Hooked On Edmonds -- Charter-Boat Skippers: Winter Fishing's Fine

Quick, name the state's top three salmon charter-fishing ports, in order.

If you answered Westport and Ilwaco, but could not think of the third, award yourself a B.

If you also identified Edmonds as the third, step to the head of the class.

That Edmonds has emerged quietly as the state's No. 3 salmon-charter port may come as a surprise even to those most closely involved in the charter-fishing business.

Asked the same question recently, Ed Miller, president of the Charterboat Association of Puget Sound, made a quick boat count.

``About 60 during the summer at Westport, 30 to 35 at Ilwaco, about a dozen during the peak of the summer season at Neah Bay, about a dozen for Port Angeles and Sekiu, and 20 at Edmonds.

``I guess we are No. 3,'' said Miller, who operates Sea Charters, a firm with boats out of Edmonds and Everett.

Add the eight Everett boats, five from Seattle, and one each from Tacoma and Kingston, and the charter fleet is roughly the size of Ilwaco's.

The fleet is made up of boats large and small, from the Seattle-based Emerald Sea, a 100-foot mooching charter capable of fishing 50 rods, down to sleek and tidy 20-foot trollers, fishing four.

Paul Mirante, skipper of the C-Maiden, a Seattle-based mooching charter, began charter-fishing work at Westport as a deckhand when he was 11.

His first Puget Sound skippering job was in 1979 on the Ms Magoo, a mooching charter berthed at Shilshole.

When he was told that fish could be caught here in winter, he was skeptical. Soon, skepticism turned to confidence.

``The trip that really sold me was off Jefferson Head Christmas Eve of 1980. That day, we put 30 blackmouth into the boat by 10 a.m., and 10 of the 30 were in the 8- to 10-pound class,'' he recalled.

``Next trip, we were back at dock at 11 o'clock with 42 salmon. I realized then that I had found my comfort zone, which is something you must have to catch fish consistently in winter.''

A day of fishing can cost as little as $45 on a large mooching charter to as much as $90 on a small trolling boat.

But boat counts show only a small part of the total picture in a charter industry with two segments that are more different than alike.

Because the length of ocean salmon seasons are dictated by small catch quotas, charter offices at Ilwaco, Westport and Neah Bay must cram a great deal of fishing into a few summer weeks. Usually, coastal boats operate at or near capacity most of their short season.

The result is that coastal charters haul more customers and catch more salmon than their year-around Puget Sound counterparts, whose business is both mercurial and dictated by the false perception that winter is not the time to catch salmon.

``Our business is crazy from late July to the first part of September, yet some of the best fishing of the year is now, right at the doorsteps of Seattle, and this is our starvation time,'' said Miller, 49, who works as a certified public accountant when he is not skippering his Delta Sea, a trolling charter.

Miller said he can only speculate why.

``It must be a combination of several factors,'' he said. ``Most people aren't aware that we have such good blackmouth fishing in the winter, so we have charters sitting empty at the dock.

``Also, I think it has something to do with what I call the opener syndrome. Coastal fishing has an opener, which always has been a media event. We fish all year, which is not a media event.''

Many anglers equate summer and sunshine with salmon. Bill Aldrich, skipper of the 43-foot mooching charter Galaxy, says weather plays a large role.

``Weather now is tough. Fishing here now is nothing like vacationing in Florida or Mexico,'' he said. ``Yet the really avid sports fisherman would rather wait for the crowds of summer to thin out.

``This is my favorite time to fish. Blackmouth (immature feeder chinook salmon) are, pound for pound, about the toughest fish around. Our cold water seems to put lightning in their spines.''

Aldrich has gained perspective on fishing - and weather - from fishing in Mexico and New Zealand. ``When you catch a 12-pound blackmouth, you have about the finest table fish in the world,'' he said.

Aldrich and Miller hope it will only be a matter of time before the public will become aware of Puget Sound's great year-round salmon-fishing opportunities.

Then, they say many ``hobby'' skippers will be able to devote more time to fishing, rather than weekends and holidays to supplement incomes.

But even if the Puget Sound charter industry realizes its full potential, it is unlikely it will overtake Ilwaco or Westport.

That's partly because the size of the fleet is limited by available moorage space, which is so tight at Edmonds that port officials recently set a 20-boat ceiling for charters.

------------------------------------------------

CHARTER-BOAT FACT SHEET

-- Where: Charter boats operate out of Edmonds, Everett, Kingston, Shilshole and Elliott bays and Tacoma's Commencement Bay.

-- When: Year-round, with peak fishing for kings late June through August, September for coho, and November to spring for blackmouth.

-- Costs: Expect to pay as little as $45 to $50 per day to fish on large mooching charters or as much as $90 for a small boat, specializing in trolling.

-- Charter services: Seattle - Angling Unlimited, Tom Ohaus, 789-8335; Ballard Salmon Charters, Mark Narruhn 789-6202; Seattle Salmon Charters, Frederick Rudolph, 789-2202; Coastal Island Tours, Mike Hickey, 286-1825; Major Marine Tours, 292-0595; Emerald City Charters, Paul Mirante, 630-3150; The Laredo, Herb Shepard, 325-9724; Edmonds - Sea Charters (six boats), 776-5611; Nick's Charters, 285-0752; All Seasons Charters (eight boats), 743-9590; Captain Coley's Charters (three boats), 778-4110; Mukilteo - Mukilteo Charters, Paul Lueck, 258-6820; Everett - Sea Charters (four boats), 252-4188; Kingston - The Joker, Glenn Jarstad, 377-5362 (Bremerton); Tacoma - Captain Jerry's Charters, 752-1100.