What makes you guys think the fishing is so poor in MA13? I don't think for one minute it is a lack of fish, rather the lack of anglers! I understand fuel restrictions and cost, perhaps you don't know the entire marine area, Percival Cove net pens, or perhaps you don't give two craps, but I rarely see another boat, other than buddies, thoroughout the year. You make it sound like there isn't a single fish to be caught!

Salt steelhead? You betcha! There are a few spots you can intercept them moreso than Whidbey! (Don't ask!)

Chums? Nisqually? Nah. John's Creek? Nah. Minter? Nah... Nothing on the map that would make you think otherwise. Case Inlets is plum full of chums in season- Napa Auto Parts- yes!

Pinks? The Nisqually had one of the largest runs in the 50's (I am not that old, but I have researched this quite a bit). We still get quite a few down here and they can be intercepted just south of the bridge.

Frankly, I would put MA13 an immediate second behind MA7 for blackmouth and returning kings! Yep, call me crazy! Hell, Aunty M has one of the best spots just off her doorstep- "The Tennis Courts."

Same in the deep south of MA12... Anyone still fish the Chicken Hole? We are all aware of the oxygen depletion in Hood Canal... Guess what? There are still a ton of Blackies this far south! Ayres or Musqueti Point? "The Great Wall" off Tahuya? Sisters Point?

I believe I can take top honors in saying that I fish MA13, perhaps more than anyone alive in the last 36-plus years, and there is still a lot of fish to be caught. I still fish 60 or more days a year (use to fish 100-plus days- not anymore) and rarely get shunked (without a keeper fish). I can proudly say I've probably weighed in more derby "money fish" from MA13 too. It is probably because no one but a handful of us hardcore guys still fish it (there's no competition). Granted places like Devils Head, Johnson Point, Point Fosdick, and the shelf off Day Island are no longer the mecca they once were in the 60's and 70's, I guess most of you don't realize what you are missing. Perhaps it is the lack of "written reports" in the News Tribune or the reports for other locations that suck you in... Frankly, I got quite the chuckle when I crossed the bridge on the MA11 opener (June 01) and saw 20-plus boats jigging of Evans and then a phone call from a friend with a limited off Green Point early in the morning. The only time I see 20-boats south of the bridge is in August!

Herring.... I don't know where you guys are getting your information on the lack of bait, but there is still a ton of it in the south. In fact, acoustic surveys indicated more herring in the Wollochet stock than previous years. This time of year Wollochet and Hale Passagge is loaded, as well as Chambers, and Devils Head. Gibson is still pumping out a great evening bite too in the late spring into summer! Herron Island up to Vaughn Bay is generally loaded with both herring, anchovies, and Chambers fish following too! The 2012 Mother's Day 32#r was taken of NE of Fosdick on the flats with tons of baits around! When was the last time anyone heard of a fish over 30# in May down here?

Anchovies.... are on tap year around now. Just saw quite a few fairly large schools off Green Point just the other day feeding on amphipods in the surface film. However, they mainly stay further south- Devils Head and south. I wouldn't say the anchovies have numerically replaced the herring, but definitely in direct competition in areas of high zooplankton blooms. Ironically, only a few fish have stomach samples of anchovies...

Groundfish.... Although not the nuissance they once were in the 70's, we catch a few small rockfish and cod here and there. Perhaps some of you can remember two years ago when guys where catching a lot of them in MA11 and MA13. Additionally, I quit fishing lings this year because of too many rockfish on the rockpile north of TOA.

McCallister is closed yes, but what about the Deschutes, Minter, Chambers, or Nisqually hatcheries? Not to mention other secret flowing waters in MA13? I cannot think of another reason why, other than instinctive inclinations, why fish would be in the areas they are at the appropriate times of year.

Granted the coho fishery has went to hell since the net pens at Fox Island disappeared, but the chinook fishery is alive and well my friends. Lastly, It doesn't take forensic science to know that most of the deepest of South Sound blackmouth head north and are caught off the southern end of Vancouver Island (do some research)... On the other hand, I (we) experience some great fishing in the winter. I would attribute this to the amount of bait and fish being draw into the area. Do I dare mention a large population of sand lance spawing- akin to Mid Channel (usually in Novemeber)? We can reach a two fish limit fairly easy in May when everyone else is waiting for the June opener in MA11.

The beauty of MA13 are several fishing spots are within a very short boat run. I.e., eight major points of land and an additional five "holes of interest" are within a 15-minute run of one another...(to mention a few) Most are generally out of the elements and at least three of these spots hold fish at any given time. You would call me crazy if I mentioned two of my favorite blackmouth holes are a pinnacle off Penrose Point and a deep water "bowl" off McNeil Island in Drayton Passage.

You guys can fish MA11 all you want for 10K returning kings to the Pew, but I take over 60K-plus returning south of the bridge anyday! Betcha ya didn't know Minter Creek gets more returning kings than the Pew... but for some reason folks are compelled to chase the lore and history of MA11- mainly Point Defiance. I don't get it!

I'll pass along a little bit of a MA13 tip... If you're not finding fish in the proverbial 90 to 150-feet, rest assured they have moved a lot deeper over the years. I wouldn't bat an eye at chasing/catching winter fish at 200-plus feet. Rest assured the bait is/has been that deep!

If anyone has the time and desire to learn my beloved MA13, I'd be happy to have you along... As long as it takes! It now takes me less than five minutes to walk down to the beach and pull the boat ashore in Wollochet Bay! With a full punch card or two, we could prove to others that MA13 is alive and well. I would only ask that you freely, without reservation, pass along anything you gained to younger crowd. One of the few things inportant to me after I am gone (less the kids and grand kids) is that our salmon fishing continues for many years to come. I definitely hold no secrets... Without the passion to catch salmon in the years to come, we truly have nothing! Broad statement, but so true for those that love the saltchuck!