Lone Lake - Whidbey Island

In talking with a number of fly fisherman fishing this popular Whidbey Island quality water the trout fishing has been quite good with fish averaging in the 13 - 14 inch range with an occasional fish pushing into the 18 inch + slot. The fish have been in great shape nice n bright n shiny and full of fight. Most everyone has been doing well on smaller leach patterns that are tied nice and slim. Colors have ranged from black to brown to maroon and a mixture of those colors. Fish them slow and within 1 1/2 feet of the bottom. This fishing will just get better in the next couple of months.

295 lb Yellowfin Tuna - Royal Star

Congratulations Bruce! Really nice Yellowfin! Came close to breaking the 300 mark, you have a few more days to try and do it. This photo is of our customer, friend and charter skipper Bruce Lozeker (taking the bus mans holiday) (what else would a charter skipper do off season) on the charter boat "Royal Star" out of San Diego. Bruce is on a long range trip off the coast of Baja. The 295 lb yellowfin was yesterdays catch. The satellite communications are really cool.

Anyway! Nice Fish

Razor Clam Opener

Well, we will be able to dig four of the five razor clam beaches as the PSP testing came through just fine for everywhere except Long Beach. The following beaches will open as follows:

Twin Harbors - Thursday (Jan. 28) through Sunday (Jan. 31)
Copalis & Mocrocks - Friday (Jan. 29 through Sunday (Jan.31)
Kalaloch Beach - Saturday (Jan. 30) through Sunday (Jan. 31)

If you have any additional questions refer to the WDFW website.

Squidding - Kitsap Penn.

For any of you that still have a desire to get out and go squidding we have had some outstanding reports coming from the docks on the Kitsap side of the sound. The Bremerton waterfront all the way south to Waterman dock have all been producing well. Though it does mean taking a ferry trip across the Sound it is without a doubt worth the trip.

We still have a good selection on squid jigs and components.

Seattle Boat Show - January 29th through February 6th

Once again it's the "Big" Seattle Boat Show at Quest Field Event Center starting this Friday and running though Sunday February 6th. If you are looking for a new boat or just wishing, this is the place to go. There will be "Lots" of fishing seminars to give you some insight into becoming a better and more successful angler by some of the Northwest's better fishermen.

Hours:
Mon - Thurs 11 - 8:00pm
Fridays 11:00 - 9:00pm
Saturdays 10 - 9:00pm
Sundays 10 - 6:00pm

For More Information & Seminar Schedules
www.seattleboatshow.com

Washington Sportsmen's Show - Puyallup Fair & Events Center - January 27th through 31st

Don't forget that the Sportsmen's Show is starting today and running through Sunday. It will give you something to do if you don't have anything else planned. There is always lots to see and plenty of seminars to attend.

Hours Are:
Wed-Fri: 12noon - 8:00pm
Saturday 10:00am - 8:00pm
Sunday 10:00am - 4:00pm

Tickets - $10.00 Adult
$ 5.00 Juniors (6-16)
Free 5 and under

For more information www.OTShows.com

Bonefish - Hawaii

Though Hawaii is not known as a destination location for bonefish, they are definitely there! What they lack in numbers they do make up in size. Here's a picture of a nice one (11 pounds) that Richard caught this past week on Oahu. Though he and partner Chris had other chances, this was the only one to come to hand.

They were fishing with the only guide on the island to have a flats skiff totally dedicated to chasing bonefish. Captain Terry Duffield (Coach Duff) can be reached at (808) 292-9680. Take a look at his website (www.hawaiibonefishing.com) to take a look at some really good looking bonefish and to get a run down on the operation. If you need any more information you can come in and talk with Stephen as he has fished with Duff himself.

Reiter Ponds - Skykomish

John spent the AM at Reiter this AM and managed to land a couple of steelhead (both hatchery) but both were showing lots of color and were released. During the time that John was there he saw just one other fish landed for approximately 25 other anglers. Looks as if the hatchery component is slowing coming to an end. There are a few native fish being caught and released but not in any numbers to be excited about. Hopefully, we will see some better numbers before the closure at the end of next month.

Smelting - Oak Harbor

We are still hearing of good numbers of smelt being caught at Oak Harbor. If you are looking for something to do then this just might be something for you to do. A very simple fishery requiring the most basic of gear. A normal trout outfit, a couple of Gamakatsu Smelt / Herring Jigs, a few 1/2 - 3/4 ounce sinkers and a bucket and you are ready to go.

We should see good smelting both at Oak Harbour and Coronet Bay at least into March.

Everett's 10th Street To Close For Dredging - Starting January 25th

Everett's 10th Street Boat Launch is closing Monday 25th of January for dredging. The dredging will start on January 27th and continue 24 hours a day 7 days a week with the work to be completed by February 25. A possible 2 week extension may be necessary.

This closure will undoubtedly cause a lot of problems with winter blackmouth fishermen as this is the most popular launch in the area. One can use the Mukilteo launch (though the docks are removed for the winter and is very susceptible to the wind and rough water, making it very difficult in the winter). One can use the Langus Park launch and run down the river (this launch is susceptible to the river flow and tides, though it does have docks to help in launching and make sure not to cut the North Jetty as many boats do go high and dry depending on the tide). The Marysville launch is a good facility though you also have to run down the slough down to Priest Point (this also has tide and river flow problems and you have to be very careful running the slough and the shallow delta at the mouth of the river).

This closure is going to cause some problems this winter, but will be a blessing this summer as there were many days that there were problems launching of retrieving on the minus tides.

Kayak Fishing - Big Island Hawaii

Tim Bauer once again e-mailed a photo of a very nice Mahi-Mahi caught on a live Opelu from his kayak out of Kona Hawaii. For any one that is going to the Big Island the water tempeture is a warm 78 degrees. With the warmer water there has been a good showing of pelagic species. If you are going to the island don't forget to throw in an outfit as there are numerous shore fishing opprutunities for a variety of species.

Razor Clam Dig On Hold

Next weeks razor clam dig on the ocean beaches is on hold at the present time to due high levels of marine biotoxins. The Long Beach dig is canceled already due to the high toxin levels. Twin Harbors, Copalis, Mocrocks and Kalaloch beaches are on hold pending the results of biotoxin testing this next week. Final decisions will be made by Thursday, January 28.

Make sure to check the WDFW website for the results, I will try and check and make a post also.

Lone Lake - Whidbey Island

With the warmer weather we have had this week a good number of fly fishermen have been fishing Lone Lake out of Langley on Whidbey Island. For those anglers that have an idea of what is going on some have had outstanding fishing and those that really don't have any idea are still getting a handful. Those that have been doing well have been fishing bloodworms or smaller micro leech patterns. Unless we have a real turn to colder weather we should see some Chrinomid action virtually any time now. With such an unseasonably warm January we should be seeing some good fishing very early this year.

Coho Killers in Cookies N' Cream & Irish Cream

We got cleaned out of these popular colored spoons quickly this past weekend and received a new shipment of them yesterday. Even though we have placed a large order for them we are just getting some of our order each week. Everyone has been quite please with the Coho Killers in this newer finish.

We will be getting some more 4L Kingfisher spoons in Cookies N' Cream and Irish Cream this next week. Perhaps on Wednesday or Thursday with any luck!

Blackmouth Fishing - Areas 8-2 & 9

Even though the weather was quite nice the past few days there was not a large contingent of salmon anglers on the water. In speaking with a number of the guys that did venture out I would have to say that the fishing was just "Fair" and those that had an idea of what was going on managed to scratch a few fish. Most of those we head caught were from just legal into the low to mid teens. You will have to work for them but if you put in the time and keep your offerings in the zone you might be rewarded.

The reports that we got out of Mid Channel Bank (Port Townsend) were not good enough to warrant the long run up that way. I would have to say that the local reports were just as good or in fact better. Save your fuel and fish local.

Skykomish Steelhead

John was up at Reiter yesterday for a couple of hours and managed to hook a couple and land one of them. He said that the action was quite slow and during the time he was there his was the only fish. He did see one going out when he first got there and talked with another fisherman that had hooked two but did not manage to hang onto any. Overall, the fishing for the hatchery fish has slowed considerably (as it should this time of year). We have heard of a few wild fish being caught and released in the lower portion of the river this past week but I would by no means say that the fishing was good. We should start to see better numbers of wild fish this next week until the closure at the end of February. That is if the WDFW keeps it open until then!

Area 9 Opener

Though there is no way that anyone was out early this morning, the reports that we had out of Area 9 on Saturday and Sunday were for the most part not to bad! There were good numbers of anglers fishing the Possession Bar area both days, with perhaps a participation of around 75 boats both days. We heard reports from customers that went from "Didn't get anything" to "We had limits of fish in the 10 - 15 pound range". For the most part, we did have some fairly good across the board reports of fish in the 7 - 15 pound range.

I did not have any reports come in from Port Townsend as most of the guys did not want to take a chance of running up just to have to beat their way back if the weather kicked up. Hopefully, I will have time today to make a call up that way and talk with some of the locals to see how Mid Channel fished.

Cowlitz River Smelt Season Set - February 6, 13, 20, & 27th

The Cowlitz River Smelt Season has been set and will be open on February 6, 13, 20 & 27. You will be able to fish from 7:00 am - 3:00 pm on those respective days. There will be a daily limit of 10 pounds as well as a possession limit of 10 pounds.

We have a good supply of smelt nets as well as net bag replacements at the present time.

North Fork Stillagumish - Reopens Saturday 16th January

The section of the North Fork Stillagumish from French Creek to the Whitehorse Bridge has been reopened as of today as the hatchery facility at Whilehorse has meet its broodstock requirements..

Everett Blackmouth Tickets - Available Now!

We received tickets for the Everett Blackmouth Derby on Saturday March 2oth this afternoon. Remember that there are just 100 that are going to be sold, so get them "Now" before you are disappointed! Tickets are $100.00 per boat (maximum of 4 anglers per boat, skipper included).
Tickets are available at the following locations:

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

There have already been a good number of tickets that have been purchased!

Skagit & Sauk River Closures

While I have known this was going to happen quite awhile back we have finally received the official notice from the WDFW last night. The closures are as follows:

Skagit River from the mouth upstream to Highway 536 (Memorial Hwy Bridge) at Mount Vernon will be closed February 16,2010 through April 30, 2010.

Skagit River from the Highway 536 (Memorial Hwy. Bridge) at Mount Vernon upstream to the Gorge Powerhouse will be closed February 16, 2010 through May 31, 2010.

Sauk River from the mouth upstream to the Whitechuck River will be closed February 16 through June 4, 2010.

The reason for this action is reduce the hooking mortality on wild steelhead. The 2009 / 2010 forecasted return of wild winter steelhead to the Skagit Basin is expected to be below the escapement floor of 6,000.

Though this closure has been expected for some time it is sad to see it occur as it takes away another angling opportunity in an already dwindling steelhead fishery. Hopefully, this closure will do some good in bringing back our native runs in this watershed. Though this closure is just this season , it would be my opinion that it is something that we will be seeing for some time in the future with the poor returns that have been experienced for quite a number of past years.

Coho Killers in Irish Cream & Cookies n Cream

We were able to pick up a couple of dozen of Gold Star Coho Killers in Irish Cream and Cookies n Cream finishes from an order that we placed a while back. We at least were able to get a few for the weekend and should have more this next week. This finish was extremely popular this past few months on the 4 Light Kingfisher spoons so we decided that it would be good to get them in the Coho Killers also.

Anyway we have a couple of dozen in each color at the present time.

Techniques for Blackmouth - Area 9 Opener

With Area 9 opening on Saturday 16th January, here's what I just might be fishing myself. Downrigger fishing is without a doubt the single most popular technique of fishing salmon in this popular and productive area. First off I would be focusing my attention to fishing the areas I mentioned yesterday and presenting my offerings along the bar contours and drop offs in waters 90 - 150 feet deep. I would also make sure that I would be fishing within 10 feet of the bottom. I was told many years ago by an old timer that it is best to fish winter blackmouth two feet below the mud. In other words fish close to the bottom!

As far as the type of gear, there are many productive and varied choices. However, for productivity it is had to beat a flasher / squid combination. My choice would be an 11" Hot Spot Flasher in either Glow/Green or Glow/White with a trailing Yamashita/Golden Bait squid also in "Glow" colors. Some of the day and day out productive colors are OG140R (Swede's Awesome, OG142 (Green Hornet), OG161R (Mother of Pearl), 055R (Glow White) and OG174R (Apple Core). Another great color, though not a "Glow" color is the OAL12R (Purple Haze). I generally fish these with a clear mylar twinkle skirt insert not only to fill out the head of the squid but to provide some additional flash. I would rig the squid with the hook arrangement that you have had the most success with, as over the 40 plus years that I have been in the business I have seen everything from soup to nuts as far as different leader/hook arrangements. The leader test should be a minimum of 25 pound with many anglers fishing up to 50. There is a lots of ideas on what is best! Personally, there are lots of different factors that determine what is best. The leader length I would fish for blackmouth would be in the 32 - 42 inch range, making sure that the squid has lots of snappy side to side action when towed behind your flasher. Blackmouth are active feeding fish and will aggressively go after a very lively bait. I generally would go shorter than longer on the leader length. I would then sweeten your offering with a small strip of herring on the front hook of your squid or at least a squirt of your favorite scent to aid in covering up the odor that you imparted on the lure while handling it.

Another popular set up is a flasher/spoon combination. Once again I would fish an 11 inch Hot Spot in Glow/Green or Glow/White and I would more than likely reach for a Gold Star Coho Killer spoon in a "Glow" finish with a color accent in lime green or chartreuse or perhaps the UV White Lighting finish. I will generally go for the "Glow" finishes on the dark, overcast, and low light condition days and the UV on bright and sunny days. Another good choice in spoons is the Gold Star 4 Light Kingfisher! Also in the same finishes. The Coho Killers would be fished on a 32 - 36 inch leader in 25 - 40 pound test and the 4 Light Kingfishers on a 42 - 60 inch leader. Longer on the Kingfishers as they have considerably more action on their own than the Coho Killers and you do not want to have the Hot Spot and the Kingfishers working against each other. There are other spoons that are also good choices such as the Luhr Jensen Coyote Spoons in the 3.5 and 4 sizes. (Though many of the popular Northwest colors have now gone to the wayside with Normark cutting back their color selection.) As with the squids, a drop of your favorite scent on the spoon and you are ready to go.

One of my favorite methods is to fish a spoon by itself (with out a flasher). I like a broader width spoon such as the 4 Light Kingfisher as they have a better swimming action and simply tie a small #3 Sampo Ball Bearing swivel at the end of my line and a 5 - 6 foot length of 15 - 20 pound leader to the swivel and then directly to the spoon. This a fun simple method that really puts you and the fish on a one on one personal basis. This allows you to fish some very sporting light gear as you do not have the additional resistance of the flasher which requires heavier gear to control it. Any good spoon works well for this technique, other choices would be Canadian Wonders or Coyote Spoons.

My last method would be fishing a Silver Horde or Tomic plug in the 4 - 5 inch range. Just like the spoons method above I would fish them by their self and would tie directly to the plug with my 15 or 20 pound mainline. Color choice would have to be a "Glow" body in either Mother of Pearl or something with a lime green or chartreuse coloration.

That's a fairly quick run down on things. If you have any additional questions don't hesitate to stop by or give me a call and I'll be glad to fill you in a little more or clarify some of my ramblings.

Good Luck
Mike

Green River Closure - Another One Bites The Dust

Once again we are being faced with another closure of a Puget Sound steelhead stream. This time it is the Green River (Duwamish), with the lower river closing January 16th and the upper river closing January 31st.

The lower Green River from the 1st Ave South Bridge in Seattle upstream to the South 277th Bridge in Auburn will be closed from January 16, 2010, through June 4th, 2010.

The upper Green River from the 277th Bridge in Auburn upstream to the Tacoma Headworks Dam will be closed from February 1, 2010, through June 4, 2010.

These closures were done to reduce the incidental mortality of wild steelhead. The 2009-2010 forecast of wild steelhead returning to the Green River is only 458 fish, well below the spawning goal of 2,000 steelhead. This action will reduce the incidental hooking mortalities of wild steelhead.

Marine Area 9 - Opens Saturday January 16TH

Marine Area 9 opens this Saturday for salmon angling and will remain open through April 30Th. This is without a doubt one of the better areas to fish here in Puget Sound. Hopefully, we should see some fairly good blackmouth fishing when it opens. With a 6:27AM High Tide of 12.0 feet, then ebbing out to 12:08PM of 6.7 feet and then flooding to 4:51PM to 9.9 feet my choice would be to go to Mid Channel Bank (Port Townsend) for the morning outgoing tide. My second choice would be to fish the outgoing tide on the Scatchet Head side of the Possession Bar also on the morning outgoing tide. My third choice would be fishing the morning outgoing tide at Point No Point. If I were unable to fish the morning tide I would fish the end of the afternoon flood tide from around two until dark and would fish the eastern side of the Possession Bar and focus my attention on the southern side of the Horseshoe or I would fish the Kitsap side of the Sound and fish the area from just north of Apple Tree Point down to just north of the Kingston ferry slip.

No matter what your fishing location I would focus your attention on the 90 - 150 foot depth zone and be fishing my offerings within 10 feet of the bottom in any of these areas.

I will give you a little rundown on some of my choices of offerings tomorrow!

Steelhead - Reiter Ponds

John was at Reiter Ponds yesterday and managed to have a fair day with four take downs, hooking three and landing two. Not a bad day overall considering how fishing has generally been. He managed to hook a couple from the hatchery side before he was asked to leave by a Snohomish County Sheriff as they were closing the area down for a crime scene investigation. He then moved over to the highway side and managed to hook a couple more. One was around 8 pounds and the other around 4 1/2. Nothing outstanding but always better than nothing at all. Floats and jigs were the ticket and there was no color pattern that was better than another.

"New" Beau - Mac Torpedo Floats

Here's a real winner brought to us by the Northwest icon tackle company Beau-Mac. A "New" series of floats called "Torpedo Floats". This series comes in a wide variety of sizes to accommodate most every fishing conditions. Produced in 1/4, 3/8, 1/2, 5/8, 3/4, and 1 ounce sizes. They are a slider style float and comes prepackaged with beads and bobber stops. With brightly colored tops to make sure that one can follow them in low light conditions they should be quite visible to most everyone.

These floats should become a favorite with Northwest steelheaders, though have many applications for other fisheries.

Beau Mac has a couple of other "New" design floats that I will mention in the near future.

"New"!! Shimano Moocher Plus 2000GT

We received our first shipment of the "New" Shimano Moocher Plus 2000GT today. For those of you that love fishing the single action Canadian style mooching reels this updated version of Shimano's 25 year old design will be very pleased with the new model. Though the basic design of the reel has stayed the same (hard to change something that has been time proven) there are a number of things that Shimano has improved.

1. Great improvement of the drag system, not only have they increased the size of the drag system of the reel but have incorporated the newer high tech Dartanium Carbon Fiber washers into a water proof system.

2. A stainless steel metal palming ring on the edge of the spool that is smoother than the older graphite material and less prone to rod holder damage and boat rash that nicked and abraded the edge of the spool.

3. Newer drag star design that locks in at the desired drag setting and thus has less chance of the drag setting changing while fishing with it.

4. Newer handle design that is much more comfortable to the hand.

All in all this "New" version of the Moocher is a real winner and will undoubtedly be greatly accepted by the single action reel crowd. The reel is priced at a reasonable $89.99.

Lone Lake - Whidbey Island

Fly fishing at Lone Lake on Whidbey has not been too bad recently. With the warmer winter weather and a little break from the rain the past couple of days has resulted in an opportunity to get out and flex the rod. Most of the fish have been going from around 12 inches to the largest pushing just past the 20 inch mark. As far as patterns go we have been hearing basic leech patterns in smaller sizes in brown, black, olive and maroon. The other fly that has been recently successful has been San Juan worms in brown, red or maroon. This fishery should hold up well this winter as long as we don't receive any long periods of really cold freezing weather.

Cascade River - Re-Opens Sunday January 10 th

The Cascade River will re-open to fishing from the mouth to the Rockport-Cascade road on Sunday January 10 th. As the WDFW has collected their allotment of winter steelhead broodstock the river will open earlier than February 1 as they had previously stated. There should be good numbers of steelhead caught on the opener, I would have to say that it would be a good idea to get there early and claim your rock. No doubt there will be good numbers of anglers with exactly the same thoughts.

Open Areas for Blackmouth

Winter blackmouth season continues, here is a little run down on what's open and closed at the present time in the Straits and Puget Sound.

Marine Area 4 - Neah Bay
Closed

Marine Area 5 - Sekiu & Pillar Point
Closed - Will open February 13 though April 30 - Chinook 22" minimum - Daily Limit 1

Marine Area 6 - East Juan de Fuca Strait
Closed - Will open February 13 though April 30 - Chinnok 22" minimum - Daily Limit 1

Marine Area 7 - San Juan Islands
Open through April 30 - Chinook 22" minimum - Release Wild Chiniook - Daily Limit 2

Marine Area 8-1 - Deception Pass, Hope Island & Skagit Bay
Open through April 30 - Chinook 22" minimum - Release Wild Chinook - Daily Limit 2

Marine Area 8-2 - Port Susan & Port Gardner
Open through April 30 - Chinook 22" minimum - Release Wild Chinook - Daily Limit 2

Marine Area 9 - Admiralty Inlet
Closed - Will Open January 16 though April 30 - Chinnok 22" minimum - Release Wild Chinook - Daily Limit 2

Marine Area 10 -Seattle / Bremerton Area
Open - Through January 31 - Chinook 22" minimum - Release Wild Chinnok - Dailey Limit 2

Marine Area 11 - Tacoma / Vashon Island
Closed - Will Open February 1 though April 30 - Chinook 22" minimum - Release Wild
Chinook - Daily Limit 2

Marine Area 12 - Hood Canal
Closed - Will Open February 1 through April 30 - Chinook 22" minimum - Release Wild
Chinook - Daily Limit 2

Marine Area 13 - South Puget Sound
Open through January 31 - Chinook 22" minimum - Daily Limit 1

Make sure to consult your WDFW Regulation Pamphlet prior to fishing as the regulations are complex and vary greatly from area to area.

Squid - Edmonds

Edmonds finally turned our some fair squidding last evening. One of the hard core regulars caught 6 pounds of 9 - 10 inch squid while fishing from 6 - 9 pm. Red mentioned that there were good sized schools of squid that would come into the lights on a fairly regular basis. He said that the smaller sized squid jigs did far better than the larger sises. As has been an ongoing problem at Edmonds the seals showed up and scattered the schools. Hopefully, this is the start of some more consistent squidding rather than the hit or miss fishery that it has been for the greater part of the season.

Smelt Fishing - Coronet Bay, Oak Harbor & Everett Waterfront

Smelting has been fairly good at Coronet Bay, Oak Harbor & the Everett waterfront. We have heard of good catches from all there of these spots over the pas week or so. Most angers are at least getting enough for a meal or two with some anglers catching their 10 pound limit. Most are finding the last couple of hours of the incoming tide and the first couple of the outgoing have generally been the most consistent producer providing that there has not been too much of a tidal swing. There have been a good number of herring being caught along with the smelt. The Gamakatsu Smelt/Herring jigs with white fish skin in a size 4 or 5 have been the ticket.

Steelhead Fishing - Skykomish

The steelhead fishing on the Skykomish continues to be just ho hum with nothing really to write home about. The Reiter Pond section of the river is still turning out the best results with perhaps 10 - 12 fish being landed on average per day. John that works for us was up this AM and managed to land 2 of the 3 fish which he hooked. For those that are willing to work hard at catching fish are doing just that, but it has by no means been a good season.

Squid Fishing - Puget Sound

Though I wouldn't say that the squid fishing has been exactly hot and heavy there has at least been some fairly good reports coming out of various area of Puget Sound. The Edmond's pier has been with out a doubt the poorest of all the reports that we have been getting in. Most everyone that I have spoke with has been averaging perhaps just a squid an hour. There has been an odd day when a good school has shown up with some really good squidding occurring for a short time just to be quelled when the seals show up to disperse the schools and turn things off. The Seattle waterfront has been much more consistent though many of the squid being caught are smaller immature specimens of around 3 inches. The Seacrest pier was quit good for one of the customers the other night, being able to get his 10 pound limit in fairly short order. One of the customers stopped by this afternoon to procure some additional jigs and mentioned that he and his grandson fished the Bremerton waterfront the other day and had around 15 pounds with very little effort. The squid he caught were the larger 10 inch adults.



We should see at least a couple more weeks of squidding before we see the annual decline when they die after spawning.



We have lots of squid jigs and components on hand.