The conditions aren’t as tight as the combat fishing seen on the Big Quilcene River or up on some Alaskan streams, but Midchannel Bank on a chinook opener always draws a crowd of boats.
That’s what longtime angler Don Arnett, a former Port Townsend resident now living out at Diamond Point, found when he went out with his fishing pal Jason Headley of Port Hadlock.
Arnett and Headley found success on the opening day last Thursday and again last Friday, with both anglers getting a chinook each day.
“It was a tough opener as it was very crowded due to the extremely short season,” Arnett said. “With that many boats on the water, it spooks all fish.”
Arnett is an experienced angler, especially at Midchannel, and he knows first light is always a good time to have your lines in the water.
“Best chance is first light,” Arnett said. “We struggled a bit, but with max experience at mid channel, we caught two fish (about 12 or 13 pounds), then the next day, two fish at 10 to 12 pounds.
“This was rather disappointing as typically we see fish in the high teens … or even in the 20s. We fished in heavy current, again not the best.”
Arnett said the chinook were not lured by the usual green hoochie.
“We used red racer flashers with 42-inch leaders attached to cop car spoons with mini flash tail,” Arnett said. “It worked. We did not get one strike using the typical green hooch with ace high fly insert, normally the best. Spoons worked as the fish seemed to be keying on herring instead of sand lances (coho-killer lures) or the go-to hoochies.
Fort Worden’s Point Wilson beach casters were using cut-plug herring, and the moochers looked productive from Arnett’s view on the water.
“The moochers at Point Wilson seemed to be doing well, which is typical for those pros at the right tide,” Arnett said. “I would say for the crowd of trollers — many boats went home skunked.”
No creel reports were taken at the Port Townsend Boat Haven since the opener, but Area 9 has been productive.
Checks of anglers across Admiralty Inlet on opening day at the Fort Casey Public Ramp put the chinook-per-angler average at .62 or 66 chinook caught by 106 anglers.
Everett Ramp anglers fishing Area 9 posted a .47 chinook catch rate with 328 anglers netting 154 chinook (and a surprising 165 hatchery coho).
Shilshole Public Ramp over in the Ballard neighborhood of Seattle also had Area 9 action as 37 anglers brought in 20 chinook (.54) and 18 coho. The numbers dropped a bit to 31 anglers and 11 chinook last Friday.
Beach-casting time
It’s beach-casting time once again, according to Quilcene angler and tackle maker Ward Norden.
“With the price on fuel in Washington state now the highest in the nation, one way to make salmon fishing more economical is to learn to cast lures from certain beaches for salmon. These beaches are ones where currents cause the migrating salmon to close to shore within casting range of public beaches.
“Historically, the most famous of these beaches are along Whidbey Island such as Bush Point and Double Bluff, but we have a couple of these beaches on the North Olympic Peninsula as well,” Norden said.
“The most famous is Point Wilson at Fort Worden State Park, but Fort Flagler State Park has its own point, Marrowstone Point, which happens to be my favorite for both pink salmon and coho.”
Beach-casting season started off slow, Norden said.
“The season started unsurprisingly slow at Marrowstone for opening weekend last week since the humpy and coho migrations haven’t even begun yet. Nevertheless, a few small resident coho were caught when I was there,” Norden said.
How to rig your setup
Norden said the gear needed for beachcasting can probably be found in any North Olympic Peninsula angler’s garage, a steelhead rod with a reel loaded with 10-pound or 12-pound monofilament.
“The lures could be steelhead spoons, Blue Fox spinners and Pixie spoons, but the traditional favorites on Whidbey Island have been Buzz Bomb jigs in 3L size for a couple decades,” Norden said.
“Those Buzz Bombs are gradually being replaced by our own local jigs made in Sequim, Rotator Jigs. Rotator Jigs seem to have a lighter metal alloy that causes them to sink more slowly than even the 3L Buzz Bombs, keeping the Rotators in front of the salmon a moment longer.
“The classic favorite Rotator colors have been pink and chartreuse, but I have had success with chrome and white as well.
“On Marrowstone Point, a traditional favorite method has been casting whole or cut herring a couple feet behind a small (1/2 to 1-ounce) mooching or keeled sinker.”
Read the tides
An understanding of tidal conditions is of utmost importance.
“One of the keys to successful beach casting for salmon is to learn which tide brings the salmon closest,” Norden said. “Every point is different. If you don’t see fish caught right away, be patient because salmon travel in schools.
“Watching other anglers on either side will often tell you when a school is passing by, but humpies (pinks) are even easier to see because some always are jumping as they pass.”
Fishing will gradually improve for coho all the way into September, and the humpies should appear on schedule beginning about Aug. 5 for about three weeks.
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Sports reporter/columnist Michael Carman can be contacted at mcarman@peninsuladailynews.com.
Don Arnett of Diamond Point battled the crowds at Midchannel Bank to take home limits of chinook with fishing partner Jason Headley of Port Hadlock during the Marine Area 9 opener last week.
