Tug... Just a thought on why the program was so successful in the "good ol days." With a near collapse of fishing within the Sound in the late 50's into the 60's something had to be done. When Frank Haw introduced the delayed release program, and the shear numbers of fish, the effect was something akin to the Lake Washington sockeye fishery of today! So naturally, the fishing was good. Of course we have no where near the amount of numbers being released today.

Here's another point: How many people are out fishing MA13 these days? I rarely see another boat. So my competition is nearly non-existent. When August rolls around- that's another story. Folks only want to chase/catch summer fish, but they miss some of the best fishing in the winter and spring.

One of the biggest secrets of MA13 is the sheer amount of large fish in April and May... How many other marine areas are open? Plus we get a 2-fish limit starting in May... In the summer I simply set up my fishing timing-wise and in the migatory paths or choke points to intercept the fish. Guess what... "I gotta go fish Point Defiance with 1000 other knuckleheads" is the furtherest thing from my mind. In the winter I fish in and around the herring spawning areas and the beaches with the greatest amount of sand lance... Piece of cake!