numbers of pinks (humpies) as well as a few coho for shore bound anglers. In talking with Ward Norden of Snapper Tackle Company he observed that the most productive anglers were those fishing small Herring under a float. Though many anglers are pitching Buzz Bombs and Wannabees it is the bait guys that are scoring the greater numbers of fish. This fishery should go into high gear in the next week or so and this popular spot should see lots of fish beached for shore bound anglers.

Edmonds Coho Derby - Saturday September 12 TH

Derby tickets for the popular Edmonds Coho Derby are now available at Ted's Sports Center. The Derby tickets are $30.00 ea. Remember to purchase your tickets early as they are limited to 750. We have already been selling them and are going quickly. Stop by and pick up your tickets! before you find that there are no more!

Monday, August 3, 2009

Mid Channel Bank - Port Towsend

Fishing for Chinook at Mid Channel Bank the past few days seemed to provide some "Fair" fishing for a number of our customers. Many had just a single fish to show for their effort but on the other had we did have some that limited out on Chinook fishing this popular spot. Most of the fish we heard of were from the mid - teens to the low thirties. The one common thing in catching fish here was to be dragging your offering right on the deck. Candlefish styled offerings were the baits of choice with candle fish Grand Slam coho flies in white or green / chartreuse colors, UV White Lightning Coho Killers or those with Chartreuse - Lime Green - Lime Green & Chartreuse colors, needle fish hoochies in OAL 12 colors all fished behind a flasher. Jiggers did well fishing Point Wilson Darts in the Pearl White or Pearl Green color combinations.

Make sure to drag your offering on the bottom in the 70 - 140 foot zone - and I do mean on the bottom!

Bamfield - Cape Beale - Vancouver Island

Talked with another customer who called us from the water this evening fishing 7 Mile Bank out of Bamfield on the SW corner of Vancouver Island to place a pick up order for one of his friends coming up latter in the week. It sounded like the offshore fishing was about as good as you could stand with lots of Chinook in the 15 to 30 pound range and all the coho in the 6 -8 pound range that you would want to catch. From what he was ordering it sounded as if the "New" Gold Star KF 4 Light in the Yellowtail finish was the item that was doing the duty.

The one bleak report that he had was to say he put in a great deal of time trying to boat a halibut or two for the locker and was not able to connect. The poorer halibut fishing is one common thread that seems to be repeating itself on an all to regular basis from this area.

Winter Harbour - NW Vancouver Island

Had some of the customers in today after returning from a trip to Winter Harbour, located on the NW portion of Vancouver Island. The group did quite well up there catching a great number of Chinook and Coho during their stay. They came back with their limits of Chinook in the 24 - 35 pound range and the remainder in Coho in the 7 - 8 pound range. The weather was less than ideal and they came back beat up a bit. The most productive of their gear was a Hot Spot 11 inch flasher in the UV Jelly Crush (color 950) followed by a OAL 12 R Golden Bait Hoochie in the larger 45 size with a clear mylar twinkle skirt trailed 42 inches behind. They did best on the coho fishing a Hot Spot 11 inch flasher in the "Newer" 50 / 50 Mountain Dew (color 1961) trailing a smaller 35 size OAL 12 R hoochie with a shorter 32inch leader. They mentioned that there were greater numbers of wild coho 8 - 15 pounds that had to be released.

Needless to say they were in today stocking up for their next trip up north the weekend after next.

Hopefully the weather will be a little more conducive to getting in a little time on the halibut this next time. Weather was just a little too much to bear to be offshore this past trip.

Edmonds Pier - Chinook

The Edmonds pier put out a good number of kings this morning. We had one of the regulars in at 9:00 AM and said that there had been 8 landed by the time he left. Most were in the teens and low twenties. Besides the ones landed there were quite a number that were also lost. Yesterday wasn't that hot with perhaps a grand total of four for the day is what we heard. The fish today were hooked on a variety of jigs but white and green / white color combinations were the ticket!

Should see good fishing this week, as it is the peak of the Chinook migrations.

Pink Report - What's Happening?

Though we are seeing more pinks (humpys) in the catches each and every day, the main push of fish is still out in the Straits and the Ocean. I still believe that we are still about a week away from the main push of pinks here in Puget Sound. Over the weekend we did hear of good reports coming from the western beaches of Whidbey Island. Though not everyone did well, we did hear from those that understand the Islands fishery that they in fact had good results. As far as the local beach fisheries go, I would have to say it is in fact very slow. We did here of a very odd fish coming from Medowdale Park and Picnic Point - like I said earlier it is still a week or so away.

If you are really wanting pinks then it is up to the Straits for you! We hear in the Port Angeles area that the Chinook fishermen are not very happy with the number of humpies in the area as they are having a great deal of problems getting their gear into the Chinook zones without getting a pink before they get there.