THE COHO ARE running, but the complaint from anglers concerns an uneven ratio of wild to hatchery fish.
Silvers can be found all along the Strait of Juan de Fuca, but anglers might have to wade through a concentration of unclipped fish to find that clipped hatchery keeper.
Jerry Wright of Jerry’s Bait and Tackle (360-457-1308) in Port Angeles said the fishing has been worth the effort.
“Saltwater fishing is really good right now,” Wright said.
“It’s just that guys are having a hard time finding the hatchery fish among all the wilds.”
Wright said he went fishing Monday at Freshwater Bay and hooked into about 30 fish but could only find a few keepers.
“They are nice fish when you can find one,” Wright said.
“Our biggest one was about 12 pounds.”
The action was consistent on his trip.
“If you want to go out and catch-and-release a ton of fish to find that hatchery, there’s plenty of fun,” Wright said.
He rigged up by throwing a herring on his downrigger and trolling without a flasher attached to the downriggers.
Wright also advised using Wicked Lures without a flasher.
“Just because the fish are smaller and you don’t want all that weight knocking the fight out of them,” Wright said.
“They seem to fight a lot different than when there’s no flasher.
“They like to jump and thrash and it really makes it more of a sporting experience to catch them.”
Wright said the wild-to-hatchery ratio may be artificially enhanced.
“With some of these wilds you can tell they are hatchery fish,” Wright said.
“All the fins are rounded off. You can tell they were raised in a tank.”
Keepers in Sekiu
Brandon Mason of Olson’s Resort (360-963-2311) in Sekiu has heard similar rumors from anglers.
“I’ve heard there have been quite a few that have been like half-clipped,” Mason said.
“I haven’t seen any myself. But guys are saying the adipose fins might have a V in them, or they are half-nubbed, which makes it so they are too scared to come back with them and risk a fine if they make the wrong decision.”
Here’s the antidote to unclipped adipose fins: fish Saturday through Monday in Sekiu when wild and hatchery coho retention is allowed.
Last weekend was the first wild retention weekend for Marine Area 5 (Sekiu), and the catch was on in excellent numbers.
State creel reports from last Saturday and Sunday at Olson’s show 539 coho were caught by 395 anglers, a 1.36 fish-per-angler average.
Van Riper’s Resort was checked Saturday, and 277 coho were caught by 151 anglers for a 1.83 fish-per-angler average.
“The fishing is good, Mason said.
“The size of the fish isn’t huge but they have been getting bigger and bigger.”
Mason said there are more silvers coming in weighing in the low double digits, but most are averaging 6 or 7 pounds — not too far off the typical coho size of 8 pounds.
He said the best success is out in the middle of the Strait of Juan de Fuca.
“Out by the shipping lanes starting in around 250-foot deep water and working their way out to 600 or 700 feet,” Mason said.
“Guys are seeing the bait balls out there and I’m telling them just to circle back through the bait balls and you’ll find the silvers.”
Mason said it was raining in Sekiu on Thursday and more is expected Saturday and Sunday before a calm, sunny Monday.
Technique-wise, Mason said most anglers are doing well using fresh bait.
“Pulling 6-ounce banana weights with a good leader on it and a herring has been popular,” Mason said.
“Others are rigging herring up on a Deep Six [a diving sinker].
“Some are even dragging flies on the surface in the prop wash, and the silvers are slamming them on the surface.”
Wild coho retention also will be open in Sekiu on Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 26-27, and for the entire month of October.
Quillayute active
“It’s been good out on the rivers,” Wright said.
“There’s lots of fish down the Quillayute, and guys are popping and twitching jigs and spinner’s.
Purple and pink have been popular colors for the jigs. Wright makes them at his shop, and if you listen close he’ll probably give you a good tip on a productive section of river.
“It’s a mixed bag on the Quillayute with kings and the first batches of the fall-run coho,” Wright said.
“The coho do seem to be small, but it’s still early. October will really tell because that’s when the larger hook noses come through.”
Try Whidbey side
Eric Elliott of The Fishin’ Hole (360-385-7031) in Port Townsend said the angler pressure is low off Port Townsend.
“We are hitting that point of the year where it’s kind of slowed down,” Elliott said.
“All I know for sure is that some of the guys fishing for coho that are having the most luck are fishing on the Whidbey Island side.
“Spots like Bush Point and Lagoon Point have been productive.”
Elliott also mentioned that he’s heard from beach casters having good luck fishing Point Wilson at Fort Worden State Park.
Creel reports back this up, as checks in recent weeks have seen around seven or eight fish caught by between 20 and 30 anglers.
Elliott also recommended beach casters try fishing off Marrowstone Point right by the lighthouse at Fort Flager State Park.
In a check last Friday, seven coho were landed by 14 anglers, down from two weeks prior, when 24 coho were caught by 43 anglers.
Slow at Sutherland
Lure designer and angler Pete Rosko fished Lake Sutherland for kokanee Wednesday.
Rosko wanted to check conditions and see if the kokanee were staging for their spawning run.
“Despite perfect above-the-water conditions on Wednesday (calm water/cloudy skies), the kokanee fishery was terribly slow,” Rosko said.
“The few kokanee we caught were ripe with eggs.
“Water temp was 66 [degrees], still high relative to an ideal 55- to 57-degree temp for kokanee.
“In 33 years [fishing the lake] I’ve never experienced a September kokanee fishery that was so slow.”
Salmon on the stroll
Tom Fairhall of Port Townsend went for a couple of hikes recently in the Olympic National Forest.
Fairhall ventured south near Brinnon to walk the 2.1-mile roundtrip Ranger Hole Interrorem Nature Trail.
The relatively flat trail is recommended for children.
At its start, the trail features the Interrorem Cabin, which was built in 1907 and is the oldest Forest Service dwelling on the entire North Olympic Peninsula.
The cabin is available for rentals at tinyurl.com/pdn-cabinrental15.
The trail winds through the forest to a ledge above the Ranger Hole, a fishing hole that rangers staying in the cabin used to fish for steelhead and salmon.
“The Duckabush [River] was chock full of salmon at the Ranger Hole a few days ago, with fish leaping up the white water to the river above the falls,” Fairhall said.
“I have never seen so many salmon in the Duckabush before.
“Visitors to the Ranger Hole should be cautious, as the rocks above the falls, where the best viewing is, are extremely slippery, especially when wet.”
Fishing is closed on the Duckabush until Nov. 1.
Fairhall also spied salmon along the Gray Wolf River near Sequim.
“[I] also saw a good run of salmon, mostly humpies, in the Gray Wolf river just above the Dungeness Forks campground.
“Looks like the recent rains have made these east side rivers just come alive with fish.”
Anglers can catch and release fish on the Gray Wolf River through Oct. 31.
Selective gear rules apply.
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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.
