Has anyone done it? I'm told theres a big number of fish in there right now. Also does anyone know whether they'll open a Humpy season this year for rivers?


Skeets

humpies come in odd years

Even years too.

Humpies were open last year, one year on one year off. As of right now, no humpy season on the Snoho.

Doubletake

junior-
I had a discussion with Curt Kramer about the even year humpies that have been prolific this year around The Bar and within the Snohomish System.

This even year run gets stronger every generation, especially in the Snohomish but as it is, it is still not strong enough to open up a fishery for them (from my discussion with Curt).

They also tend to return much earlier then the odd year humpies and tend to spawn in the extreme lower ends of the rivers.

You can target them in the saltwater though...there numbers are declining because we our past prime time.

A quick not of humpie trivia...as you make your way into Alaska, the even year pink populations tend to be MUCH stronger then the odd year returns.

Humpies main runs are on odd numbered years, but small numbers do seem to be seeping into the rivers on even years now.

There is an even year run as well, the numbers are not high enough yet to justify an opening yet, the numbers on those runs have doubled I believe, so it wont be too much longer before they may consider an even year season.

I heard the run is spreading into the stilly, and the skagit too.But the snohomish has the bulk even run.

It is legal to fish for and keep pinks out in the sound though in certain areas (check regs), and there is a decent amount, posession area seems to have the most right now, and I am sure "shipwreck" has some scatter too!

I did pretty well on silvers too in the snohomish, so when it opens.......I will be there.
*oops was typing while 2 posts above were going, sorry for the repeated stuff.

Woodsy Wayne

Virtually all of the rivers that have odd-year runs of humpies also have smaller even-year runs. I've fished the Stilly since somewhere around 1954 and there have ALWAYS BEEN odd-year humpies in the river. The runs are only a small fraction of the size of the even-year runs, but they have probably been there since the end of the last ice age. Pilchuck Creek in particular seems to get unusually large numbers of them.

Here ya go. From the weekend reporter..

While Puget Sound pink salmon typically return in odd years only, there is a growing stock of pink salmon returning to the Snohomish River in even years. "We have received numerous reports of pink salmon sport catches this summer," said WDFW Fish Program Manager Jim Ames. The stock has been growing significantly in recent years. In 1994, there was an escapement of 1,640 spawners; that number doubled to 3,734 in 1996. In 1998, the return nearly doubled again to 6,078 fish and, true to form, the 2000 return doubled to 12,900 fish. Ames said that judging by the number of pink salmon reported in sport catches from Elliott Bay north to the Everett area, it looks like the 2002 return might again be double the parent-year escapement. While they are off-limits to freshwater salmon anglers, pink salmon may be retained as part of the daily bag limit in saltwater fisheries.

So...If the numbers keep growing at about the same pace we can expect about 26,000 back this year???? So 2004... 50K??