Salmon Opens in Marine Area 5, 6 & 7 on July 1

Salmon will open tomorrow in Marine Area 5 (Sekiu and Pillar Point), Marine Area 6 East Juan de Fuca Strait and Marine Area 7 (San Juan Islands) . These areas will open for retention of hatchery Chinook as well as other salmon species. Make sure that you read your regulations thoroughly before you venture out, as there are many suttle differences from area to area. Some have a two Chinook limit, some are just a single fish. In some areas there are areas that are not open to retention of Chinook. Just make sure to read those regulations as the WDFW agents are not in the business of being understanding. Good Luck!

Another Spot Shrimp Opener in Marine Area 7

Recreational spot shrimp fishing in
south Marine Area 7 to reopen

Action: Recreational spot shrimp fishing will reopen for four additional days in south Marine Area 7.

Effective dates: Wednesday, July 6, 2011 through Saturday, July 9, 2011, south Marine Area 7 is open.

Species affected: Spot shrimp.

Location: South Marine Area 7. Please note that only the southern portion of Marine Area 7 is open for spot shrimp. This is the portion of Marine Area 7 south of a line from the Initiative 77 marker on Fidalgo Island (which is the eastern boundary between marine areas 6 and 7) to Point Colville on Lopez Island, then south of a line from Davis Point on Lopez Island to Cattle Point on San Juan Island, then south of a line due west from Lime Kiln Point light on San Juan Island to the international boundary. This area includes the Iceberg Point, Point Colville, Salmon Bank and McArthur Bank shrimp fishing grounds. The Biz Point spot shrimp fishing ground, which is just north of the Initiative 77 marker will not be open.

Reason for action: Sufficient recreational spot shrimp quota remains in this area for more days of fishing.

Other information: Of all the popular recreational spot shrimp fishing areas in Puget Sound, south Marine Area 7 is the most exposed to rough weather and sea conditions. South Marine Area 7 has experienced westerly winds and relatively rough seas nearly every open day so far this season, keeping participation down. Shrimp gear in Marine Area 7 may be pulled from one hour before sunrise to one hour after sunset.

Contact: Mark O’Toole, La Conner, (360) 466-4345 ext. 241.

Crabbing Opens - July 1

Crabbing opens 7:00 a.m.Friday, July 1! Crabbing will open in Marine Areas 4 (east of the Bonilla-Tatoosh line), 5, 6, 8-1, 8-2, 9, 10, 11, 12 & 13. In these areas it will be open to sports crabbing Thursdays through Mondays (Closed Tuesday and Wednesday. The season will run through September 5.

Remember the limit is 5 Dungeness Crab 6 1/4" minimum size, males only, and in hard shell condition. If you are unsure about any of these rules, make sure to reed the WDFW regulations!

Make sure that you have your current Shellfish / Seaweed License and Crab Catch Record Card!

Ted's has everything you need for your crabbing. Pots, Line, Buoys, Stanchions, Line Snaps, Pot Weights and we are happy to help you rig up your gear for the season.

Reiter Ponds Section Opens Tomorrow

I am sure that there will be quite a number of steelheaders fishing the Reiter Pond section of the Skykomish as it opens tomorrow at 8:00 a.m. ! We have had quite a number of individuals in the shop today gearing up. I am sure that the fishing should be quite good, with the high water that we have had all month I am sure that there are quite a number of fish that have stacked up. I will post what we are hearing from this first day of fishing once we start to hear the reports.

Neah Bay King Fishing

Had one of the regular customers in this morning that had just gotten back from his weekend trip to Neah Bay with the family. He mentioned that he found good numbers of kings fishing off the US side of Swiftsure Bank. He said that the fish were "Deep" for the most part finding most of them fairly close to the bottom. The fish ran from the low teens to low twenties though they did manage to land a nice 35 pound Chinook. He also mentioned that there were fair numbers of coho around. He did best fishing Silver Horde / Gold Star 3.5 Kingfisher Spoons in the Irish Creme finish.

Westport King Fishing

The reports that we had from our customers over this past weekend were not too bad for those fishing the beach north of Westport off the Quinault casino area. The fish
were on the beach in 50 - 100 feet of water and the 30 - 35 depth zones seems to be the most productive. The fish for the most part were in the low to mid teen range with an odd fish to 25 pounds. There were a few coho mixed in the catches but were not overly numerous. Everyone mentioned that dodging in and out of the crab gear was not a lot of fun and many lost a considerable amount of tackle to getting tangled in it. Most all of our customers managed to get limits for their time spent but the fish checker mentioned that there was perhaps a fish or two per boat average.

Lake Chelan Update from Anton Jones

Here's a nice 10 lb. 9 oz. laker caught by Elina Engstom from Alsvsbyn Sweden, this was the first fish she had ever caught.

Here's a mess of Northern Pike Minnow caught off the Dock at Mill bay by Jaime Abarca of East Wenatchee. Kids don't mind catching any fish and you are doing everyone a favor getting them out of the lake.

What’s hot is trolling for Lake Trout on Lake Chelan early in the morning. Troll for Lake Trout in depths of 120 to 140 feet on the Bar just out from the Mill Bay boat launch. This last reporting period had great numbers with an excellent sprinkling of big fish. This is one of the two best “big fish” peaks for the year We have had consistent success pulling T4 flatfish in Purple Glow at 1.3 to 1.6 mph. Mack’s Lures Cha Cha Squidders in glow colors baited with a strip of Northern Pikeminnow or even Pautzke’s Fire Corn also works great.

Trolling the face of Manson Bay was another productive location during the reporting period for greater numbers of fish albeit much smaller on average. There, pulling little F7 flatfish from Worden Lures at 1.1 to 1.3 mph was the ticket.

The kokanee fishing is beginning to wind down in the lower basin of Lake Chelan. You can still catch some of these tasty landlocked Sockeye Salmon on Mack’s Lures mini Cha Cha Squidder in pink behind their Flashlites. Bait those Squidders with Pautzke’s Fire Corn in Natural or Orange. One to 1.3 mph is the best trolling speed for them.

We have been anticipating the opening of Salmon Season on the Upper Columbia, but looking at the counts of fish over the dam, don’t get excited yet. With the late spring and heavy snow pack we think the majority of the fish are holding downstream waiting for the runoff to subside a bit before swimming up to our neck of the woods. Also, there has been a nice glut of triploid rainbows available on Rufus Woods due to an earlier net pen release. They had to avoid mortality in the pens by releasing fish into the reservoir. I don’t know how long it will last, but for now, it can be great.

Your fishing and kids tip of the week is to use worms, spinners or even corn to catch Northern Pikeminnows from docks on Lake Chelan. This can be a great time of the year to fish close to shore for big schools of Northern Pikeminnow. These in turn make great bait for Lake Trout on Cha Cha Squidders and Ace Hi Flies. Since Lake Chelan is so clear, your kids can watch these eager biters inhale bait. It’s a great way to hook kids on fishing!

Your safety tip of the week is to be aware of our common weather pattern that allows for calm weather and flat uplake conditions in the morning, but heavy winds and big waves in the afternoon. Summer in Chelan! Another day in paradise!

Anton Jones of Darrell & Dad's Family Guide Service (1-866-360-1523 or http://www.darrellanddads.com/

Bonneville Shad Fishing

The Columbia River shad fishery continues to be quite good for those fishing below Bonneville Dam. With over 90,000 going through on Wednesday and over 30,000 the past two days the numbers equate to some really good fishing opportunities for anyone making the trip. We should still see some good fishing through the Fourth of July weekend and perhaps some fishing even after that. Though most folks do not fish them to any extent further up the Columbia the area below John Day Dam can be equally productive.

Still "Great" Lake Chelan Laker Fishing

The Mazor family (Rob, Ben, Evan and Suzan) with a really nice catch of Chelan lake trout. Ben and Evan are only 6 & 8 but did their share of the catching. The largest was 12.6 and was caught by Suzan.

Here's another nice catch caught by John Stephenson, John Jr. and Mr Eum. John has been a Ted's customer for many a year. Nice to see him and his son out there on the water. Nice catch guys!

If you are wondering how the Laker fishing has been on Chelan recently, all you have to do is look at the pictures above sent to me from Jeff Witkowski of Darrell & Dad's Family Guide Service. Both of the catches were the results of just half day trips. Lures of the day were Mac's Cha Cha Squidders and Yakima Baits u-20 Flatfish in the Glo purple finish. This would make a great family fishing day if you are planning on spending some time in the Chelan area this summer. What a way to spend a morning. If you would like to book a trip or get more information give Anton a call at 1-866-360-1523.

Reiter Pond Section of the Skykomish Opens Wednesday June 29

FISHING RULE CHANGE WASHINGTON DEPARTMENT OF FISH AND WILDLIFE 600 Capitol Way North, Olympia, WA 98501-1091
June 24, 2011
Reiter Ponds section of Skykomish River opens June 29
Species affected: All game fish, including steelhead.
Location: Skykomish River from 1,000 feet downstream of Reiter Ponds outlet to 1,500 feet upstream of Reiter Ponds outlet.
Reason for action: The Reiter Ponds Hatchery is on target to collect enough summer steelhead broodstock to meet production needs.
Other information: A night closure and anti-snagging rule are in effect. Fishing from any floating device is prohibited.
Dolly Varden/Bull Trout - minimum size 20 inches may be retained as part of trout daily limit. All Other Trout - minimum size 14 inches, daily limit two.
Other game fish - statewide minimum size and daily limit. That information can be found on page 27 of the 2011-12 Fishing in Washington Sportfishing Rules Pamphlet.
Public access through the Reiter Ponds Hatchery grounds is allowed daily between 6 a.m. and dusk. However, on opening day fishing does not begin until 8 a.m. to ensure an orderly fishery. On Aug.1, this section of the Skykomish River reverts to rules listed in the sportfishing rules pamphlet.
Information contact: Jennifer Whitney, District 13 Fish Biologist (425) 775-1311.