THERE ARE YO-YO diets and there are yo-yo fisheries, and the chinook season in Marine Area 4 (Neah Bay) qualifies as the latter.
Anglers have a second chance to keep one wild or hatchery king per day today and Saturday, two weeks after the area was closed to chinook retention when the state Department of Fish and Wildlife estimated anglers were close to meeting the harvest guideline.
“There were about 700 remaining, and we’ve whittled that down a little, but there are still several hundred left,” state ocean salmon manager Doug Milward said.
Anglers fishing in the Strait of Juan de Fuca east of the Bonilla-Tatoosh line in Area 4 may not keep kings. This section of Marine Area 4 will remain closed to chinook retention today and Saturday.
“That’s part of the annual king closure on that side to protect Puget Sound chinook,” Milward said.
After Saturday, anglers fishing in Area 4 will revert to a daily limit of two salmon, plus two additional pinks, but must release all chinook, chum and wild coho.
In July, Neah Bay anglers also had seen the king limit drop from two fish to one in an effort to extend the season.
Joey Lawrence of Big Salmon Resort (360-645-2374) in Neah Bay agreed that the reduction, the closing and the reopening have had that yo-yo effect.
“It’s kind of tough to close and then reopen and regain that momentum that you had,” Lawrence said.
The kings are still around Neah Bay, according to Lawrence.
“There are very few coho around, quite a few humpies around. The very few anglers that are out here now have been catching kings, but have had to release them,” Lawrence said Thursday.
He said Makah Bay, south of Cape Flattery on the Pacific Ocean, might be the spot for kings.
“I’m anticipating Makah Bay will be good,” Lawrence said.
“I’d suggest motor mooching with herring out there.”
Lawrence said the cohos were behind schedule.
“The silvers seem to be a little bit late,” Lawrence said.
“I’m hoping they are offshore, fattening up before the big wave of them comes in.”
Milward agreed the silvers have yet to materialize in big numbers off the Pacific coast.
“It’s been slow for them again this year,” Milward said.
“We’ve seen that quite a bit the past few years. The silvers have been staying out in deep water; why, I don’t know.
“They’ve been doing it off Westport a lot and it’s been the same at LaPush.
“But then they all show up at once and come back in numbers that at least meet our projections. They just tend to barrel through all at once.”
Lawrence suggested Table Top, a plateau about 6 or 7 miles southwest of Tatoosh Island, as a potential spot for coho.
A large underwater canyon runs between Tatoosh and Table Top, so fishing the edges can find the coho that collect in this area to feed.
LaPush producing chinook
Randy Lato of All-Ways Fishing (360-374-2052) in LaPush is coming across chinook on his trips out on the ocean.
“There’s kings, but the silvers are nonexistent,” Lato said.
Lato said the Old Man, an underwater formation about 13 miles southwest of LaPush that creates a small upwelling of water, has been a good spot.
“If we go out by the Old Man usually we can find them pretty good there,” Lato said.
The kings have been in the 12- to 25-pound range.
“We’ve been seeing some really nice hatcheries in the upper end of that spectrum,” Lato said.
Marine Area 3 anglers can keep one hatchery chinook and also retain an additional two pinks.
Chinook closing
The chinook fishery in Marine Area 5 (Sekiu) and 6 (Eastern Strait of Juan de Fuca) wraps up Saturday.
Starting Sunday, anglers in both areas can keep a daily limit of two salmon of any species, plus two additional pink or sockeye or one of each.
All chinook, wild coho and chum must be released.
The chinook bite has died down in the past few days, according to Bob Aunspach of Swain’s General Store (360-452-2357) in Port Angeles.
“Chinook fishing has been really tough,” Aunspach said.
“The later runs can be like 22 to 25 pounds, there just haven’t been that many of them.”
And the slew of pinks that were so active in past weeks also has thinned.
“Pink fishing has been a little on the slower side,” Aunspach said.
After bad tides limited the catch Saturday, lure designer and angler Pete Rosko found good fishing at Freshwater Bay on Monday.
Rosko said he was using small, 1/4- and 1/3-ounce green glow and silver Kandlefish.
“Their slow drop and lively fluttering action always seem to trigger fish into striking,” Rosko said.
“No king salmon were caught deep vertical jigging.”
Aunspach said the coho bite will pick up shortly.
“Mostly, guys are seeing midsize coho right now, and you’ll start to see some of the bigger coho as the chinook die down,” Aunspach said.
“If the weather is good Sunday, you’ll see guys out in the middle of the Strait looking for them.
“Spots like the Yellow Can and the Rock Pile should be good.”
No-go on Big Quil
Low water flows, elevated water temperatures and a large return of Endangered Species Act listed summer chum have put a kibosh on the Big Quilcene River coho fishery before the season could even start.
This closure affects all waters of the Big Quilcene River from the mouth up to U.S. Highway 101.
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Outdoors columnist Michael Carman appears here Thursdays and Fridays. He can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5152 or at mcarman@peninsuladailynews.com.