I'm just curious how the Salmon season was for you guys up in Washington. Down here in Northwest Oregon we saw a pretty good return of Chinook on the coast and quite a few native Coho as well. Even the Chum showed up in better numbers.

Mark

Conditions were vry tough for thoes who couldn't get out when conditions were perfect.
Elochoman had a fair number of coho but they were very poor biters
The Sop was good if you hit it right
The Washougal coho run was totally non exsistent ( hatchery has hmm was either 4 or 8 hundred)

Over all i say it was slightly below average for my neck of the woods. But then a lot of people got out more than I did..

I haven't been salmon fishing long, but this year was by far my best ever!

I got a boat last December, and took it out numerous times on Puget Sound out of Seattle, and got a few pinks and dozens of coho. No real big ones, but plenty of good eating.

And I took that little 16 foot boat out for some ocean fishing out of Ilwaco, and it was GREAT! A lot of the fish had too many fins, but we got plenty of keepers too.

One word.......GREAT!

Steve Ng

I'll second that, Steve! FANTASTIC... my best season in the past decade, especially for the big kings. From the ocean to the bay on up the rivers... it was the season that just kept on giving and giving. A banner salmon year for which I am eternally grateful as we approach the Thanksgiving holiday. Now, briing on the steelhead!

I'm with Steve....best ever. I got my largest Chinook this year off of Westport (like Steve) and I also had a ball. Off of Neah Bay and Westport I have never seen so many fish. Lots of native fish too, Rob. Too busy for the rivers this fall but I know they have been good too.

I'd take another year just like this year.

Id say it was a good year a little above average. But nothing like 2001 was. But I only fished in area 11 and 12 this year. And didnt get out as much as I would have liked to.

I fished between port hardy bc and elliot bay this summer . Best year I had saltwater salmon fishing ever didnt get skunked once . Over a 150 to the boat with most being released.

I did not get out into the saltwater this year, but judging by the returns to the rivers that I fish, I would have to say this was an exceptional year. What made it the best ever was that both my daughter and son caught their first salmon this year. Not just a great year but a memorable one!!

From Westport, Ilwaco, Columbia, puget sound, snohomish system, to the coastal rivers of washington it has be nothing short of spectacular. Chinook, coho, chum, and pinks in huge numbers. I was thinking about it and I don't think we had a salmon trip this year with less than 4 or 5 fish landed and many days were double digits. AWESOME!
Canyon Man

The rating's:
1)Poor
2)OK
3)Good
4)Great
5)Awesome
I'll go with number 4 GREAT but not the best.
2001 was better if ya ask me,but I'm not complaining @ all.It's not over yet,can you say
ELK RIVER in S.W. Oregon.Good luck,
STRIKE ZONE

Well, the smokers been full every Sunday since the middle of August. I think it was a decent year. Really curious how this winter's going to be though. My REAL passion...

id have to say it was ok.. since i totalled my truck on july 23rd, and missed the king season , my fave time for fishing, and i got it rebuilt on sept 20th or so, i missed perty much the kings and some good coho fishing too, but did catch quite a few pinks (but so did everyone) easy limits took me out in his boat, which helped me alot, anyways, hopefully next season is better for me..

I used more ink on my card(s) than any other previous year!

You know, Steve..........you could have said that if that fish in your avatar was the only one you landed this season.

I'd say it was a pretty good year.......I didn't get out near as much as I usually do, but I did some serious damage when I did get out.

Time to dial in some steelhead now, though.

My kids and wife are sick of eating salmon. Need I say more?

Yeah I'd say it was pretty darn good this year.

Caught lots and lots of fish in the canal. Even though the numbers of fish per trip wasn't as good as 2001 I still managed to go thru the punchcard pretty quick

This year the normally productive spots didn't produce as well, but we managed to locate fish in some new locations with absolutely no other fishing pressure around...

Quality of the fishing experience coupled with learning some new areas made this the best year yet.

Cant wait till next year...

Next year... The springer run in the Columbia is estimated to be 70% larger this year than last. This year we got 28 to the boat. That means my target next year has to be (1.7 * 28, carry the 5...) 48 fish. Have to get started early, I guess...

Great!!! The pinks where very fun and the neighbors liked them too, we give away the pinks and keep the coho. First time to Seiku this year and couldn't keep them off the line. Most rivers got great runs of coho this year and I got my share too!

Silvers a lot better than last year in Puget Sound, and sounds like a decent year for the coastal rivers.
We are going to find out this weekend if the Silvers are still in the 'Duc.

-rbf

On a scale of 1 - 10 (with 10 the best), it was no better than a 5. Perhaps it's because last year was so much better, particularly the spring Chinook season. Last year I put over a dozen in the freezer. This past spring I only got two. And I had to work hard for those two.

Winter and summer steelhead were about normal. Fall Chinook was a complete bust. Although there were plenty of fall Chinook to be found, I couldn't get them to hit. Fall coho were about normal, even though the late run coho were just about non-existent.

What was interesting was my complete lack of success using jigs. I first started using jigs in 2001 with some success. I really got into it in 2002 with lots of fish landed. This past year was the worst. I didn't land a single fish on jigs. Not sure why. I use them alot more in 2003 but couldn't move a thing. Frustrating......

I guess that's fishing.......

cohoangler..perhaps you've been eating too many bananas? Judging from all the other posts you were doing something wrong.

My ratings for the north sound rivers for this year are.
Skagit: A+ for pinks, B+ for silvers & chum (floods really hurt)
Stilly: C+ for all salmon (water temps too warm, then giant flood)
Sky: B+ for pinks, then floods hit hard.
Sauk: total lose from floods
If not for the floods, we might have had one of the best years ever.

Excellent on fresh and salt. Caught my biggest chinook that was 50-52 pounds and a few other 40 pounders that were chrome.

worst year in a long time, damn boat broke down in early july and didn't get back on the water until september. caught plenty of river fish so it wasn't a complete bust.

If every year was like this, I'd never complain. It was excellent when I actually made it out. Always found fish regardless of which month it was.

Hello, FishNphysician, finally get to see you in person, thats a great avatar you have there. Yes fishing was exceptional this year, and yes I caught my share in the rivers too. I have sold my sled so now its the salt, or else hitch a ride with one of my buddies. Can't wait to start steelheading soon also. Take it easy and see you guys on the river....That includes you Dan S.

Steve

FishNg1:

Nice to be on board.. but a little humbling to be designated only an "egg." Guess I'll have to earn my stripes... can't wait to make "alevin." You've obviously been here awhile... looks to me like you were one of the "Founding Fathers" so to speak.


Canyon Man:

Thanks for the PM... profile and signature updated to be a little more revealing for curious minds.

great for everybody else...terrible for me for some reason. i just have bananna luck this year for some reason the nisqually king run being a total bust wasn't much fun either

How sweet it was............Freezers stocked well

Coho

I'd have to rate it one of the best ever, from those march 15th Wind river Springers thru all those Klickitat Coho.

2. I think the 3 weeks extentions the WDFW gave the CR gillnetters in Oct. took care of the late run Coho on the Cow, NFL etc .....other than that a very good year.

My worst year in the salt.

Best year in the rivers.

I have been salmon fishing in Washington for damn near 50 years, and guys, let me tell you, this is about as good as it gets. I would drop just about everything and enjoy it while you can, as I did pretty much all spring, summer and fall. Yeah, it would have been nice if the damn gillnetter commission didn't screw us out of weekend fishing for Columbia springers, and oh by the way they did such a great job of conserving last spring that this spring they get to gillnet even more And it would really have been nice if WDFW would have noticed that there seemed to be a record return of Columbia fall chinook and let us have more that 1 a day down at B10 instead of letting the gillnetters have them for 13 cents a pound upriver And it would have been even nicer if I could have kept at least the few bleeders, especially the chromer over 40

Yep!

That all sounds good….but can you even imagine what sport fishing would be like if "Salmon" were reclassified to become a "sport fish" instead of being a "food fish"

Even during the bad times, times would be good for sport fishers!

Cowlitzfisherman

No complaints here.
Finding the time to fish proved more difficult than finding the fish this year. Having been on both sides of the fence, I'm still not sure which is better or worse: having more opportunity and no fish or less opportunity and lots of fish. But that's fishing for you.
The way I see it; every day, every year and every fish is a gift. Thanks, Lord.

Got thoroughly sick and tired of catching and smoking salmon...same as last year. If I had the same desire as when I was younger, I'd have filled my three punch cards in two months....but I just run out of steam. The last couple of trips I made, I caught over 15 fish (lost track), but only kept two of the smallest (easier to pack out and fit in the smoker). Since I use only a single barbless hook, it is relatively easy to unhook them. I still have the roe in the fridge for a buddy (probably no good by now)....don't know why I try to save it....never use bait myself. Ah, to be young and in good shape again.

I wouldnt know, I only got one chance at it all year.

I fished the Duc about two weeks ago. Did the hatchery run with a friend. We boated 5 silvers and lost 4 or 5 more. Also got a brat that day.

I did notice that there were alot fewer fish in the river than there has been the past few years, but one river in one region is no testimate to the full meal deal.