I kept hearing there are no bright fish in Minter and had to drive out there one last time yesterday to see for myself, I live in Port Angeles.... The first two times I went, I hooked onto some bright fish, but could not land them. I went back a third time last week and landed the brightest chum ever, red meat yay! (1st fish in the pic) The third fish we kept WAS bright, but turned fast and the eggs were loose, not to mention it had a sperm sacK AND eggs! Weird fish so it went in the trash.





Yesterday, there weren't as many fish or people which made it A LOT easier to see and target the chromers. They were hiding behind the big bucks. At first, I thought they were spawned out but it was just the water color against the white body. Not having so many fish also helps avoiding foul hooking on every cast. Just about every fish I have hooked and landed at Minter was in the mouth, I don't fish the schools, just the fish moving up and down. First two fish were so chrome and the second two were bright. I caught those at night when the fish spread out all over, it was chaos!!! Landed the biggest buck ever, 20-25 pounder, it was quite a battle....also 38 corkies and 40+ hooks from the trees and bushes, lol I love night fishing!

The Chromers, only took 8 hours to find them lol:

EEEW....

yeah that!!!


i have yet to bonk a hen that had roe that looked like that. almost too bad she didn't spawn.

Dee Lee Cious

what did you hook them with?

wow better luck next time on the roe

^I have plenty of eggs curing, actually I was giving my eggs away yesterday from those 4 hens. I also found two hens someone left on the bank and took the eggs and threw the carcasses in the water.

I was throwing everything at them, yarn and corkies, flies, and even some purple jigs. Those fish are crazy biters, and have thick skin so used small thin hooks. At night tho, there are too many fish and no water so I went gear hunting. Next time I do that with that many fish, I'll wear shin guards, lol.

question...I had a nice little chromer on a stringer and when I went to leave it turned yellowish by the time I got back to the car. The meat was also pink, not red but the fish was chrome, what happened?

nice clear green leader lol

Fishing at night and using small thin hooks cause the fish have thick skin.

Chrome??? When the Hens are fresh they are solid chrome with barely any stripes.
WTF were you thinking dude!!!!!
Must be mighty hungry around there.
I'm sorry dude but why would you post those?
Just my .02 cents.

Nice Boots.

Hey guys cut him a break. He is very likely a new angler and wants to be part of the community. Some gentle encouragement would be better than insults.

Bad Fish: While those are better looking chums than many, most of us would not consider them to be "chrome" or even bright. Chums can be good fun, but seldom eat, or smoke well Whne that close to spawning. A fish that has loose eggs is pretty damn close to spawning.

I think those are all hatchery fish. If so, have a ball, but this is not the place to brag about those as chrome fish, and be careful when you make remarks about thin hook penetrating skin. That sound like snagging and that is not condoned by anyone here.

P.S. This is a bright chum

I think she might be a woman.

yep

Wow, this forum is DEFINITELY different. I have posted this on another forum where they talk a lot about Minter and have gotten nothing but compliments about my fish. First fish in pic 1 had nice red meat and it tasted great. All the other fish I gave to family and friends and they are all happy and say the fish taste great. . And I do consider the 1st fish in pic 3 to be chrome.

To clarify: The chum with loose eggs I caught last week. They do not allow you to gut your fish at the creek, and didn't know until I got home hours later it was bad. I did not smoke it or attempt to, went straight in the trash. I posted the pic because of it's oddity.

As for the hooks, you have to use small hooks to keep from foul hooking fish all day. Thin hooks I noticed, and yes I am a new angler, seem to set better. There are just too many fish in that creek to use big hooks. That's all, flame on...

Does it matter at night? I like my line and use it when night fishing.

Why are Chums looked down on all the time?

Actually, Chums can get bars out in the salt too and they are still fresh=red meat. I look at fish as food, not trophies. I'm not an elitist, just out there having fun catching fish.

I explained it but to clarify this post...everyone who fishes Minter complains there are no bright fish. So I went out there and found the brightest ones I could in 8 hours. The limit is 4 and the hatchery just wants them gone, so I took them home so I can have the eggs. You cannot gut your fish there. I drove that far just to release bright hatchery fish? I give the rest of the fish away, because we (me and my fiancee) do not eat fish. I let them know what it is before giving it to them and will not keep a fish that doesn't have a white belly or firm red/pink meat. Everyone wins.

It's all Good! As long as you enjoyed it ,don't worry about who's giving you crap about what's bright and what's Boots . I've seen it all here on the Cowlitz and Toutle, Guys taking home Silvers so black you'll laugh for hours and Chinooks with white fungus all over them and they tell me "they'll smoke up good". Yeh in the brush pile!!

"it'll smoke " yea but so will a turd.