Last Few Days for Crabbing - Areas 9 & 10

We are down to the last few days of sport crabbing in Marine Areas 9 & 10 that will wind up on January 2nd. We have heard of good reports out of the Kingston area since the opener, however the pressure has been slight both due to the weather and the lack of interest at this time of the year. Would be something to do on New Years day!

PS: Don't forget to get those winter crab catch record cards turned in promptly after you finish the season.

Oak Harbor - Smelting

We have started to receive some good smelting reports out of Oak Harbor the past few days. This will give you a choice of places to smelt between Cornet Bay and here at Oak Harbor. The nice thing about Oak Harbor is the nice guard wall on the dock if you are taking younger kids that might take a header off the open docks of Cornet Bay. They also have picnic tables on the docks in case you would like to eat lunch or just take a break. You fish right off the front of the Oak Harbor Marina docks.

We have lots of Gamakatsu smelt jigs (the jig of choice) on hand for your outing.

Razor Clam Dig - December 31 - January 3

The WDFW has given us another opportunity to dig razor clams over the New Year's holiday weekend. Here's the run down on the dates, tides and beaches.

Thursday, Dec.31 (6.16 p.m. -1.1ft.) Long Beach, Twin Harbors, Copalis, Mocrocks & Kalaloch
Friday, Jan 1 (7:01 p.m. -1.8 ft.) Long Beach, Twin Harbors, Copalis, Mocrocks & Kalaloch
Saturday, Jan 2 (7:45 p.m. -1.6 ft.) Long Beach, Twin Harbors, Copalis & Mocrocks
Sunday, Jan 3 (8:29 p.m. -1.2 ft.) Twin Harbors

Make sure to read over the WDFW regulations on razor clams before you venture forth.

Ted's Sports Center has everything you need for harvesting these delectable shellfish, from clam shovels and tubes, clam bags and licenses.

Snoqualmie River - Steelhead

Shawn fished the Snoqualmie yesterday afternoon with a couple of friends and managed to hook 5 steelhead and landed 3 free drifting bait. (eggs & sand shrimp) The fish were all smallish hatchery fish. He mentioned that he did see a handful of other fish caught amongst the boat and bank anglers. The Carnation Farms stretch of the river was where they found the fish.

At least it sound that there are a few fish in this Snohomish tributary.

Water was gin clear!

Snohomish River - Steelheading

Talked with John Thomas from Rotten Chum Guide Service a few minutes ago and he filled me in on what he had seen on the upper Snohomish from the confluence down to Crab Bar today.To put it in a single word "Nothing"! He spoke with four other boats on the river as well as a few plunkers and the response was the same from virtually everyone! Don't know exactly what the answer is but steelheading isn't really hot anywhere the past few days. We even had one of the customers that was going to fish at Cook Creek with one of the Quinault Tribal guides tomorrow and was called and told not to come as the fishing was just to slow.

Walleye Ice Fishing - Evergreen Reservoir

The ice is good and solid on this Eastern Washington reservoir just out of Quincy. We have been hearing of some fairly good ice fishing for walleye for the past few weeks. Most of the fish have been eating size in the 16 - 18 inch range with an occasional one pushing 8 pounds. Evergreen has a variety of fish in this multi species lake. Besides the walleye there are perch, bluegill, catfish, bass, trout and even a few tiger muskies. However, the walleye and the perch are the most desired species sought after.

Everett Blackmouth Derby - Saturday March 20th, 2010

The 4th Annual Everett Backmouth Derby will take place on Saturday March 20, 2010 sponsored by the Everett Steelhead and Salmon Club. This will be a limited entry derby with only 100 tickets to be sold. This ticket will allow up to four anglers (including the skipper) per boat. Open areas will include Marine Area 8-1, 8-2 & 9.
Tickets will be sold at the following locations.

John's Sporting Goods
Bayside Marine
Ed's Surplus
Ted's Sports Center

Weigh in will be from 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm at Bayside Marine.

1st Place $3,000.00
2nd Place $1,500.00
3rd Place $500.00
4th Place $250.00
plus numerous smaller prizes.

This is a Northwest Marine Trade Association Derby Circuit Event.

For any additional information www.everettblackmouthderby.com

Get your tickets early as with just 100 to be sold they will go quick!

Trout Fishing - Silver Lake, Ginsburg Ponds, Flowing Lake & Blackmans Lake

With the nice sunny days that we are having this week and with the kids being off, if you want to go do a little trout fishing you might try some of the following year - around lakes.

Silver Lake
Ginsburg Ponds
Flowing Lake
Blackmans Lake

These lakes were planted earlier this week by the efforts of both the Everett Steelhead & Salmon Club as well as the Snohomish County Sportsman's Club.

I was told that there were some very nice sized fish planted in the above lakes as well as a good number of pan-sized fish.

So dust off the trout gear and head out with the kids for a few hours and give them something else to do but play video games.

Fish Lake - Ice Fishing

If you are wanting to do something just a little different over the Holidays you might just take a trip to Fish Lake and try a little ice fishing. The ice is solid now, with about 6 inches of good ice and a willing population of perch waiting to bite. The customers whom we have spoken with have done well on these tasty panfish with a few smaller 10 in rainbows thrown in for good measure. Most anglers have been fishing #2 or #3 Swedish pimples with a perch eye or a small piece of perch meat put onto the hook for an additional offering.

You can give Scott or Nadeen West a call a the Cove Resort for any additional information.
(509) 763-3130

We have lots of ice fishing gear on hand. Ice rod combos, rods, augers, lures and baits!

With the nice bright sunny cold weather, ice fishing might just be a fun thing to do.

Chistmas Day Steelheading - Skykomish

John went to the Sky to do a little afternoon Christmas Day steelheading yesterday afternoon and managed to land two nice bright hatchery hens and lost another. He said that the pressure was light (to be considered on Christmas Day) and that there were perhaps another half dozen fishermen that had the same idea. Floats and jigs were the ticket for his success. Anyway, it was a "Great" day on the river with John getting a couple of fish, two different customers ending up with a fish for the Holidays (which John was gracious to donate to them) and Shawn ending up with eggs to cure up! Couldn't have been better!

Merry Christmas

All of the crew here at Ted's Sports Center wish all of you a "Very Merry Christmas" and hope that all of you enjoy the Holiday with your loved ones!

"Merry Christmas"

Mike, Shawn, Stephen, John, Joe & Josh

Steelhead Fishing - Skykomish

The fishing in the Reiter Ponds area has been "Fair" the past few days. I wouldn't say that it has been Great, but at least there are a few fish being caught every day. John had a limit of hatchery fish on Tuesday and lost a couple more. He said that he saw 6 - 7 other fish caught while he was there and said that around the same number had been caught earlier in the morning. Shawn was up for a couple of hours yesterday and though he didn't hook any himself he did see a couple landed. Would have to say that it does not appear that we are going to have a banner season for sure, but at least there are a few fish to be caught. Heard of just a single seelhead at the Wallace hatchery section yesterday and from what we have heard they have just collected a handfull there so far this season. Looking tough for the Wallace this season.

Reiter Ponds - Skykomish River

John was up fishing Reiter latter in the morning today and managed to hook three steelhead. When he called around 1 pm he said there had been around 25 steelhead landed there. This without a doubt has been the best day so far this season. He mentioned that there was no lack of fishermen fishing this section of the river.

Talked with one of the customers who fished Sultan down yesterday in his drift boat and said that they got blanked as did the wast majority of anglers fishing this middle section of the river did. Roger said he saw just one small steelhead landed. It seems the hatchery fish don't even slow down until they get to the Reiter section of the river.

Reiter Ponds - Skykomish River

We have had some fair reports of steelhead at Reiter Ponds the past couple of days with anglers landing 12 - 15 each day. Not exactly hot considering the time of the year but perhaps as good of reports as we have had so far this season in our norther Puget Sound streams. The water has been a little colored with the snow melt but very fishable none the least. Fishermen have been doing best on floats and jigs or conventional drift fishing set-ups.

Ice Fishing - Eastern Washington

The ice fishing scene has started in Eastern Washington! We have had reports coming in from Fish Lake, Evergreen and Scootney Reservoir. The ice is just thick enough to support a small number of anglers from what we have been hearing. At Fish Lake they are fishing predominately fishing for yellow perch with some rainbows thrown in for good measure. At Evergreen and Scootney walleye are the most sought after catch with a few yellow perch.

I spoke with one of our customers that had walleye to 6 pounds out of Evergreen with a fair number of 1 1/2 -2 pound eating sized fish.

We have lots of ice fishing rods, augers and lures for anyone wanting to sample this fishery.

North Fork Stillaguamish - Partial Closure

Well, once again here's another closure due to poor returns. The North Fork of the Stillagumish will close to all angling from French Creek to the Whitehorse Bridge from December 21 through January 31. This closure was mandated to make sure that the hatchery receives its allocation of fish needed for propagation. If spawning goals are meet then the river could be opened earlier.

Skagit & Sauk C & R Seasons - Not This Season!

The popular C & R steelhead seasons that all of us have enjoyed for many years has come to be no more for this next spring! With the declining numbers of returning fish that we have seen season after season for a number of years, the WDFW has finally decided to terminate this fishery. Most of us have said for years that this fishery had been declining for years and it was a wonder that the WDFW continued to keep it open. Hopefully, with this closure all user groups will see a need to protect this valuable resource and tighten their belts for the sake of the fish. Perhaps it will do some good! But I think it will take many years of conservation and Mother Nature putting all the ducks in a row for this fishery to recover to its past productivity.

Cascade River Closes Dec. 19th

The lower Cascade River (Mouth to Rockport-Cascade Road Bridge) will close to all fishing December 19th trough January 31. The hatchery has only 10% of the fish they need to meet their broodstock requirements. If the broodstock requirements are meet earlier then there is a possibility the river could re-open earlier.

Slightly Better Steelheading

With the warmer weather and the rain, we have had a few more slightly positive steelhead reports coming in from our northern Puget Sound streams. We have had reports of fish being caught in the Skykomish, Stillaguamish, Skagit, Snoqualmie, Wallace & Cascade. Can't say that the fishing is "HOT" by any means but at least there are a few more fish showing for the anglers that are out there fishing.

We have had a few reports from the beaches on Whidbey Island producing a few fish, there again nothing spectacular.

Overall, it's looking like a below average steelhead season so far. I'll give it a couple of weeks to see if we see any improvement and if not it is what it is.

North Sound Steelheading

Well, with the continued cold weather we have been receiving the streams have dropped low and clear and once it warms up just a tad the ice starts to flow. Conditions have been less than ideal for good steelhead fishing. Even the real die hards have been complaining of the conditions and wishing for a warming trend and rain!

Even with the conditions we have been hearing of a few steelhead being caught, though nothing really any good with just a fish being caught here and there.

The one thing that we have been hearing is that spoons have been accounting for a little higher percentage of the fish under these conditions. Give a RVRFSHR spoon in 50/50, Gold Little Cleo or a Steelie a try.

Hopefully, with the warmer weather coming in this up coming week we will see a little bit of improvement on the steelhead scene.

470,000 Spring Chinook Forcasted for 2010 for Columbia River System

Just received an e-mail from the ODFW with the Columbia River Spring Chinook forecast for 2010. To be quite frank, it is the largest run since 1938. Even if they are slightly off on the predictions we will still receive a huge return that should equate to lots of angling opportunity for those that like to fish this fishery. As far as what the sports season will be, we will just have to wait and see how things are divided up. With this size of return, when the seasons are announced I would not hesitate to make arrangements for your camp spot, moorage or motel accommodations.

I will post more when we hear any additional information.

Squidding - Puget Sound

With the weather the way it has been this week, we have not been getting a lot of squid reports in. The few individuals that have braved the elements have found a few squid, but nothing to write home about locally. The folks that have been fishing Des Moines and the Seattle waterfronts have been finding some squid, but for the most part have been very small 2 - 3 inch specimens and occasionally a few larger adults. Edmonds has been quite slow overall, with an odd evening where they have caught a fair number of larger 10 - 12 inch squid. The better nights have been 10 - 30 squid per angler. Make sure to bundle up as it has been bitter cold with saltwater freezing in the guides. I think I just might wait until it warms up a tad before I venture down to the docks.

New Shipment - Silver Horde 4 L Cookies n Cream and Irish Cream

Silver Horde just dropped off another shipment of the popular 4L Kingfisher spoons in Cookies n Cream and Irish Cream. These two colors have been the most popular and most talked about spoons in the Puget Sound blackmouth fisheries this winter.

Steelheading - Puget Sound

Well, so far the winter steehead reports have not been anything to write hope about. We have just been getting so - so reports from all of the north Sound steelhead rivers. Shawn fished the Snoqualimie on Saturday with a couple of his friends to end up with a dark summer run, a typical hatchery winter run and a late coho. We had one of the regular customers drop in yesterday afternoon to show off a nice limit of winter fish he caught at Reiter, both in the 8 - 9 pound range. He said that there were only about six fishermen on the Reiter side and six on the highway side which would say that the fishing has not been too hot. Had one of the regular Stilli fishermen in today and he said that he hadn't heard too much from that system either. We have heard of some just fair reports coming out of the Skagit, not great but better than we have been hearing of locally.

I am sure that things will be tough the rest of the week with this freezing weather that we are dealing with.

We have had reports out of the Cowlitz that have been OK, but still a little off and on. The Forks area has had some fairly good reports both out of the Calawah and Bogachiel rivers.

Whidbey Island - Steelheading

If you are looking to do something a tad bit different fishing wise, starting this weekend and next week might just be the time to sample the Whidbey Island steelhead scene. We have some good high tides first thing in the AM and you will be able to fish the last of the flood and then fish the outgoing tide. (Which I think is the best tide, as it compacts the fish behind the points on the outgoing tide.) As far as the rigging goes take a look at our archived "Tips & Tricks" and you will find everything you need to know. With the beautiful clear and cold weather it is a truly beautiful place to fish with a foreground of the snow capped Olympic mountains, the Straits of Juan de Fuca, Vancouver Island and the San Juans.

Coronet Bay - Smelting

The smelting has been quite good for those fishing Coronet Bay just inside Deception Pass on Whidbey Island. Does not take much in the way of tackle just a trout spinning rod a Gamakatsu # 4 or 5 Smelt / Herring jig and a 1/2 - 1 oz sinker. It does pay to chum a little with your favorite feed to hold the smelt where you are fishing.

Lake Goodwin - Trout Fishing

If you are looking for some good trout fishing you might want to hook the old boat and trailer up behind the truck and head off to Lake Goodwin. The winter trout fishing has been very good recently with fish up to 17 inches. There seems to be good numbers of hold over fish. Most of the guys that I have spoken with are anchored up and still fishing with Berkley Power Bait or Gulp products. This fishing should hold up for awhile. If you haven't been there before the boat launch is at Weinberg County Park. It has a fairly good boat launch, that can handle good sized boats and a good parking area. Unfortunately there is not much in the way of good bank access.

Lake Washington - Cutthroat

We have been hearing of cutthroat being caught in Lake Washington from a number of customers. Most have been fishing in the SE section on the lake, launching out of Gene Coulon Park. Most have been fishing either Luhr Jensen Needlefish spoons in a size 2 or 3 in a variety of colors(Nickle Red Head, Brass Red Head, Fire Tiger, Chartreuse Clown and Perch) or small whole or plug cut herring in an orange or red size. They have been fishing from just under the surface to around 30 feet deep. Most of the fish we have been hearing about have been in the 16 -18 inch range. Generally, fish a little faster than what you would normally fish trout as we have found that it is more productive - like a good brisk walk speed.

As this fishery is just getting started and will continue to get better over the winter.

Make sure to read your regulations as any steelhead or rainbow 20" or greater must be released.

Reiter Ponds - Skykomish River

John gave us a call this afternoon to give us the report from the Reiter Ponds area on his day off. He caught an average hatchery fish this morning and said he saw 4 or 5 others caught. The water was in "Great" shape and it looks like we should see the lower river come into good shape this week with the weather that is predicted. For those of you that wonder, John caught his fish on a float and jig combination.

Marine Area 7 - San Juan Islands - Open to Salmon Angling

Marine Area 7 - San Juan Islands opened today for salmon fishing. The area will remain open through April 30th giving us the longest single winter blackmouth season in years. The area has a two fish limit with a 22" minimum size restriction and wild fish release on Chinook. No size limit on the other species.

This is without a doubt one of the finest winter blackmouth areas there is, with the outstanding beauty of the islands and the quality of the fish that can be caught is a real plus. Each season we see fish landed into the high 20's and every once and awhile into the 30's. The nice thing about the islands is that there is always somewhere you can fish any day, though it may not be pleasant getting there or going back home.

We should get some island reports in the next few days and will post when we hear something.

Reiter Ponds - Skykomish - Steelheading

Shawn called in this afternoon after fishing Reiter Ponds, he said that he saw 3 or 4 winter steelhead landed this AM besides the one that he landed. He said the water was in "Great" shape in that section of the river. He stopped in at Sultan to take a look at the water and thought that there might be a foot of visibility. Tomorrow should see some good water conditions. Things are looking good for December 1.

December - What's Hapenning?

December is a month that offers a fair amount of opportunities, though the weather tends to be be a little on the inclement side there is lots to do for those that are willing to brave the elements. Here's a little rundown on whats available:

1. Without a doubt the most popular December fishery here in the Puget Sound region is winter steelheading. Traditionally winter steelheading kicks off December 1, though we have seen a few winter fish in the catches over the past few weeks. Many popular steelhead streams have been open already, a few will open on December 1, still others will have regulation changes that will open them from fly fishing only regulations or selective fishing regulations to the less restrictive general steelheading regulations. It is imperative that you read your regulation pamphlet to make sure that you know what is going on. We will detail a little more in the near future.
2. Winter blackmouth fishing continues to be very popular. Chasing these immature Chinook is a past time of many die hard fishermen. This year we have seen some very good fishing, as the November fisheries have shown and we should continue to see good fishing into next year. Do make sure to check your regulations as there are a few changes that take effect on December 1.
3. Squidding is a popular fishery during this month, with this month being perhaps the most productive of the year. Popular spots include Edmonds, Seattle waterfront, Seacrest, Des Moines, Bremerton and Illahee.
4. Smelt jigging is a great winter time activity that is very popular with many folks. Requiring very little in the way of tackle and not very technical. Popular spots include Coronet Bay, Oak Harbor, LaConner and the Evertett waterfront.
5. Winter crabbing, though we do not have many open areas can be quite productive during December. Marine Areas 9 & 10 remain open through January 2nd and there is nothing better than fresh crab during this holiday period.
6 Razor clam digging on the coastal beaches. We have a scheduled dig coming up on the 2nd through the 5th of the month and another one on December 31st though January 2nd. Nothing better than nice fat winter razor clams that are in their prime!
7. Lake Washington & Lake Sammamish trout fishing. Both of these metropolitan waters put out their best trout fishing opportunities during the winter months. You might be surprised with the quality of this fishery.

These are a few of the high lights coming up during December, but are by no means everything that is available.

Squid - Bremerton

Squid fishing continues to be best off the Bremerton piers. One of our customers did well on some really good sized squid in the 12 - 14 inch range last evening off the Bremerton waterfront.
This fishery so far this season has been the "Best" squidding to be had.

Kingston - Blackmouth

The blackmouth fishing in the Kingston area was very good for one of our customers yesterday, catching over 40 fish during the day. However, many of those fish were in the sub-legal area between 18 -21 inches. They did end up with some nice keepers amongst them. They found the bite did not have any correlation to the tides and that they caught fish from the time they started at 10:00 a.m. till when they quit just before dark. Gear wise they did well fishing a UV / Glow combination Hot Sport Flasher with a Kingfisher 4 Light spoon in the Cookies n Cream and Irish Cream finishes. What were they buying this morning - more Kingfishers spoons!

Blackmouth - Richmond Beach

Toby Black, one of our WDFW samplers was is this afternoon after fishing on his own in the Richmond Beach area of Marine Area 10. He had a nice 13 pound blackmouth that he landed on a Hot Spot and a Green Glow Hoochie. He said that the fishing wasn't hot by any means but he didn't feel like traveling and spending more on fuel. There was lots of bait in the area and there was lot's of action on fish from just under legal size to around 25 inches.

He said that there were around fifteen boats fishing the Possession Bar area off the south end of Whidbey Island trying to get in the last few days in Area 9.

The weather doesn't look too bad for the next few days and should give everyone one last opportunity to fish Area 9 before it closes at the end of the month.

Razor Clams - December 2 through December 5

The WDFW has scheduled another razor clam dig for this next week as follows:

Wednesday, Dec. 2 (6:32 p.m. -1.2 ft.) Long Beach, Twin Harbors

Thursday, Dec. 3 (7:18p.m. -1.4 ft.) Twin harbors, Copalis, Mocrocks

Friday, Dec. 4 (8:04 p.m. -1.3 ft.) Long Beach, Twin Harbors, Copalis, Mocrocks, Kalaloch

Saturday, Dec. 5 (8:51 p.m. -0.9 ft.) Long Beach, Twin Harbors, Copalis, Mocrocks, Kalaloch

Should be "Lots" of good digging, as the last set of tides were not harvested very hard due to the weather.

We have a "Great" supply of clam digging gear!

Lone Lake - Whibey Island

If you would like to do a little fly fishing before the weather really goes south on us you might give Lone Lake on Whidbey Island a try. I have talked with a few of the guys that have fished it this week and have had nothing but "Great" reports. The fish are ranging anywhere from 12 - 18 inches in length and are nice, fat and sassy! The most successful anglers have been fishing from an anchored boat and fishing blood worms fished about 6 inches off the bottom under a strike indicator. Many of the guys caught double digit numbers of these nice rainbows.

Blackman's Lake - Snohomish

If you are looking for something to do this weekend with the kids you might give Blackman's Lake in Snohomish a try. A little bird told me this afternoon that the Snohomish County Sportsman's Club had 2,000 trout planted into the lake this week. So if you need to keep the kids and yourself out from under foot while mom is making Thanksgiving dinner this just might be the thing for you to do tomorrow morning. Get up, get out of the house, go fish,come home, wash up, eat a "Great" dinner, watch a little football and take a long nap! What could be better?

Happy Thanksgiving

Just a note to all of you wishing everyone a "Fantastic" Thanksgiving! Hope that you all have a nice day with your families and friends. Have a very good meal, watch a little football, and take a little nap and eat an extra piece of pie.

Don't forget about those less fortunate and help out however you can!

We will see you on Friday (9 - 7), as we will be taking the day off to be with our families.

Cutthroat - Lake Washington

Lake Washington cutthroat fishing has started for the winter season. Talked with one of our regular guys that fishes it a fair amount during the winter and he mentioned that he had caught three the other day in the 17 - 18 inch range. Though it wasn't exactly "Hot" I would say that it wasn't a bust either.

This fishery gets better a little latter in the year and we should see some good fishing over the next 3 or four months.

Squidding - Puget Sound

Squidding has been a little spotty so far this season. The best area has been the Bremerton area, hands down! We have been hearing of good numbers of squidders catching their limit fairly easily. The Des Moines and Seattle boys have been getting some squid though I have really not heard of many limits but enough to make it worthwhile. Edmonds has been quite slow and in talking with one of the better squid fishermen yesterday he said that he caught just 8 for six hours of fishing the Edmond's pier. Hopefully, we should see some better fishing than that this season.

Reiter Ponds - Skykomish

Didn't hear of any fantastic reports coming out of Reiter Ponds the past few days. John was up for a few hours on Tuesday and said the chum that he landed was the only fish he say caught during the time he was there. Denny called this AM and said that he caught a small winter run on the highway side and did not see any other fish landed. With the water being up the way it was last week I thought that we should be seeing greater numbers than we have been seeing by this time. I suppose that we will see what time brings.

The lower and middle Skykomish has seen a fair number of chum salmon. The boaters that I have spoke with have been averaging 6 - 8 fish on a day if fishing for the brighter fish in the traveling lanes, those that have been fishing the spawning areas are getting better numbers of fish with most of them being very colored.

Smelt - Coronet Bay, Deception Pass

If you are looking to do something with the family over this weekend, you just might take them smelt jigging at Coronet Bay (part of Deception Pass State Park). This is a very low key fishery that requires just the minimum of tackle (trout rod and reel, 4 - 10 pound test line, a Gamakatsu Smelt / Herring Jig in size 4 or 5 and a sinker of 1/2 to 1oz). The park has two docks that can be fished off of. There is larger morage dock immediately in front of the parking area or the smaller docks at the boat launching facilities of which both provide good fishing opportunities. If fishing off the boat launching docks make sure that you do not interfere with boat lunching or retrieving as they have priority over this facility. Bring a bucket to put your catch into and don't forget some warm clothes as well as a warm beverage and some snacks and you have the makings for a fun day out with the kids.

There is no license required for smelt - though one is required for herring (that is for those that are old enough to require one).

We have had some fairly good reports coming from this popular fishery this past week.

Area 9 - Closes Monday November 30th

Just a reminder that Marine Area 9 will close on Monday, November 1st. This area will then remain closed until January 16 th 2010. As this will be the last weekend to fish area 9, I would highly recommend that you get out and fish as the fishing has been about as good as I have seen in a number of years. If the weather is compatible to getting on the water, the tides are not bad either with a low tide first thing in the AM and a long flood tide to the high on Friday at 12:27 pm to a 2:05 PM high on Monday. So one can sleep in, get the boat in at a reasonable hour and fish the last of the incoming through the high slack and with fishing the way it has been be home with limits later in the afternoon.

With Area 9 closing remember that one can still fish Marine Area 8-1 & 8-2 though April30 2010 and Marine Area 10 through January 31 st. All three of these areas should put out some good fishing over the next couple of months.

New Kingfisher 4L Colors - Irish Cream, Cookies' n Cream & Nasty Boy

We just received three new colors of Silver Horde Kingerfisher 4 Lights in this morning. The samples that were fished in the PSA Derby last weekend proved to be quite effective and produced a number of fish for the handfull of guys that happened to be given a spoon or two to fish. Anyway, we have them in stock.

Cookies'n Cream: A Ultra Violet Pearl White on the front side with a black edge with a silver scale overlay, the backside is Double Glow. Typical Silver Horde rigging with welded rings and a 3/0 Matzuo Sickle Siwash hook.

Irish Cream: A Ultra Violet Pearl White on the front side with a lime green stripe and a silver scale overlay, the backside is Double Glow. Typical Silver Horde rigging with welded rings and a 3/0 Matzuo Sickle Siwash hook.

Nasty Boy: This is Silver Hordes version of the popular Coyote color "Nasty Boy" that is extremely popular with anglers on the west side of Vancouver Island. Silver Horde did upgrade the color to a UV finish. Typical Silver Horde rigging with welded rings an a 3/0 Matzuo Sickle Siwash hook.

Feel free to stop by and take a look at the "New" additions or if you like we can ship them to you.

Skykomish - Winter Steelhead

Had a couple of reports in this afternoon on a few winter steelhead to 13 pounds landed at Reiter Ponds today. It's about time that we start to see some good numbers of winter steelhead showing up in the catches. With Thanksgiving just around the corner I would say that it is right on time. Water was a little on the high side today, hopefully we will see a little less weather here shortly and get some good water conditions.

We have been also hearing of some winter runs in the Cascade. In fact one of the customers caught a limit up there earlier in the week. Yes, the water was on the higher side up there also.

Either stream would be a good place to check out this weekend if you have an opportunity to get out and fish.

Squid - Bremerton - Seattle - Edmonds

The best squid reports that we have been getting the past few days have definitely been coming from the Bremerton area. We have had a number of individuals that have reported fairly easy limits of nice sized squid. The Seattle waterfront piers have also been turning out some fair squidding, though definitely not as good as the Bremerton area. Edmond's squid fishing has been less than stellar with most everyone that we have spoken with have had just a few at best, though on an odd occasion perhaps around 20.

The weather has been quite blustery and very inclement this past week and in turn has kept all but the most die hard fisherman off the water.

We have lots of squid jigs and components on hand.

Australian Bream - Mark Chan

Here's a couple of pictures from "The Land Down Under" sent to me by one of our Aussie friends, Mark Chan. Mark hails from Austrialia, but has been able to sample a lot of different fishing opportunities from around the Pacific due to his work. These are some of the bread and butter species that they fish for in the estuaries and the mouths of their river systems where they meet with the saltwater. The upper photo is that of Mark with a nice average sized Bream and the second is of a species they call an Australian Salmon (also called a Kahawai in New Zealand). It's nice to see some fishing photos when our fishing has been quelled by the weather for the past week.

Nice Coho - 22 1/2 Pounds

Here's a picture that Kim Stowe sent me a a very nice coho that he caught this past Saturday on the Calawah River. The fish weighed 22 1/2 pounds. Kim & Dale managed to land 10 that day (2 Kings and 8 Coho). Sunday they didn't fair as well as the river was going out and they just caught a couple. Nice fish Kim!

Squid- Seattle & Edmonds

Heard from one of our avid squid jiggers that the Seattle waterfront put out good numbers of squid last night. Many had their limit of 10 pounds with not too much effort. Hopefully, this is the start of the squid fishing for the next couple of months and will be considerably better than it has been the past few seasons. Edmond's likewise put out some squid last night, but not in the numbers that were caught in Seattle. The gentleman that I spoke with had around 20 for his effort. Not exactly "Hot" by any means but better than what we have heard for some time.

We have lots of squid jigs in stock and lots of components if you are into building your own.

Chum - Skykomish

We are finally starting to hear of some fairly good chum fishing on the Skykomish this week. Though the numbers are not like they were a few years back I would still have to say that it is better than it has been the past couple of years. We have definitely heard better results coming from the boat anglers but the bankies are doing alright. For the bank anglers, the guys that have been fishing floats and jigs tipped with either a piece of sand shrimp or prawn have been catching fish. Pick a 3/8 - 1/2 ounce jig tied of either rabbit fur or marabou in Black/Purple, Purple/Cerise, Cerise/Hot Pink or Lime Green/Chartreuse color combinations with a little additional mylar flash incorporated into the jig are good choices. Fish the jig under an appropriate float that will suspend the jig. Try to fish the jig about 12 - 18 inches off the bottom. The float and jig method is one of the most productive methods of fishing as you can fish the slower seam water that the chums have an affinity for where conventional drift fishing methods tend to be a little harder to fish. One can also drift fish with corkies and yarn with the sand shrimp or shrimp, stick to the same color combinations as the jigs. This method is productive when the fish are holding in water that has a little faster flow. You might find it difficult to drift in the fish are holding in the slower frog type water - then fish the float method. Boaters are doing best backtrolling flatfish or kwickfish plugs with a sardine wraps, though many are fishing floats and jigs in the softer water area. The plunkers are doing well fishing Spin-N-Glows in size 2-4-6's depending on the clarity of the water with sand shrimp or shrimp. As far as colors go stick with the same colors combinations as the jigs etc. . If you are not doing well make sure to change your lure colors until you get it figures out. The next two to there weeks should see the best fishing in our northern Puget Sound streams.

Matzuo Hooks - New Shipment

We received another shipment of Matzuo Sickle Hooks today. We have a good supply of both siwash hooks and octopus hooks in the smaller consumer packs of 6 - 8 hooks per package. We have the Sickle Octopus Hooks in sizes 6 - 5/0 and the Sickle Siwash Hooks in 2 - 5/0, both models are a black chrome finish.

Razor Clam Dig - November 14 though 17

The WDFW has scheduled another series of razor clam digs. The openings are as follows:

Saturday, November 14 (4:34 p.m. -0.3 ft.) Long Beach, Twin Harbors. Copalis, Mocrocks

Sunday, November 15 (5:21 p.m. -0.7 ft.) Long Beach, Twin Harbors, Copalis, Mocrocks

Monday, November 16 (6:05 p.m. -0.9 ft.) Long Beach, Twin Harbors, Copalis, Mocrocks, Kalaloch

Tuesday, November 17 (6:47 p.m. -0.8 ft. Twin Harbors

That's the rundown on this razor clam dig. Make sure that you consult the WDFW regulation pamphlet for the area descriptions, limits etc..

We have everything for your clamming needs. Clam Shovels - Clam Guns - Clam Bags - Licenses

Veterans Day

On this Veterans Day I would like to "Thank" all of you that have served the country over the years. Don't forget to tell those Vets "Thanks" for all the time, effort and sacrifices that all of them have made.

Reiter Ponds - Steelhead Fishing

John was up to Reiter Ponds yesterday and said the water conditions were just fine, though a tad high. During the time he was there he saw 2 - 3 fish landed of which all were summer fish in various stages of color. The only fish he hooked he happened to loose - though he would have let it go anyway. Though the fishing isn't fantastic at least there is still an opportunity to go and C & R a few.

Should not be too long before we start to see some winter fish in the catches.

Blackmouth Fishing - Areas 8-1, 8-2 , 9 & 10

Blackmouth reports have continued to be quite good, that is when the weather lets up a little and you are able to get out and fish. Here's a picture of some average winter blackmouth, which some happy anglers caught with Captain Chris Hoag of Big King Salmon Charters.

If you would like to fish with Chris - here's his contact information.

Chris Hoag
Big King Salmon Charters
(425) 776-7688
www.bigkingsalmoncharters.com

Blackmouth Fishing - Marine Areas 8-1, 8-2, 9 & 10

Weather has been the single biggest problem for those wanting to get out and chase blackmouth since last Wednesday. With the wind that we have had, it has kept all but the most die hard blackmouth fisherman off the water. Those that have been able to fish some of the spots that have given a little protection have caught fish. Most have found even finding an area with some protection that they were still fighting the weather and not fishing very productively. There were a few fish caught in the past four days but everyone that managed to catch them earned everyone of them.

Wallace - Coho

There was good coho action on the Wallace over the weekend for those that did not mind fishing for "Fire Truck" fish. Needless to say that the vast majority of the fish were extremely colored up. Most did well fishing eggs under a float or just free drifting a glob of roe. The only thing that is positive about this fishery is that most everyone is catching numbers of fish. At least it's fishing!

Skykomish - Chums

Well! Wouldn't say that it is red hot for those chasing chums over the weekend, but there were a few caught. Most of the customers that I spoke with had a few fish over the weekend but nothing to write home about. Hopefully, we will see better numbers over the next couple of weeks. Floats and jigs tipped with a piece of sand shrimp or prawn has been a good combination for the bank fishermen. Boaters have been doing best fishing Flatfish / Quickfish with a sardine wrap.

Wahoo - Big Island Hawaii

Once again Uncle Timmy has e-mailed a photo of one of his kayak catches from the warm and sunny shores of the Big Island. This nice Ono took an Opelu bait drifted from his kayak. Must be nice to be warm and in the sun!

Captain Downriggin's Spoons Have Arrived

John just dropped off the shipment of the "New" 3 inch Captain Downriggin's spoons in all ten colors. They already have been going out the door!

Don't forget that John will be here tomorrow from 11:00 to 5:00 for a little informal clinic. Just stop by and you can ask him any questions that you might have on salmon fishing.

If you have been thinking of fishing south sound, John is a wealth of information on many of Marine Area 11 & 13 fisheries.

Crabbing - Marine Area's 9 & 10

For those of you that might want to do a little crabbing in this late season opener of Marine Area's 9 & 10, the reports have been quite good for those that I have spoken with. Many of the guys have been finding good numbers of nice crabs, some pushing over 7 inches for those that might want to high grade. The best catches have been coming from the deeper water in the 100 foot plus zones.

We have lots of crabbing gear in stock and in all price ranges. We will be more than happy to build up custom crab lines, buoy sticks or splice harnesses onto your pots.

Area 9 - Blackmouth

Talked with Toby Black (WDFW Sampler Fisherman)who with partner Pete fished Possession on Wednesday. They caught 14 legal blackmouth that day up to 11 pounds. Toby said there was "Lots" of bait in the area to hold the fish. They caught their fish on a variety of tackle from flashers and squids / spoons to plugs. The winning items were all "Glow" with some green or chartreuse colors incorporated into the lures.

Hopefully the weather will settle down in the next day or so and let us get back to some fishing. Generally we only see 10 - 11 fishable days in the month of November.

New Captain Downriggin's Spoons

We will be receiving our first shipment of "Captain Downriggin's" 3 inch Custom Salmon Spoons tomorrow afternoon. John has ten different fish catching colors in these high quality spoons. This "New" 3 inch spoon is ideally suited for fishing behind a flasher or dodger. They are suited for this winter's blackmouth fishing. You can take a look at the color selection on the Ted's front page featured products. We will have both the #3 and #4 sizes in all ten colors available shortly.

Captain Downriggin's Clinic - Saturday November 7th 11:00 AM - 5:00 PM

John Abbott, the Captain himself will be here this Saturday from 11:00 AM - 5:00 PM for an informal salmon fishing clinic. John will be glad to talk to you about any aspect of salmon fishing as well as explaining the proper fish catching techniques for his products. He will have a wide selection of his fish catching squids as well as his Captain Downriggin spoons. He will have the newest additions to his spoon line of four additional colors as well as the #3 spoons.

Stop by and pose some questions to John as well as take a look at his "Newest Additions" to his line of products.

Give us a call if you need driving instructions or have any questions.

Slower Fishing on the Big Island

Uncle Timmy e-mailed and mentioned with the full moon phase this past weekend that the fishing crawled to a halt. He said virtually all the locals give up fishing during this period. Though the fishing was slow Tim still managed to connect with this Kawakawa. They are a very fishy tasting fish, so much so that only a few die hard fish eaters eat them. Tim gives them to one of the locals that savors them and in turn gets some fresh citrus and coffee. Not a bad trade!

Coastal Winter Steelhead Starting To Show

Talked with a few different sources the past few days and the first of the winter steelhead are starting to show on the coastal streams.

Had one of the Makah tribal members in today that just happen to mention that a couple of our mutual friends on the reservation had been getting a few winter steelhead from the Sooes River.

Heard from another OP source that the Quillayutes had been getting some winter steelhead from the nets down on the main river.

One of the customers fished the Salmon River with one of the Quinault guides this past Sunday and managed to get 7 or 8 winter steelhead between them.

Overall it sounds as if the fish are definitely on the way. Hopefully we will see at least an average steelhead season this winter.

Reiter Pond Steelhead

John was up at Reiter yesterday and said that he saw four landed while he was there. A couple of the fish were dark summer runs and the others were brighter but still not any winter fish.

John caught his fish on a float and jig combination.

Perhaps after this upcoming high water event that we are suppose to get we might possibly see an odd winter run or two, though it is still just a tad early.

Area 9 - Blackmouth

The blackmouth reports that we have been getting off the Possession Bar area continue to be "Outstanding" with the majority of anglers that I have spoken with have been landing nice fish in the 9 -14 pound range. Not to say that there have not been some smaller fish caught, but those who have elected to release the smaller fish have come up with a limit of nicer fish. There has lots of bait on the bar that will hold these fish until the bait decides to go somewhere else, and where the feed goes so do the fish.

The weather and tides both look good for the next few days, so if you have time it will be worth your while to get out.

The fish that we have seen coming out of Area 10, Area 8-1 & Area 8-2 have all been smaller on average with most of the nicer fish being 7 - 8 pounds.

Most anything that has been "Glow" with any greens or chartreuse colors have all been doing well.

Razor Clam Season - Starts November 4th

Razor clams are once again opening up on the Washington coast beaches starting tomorrow. Here's a run down on the season.

Wednesday November 4th (7:33p.m. -1.3 ft ) Long Beach, Twin Harbors
Thursday, November 5th (8:18p.m. -1.2 ft) Twin Harbors
Friday, November 6th (9:07 p.m. -0.9 ft) Long Beach, Twin Harbors
Saturday, November 7th (9:59 p.m. -0.5 ft) Long Beach, Twin Harbors

No Northern Beaches Open On This Dig!

We have lots of clam guns, shovels and clam bags.

Matsuo Jig Hooks

We received our first shipment of Matzuo jig hooks in size 1 and 1/0's today. These are the same jig hooks that are used in the RVRFSH molded jig heads. These have been one of the most popular hook styles in the past few years. Those of you that like to cast your own jigs should be happy that these hooks are finally available for you to purchase.

Steelhead - Lake Pateros

Steelheading in Lake Pateros (backwater of the Columbia River at the mouth of the Methow River) has been very good. One of the customers just returned from a week of fishing here and had "Great" results. There are lots of fish being caught by both the bank and boat anglers fishing floats and jigs tipped with prawn. The jig of choice has been "Mac's" Rock Dancer Jigs in Black or Black / Cerise combinations. He mentioned that around 2/3 of the fish landed were wild fish that have to be released. Still lots of fun though!

Fishing should hold up for quite some time to come. Most everyone has mentioned that this is some of the best fishing that they have seen in years.

Methow River Steelheading

If you are wanting to do any steelheading on this eastern Washington stream I would have to say the time is right. We have had nothing but "Rave" reviews coming out of this stream. In fact some of the reports that we have had are just "Fantastic", without giving up too much information.

Floats and jigs have been the standard fare for most of the conventional fishermen with a spoon or a spinner thrown in for good measure. The fly guys have been indicator fishing with dark nymph patterns with a trailing single egg pattern or bead. Indicator fishing has been far more productive than has been the traditional technique of swinging the fly.

Backmouth Opener - Marine Areas 8-1,8-2 & 9

Well! The blackmouth reports trickled in yesterday and this morning, overall I would have to say the reports were "Good" overall. Most everyone that we spoke with fishing area 9 were happy with the results that they had with many fish landed in the 9 - 14 pound range. Most everyone was fishing the edges of the bar areas and fishing the 90 - 130 food range just off the bottom. The gear varied a little from angler to angler but the typical Hot Spot Flasher with a trailing squid or small spoon (such as a coho killer or coyote) did well. A few of the guys did well fishing spoons by themselves such as the Gold Star Kingfisher 4 Light. Glow colors on the flashers and glow colors on the spoons and squids seemed to be the ticket. Glow Green or White Hotspots and squid or spoons in the glow / green or glow / chartreuse combinations did the trick.

The reports that we had out of Elger Bay area of Saratoga Passage were also fairly good, though the fish were smaller on average in the 7 - 8 pound range. Nice fish none the less. The water in this area was also colored up with the dirty water coming out of the Skagit, Stilly and Snohomish.

Heard the water up off of Hat Island - Race track was really colored up with the river run off and it even came clear down to Possession.

Looks like we should be seeing some good blackmouth fishing this winter.

Lavro 16' Drift Boat - Flyfishing Model

Dick Scott, one of our customers is selling his 16' Lavro Drift Boat - Flyfishing Model. It was built in 1995 and comes on a Sprite Trailer, spare tire, seats,set of 9' Fiber Flex Oars and anchor & line. Dick wants $2,000.00 for the outfit. If you are looking for a drift boat this would be a "Great" value. If you want any more information please contact Dick, his phone number is (206) 522-6373.

Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween to everyone out there - have a "Great" evening!

November List Of Things To Do

November is a "Great" month filled with lots of opportunities for the fisherman.

1. Blackmouth generally kicks off in November with many Marine areas open for some "Great" fishing. The weather is the single biggest factor in being able to get out - however if you are mobile there is usually somewhere one can find a place to fish out of the weather. What the fish lack in size they generally make up in tenacity. Most of the fish range from just legal at 22" into the 8 -9 pound range. We do see some real trophy blackmouth into the twenties every season and on rare occasion even to 30 plus pounds. If you haven't fished for them before you will find them to fight quite well for their size. Make sure to closely read your regulations as the seasons and requirements do vary a lot from one marine area to another.
2. Razor clams are another big draw for the fall months and we have two scheduled digs for November. The first November 4th - 7th and the second November 14Th - 17Th. Make sure to go to the WDFW web site for the particulars on various beach openings.
3. Chum salmon are at their peak this month with lots of fishing both in the salt and the rivers.
Chums are great sport as they fight quite well and are good sized averaging in the low teens. They are very willing biters. Give them a try and I think you will enjoy the sport.
4. Winter steelhead will start to show, first on the Olympic Peninsula streams (which they already have) them the western beaches of Whidbey Island and then into the Puget Sound streams. We usually have the first of the winter runs caught in the Skykomish just before Thanksgiving.
5. Squid usually show up in good numbers this month and are readily caught from the many public piers here in Puget Sound in the evenings being drawn in by the lights.
6. Smelt are alot of fun for the family to jig off some of the docks in northern Puget Sound with Cornet Bay, Oak Harbor, LaConner and the Everett waterfront being the most fished.
7. Lake Washington both for perch as well as some of the best trout fishing occurs during the late Fall, Winter and early spring months.
8. Olympic Pennesula streams offer lots of fishing for late silvers, kings and winter steelhead.
9. Good Fly Fishing at Pass Lake for rainbows and browns to 24". Lone Lake on Whidbey Island also offers good fishing for nice average sized rainbows into the 14 - 18inch range.

These are just a few of the things that are on the agenda for the month of November. I will enhance the information as the month goes on. Stop by for more information anytime.

Blackmouth Opens - November 1st - Marine Areas 8-1, 8-2 & 9

Blackmouth fishing will open tomorrow in Marine Areas 8-1, 8-2 & 9. We are looking to have some fairly good reports tomorrow as in the first part of October we had some really nice mid teen blackmouth caught in Area 9 incidentally to the coho fishing.

Marine Areas 8-1 & 8-2 will open tomorrow November 1st and run through April 30th. Will be a two fish limit, with a minimum size on Chinook of 22" and all "WILD" chinook must be released.

Marine Area 9 will open tomorrow November 1st and run through November 30th. Will be a two fish limit, with a minimum size on Chinook of 22" and all "Wild" chinook must be released.

Hopefully we will see some decent weather to get out and play tomorrow. We will just have to wait and see. Unfortunately, we generally only get 10 - 11 days in the month of November that are fishable.

New Capt. Downriggin Spoons

John stopped by this morning to say that we should have four additional colors of his Capt. Downriggin spoons this next week. Besides having the additional colors in the #4 size we should also see the #3 spoons at the same time. Hopefully we will see them in all ten colors also. I will post when we receive them and also include a picture of them at the same time.

The #3 spoons will be the real "Cat's Meow" for blackmouth when fished behind a flasher this winter.

Don't forget that John himself will be a Ted's for an informal clinic on Saturday November 7th from 11:00AM - 5:00PM. Not only will he be here to answer all your questions concerning saltwater salmon fishing but will also have a great selection of his gear to purchase.

Nice Wahoo - Big Island Hawaii

Once again Uncle Timmy sends us a picture of his kayak catch from Hawaii. I think that he does it just to taunt us. There he is in the sunshine and warm weather catching all of those beautiful warm water fishes and here we are in the cold and rain trying to get the last of the coho for the season.

Nice Wahoo - Tim!

Many Lakes Closing - October 31st

If you are venturing out to the lakes or any smaller stream this weekend make sure to read your regulations before you go,as many of the lakes close on the 31st as do most of smaller streams. Don't want to see anyone getting into any trouble!

Make sure to consult your regulation pamphlet!

Dodged The System

Looks as if the intense weather and the possible flooding that was to come with it passed us by and went to Canada instead. This will relate to some "Great" fishing opportunities for the weekend. Look like we will have rain until mid day Saturday and then will dry up a bit. All the rivers have dropped considerably with the light rains and the drop in temperatures. With these conditions you will have lots of places to go wet your line this weekend.

Wallace & Cascade Rivers

Had good reports from both of these streams today. A fair amount of action for mostly over the hill coho. There were a couple of summer run steelhead caught in the Wallace today. Most of the successful anglers caught them fishing either floats and eggs, floats and jigs tipped with shrimp or drift fishing with corkies / cheaters and eggs or shrimp combos.

If the weather front holds off until latter tomorrow you just might have one one chance at some action before the rivers are expected to go possible flood stage.

Kawakawa - Omilu - Hawaii

Tim is once again rubbing it in e-mailing pictures of his kayak caught fish from Hawaii. Here's a couple of his pictures of today's catches, Kawakawa and Omilu (Blue Spot Travally) Both of these are hard fighting fish. I think the weather he is contending with is a little nicer than what we have been having.

Seattle Waterfront - Squid

Talked with one of the customers this afternoon who had fished squid off the Seattle waterfront Monday evening. Though the fishing wasn't the greatest he said they caught about 10 each over a two hour period. So far this season we have not heard of anything fantastic, but there has been a day or two here or there that hasn't been too bad. Hopefully, things will get better in the next couple of months. The squid fishing couldn't be any worse that it has been the past few seasons.

We have heard that they have been getting some squid also in the Bremerton area, though there again nothing really hot!

We have "Lots" of squid jigs and components if you like to build your own.

Rivers On Flood Alert

Looks like we are going to have the rivers here in Puget Sound and the Coast on flood alert once again! Have a good front that is moving in and going to dump a fair amount of rain over the next few days. Today is perhaps the only chance of getting your gear wet and then if you only fish some of the smaller streams such as the Wallace or the Cascade. Might be a good weekend to go chase some birds or game!

Winter Crab Seasons

Just got the notice of the "Winter Crab Seasons"! Not a "Great" season; however, it does give everyone a little opprutunity to get out a little more. Here's the rundown of whats going on.

Effective Dates: 8:00 AM Nov. 1, 2009 through 5:00 PM Jan 2, 2010, 7 days a week.

Location: A portion of Marine Area 9 north and east of a line projected from Foulweather Bluff to Olele Point and Marine Area 10.

Other Information: Marine Area 4 east of the Bonilla - Tatoosh line and Marine Areas 5 and 13 are open through January 2, 2010. Marine Areas 7, 8-1, 8-2, 11 and 12 closed until further notice.

It is what it is!

Anyway, We have "Lots" of crab gear to help you out if you are of need as well as a fair amount of crab bait on hand.

Lake Washington - Perch

If you are looking for a fun fishery for you and the kids before the weather really turns bad you just might want to give the yellow perch fishing a go in Lake Washington. We have been getting good reports from the lake the past few weeks and thought I might just post a note on this urban fishery. The perch in the lake run from just average to some real "Jumbo's" pushing the 15 inch mark. Being a schooling fish, once you find them you will generally find many. One of the customers I spoke with today caught 30 plus in a couple of hours in the 8 -12 inch range. They found their fish in the 60 -65 depth range, though I have spoke with others that found them in the 35 - 40 foot depths. You have to play around to find the depth that they are at, though as it gets latter in the season the deeper they go. Start out fishing a curly tail grub, tube jig, Swedish pimple or simply a worm fished on a fish finder rig to catch your first perch then go to perch meat. A small pennant shaped piece of perch meat fished on your fish finder rig in lieu of the worm and you have the secret to success. Not only are perch willing biters but make some mighty fine eating.

Stop by and we'll be glad to fill you in on some of the details of this fishery.

Chum Jigs

We have received an order of Ol' Man Jigs tied especially for chums here in our Puget Sound streams. We have four different chum tantalizing colors in both 3/8 an 1/2 ounce sizes. All are tied on powder coated lead heads with heavy duty "Owner" cutting point jig hooks. All are tied with rabbit for durability and have UV mylar incorporated with standard mylar for added visibility and flash. Fished under a float and tipped with a piece of sand shrimp or prawn has been proven to be deadly on the local chums.

If you have never fished chums you are really in for a surprise as they are perhaps the hardest fighting salmon pound for pound here in the Northwest. Every year we see more tackle that has been abused in the pursuit of these underrated fish.

Rivers Back On The Rise

Well! Once again the rivers are on the rise and it looks like we are going to have a lot of rain this week. Though the temperature is going to drop today and we are going to see some snow in the passes, I don't think we are going to see much in the way of fishing in the rivers for awhile! If it does quit raining for awhile take a look at the Wallace or the Cascade for a chance at some coho or perhaps a chum or two. Reiter Ponds might just turn out an odd summer steelhead or perhaps a swinter (a very late summer run).

Well! It's just the way the Fall fishing is!

Marine Area 13 - Blackmouth

John (Captain Downriggin's) e-mailed a couple of pictures and a fishing report from yesterday down in Marine Area 13. Here's what he sent:

Fished the mid morning tide Sunday. Had a stellar day of blackmouth fishing in MA-13. In fact I released 11 keeper sized fish between 22 and 25-inches (haven't done this for some time - not counting shakers) Kept two for the BBQ. Acid Bath spoon and white "Holy" flasher down along the bottom at roughly 2.5 kts was the ticket!

We marked a lot of fish on some good sized bait balls off Green Point. Had the water to ourselves - not a sole to be seen! Fish are avberaging 5 - 7 pounds.

If folks are willing to make the trip it should be worth the effort.

John

PS: Don't forget John will be at Ted's Sports Center Saturday November 7th - 11:00 AM - 5:00 PM for an informal clinic.

Ulua & Mahi - Big Island Hawaii

Once again Tim Bauer has e-mailed a few more pictures of his kayak catches from Hawaii. I think he has really figured out what he is doing and has been quite successful at catching fish. Besides the good fishing I would have to say that the weather that he is fishing in is considerably more pleasant than what we have been putting up with recently.

Captain Downriggin's Seminar - Saturday November 7th

John of Captain Downriggin's will be here on Saturday November 7th from 11:00 AM - 5:00PM for an informal seminar. He will be here to answer any questions that you have on salmon fishing or on his products that you might possibly have. It is a unique opportunity to be able to speak one on one with John at this time. So make sure to make it down on your calender to drop by some time during the day. I am sure that you will find it to be worthwhile.

John will have a good representation of his hoochies as well as his unique spoons.

Rivers Up and Down

There hasn't been a lot of good water to fish in the local rivers as with the weather that we have been receiving the streams have been up and down like a yo yo. Just when the main systems start to come back into fishable shape the rains come again and they go out again. A few of the smaller streams that are open for salmon have been putting out some fish. Notably the Wallace and the Cascade have been the two that we have been hearing the best reports from. Many of the fish that are being caught are far from prime but still allow for some C & R fishing.

The weather is very much typical of our Fall fishing - just have to take it the way it comes.

Hood Canal - Chum Fishing

We have been getting some fairly good reports of chum fishing out of the southern part of Hood Canal. A few of the customers fished the Skokomish on Saturday and had some fair fishing drifting corkies and yarn. Another group fished the Hoodsport hatchery area and also had fair reports also fishing corkies and yarn fished just off the bottom and retrieved slowly. We also had a couple of guys that fished the mouths of some of the other lower Hood Canal streams fishing floats with anchovies and they too also reported some fairly good reports.

There has been a lot of commercial effort by both the non tribal netters as well as the tribes. From what some of the guys have said it is a wonder that there are any fish making it back to spawn at all.

Area 10 - Blackmouth

Pete and Toby (WDFW Survey Fishermen) stopped by this morning to pick up a little tackle to replace the gear that they have recently lost as it was too rough for them to get out. They mentioned that they had fished the Oil Dock area on this side and had sampled blackmouth up to around 9 pounds. They mentioned that the fishing had not been "Hot" by any means but if you put in the time you could scratch out some fish. They mentioned that Gary Krein on the Morning Star was out today but was sticking close to home down out of Shilshole, just in case it continued to kick up.

Once Area 9 opens on November 1st, Pete and Toby will be switching areas and coming north to sample. They are looking forward to fishing this area as they have heard nothing but good reports of nice sized blackmouth into the mid-teens being caught and released by anglers targeting coho.

Wenetchee & Methow - Steelhead

Talked with Eric Newfield (Our Simms Rep) who had fished the lower Wenatchee and the Methow the last couple of days. The fishing has been quite good with him landing numerous fish both on the fly rod as well as on his centerpin outfit fishing floats and jigs. Sounds as if the fishing was more than adequate to keeps one's interest.

Many of the other fishermen that we have spoke with are likewise doing well. I would have to say that the vast majority have been fishing floats and jigs, though a number have been conventionally drift fishing as well as chucking spoons such as RVRFSHR or Cleo's. As far as finishes go stick with 50 / 50 brass / nickle, copper or brass in the hammered styles.

Fishing should hold up well until the rivers start to freeze up.

If you would like a guide for the Methow you can contact Phil Lund below.

Phil Lund
PO Box 658
Methow, WA 98834
(206) 947-8561
(509) 699-0411

Phil has a "Great" package price of $450.00 for two anglers and includes accommodations, breakfast and lunch.

Skokomish Chums - Few Silvers

Had one of the customers call from the Skokomish this afternoon and said that there were a fair number of chums in the river plus a few silvers. The tribes were netting and it did disturb the fishing once they started. He said the greatest number of the fish were colored with just a couple that were not in too bad of shape. Fishing corkies and yarn were the bait of choice.

Area 10 - Blackmouth

Spoke with "Pete" this afternoon to see how the WDFW blackmouth sampling was going in area 10. He said that they fished the Oil Docks area on this side and managed to C & R 3 legal blackmouth in the 22 -28 inch range and released a number of sub-legal blackmouth shakers. Wasn't anything to brag about, but better than no fish at all. He had spoke with Gary Krein on the "Morning Star" who was fishing the Jefferson Head / Kingston side and managed to land a few blackmouth in the same size category.

Everyone is looking forward to Area 9 opening on November 1st as we have heard of a "Good" number of nice sized blackmouth in the mid teen range being C & R'd while targeting coho.

Hoodsport Chums

Chums are showing at the Hoodsport hatchery area. Sounds as if many of the fish have been there awhile as many are colored up. Typical green / chartreuse colored corkie yarn combos have been doing the trick. The fishing should only get better over the next few weeks. The customer that I spoke with fished Sunday and said that the fishing wasn't too bad.

Cascade River - Coho

The Cascade River has been "Kickin' Butt" the last couple of days with some outstanding coho fishing on this tributary of the Skagit. Most all the fishing is being done on the first couple of holes at the hatchery and below. The fish have been from dollar bright to firetrucks and you have to wade through them if you are wanting to take them home. Size wise they have been from 3 to 13 pounds, no real toads but respectable coho none the less.

Gear wise most everyone that has been connecting has been fishing floats with eggs, floats with jigs tipped with sand shrimp or bouncing corkie and egg combos.

With the high water over the weekend the coho have just poured into the system. We should see some fair fishing for the next few days.

Methow River - Stelhead

Talked with Phil Lund this AM about the Methow steelheading, he said that the fishing wasn't too bad and that he was getting fish every time out. Like steelheading anywhere, some days were considerable more productive than others. Overall, the fishing has been good. The river has come up recently and with it a new influx of fish from the Columbia. We should be seeing some good fishing until the river freezes up.

Now that Phil has semi-retired, he has once again taken up some selective guiding. Phil is equally versed with the fly rod or with conventional gear so can accommodate virtually any angler.

He has a "Great" package rate of $450.00 per day for two anglers and includes accommodations with breakfast and lunch on the river.

Phil is perhaps one of the best steelheaders that I have known over the years and not only would he show you a good day on the water but I am sure that you would learn a trick or two in the process.

You can contact Phil as follows:

Phil Lund
PO Box 658
Methow, WA 98834
(206) 947-8561
(509) 699-0411

Chums - Area 10

Did hear of a few Chums caught by salmon anglers chasing coho and blackmouth in the Jefferson Head area. Most were caught incidental to fishing for other species. There was a fair amount of commercial effort in the Kingston area last night by gill netters targeting the chum. If there weren't good numbers of them around I don't think you would be seeing them out there chasing them.

Coho - Wallace River

Heard from a few of the hard core guys that could not stand having a place to fish today - a few of them tried the Wallace, though still high did find a few coho stacked up in a few spots. Most did well just fishing eggs with a corky and yarn. Tomorrow should see a little better conditions in the Skykomish with the water dropping the way it is and the next rains not due until tomorrow night. It will be a decision as to fish steelhead up at Reither Ponds or to chase coho. In either case it will give one an opportunity to go chase some fish.

The Stilly looks as if it will be awhile before we see some good fihing conditions with it colored up the way it is.

Heard the Skagit is very muddy and running high and it like wise might be awhile before things look good in the middle and lower sections of the river.

The Cascade would be a good bet with it dropping and clearing fairly quick, should see a good number of coho bunched up at the holes below the hatchery.

Mahi Mahi - Big Island Hawaii

Once again Uncle Tim e-mailed a few pictures of his Kayak catches. I think he is saying something like, "Why are you fishing in the cold and rain when you can be in the sun and warm!" I think that he does have something there. Perhaps one of these days.

Rivers Punched!

Took a look at the Snohomish and the Stillagumish systems this AM and it is very apparent that the rivers are punched at the present time. With the weather the way it is the rivers will be out of shape for awhile. When they finally do come back in shape we should see the last of the coho in the systems and we should also see good numbers of chums.

Reiter Ponds - Skykomish River

Shawn talked with a couple of his buddies that fished Reiter Ponds this AM and they said that there were five or six steelhead caught there this morning. With the little freshet and the rise of the river there was a little bite today, though it wasn't what was expected. Usually the first good rains of the fall pushes all the hatchery fish that have strewn themselves throughout the river brings them all into the Reiter Pond section of the river. Perhaps there is not a good number of fish in the river or perhaps they just haven't made their way back yet!

Methow & Wenatchee Rivers - Flows Increase

With the rains the past couple of days we are finally starting to see an increase in water flows in these upper Columbia streams. With the increase in stream flows we should see a push of steelhead from the main river into the tributaries. Stream flows should continue to increase over the next few days with the weather systems that we have coming through at present. The steelhead fishing should do nothing but improve this next week on the east side.

Blackmouth - Area 10 - Kingston & Jefferson Head

We are getting some fair blackmouth reports out of Marine Area 10 this week from some of the guys fishing Jefferson Head and the Kingston area. Most of the fish that we have heard of are from the 22" minimum size limit up to around 9 pounds. Not any real toads by any means but respectable winter blackmouth none the less. Everyone that has been successful has been fishing the contours of the drop offs and fishing between 90 - 120 foot depth range on average. As far as gear goes, those that I have spoken with have been fishing either flashers and squid combo's or flashers and spoons. With the low light conditions go to something that is a "Glow" finish.

There is still an odd coho being caught, however most have nothing but the river on their minds and have no thought of feeding.

We have also heard of an odd chum (dog) being caught. We should see a real push of them this next week with the rains and the change in the weather.

Mahi Mahi - Big Island, Hawaii

Uncle Timmy once again sent us a few pictures of his kayak caught Mahi Mahi from the Big Island. Looks like he is enjoying the good weather. I think he has the right idea of fishing here in the Northwest for salmon in the late spring and summer and then taking off and spending the Fall, Winter and most of the spring chasing warm water fishes.

Methow River - Steelhead

With the river being extremely low and clear there has not been many fish entering into the system from the Columbia. Hopefully we will get enough rain with this system to get things going. The reports that we have been getting from Lake Pateros (backwater of the Columbia into the mouth of the river) have been quite good for those fishing a float and jig tipped with a piece of shrimp.

The good local fishermen have been getting a few out of the river, but have been working hard for them.

I would look for this fishing to improve substantially when the river comes up.

Captain Downriggin's Spoons

We will be receiving our first shipment of Captain Downriggin's Custom Spoons today. This shipment will be size 4 and will be available in six colors.

Acid Bath: A 50/50 combination of glow in the dark and chartreuse on the front with a green spatter finish with clear sparkle, the back side is the popular UV White Lightning finish.

Wicked Herring: A 50/50 combination of glow in the dark and green on the front with a blue spatter finish with clear sparkle, the back side is the popular UV White Lightning finish.

Kitchen Sink: A 50/50 combination of glow in the dark and green on the front, a black accent stripe on the green edge with a silver fish scale overlay; the back side is the popular UV White Lightning finish.

Red Racer: A 50/50 combination of glow in the dark with green on the front, a flame accent stripe on the green edge with a silver fish scale overlay; the back side is the popular UV White Lightning finish.

Jailbait: A 50/50 combination of glow in the dark and black with a silver fish scale overlay and the back side is the popular UV White Lightning finish.

Wired White Lightning: The popular UV White Lightning on the front with a silver fish scale overlay and the back side is glow in the dark.

All spoons will come packaged with an unatached 3/0 Matzuo Sickle Siwash Hook, allowing the angler to attach the hook himself or to use another siwash hook of his choice.

For the present time the size 4's are all that is available but will have both 3's and 5's in the near future.

These are an extremely well built spoon, out of high quality brass with nothing but the finest of finishes and welded rings. They have proven themselves in the past to be good producers.

Another Shipment of Wannabees

We received another shipment of Wannabees today! We thought we had enough to last, but we we wrong. With the way the fishing has been, everyone is fishing longer than they normally do. Anyway, we have both the Chartreuse and Pearl White bodies. Many of them we received without the mylar decals so you can put on your own choice of decal colors .

Big Barracuda - Cameroon, Africa

Here's a couple of photos Bill Munson sent me of a couple of barracuda that he and his son Jesse caught on a recent business / fishing trip to Cameroon, Africa. Bill and Jesse are presently building some custom aluminum boats for the Cameroon military.

Good Coho Fishing - Snohomish System

We have had nothing but "Good" reports on coho coming from the Snohomish system over this past weekend. Most everyone that knew what was going on had good results. With the low water conditions most all of the coho have been stacked up in the deeper holes, especially those that have lots of cover (look for logs, as they love this type of structure). Anglers have been doing best fishing smaller offerings such as Wee and #1 Dick Nite Spoons. 50/50 Brass/Nickle finishes have been without a doubt the single most popular color but silver/chartreuse tip and Nickle Back Frog have been productive also. But, by all means don't get stuck on just a single color as many times offering them something different will do the trick and get them to bite.

With the rains coming in tonight we should see some movement on these fish and open up some additional fisheries. However, if we get the rain they are predicting on Thursday and Friday it just might blow the rivers out for some time. If you want to get some fishing in I would do it the next few days .

Those trolling plugs in the lower tidal water are still getting some fresh coho on the tides. Fat Fish, Brad's Wigglers and Wiggle Warts have all been getting fish. Down in the lower river it is just a matter of fishing when there are fish moving through this sections of river. It's not like fishing like fishing out of the tide water where the fish have been stacking in all the deeper holes waiting for some water.

Razor Clams & Salmon Fishing - Grays Harbour

This next weekend will give you a unique opportunity to go dig a limit of razor clams as well as partake of some fine salmon fishing. We have heard nothing but rave reports out of the Humptulips River for both Coho as well as Chinook. The Chehalis River has been doing fairly well even with the commercial netting in the bay and the tribal netting in the river taking their toll on the migrating fish.

With the rains coming this next week, we should see a real push of fish into both systems and give us perhaps some of the best fishing we have seen on these systems this season. Hopefully, it will not be so much that it will put the rivers out of shape.

For those that don't want to fish the rivers you might give the Westport Boat Basin a try. They have a coho net pen project in the harbour to which all the adult fish from it return to. At times it can be quite a productive fishery. People fish spinners such as Vibrex or Vibrics, Floats with Herring or Anchovies, Fatfish or Brad's Wiggler plugs and Brads Super Bait Plug Cuts. Westport even has an ongoing derby for these returning coho for those fishing off the docks. Make sure that you take a cooler to put your fish in after catching one as if you decide to hang it from the dock it just might end up a sea lions dinner.

There's lots of opportunities for fishing at this time of the year, those I mentioned are just a few things one can do.

Make sure to read over the razor clam regulations on the WDFW web site before you venture out as well as the salmon regulations.

Chum Showing in Snohomish / Stillagumish

We're starting to see a number of chum salmon showing in the catches both on the Snohomish and Stillagumish systems. At least at the present they are being hooked incidental to the coho most fishermen are targeting. We should see the numbers of these tenacious fighters increase as the month goes on with late October and November being the time to target them here in our northern Puget Sound Streams.

Shawn that works here at the shop mentioned that he and the friends he was fishing with on Friday managed to hook five on the Snohomish just out of the tide water.

With the rains that we are expecting this week should bring in some fresh coho as well as as few more chums and do us a favor and clear out a few more of the over the hill pinks!

Hanford Reach Kings

Jeff Witkowski e-mailed me these photos of a couple of Hanford Reach kings that he and Randy Davis from Schawana caught yesterday in the reach. Between them they hooked 11 kings and landed 7. The largest weighed 33.8 and 31.10 pounds, all were caught on Superbaits.

If you want a change from the fishing here the reach fishing is very unique and different.

To contact Jeff for a good day of fishing on the Hanford reach section of the Columbia.
Jeff Witkowski

Big Dog Fishing
(509) 860-7345

Lone Lake - Whidbey Island

If you have tired of chasing salmon, you might head over to Lone Lake on Whidbey Island and do a little fly fishing. The reports have been fairly good for some nice sized rainbows in the 14 - 16 inch range. With fall weather and the water temperatures dropping the fish have gone into their Fall feeding to put on some weight to overwinter. This is perhaps the best fishing opportunity of the years to have some very fine fishing. Though many fishermen are still fishing Chrinomids and doing well, this is the time of the year where some larger leech offerings come into there own. You might try leech patterns in black, olive, maroon, burgundy or combinations of those colors for some excellent results.

Steelhead - Columbia River Tributaries - Methow - Wenatchee

We have been hearing some fair reports coming from the Columbia River Tributaries this past week. With the water being as low as it has I am amazed that we are hearing as good of reports as we have. The water has just been dropping more every week and the streams really do need to get some water. Hopefully this next weeks weather will do just that - hopefully we will get a good rain. I am sure that there are good numbers of steelhead holding in the Columbia and will enter the streams with a rise in water height.

With the numbers counted over the damns we should really see some outstanding fishing shortly.

Whidbey Beaches - Coho

The western beaches of the Island are still putting out a few coho for anglers that have not put away their gear for the season. The regulars are still catching fish at Bush, Lagoon and Casey. The fishing has definitely slowed, but those putting in the time are still catching a few fish. Most of the folks have been fishing floats and herring, Buzz Bombs, Krockodile Spoons or Wannabees.

There should be coho through the month, however the numbers are declining and the fishing will get slower as the season progresses.

Chum (Dog) salmon will be migrating past the beaches here just shortly, but for the number that pass by very few are caught. Perhaps one of these days we might figure out how to consistently catch more off the beach.

On the other hand, beach fishing for winter steelhead with get going around the middle of next month.

Port Angeles - Blackmouth

Talked with one of the PA boys a day or so ago and he said that they are seeing some fair blackmouth fishing for fish in the 7 - 10 pound range. Though most have been taken incidental to the coho they are targeting, it does sound like they are around in fishable number. I am sure once the coho finally peter out they will change their targeted species.

This area has a chinook limit of 1 fish with a 22" min size limit and is open through October 31 - wild fish may be retained.

Coho Fishing - Area 9 & 8-2

Still getting some fair reports coming in from these two areas, though the fishing has definitely slowed up there are still good numbers of coho migrating through on their way to home waters. It is a matter of you picking the correct spot and hopefully being at the right spot at the right time and having an offering that they are interested in. It's simply a matter of luck! Even some of the better fishermen have been "Skunked" this week. However, on the other hand we have seen some good catches and heard of many more. We will be seeing coho sneaking through in good numbers into the end of the month and even into November, December and even into January - but not really in fishable numbers - just a matter of luck.

Many of our regulars have been reporting incidentaly catching some really nice blackmouth that they have released this week, many of them in the mid teens. Things are looking really good for the upcoming blackmouth season opening November 1 st.

There have been a few more chum salmon hooked this week, there numbers should do nothing but increase toward the end of the month and into November.

Though the pinks should be through, there has still been an odd one caught this week in our areas. I suppose it just has to do with the shear numbers that we have had returning to Puget sound streams.

Nice Mahi Mahi - Big Island Hawaii

Tim Bauer e-mailed another of his catches while kayak fishing off the west side of the Big Island of Hawaii. This is an average Mahi Mahi, but quite good on the grill or in fish tacos. Kayak fishing has taken off big time in the Islands. With the weather and water the way it is no wonder.