Chasin' Baitman -
You are correct in that the poor coho returns have been largely driven by ocean conditions; namely that infamous "warm blob" of the coast. Thankful that appears to broken down. However the coho situation may persist for awhile; in the past poor coho returns to Puget Sound has been associated with severe droughts or a strong "el Niņo. Unfortunately the coho smolt head to the sea this spring experienced a historic drought and will final a strong "el Niņo" when they get the ocean.

A potential future concern exists for PS Chinook; the fish returning in 2017 and 2018 enter the ocean the same time that last year and this year coho did. Hopefully they will not be as adversely affect as the coho but any additional drop in ocean survival will be concerning.

Yes this winter "blackmouth" season was excellent but there remains some uncertainty whether all those shakers are indicators of a strong upcoming year class of fish or just that many of those young fish moved into the sound from the ocean to find food.

Curt