#1061671 - 03/14/23 01:14 PM
Re: anybody still fish?
[Re: eswan]
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Three Time Spawner
Registered: 06/03/06
Posts: 1533
Loc: Tacoma
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Walked up to the holding pond on the Sol Duc one time and noticed it was plugged with summer coho. Included with them were two summer run steelhead. I had some shrimp on me so I tossed one in the pond. One of the summer run tore through the silvers and engulfed it. I tossed in another and watched the second one do the same thing. Any question about summer runs feeding was answered then and there. They acted as if they were starving from being trapped in the pond.
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#1061673 - 03/14/23 04:11 PM
Re: anybody still fish?
[Re: Carcassman]
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Repeat Spawner
Registered: 12/06/07
Posts: 1384
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They weren't exactly "trapped" in the pond. For a while, WDF ran a summer steelhead program (under the table). They reared the steelhead and coho in the same raceway and got nice returns. WDG quashed the program when they found out about it. That's what we need now! All HM hear this! Raise em and dump em.
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#1061704 - 03/23/23 12:30 PM
Re: anybody still fish?
[Re: eswan]
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King of the Beach
Registered: 12/11/02
Posts: 5206
Loc: Carkeek Park
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Starting to see some chum fry now. Not a ton yet. They released 30K into the creek below my house last night. My buddy who lives on the canal has been doing well using fry patterns, even though he isn’t seeing a lot of them. It will only get better. SF
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#1061707 - 03/23/23 01:48 PM
Re: anybody still fish?
[Re: eswan]
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King of the Beach
Registered: 12/11/02
Posts: 5206
Loc: Carkeek Park
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It was pretty cool last night seeing how quickly the fry headed downstream after the release. Can’t say I’ve ever seen chum fry in December over all the years I’ve fished the canal including areas near summer chum streams. Might be because I’m not looking for them at that time of the year. Like everything, things vary year to year. Mid to late March has always been the beginning of seeing decent numbers of fry and the fish attacking them. Based on what I’ve seen so far this year and the lack of post spawn fish, peak cutthroat spawning hasn’t happened quite yet. At least in the areas I like to fish. Some years you run into a good number of post spawn fish in late January. SF
Edited by stonefish (03/23/23 02:06 PM)
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#1061710 - 03/23/23 02:23 PM
Re: anybody still fish?
[Re: Carcassman]
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King of the Beach
Registered: 12/11/02
Posts: 5206
Loc: Carkeek Park
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As I thought about it more, or my memory defogged, the early fry were from summer chum. Since we ran traps and electrofished we'd have seen them and it seemed by March that stock had cleared. But, the normal-timed fish I worked with emerged in March/April/early May. We'd collect them during the day and release at night. The SRCT would basically open their mouths at the outfall pipe........Those cutties also clobbered coho smolts. Cutts love pink fry as well, but we'll have to wait until next spring for that. Just curious, what was the earliest date that you witnessed summer chum actually spawning? It is always fun to stop by the counting station at the end of a day of cutt fishing to see how many summer chum have been counted. This year it was about 5,300+. Since they count 8/15 to 10/15, it seems like there might be some overlap at the end with late summer / early fall fish but I'm not really sure. SF
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#1061714 - 03/24/23 10:31 AM
Re: anybody still fish?
[Re: stonefish]
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Spawner
Registered: 02/06/08
Posts: 506
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Just curious, what was the earliest date that you witnessed summer chum actually spawning? The earliest that I saw when I was working H.C. ('83 to '86, I think) was late August.
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#1061716 - 03/25/23 11:20 AM
Re: anybody still fish?
[Re: eswan]
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King of the Beach
Registered: 12/11/02
Posts: 5206
Loc: Carkeek Park
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Good info on the summers. Much appreciated. I never start my searun fishing until they close coho, which used to be the end of October where I like to fish. Now that October isn’t available, I start it earlier now, but never in August when those early summer chum are around. That is why I was curious about the early spawn timing. That late August / early September timing may also be why my buddy is seeing nice size cutts at that time in his stream. Maybe they are up there eating summer chum eggs? SF
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#1061718 - 03/26/23 04:52 AM
Re: anybody still fish?
[Re: eswan]
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King of the Beach
Registered: 12/11/02
Posts: 5206
Loc: Carkeek Park
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Yep, that is why I do almost all my cutt fishing in the south sound or on the canal. I’ve caught nice cutts in the north sound, but it can be pretty barren once the early entry fish leave the salt. There are always later entry fish available year round. November followed by October and December would be my favorite months down south when the fish are in prime shape prior to spawning. Not many post spawn fish around so far this year, at least where I like to fish. Perhaps peak spawning hasn’t occurred yet as it does vary year to year. Some years you see a good number of post spawn fish as early as late January. SF
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