Salmon Seasons announced!

From the Times this morning:


http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/sports/134673400_fish11.html

It appears for the first time in a while there's a limited chinook retention fishery in area 6 Big coho run coming back to the Skagit and all other fisheries around the state. Area 9 opens on July 15 for beach angling (at least it wasn't a total shut out!).


I just have to figure out how to get married this summer and have it not disrupt any fishing time Turn in your vacation slips now!

BD

Sekiu on the 5th of July! Don't get much better than that!

You better get your boat in the water around the 1st... The launch lines are gonna stretch to Port Angeles! I hope people read and understand the "only bringing keepers on board" rule. The are going to count anything netted, kept or not. Lots of eyes on the water I'll bet!

I'm fired up for this summer!!!!

Right on! We get the month of June back in area 11!!

Looks like my early reservation at Van Rippers for July 7-11th paid off.

In Strait of Juan de Fuca, Sekiu and Port Angeles will have a pilot study selective hatchery-marked chinook fishery that begins July 5, and will last for 41 days or until 3,500 chinook are caught.

The most important part of the pilot study is collecting vital information to find out what impacts the selective fishery will have on endangered wild chinook stocks of Puget Sound.

"We are expanding our monitoring of the chinook fishery at Sekiu and Port Angeles by nearly doubling the sample checkers," said Doug Milward, a state Fish and Wildlife resource manager.

If it's anything like last years "checks" it will be a joke. Nearly doubling means two checkers on two days instead of one checker on one day. (He did check a second day but the decision had already been made to close it). It's very tempting to say "No I didn't release any". Otherwise the season could be over in a week if it pans out that 75% or 80% hooked are unmarked. I believe I read that 1 in 5 are projected to be marked. I bet there's going to be a lot of dead kings floating around.

Stlhead.....they sink.....voice of experience. This whole thing stinks....

WDFW

The Sekiu season is for hatchery fish only, no wild fish, so the season will last a lot longer, probably until the closure date in the middle of August. You can also keep two hatchery chinook per day, if you are lucky enough to find two. The bonus of the season up there is for the folks who want to run about 5 miles west and fish in area 4. There you can retain up to 3 fish a day, providing that you have two silvers and a pink, or up to three pinks.

There is a confusing statement fro area 4 where they say "Chinook non-retention east of Bonilla-Tatoosh line, except chinook retention allowed July 1-31." So my guess is you can keep ANY Chinook dury July west of the Sekiu River and it will fall on the Neah Bay quota, not the Area 5 (Sekiu) quota. I have to call on this one for clarification.

Another bonus is August where you can keep up to 4 fish a day, limit two hatchery silvers or kings (kings up until and including the 14th) AND two pinks!.

Should be a fun fishery, but the challenge will be sorting through all the wild fish to find you bonkers. Two years ago is took 53 fish to fill 5 limits on my boat one day, but then again, we caught 53 fish.

dogfish,

you'll have to run a bit further than the sekiu river to fish legally for kings in area 4B. the eastern boundary for the king fishery in area 4B is a true north/south line through sail rock. i'm not sure if it's legal to land non-clipped fish in sekiu from area 4B if area 5 is closed to wild chinook. definetely check with enforcement. i know if an area is closed entirely, one can fish subsequent open areas (except canada) but don't know how it works when both areas are open. it's probably legal.

chris

Topwater,

Good catch on the Sail Rock part, I missed that. Looks like about a 13+ mile run from Sekiu. Sail rock is just about due north of Snow Creek. Might be better off to trailer the boat up there for Kings on a multi day trip.

I'm with you on finding out the ruling exactly, that's why I will check into it this week for a better clarification with the fisheries management section in Olympia.

In the past when you could catch lots of bottomfish in area 4, but only 1 in area 5, people would fish in area 5, get their limit, then head in and land their fish at the dock, not stopping to fish for salmon in area 4. It has been the folks who fished in both areas, without landing their fish from the separate area with different rules on the dock, who got the tickets.

Still, with all of the rules and the need for a lawyer in the boat at all times, I still think they are allowing ample opportunity for harvest of some nice saltwater fish.

The only downside to pinks though is that those damned scales go everywhere.