Summer provides plenty of options

Now that summer has officially arrived it's time to go fishing, and there are a wide range of locations and species available to catch. The ocean hatchery chinook fishery...

By Mark Yuasa

Seattle Times staff reporter

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Now that summer has officially arrived it's time to go fishing, and there are a wide range of locations and species available to catch.

The ocean hatchery chinook fishery remains the top choice at midweek.

"It was pretty good at Ilwaco, and we saw over a fish per person average (500 kings for 400 anglers)," said Wendy Beeghly, a state Fish and Wildlife biologist. "That is sweet for June in Ilwaco."

After what started off as hot king fishing off Westport has now dropped to about 0.97 fish per rod, which is still good.

Early data from Westport and Ilwaco show a hatchery-mark rate of 60 percent for chinook. The fish remain close to shore at Westport in water 60 to 100 feet deep.

On North Coast, La Push didn't see much effort or catch, and rough water was a factor. At Neah Bay it was one king for every other rod.

The Ilwaco hatchery chinook fishery is open through Friday, and Westport is open through Saturday. Westport then switches to chinook and hatchery coho beginning Sunday, through Sept. 30 with fishing allowed Sundays to Thursdays; and Ilwaco will be open daily from Saturday through Sept. 30.

The La Push and Neah Bay hatchery chinook fishery is open daily until June 30, and then open for chinook and hatchery coho daily from July 1 to Sept. 30. Each port might close sooner if quotas are achieved.

The sockeye fishery in the Lower Skagit River got off to a fairly good start last Saturday with plenty of effort.

"I was pleasantly surprised by the number of fish caught." said Brett Barkdull, a state Fish and Wildlife biologist. "We heard about a few people getting limits."

Fisheries checks last Saturday showed 107 boat anglers caught 13 sockeye, and 76 bank anglers with 17.

On the Columbia River, there are plenty of fishing options.

"Fishing is decent for chinook, steelhead, sockeye, sturgeon and shad," said Joe Hymer, a state Fish and Wildlife biologist.

The best hatchery chinook catches have occurred around Cathlamet/Puget Island area along with scattered action upstream from there. Look for steelhead from the Cowlitz River mouth downstream, and sockeye catches have been scattered throughout the Lower Columbia.

Sturgeon fishing is fair in estuary and throughout the Lower Columbia. Bonneville Pool was very good, and is open this Friday and Saturday only.

The shad fishery on the Lower Columbia below Bonneville remains decent as more than 1.75 million have been counted at the dam, but may have peaked this week. Catch in the John Day Pool improved for shad.

Looking ahead: Sekiu-Port Angeles in Strait of Juan de Fuca, and Hood Canal south of Ayock Point opens for hatchery chinook July 1; San Juan Islands open for salmon July 1; northern and central Puget Sound open for coho July 1, and hatchery chinook July 16; and Baker Lake open for sockeye July 1, but fishing won't pick up until mid-July.

Mark Yuasa: 206-464-8780 or myuasa@seattletimes.com


Fishing report
Location	Comment
Statewide lakes	Kokanee fishing remains excellent in Lake Chelan, and 10-fish daily limits have been the rule peppered with some nice lake trout. Fair to good for kokanee at Lake Stevens, and fair in Samish and American lakes. Good bass fishing and fair for walleye in Banks Lake. Spotty at Rufus Woods for triploid trout. Potholes Reservoir is good for trout, bass and walleye. Decent for walleye in Moses Lake. Southwest Washington lakes planted with trout are Battle Ground, 4,200; Klineline Pond, 2,590; Goose, 1,000; Rowland, 1,984; and Spearfish, 2,010. Lake recently planted with big trout in King County are: Green, 870; Geneva 450; Bitter 100 and Echo 100. In Snohomish County, Blackman's got 300 and Gissburg Ponds (aka Twin Lakes) 350. In Skagit County, Whistle 300. In Kitsap County, Island 300. In Grays Harbor County, Vance Creek (Elma) Ponds 100. In Pierce County, American 1,200. For details, go to wdfw.wa.gov/fishing/plants/statewide/.
Biting: Yes Rating:
Statewide rivers	Fair for steelhead at Reiter Ponds on Upper Skykomish, and for boat anglers from Lewis Street Bridge to Sultan. Off and on for chinook in the Skagit above Rockport and Cascade River. Fair for steelhead in the Calawah, Bogachiel, Hoh and Sol Duc. Cedar River is open for trout catch-and-release fishing.
Biting: Yes Rating:
Marine areas	Fair for chinook off Edmonds Pier with about one to three fish caught daily up to 17 pounds. Seacrest Pier in West Seattle should pick up soon. Slow to fair for chinook in south central Puget Sound off Tacoma, Southworth and Narrows area. Good for halibut at Sekiu (open Thursdays to Saturdays only until June 23). Very good for lingcod and rockfish off Neah Bay. Central Puget Sound north of a line from Point Monroe to Meadow Point is open for salmon catch and release, and has been fair to good at Jefferson Head, Edmonds and Kingston. The Tulalip terminal fishery is slow, and open Fridays to noon Mondays.
Biting: Yes Rating:

Information in this article, originally published June 20, 2012, was corrected June 21, 2012. A previous version of this story had fishing dates wrong for Ilwaco and Westport.