New Marine Regulations on Line Now

We have still not received the "New" 2010-2011 fishing regulations as of this afternoon. However, the marine regulations are on line as of today. It would good for you to take a look at them as there are a number of changes that will affect some of the upcoming fishery openers. Notably, there is "No" rockfish retention east of Marine Area 5 and both Marine Area 4 and 5 have severe restrictions upon them. Lingcod sizes limits are now between 26 - 36 inches.

We were told that we should hve hard copies of the regulaions this week. I will post their arrival as soon as we see them.

Please make sure to read over the "New" regulations before you go out fishing.

What Are You Going To Do Saturday?

Saturday May 1st is the opening for three different fisheries: Halibut, Ling Cod and Shrimp. Besides that you also have one more razor clam opener on the coast! You also have some "Great" kokanee fishing in a number of western Washington lakes as well as lots of trout fishing still left. Oh! I almost forgot to mention that crayfish also opens on Saturday. So as you can see you really will have to make up your mind as to what to do.

No matter what direction you have decided to go we will be happy to help you with any of your gear.

Shrimp Seasons Finalized

Shrimp seasons were finalized and overall it is what we had expected, with fewer days to fish spot shrimp in most areas. With the popularity of this fishery and more people entering into it the cut backs were to occur.

Here's the run down on what is going to happen:

Marine Area 4 (east of the Bonilla-Tatoosh line), 5 and 6 (excluding shrimp districts), will open daily beginning May 1 at 7:00 a.m. The spot shrimp season closes when quota is attained or Sept. 15, whichever comes first.

Discovery Bay Shrimp District (Marine Area 6) will open May 1 and 5 from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Additional dates will be announced if sufficient quota remains.

Marine Area 7 opens May 1 at 7 a.m., and will be open May 5,6,7,8,21 and 22. Additional dates will be announced if sufficient quota remains.

Marine Areas 8,9 and 10 will open May 1 and 5 from 7 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Additional dates will be announced if sufficient quota remains.

Marine Area 11, from the northern tip of Vashon Island to the Tacoma Narrows Bridge, will be open May 1 from 7:00 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Hood Canal (Marine Area 12) will open May 1,5,8, and 12 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Additional dates will be announced if sufficient quota remains.

Marine Area 13 will open daily beginning May 1 at 7 a.m. through May 31

Ocean shrimp fishing (Marine Areas 1,2, 3 and 4 (west of the Bonilla-Tatoosh line) is open daily year-round.

The season specifically for smaller coonstripe and pink shrimp will reopen in several areas on June 1 and remain open through Oct 15.

Make sure to read your WDFW regulations for detailed shrimping regulations.

We have "Lots" of shrimping gear in stock and will be more than happy to help you out rigging it up.

Opening Day - Lowland Lakes

Today is the opening of lowland lakes and marks the general opener of fishing season. Took a little run around before work this morning to a few of the local lakes to see what was happening and the amount of participation. To say the least there was very little pressure on the lakes I checked.

Silver Lake - South Everett: Though this is a year around lake I saw more pressure this AM than I did when I drove by earlier this week. Perhaps people didn't know this lake was already open. There were just three boats on the lake and just a handful of bank / dock anglers. Without a doubt a lot more anglers could be utilizing this piece of water.

Lake Stickney: Though not a real popular lake with the trout anglers, there were just four angler fishing off the boat launch area and not a single boat on the lake. The only one was one on a trailer in the parking lot.

Lake Serene: This had the most angling pressure with 14 or 15 rigs parked in the parking area and perhaps a dozen boats on the lake. Definitely not crowded by any means.

Overall, I would have to say the amount of total angling pressue has been light which will give a greater amount of opprutunities for the upcoming month or so.

Kokanee Fishing - Lake Stevens

The kokanee fishing at Lake Stevens has started to happen with many of the regulars catching their limits (10 fish). Though the lake has still been a little on the cool side the fish are starting to school up and are biting on a more regular basis. Most of the fish we are hearing of have been caught in the 10-25 foot depth range. Fish have been for the most part in the 11-13 inch range with a few larger fish to 16 inches. As far as gear goes it seems to be everything from soup to nuts, with anglers fishing small dodgers, sling blades or gang trolls for the attractor and a blade and beads (wedding ring type lures) in conjunction with maggots or corn. Some are fishing the small mini hoochies (squids) both with and without a blade in front or small (size 14) spin n glos. If you are not doing well change your offerings as kokanee are sometimes a very moody and temperamental fish.

We have a "Great" selection of kokanee gear. We now have maggots in stock with both the natural white as well as pink.

Don't forget the 1st Annual Lake Stevens Kokanne Derby coming up on May 22nd! We have tickets. Adults 15years and older $20.00 / Kids 14 and under "Free"!

Cowlitz Report

The reports that we had from the Cowlitz River were fairly good over the weekend. Shawn fished the Blue Creek area down to Masseys on Saturday with a couple of friends and they managed to land 25 + steelhead over the course of the day. they found the fishing to be better in the afternoon and evening after most of the boats had pulled off the river. Most of the fish were colored up, though there were enough bright fish to keep things quite interesting. Though a lot of the water they fished had the potential of producing an odd king they were not lucky enough to hook any.

The Barrier Dam area produced just a few kings on Sunday. Though there were a great number of fish rolling in the area they seemed very reluctant to bite.

General Lowland Lake Opener - Next Saturday April 24th

Next Saturday, April 24th is the general lake opener for the greatest number of managed trout lakes in the state. There are a great many opprutunities for good trout fishing in a number of local Snohomish & Skagit county lakes. Most everyone has their favorite! Here's a little rundown on some of the most popular lakes in the local area and their respective catchable plants and many have additional fry plants:



Skagit County:

Erie Lake: Triploids 14" & Larger 2,300 , Rainbows 8-12" 7,280

Heart Lake: Triploids 14" & Larger 2,420, Rainbows 8-12" 7,144

Lake McMurry: Rainbow 8-12" 13,216

Lake Sixteen: Rainbow 8-12" 4,883



Snohomish County:

Armstrong: Rainbows 8-12 " 5,000

Bosworth: Rainbows 8-12" 7,650, Rainbows 14" & Larger 3,000

Cassidy: Triploids 14" & Larger 442, Rainbow 8-12" 5,400

Chain Lake: Rainbows 8-12" 2,250

Crabapple: Rainbows 8-12" 4,050

Echo Lake: Rainbows 8-12" 1,800

Flowing Lake: Triploids 14" & Larger 382, Rainbow 8-12" 6,400, Rainbow 14: & Larger 2,000

Goodwin: Rainbows 8-12" 9,600

Howard Lake: Triploids 14" & Larger 720, Rainbow 8-12" 2,084

Ketchum: Rainbows 8-12" 2,700

Ki Lake: Rainbows 14" & Larger 15,000

Loma Lake: Rainbow 8-12" 2,700

Lost Lake: (Maltby) Rainbows 8-12" 1,500

Martha: (Alderwood Manor) Rainbow 8-12" 8,100, Rainbow 14" & Larger 2,000

Martha: (Warm Beach) Triploids 14" & Larger 275, Rainbows 8-12" 2,000

Panther: Rainbow 8-12" 3,600

Riley: Rainbow 8-12" 2,741

Roesiger: Triploids 14" & Larger 501, Rainbow 8-12" 8,000, Rainbow 14" & Larger 1,000

Serene Lake: Rainbow 8-12" 3,600

Shoecraft Lake: Triploids 14" & Larger 393, Rainbow 8-12" 5,000

Stickney Lake: Rainbow 8-12" 2,500

Storm Lake: Rainbow 8-12" 7,500, Rainbow 14" & Larger 3,000

Tye Lake: Triploids 14" & Larger 196, Rainbow 8-12" 1,000

Wagner Lake: Rainbow 8-12" 3,000



For more information take a look at the WDFW website and take a look at the Hatchery Trout Stocking Plan for Washington Lakes and Streams.

Kokanee Fishing

Have started to get a few Kokanee reports coming in from a few of the Western Washington Kokanee lakes this past week. With the water warming to around 50 - 52 degrees the Kokanee are starting to get motivated into feeding. We have had a few reports coming in from Lake Stevens as well as American Lake. The fish that we have heard of out of Stevens have been in the 11 - 13 inch range while those out of American have been an impressive 16 inch average. Very nice fish anytime! With the warmer spring weather this fishery should only improve with this next month generally being one of the most productive on these landlocked sockeye. The fish have been in the upper 15 -17 foot range.

Stop by and we can fill you in on the tackle and techniques.

Don't forget the Lake Stevens 1st Annual Kokanee Derby on Saturday May 22nd! Tickets are $20.00 and youngsters 14 and under are free! Will be a "Great" event!

New! Lemon Lime & Lemon Cream Coho Killers

Just received the "New" Silver Horde Gold Star Lemon Lime & Lemon Cream Coho Killer Spoons last night. These should prove to be an extremely popular spoon color here in Puget Sound. Already the 3.5 & 4 Kingfisher Lights in these color patterns have been extremely productive this winter in the Blackmouth fisheries. These colors are a combination of a UV (Ultra Violet) pearl white front with the contrasting lime/chartreuse striping and a "Glow in the Dark" finish on the back side of the spoon. These are an ideal combination of colors for both low light conditions as well as on those bright sunny days.

We have plenty in stock at the present time and you are more than welcome to call if you would like us to ship some to you.

Columbia River Open Through April 18th

The Columbia River fishery will remain open through the 18th. The WDFW & ODFW managers made the decision to continue the fishery as it was set, though the sport quota undoubtedly will exceed the preseason quota. The fishing has been considerably better as the river has cleared after the rains of last week. So if you are wanting to put a springer on the BBQ you had better get your self in gear and head down before it's all over.

We have heard that the fisheries above Bonneville are starting to happen. This will give you more time to chase these fantastic fish.

Razor Clam Dig - April 16, 17 & 18

The WDFW just anounced another razor clam dig for Friday, Saturday & Sunday as follows:

Friday, April 16th, (8.32 A.M.,-0.7) Long Beach and Twin Harbors only
Saturday, April 17th, (9.12 A.M., -0.7) Long Beach, Twin Harbors and Kalaloch only
Sunday, April 18th, (9.56 A.M. -0.6) Long Beach, Twin Harbors and Kalaloch only

Make sure to consult the WDFW regulations if you are not up to date on the area guidelines and razor clam regulations.

We have "Lots" of clam digging gear on hand. Clam Guns, Tubes, Clam Bags and Lisences.

Lake Stevens Kokanee Derby Tickets

We have received our Lake Stevens Kokanee Derby tickets this afternoon. The derby is falling into place quite nicely and we will have the rules etc. in the next few days. The response to the derby has been overwhelming to say the least. The adult tickets are $20.00 and the kids (under 14) are free.

Cowlitz River Steelhead and King Salmon

We have had nothing but outstanding reports from the Cowlitz river over this past weekend and this week. There has been good catches of Spring Chinook caught by the bank fishermen fishing the Barrier Dam area of the river fishing at the dead line with eggs. Many of the boat fishermen are using their boat for transportation to the island and then fishing from the bank. There have been good numbers of late winter steelhead being caught below the boat launch an a combination of items from eggs, corkies and egg/shrimp combinations and even spoons. The trout hatchery launch area has also been putting out steelhead for both bank anglers as well as the boat guys. The Blue Creek area has been extremely good for the bank anglers fishing corkies at the point. The boat guys working the Clay Banks to Mission and even below I-5 have all been doing well on a mix of steelhead and Spring Chinook. Techniques for the boaters have ranged from free drifting corkies and eggs, to back trolling plugs, to divers and bait and back bouncing have all accounted for good catches.

This fishery should hold up for quite some time.

Kingfisher 3.5 & 4.0 Light Spoons in Irish Flag

We finally received some of the Silver Horde Gold Star Kingfisher 3.5 and 4 Light Spoons in the "New" "Irish Flag" finish. This is the spoon that has been touted on Salmon University by TJ Nelson. Anyway, if you are looking for some, we do have them at the present time.
Mike

Really Big Ulua

Here's a photo of a really outstanding kayak caught Ulua from the Big Island of Hawaii. Tim Bauer sent me this photo of his friend and fishing buddy Chris Kutsch with a 99.5 pound Ulua. The fish was caught on a deep soaked Opelu bait.

Really outstanding catch no matter from the kayak, boat or beach.

For those of you that are not familiar with this fish, it is the number one most sought after fish from the beach in Hawaii. A 100 pound fish is just like a 20 pound steelhead or a 50 pound king here!

Way to Go Chris!

Blackmouth Fishing

Though the winter blackmouth fishing is winding down to the closures in Marine Area9 on the 15th and Areas 8-1 & 8-2 on the 30th there are still a few fish around for those willing to put in the effort.

Here's a photo of a few blackmouth caught by Dave Lemmert and his son fishing with Gary Krien on the Morning Star last week. The fish were caught on the new Silver Horde Gold Star 3.5 Kingfisher spoons in the "White Lightning" finish and Coho Killers in "Irish Cream".

Nice feeders guys!

Lake Steven's Kokanee Derby - May 22

The derby is coming together quite nicely, we are receiving nothing but positive input from virtually everyone we have spoke with. Mark Spada the president of the Snohomish Sportsmans Club is doing a "Fantastic" job getting things put together. We should have flyer's, finalized information and tickets perhaps by the end of the week or the first of next. This should be an outstanding event!

April 1st - Time To Renew Your Licenses

That time of the year again! Time to renew your fishing licenses for the year. Make sure you do such before you venture out. Every year customers forget and are unpleasantly surprised when they are told by the friendly enforcement agent that they do not have a current license, which will cost you more than if you had purchased a new license.

Make sure that you turn in all of your punchcards for the past season.

New for this season is a "New" endorsement for the Columbia River and its tributaries. If you fish for salmon or steelhead in the Columbia River system it is a requirement. Cost of the endorsement is $8.25.