Kokanee Fishing - Lake Stevens

Though overall, the kokanee fishery at Lake Stevens has slowed for the vast majority of anglers fishing this popular lake there still are some really nice catches being landed. With the warming water and the increase in water skiers and PFC use the successful fishermen have been finding better results by fishing deeper. Some of the more productive anglers have been pushing the 50 foot zone. As far as the tackle goes it has been much the same as it was earlier.

We have been seeing good kokanee catches coming out of a number of other local waters most notably Lake Cavanaugh and Lake Samish.

If you have a spare morning on this holiday weekend you just might want to go chase a few kokanee for something to do.

Skykomish Chinook Fishery Closed As Of July 6th

The Chinook fishery on the Skykomish will be closed as of July 6th as the collection of brood stock at the Wallace hatchery facility is below their goal of 3,200 fish. At present they have 547! The fishery may reopen if they are able to fulfill the brood stock requirements.

New Tomic Plug Colors - Pilchard / Sardine Series

Tomic Plugs from Gold River B.C. Canada has come out with a series of Tomic plugs and spoons to imitate the Pilchards (Pacific Sardines) that have become so prevalent in the offshore fisheries off the west coast of Vancouver Island and the Washington and Oregon coast. These finishes came out late last year and immediately became a mainstay item for many of Vancouver Islands salmon guides fishing the west coast. So if you are planing a trip to the island for salmon this summer you just might want to stop by and pick up a couple to have in your tackle box.

Grimes Lake - Lahonton Cutthroat

Jeff Witkowski from Big Dog Fishing Guide Service e mailed me today to give me a report from Grimes Lake and the Lahonton cutthroat fishery. He mentioned that the fishery was considerably slower this year as far as numbers went but the average sized fish is considerably larger, which for a lot of us is a plus. He mentioned that black chironimids and bead-head pheasant tail nymphs were the ticket to success. Included is a nice photo that Jeff sent along with a respective cutthroat.

Don't forget that on Thursday July 1st the upper section of the Columbia opens for salmon fishing and with a 3 fish limit on the kings and an additional 3 fish limit on sockeye should lend for some fairly hefty bag limits. (If you have been watching the dam counts recently you would know that there is great potential for some outstanding fishing.)

Jeff is quite knowledgeable on this upper Columbia fishery and produces well, If you would like to book a trip with Jeff you can contact him below.

Jeff Witkowski
PO Box 1904
Chelan, WA 98816
(509) 860-7345
jeffwitkowski@yahoo.com

We will be looking forward to seeing some pictures from Jeff in the near future from this outstanding fishery.

King Salmon - Marine Area 7 - San Juans

This Thursday, July 1st, marks the opener of salmon season in the San Juans for the summer season. This is a date that every salmon fisherman that fishes the islands looks forward to, as this is king salmon time! From the opener until the end of September every angler will be searching out those mature Chinook that are making their way to their natal streams. With kings making their way to the Frazer, Skagit, Samish, Nooksack as well as fish that are making their way to Puget Sound streams there will be many opportunities to intercept Chinook on their way home.

Where would I be for the opener? For me, the west side of San Juan Island is where I would be for the first few days. The reports out of Victoria and Sooke have not been to bad for anglers targeting fish headed for the Frazer. With a good flood tide first thing in the morning these fish will will be riding the tide and hit the west side of San Juan Island and spots like Eagle Point, Pile Point and Lime Kiln are all prime points to focus your attention.

As these fish are migrants, I would start out fishing the 30 - 50 foot depth zone whether you are motor mooching or downrigger fishing. I would be fishing a green or blue sized herring either plug cut or whole and focusing my presentation on areas where you have some tidal conflicts (rips) where bait fish will be compacted into relatively tight areas. As the day goes on and the light intensity increases I would drop down into the water column are fish a tad bit deeper. Watch that sounder and fish the bottom depths of your bait schools. These are migrant fish and are not always hugging the bottom!

Tides are great for the opener with good early morning flood tides and good late incoming tides (that is if you can stay out that late).

Don't forget that this area is open for a single Chinook limit, hatchery fish only with a 22" minimum size limit. Make sure to read your WDFW pamphlet for the regulations for area 7 before heading out.

Wish you luck over this holiday weekend!

Green Sized Herring - Puget Sound Vacum Packed

We received our first shipment of this season's Puget Sounds Bait Company green sized Vacum Packed herring. This is a very good starved out bait. We received just a few cases at the present time. We will have another batch coming in a few more weeks.

If you are wanting some good bait for the upcoming San Juan (Marine Area 7), Sekiu and Pillar Point (Marine Area 6) and Marine Area 5 ( East Juan De Fuca Strait) which will open up on July 1st , make sure to drop by and get you supply before we run out. Please make sure to read your regulations before venturing out as they are very complex!

Sol Duc - Sockeye - Steelhead - Kings

Kim and Dale spent this past weekend on the Sol Duc fishing and managed to conect to a wide diversity of Northwest Salmonids. They managed to conect to sockeye, summer steelhead and a nice spring Chinnok. Though the sockeye are small they were dime bright, fought well and made for some excellent table fare.

Port Alberni - Sockeye Salmon

Talked with one of the Canadian customers this afternoon from Port Alberni and he mentions that the sockeye fishing was very good at the present time. He was out this AM and landed seven in just an hour and a half. The fish are a little on the small side, weighing just 4-5 pounds on average. What they lack in size they do make up for on the table.

Trolling shallow (15 - 20 feet) and slow with a 224 UV mini hoochie behind a red Hot Spot on a short 18 - 20 inch leader was the secret to success.

The China Creek area of Port Alberni Inlet is a good place to focus a start.

Limit is still set at just two a day per person at the present time.

Father's Day - Sunday

Don't forget about Dad this Sunday! Make sure to stop by and say Hi! Better yet, if you are able to get him out fishing do such!

Anyway, for all of you out there, "Have a good Father's Day!"

Reiter Ponds - Skykomish River - Snohomish River

Though the Reiter Ponds section of the river has slowed considerably since last Saturday's opener there are still fish being caught. We have been hearing of perhaps 6 to 10 a day being landed in the hatchery section of the river on a daily basis the past few days. Not a ball of fire but at least good enough fishing to make it worthwhile spending a few hours pitching your favorite offering.

We have also been getting good reports out of the middle and lower sections of the river with a good mix of steelhead and Chinook. Most of the guys fishing this section of the river have been boaters.

In the Snohomish we have also been hearing of some good summer run catches from the plunkers fishing the bar areas, such as Crab or Douglas Bars.

36 Pound Sitka King

The salmon fishing in Sitka has still been quite good, though perhaps not quite as hot as it was a week or so ago, but still good when compared to what we have here.
Here's a nice 36 pound king landed by Ken Rhodes. This was the only one landed of three hooked at the same time as the other two were eaten by one of the local sea lions while being played. This one just happened to be the largest of the three. Suppose it was better to have donated the smaller two rather than have the larger taken.

Icicle River - Kings

Was over east of the mountains yesterday and stopped by the Icicle in the afternoon to see what was happening. The river was at good height but a little on the clear side. In talking with a few of the locals it has been an early morning or last thing in the evening bite with the clearer water. Most of the fish have been in the low to mid teen size area with an odd one in the twenties. Most of the guys are launching at the launch below the federal hatchery and pushing in the dark to their favorite hole to be there and fishing at first light. Eggs have been the number one bait of choice in conjunction with a spin-n-glo or corkie but plugs such as Flatfish or Quickfish, Mag Wiggle Warts, Brad's Wigglers, Large spinners such as Vibrex and even small plug cut herring have all accounted for fish.

I would look for the fishing holding up for awhile but with the warmer weather and the snow going away look for the river to just drop and clear as the next few weeks go by making the fishing even more a first light or evening shot.

Fish are showing color but are still fine table fare with the cold water conditions.

Bonneville Dam Counts - Columbia River

Shad numbers have taken a drastic downturn the past few days and with it the fishing! We have not been hearing anything great shad wise for awhile. Hopefully, we will see a little revival in the numbers and have another shot or two at these fun fish.

The steelhead numbers continue to increase though the Dam as well as the sockeye. Last year many of the bar fishermen on the lower Columbia scored well on the sockeye plunking spin-n-glos.

We should start to see some good steelhead fishing at Drano lake in the weeks to come.

Ling Cod Fishing

This is the final count down on the Puget Sound Ling Cod fishery for the season as it runs through the 15th of June for this year. You have just a few days left to partake of this fishery and hopefully put a couple of fillets onto the table. Overall, the fishery has been fairly good this season with good numbers of legal fish (26 - 36 inches) being taken. There are large numbers of sub legal fish in most of the ling cod areas as well as a few over sized fish. If you work hard you will be rewarded with a fish to take home, just put in some time and effort.

Columbia Shad Fishing

Though, overall good numbers of shad have been flooding into the Columbia the numbers going through the ladder have varied a tad bit from day to day. Wish I could say that the reports that we have been getting have been fantastic but the fishing has been a tad on the slower side the past few days. Many of those individuals that we spoke with this week got skunked and some had from a couple up to ten or so being about as good as it got! The water has been a little off color and the flow has been heavy! Hopefully, conditions will change and the shad fishing will turn on big time before the runs start to slow down.

Lake Samish Kokanee

If you are getting tired of looking at the same scenery at Lake Stevens fishing kokanee you might head north and fish Lake Samish (south of Bellingham) for a change of pace. We have been getting some really good reports out of this piece of water. Many of the guys have had no problem getting their 5 fish limit in under an hour (ramp to ramp time). The fish have been good sized with many pushing the 18 inch range. The typical kokanne gear works just as well here at Samish as it does at Stevens.

Lake Stevens Kokanee

We have had some good reports coming out of Lake Stevens the past couple of days from guys chasing kokanee. The fish have dropped a little deeper, with most of the fish coming from the 25 - 30 foot depths. Early in the morning there are still a few being caught on flat lines fished just under the surface. The size of the fish is increasing with a few fish now pushing into the 17 - 18 inch range. Most of the guys have been fishing small "Gold Star" kokanee dodgers with 50/50 Brass/Nickle or Gold/Silver plate colors in the hammered finishes being one of the most productive attractors with a blade and beads (Wedding Ring Spinner) fished behind tipped with white (Shoe Peg) corn or maggots. Small Spin N Glows in size 14's have also been accounting for a good number of fish.

Not everyone has been doing well at Lake Stevens, kokanee can be moody and temperamental at times and one has to figure out their personalities on certain days.

Reiter Ponds - Opening Day Reports

The reports that we had from Reiter Ponds this AM have all been very good! There was no lack of fish or fishermen! A good number of the guys we spoke with had limits of nice summer runs this morning. The largest fish that we heard of was one pushing 18 pounds. The river was at 8500 early this AM and has been dropping. Though just a little on the high side, it was quite productive.

Additional Halibut Fishing Day Off Neah Bay And La Push - Saturday June 18th

With an additional 26,776 pounds of halibut quota remaing, the WDFW will reopen Marine Areas 3 & 4 (La Push & Neah Bay) to halibut fishing on Saturday, June 18th. This opener is due to the bad weather that we experienced on the previous openers, allowing us enough quota to allow an additional day of fishing.

We still have a good amount of large herring on hand for this fishery.

Reiter Ponds Opens Tommorrow! 8:00AM Saturday

The Reiter Ponds section of the Skykomish River will open tomorrow Saturday June 12th at 8:00 AM. The hatchery has collected the required number of summer steelhead to meet their production needs.

This is the earliest opener that we have seen! Perhaps it is a sign that we are going to have one bang up summer run season on the Skykomish this season. We have seen nothing but good fishing so far this season.

We will try to have extra sand shrimp on hand for this weekend as well as ample supply of eggs!

Free Fishing Weekend

June 12th and 13th are "Free Fishing Weekend" days this year! This Saturday and Sunday, fishing licenses are not required. Catch Record Cards are required to fish for salmon, sturgeon, steelhead, Puget Sound Crab and halibut. Free fishing days are valid for everyone. All other rules apply, including area and lure and bait restrictions and size and catch limits. A Vehicle Use Permit is not required.

This would be an ideal time to introduce someone to the sport of fishing!

Nice Sitka 40 Pound King

Here's another photo that Capt Eddy Sent to me this AM of a "Nice" 40 pound king caught on a family day with his sister Karen. So as you can see there are a few nice fish being caught in the Sitka area this season. We have nothing but good reports from everyone that we have spoke with this season. If you are going up in the next few weeks I am sure you won't be disappointed with the quality of the fishing.

Sitka Fishing - Quite Good

For any of you that are heading up to Sitka in the near future, the fishing is still "Awfully Good" per Capt. Eddy Sisom from Scales & Tails Charter. Here's a couple of fish caught this AM, the lower photo is of Jim and his friend Gino from the Anchorage ADF&G bear division with a nice average sized Sitka king. The upper is Eddy's brother in law Dick with another respective sized king. Eddy mentioned that they had kings to 40 pounds today.

Lake Chelan Laker

The lake trout fishing is still going on strong at Lake Chelan. Here's a nice 18 pound laker caught by Ron Oules of Reel-Lentless Guide Service yesterday on a U-20 Flatfish. Ron also landed a couple of average sized 5 pound fish on Rushin Wobblers.

Contact Ron:

Reel-Lentless Guide Service

PO Box 356

Brewster, WA 98812

(509) 449-0843

http://www.reellentlessguideservice.com/

Icicle River Kings

Though the river and fishing has been plagued with high water conditions since opening, the fishing reports have been quite good on those days the river has been fishable. There has been no lack of angling pressure with as many as 30 boats fishing this little stretch of water on a daily basis. Fish have been caught on a variety of different baits: salmon eggs drift fished or back-bounced through the holes, plugs such as Yakima Baits Mag Lips - Flatfish - Kwickfish - Mag Wiggle Warts - Magnum Brads Wigglers, larger spinners such as Vibrex in size 5 or 6 and even small (red sized) herring. Most of the fish have been in the lower teens with an occasional fish pushing the 20 pound mark. Fish are showing a little color but are still in good shape flesh wise.

Shad Counts Continue to Soar!

More than 80,000 shad were counted yesterday through the ladder, how many actually went though when many more go through the locks? Anyway, its time to get down there and partake of this outstanding fishery. It should last a few more weeks at least.

We have everything that you might need for your shad fishing trip.

Northern Pike From NW Territories

Bill Munson and son Jesse recently returned from a pike/lake trout trip from the Northwest Territories of Canada. Here's a couple of really nice pike photo's from their trip this past week.

Skykomish River Steelhead & Salmon

Though the weather and the river has had its ups and downs since the river opened on June 1st the fishing overall has been quite good. We have had good reports coming from the boat fishermen in the Sultan/Wallace Flats area where they have been connecting with good numbers of nice summer run steelhead and an occasional Chinook. The bank guys fishing the intake, Procter Creek and Cable Hole areas of the upper river have also been doing well on summer fish. So far the steelhead fishing has been above average and hopefully we will have a better than average season for a change. As far as the salmon goes, its still a tad early to get a good idea of what we are going to see. Time will tell.

Shad Counts Soar! - Time to Go!

Yesterday was the single largest shad count through the ladder at Bonneville Dam with over 71,000 going through. I would have to say that if you are wanting to get in a little bit of shad fishing that the time is here. We have had a number of individuals down the past week and all of them managed to catch all the shad that they wanted. We should see this fishery continue on for the next few weeks at the very least.

We have lots of shad darts and related equipment on hand.

Sitka Alaska - "Great" King Salmon Reports

All the reports that I have had out of this popular SE Alaska king salmon mecca have been nothing short of outstanding. All of the charter skippers that I have spoke with the past couple of days have had nothing but rave revues. Most of the fish have been in the low to mid twenties with an occasional fish into the 30's. The top fish in the Sitka Salmon Derby at present is 50 1/2 pounds.

Most everyone is saying this is the best season they have seen in the past ten years. Hopefully, this fishery will hold up through June!

Kings - Upper Skagit & Cascade

We have had some fair reports of kings being caught in the Rockport to Marblemount section of the Skagit that is open for salmon fishing as well as the Cascade from the mouth up to the first bridge. The fish have been running from the low teens to the low twenties. This would be a good bet for the weekend, though on the Cascade you will not be by yourself.

Time To Go Fish Columbia River Shad

With over 28,000 shad counted going through Bonneville's fish ladder yesterday its time to grab your rods and a hand full of shad darts and head to the Columbia. This should be the start of some good fishing for the next 2 -3 weeks.

We had a few of the guys down on Tuesday and they had no problem in finding lots of willing participants to their well presented jigs. Within a short time they had all the shad that they wanted.

Stop by and we will be happy to show you how to rig up for these sporty fish.

Tulalip Terminal Fishery Opens Friday June 4th

The Tulalip Terminal Fishery opens this Friday! This will be our only local saltwater game for Chinook until Area 9 and Area 10 opens on the 16th of July. The "Bubble" as it is locally known has the reputation for being a fairly tough terminal fishery. Even when the fishing is good, you might only see a fish for every ten boats or so. As far as gear goes it is everything from soup to nuts as far as what fish are caught on. Overall, the greatest number of anglers pull rotating flashers with squid / spoon offerings trailed behind. Plugs in light colors such as Silver Horde #60 (Mother of Pearl Glow) or Tomics in 603 (Mother of Pearl Glow with Red Face) in size 4 or 5's account for a good number of fish each summer. For thos who are jiggers 2 - 2 1/4 oz jigs such as Point Wilson Darts, Gibbs Minnows or Pucci Lazer Minnows also have there time here at the Bubble.

This fishery is open from Friday through noon on Mondays June 4th - June 18th then from June 20th - September 6th and from September 11th through September 26th only on Saturdays and Sundays.

The Tulalip tribe has been working for a number of years to get an earlier returning run of Chinook to their terminal hatchery area, perhaps this will be the year to see a good early fishery.

Make sure to read the WDFW regulation pamphlet to inform yourself of the terminal area boundaries and restrictions,

Marine Area 10 Seatle / Bremerton & Marine Area 11 - Tacoma - Vashon Island

June 1st marked the opening of both Marine Areas 10 & 11. Marine Area 10 Seattle / Bremerton is open only for catch and release while Area 11 Tacoma / Vashon Island is open to retention with a two salmon limit with Chinook having a 22 inch minimum size and requiring the release of wild Chinook.

The reports out of Point Defiance were quite good yesterday with many anglers catching limits of 7 - 8 pound blackmouth. The largest that we heard of was a 21 pound Chinook. Most of the fishing was done off of Point Defiance, with most everyone mooching plug cut herring.

Though it is a little bit of a drive, if you are wanting to do a little salmon fishing then a drive might be in place.

Basin Smallmouth Bass

Here's a nice average smallmouth bass caught by Michael Dominguez on a 3" grub and lead head combo at Soda Lake. Michael decided to follow John's footsteps and try some of the small water bass fishing that is so common in Grant and Adams counties. There are literally 100's of places to fish in these two counties that the choices are overwhelming. You could fish one piece of water every day of the year and still not fish them all.

Stop by and John will be happy to fill you in on some of the places to try.

Nice Fish Michael!

Skykomish Opener - June 1 st

Though the river was up and a little high this morning there was still a good number of sleds and bank fishermen on the river today. We heard of a mixture of steelhead, from chrome bright summer runs to late winter fish that were showing a good bit of color. There was an odd Chinook thrown in for good measure, overall the fishing was fair for the opener.

With the front that is moving in this evening and a prediction of 2 - 3 inches of rain here and more in the mountains, I am sure we will have the river blow out of shape for awhile. Looks as if on Friday we will once again see another front move in just to dump even more rain.

We do have fresh shrimp in stock as well as lots of good eggs.

Port Angeles Halibut Derby Results

The Port Angeles Halibut Derby was another real success. The top fish weighed in at 88 pounds, caught by Ken Kirkman or Port Angeles. I was surprised that this was all the winning fish weighed with all of the large halibut caught this season. The 30th place fish weighed in at 41 pounds. Overall, Norm Metzler said the derby was a "Great" success and that the total number of halibut landed during the derby was in excess of a couple hundred.

We have some photos that will be sent to us in the next few days from the derby and will put them up once we get them.