Fishing Outlook -- Ragged Returns: Sockeye Salmon Missing In Action

This year's Lake Washington sockeye salmon run is far below normal historical return levels.

"The sockeye run is quite small," said Jim Uehara, a state Fish and Wildlife biologist. "The predicted run forecast was 90,000, but through July only 34,280 had returned."

Marine survival likely played a factor in poor returns. In 1993, sockeye runs encountered warm water conditions from El Nino while migrating out to sea. Predator fish such as mackerel feasted on salmon yearlings.

State Fish and Wildlife surveyors have stopped monitoring the Ballard Locks fish counter because 99 percent of the sockeye run timing is usually completed by July.

The Muckleshoot tribe is now conducting fish counts at the locks, mostly to monitor late returning chinook and coho runs.

According to Uehara, at least 350,000 sockeye must return to have any kind of Lake Washington sport sockeye fishing season. The last sport season was in 1988, when a run of 621,000 sockeye returned.

Since then, Lake Washington sockeye runs have fluctuated from a low of 91,461 in 1991, to a high of more than 168,000 last year.

Most Lake Washington sockeye are destined to spawn in the Cedar and Sammamish river tributaries, and along some Lake Washington shorelines.

Tomorrow, Fish and Wildlife will conduct a sockeye net fishery on the south end of Lake Washington near Renton.

The purse seiner will net 200 sockeye salmon for age composition and to see if any hatchery-marked fish have returned.

Salmon fishing reports

Choosing a fishing location might be more difficult than actually catching a chinook, coho or pink salmon.

Last weekend, chinook fishing was hot off Lincoln Park and Alki Point. Reports yesterday indicated Lincoln Park had slowed down, but Alki Point was still good for chinook and coho.

Other fair to good chinook fishing areas in South Puget Sound include the Redondo-Des Moines area, the slag pile off Point Defiance Park, Anderson Island and off the Nisqually Delta flats.

The only coastal area open for chinook is Willapa Bay, but reports indicate spotty fishing off the North Cove surf line and Sand Islands.

"It's been dead at Willapa since last week's opener, except for a trickle of kings caught (Monday)," said Tony Floor, a U.S. Fish and Wildlife spokesman.

Coho fishing on the coast at Ilwaco, Westport and La Push is good for two-fish limits. Charter operators say lots of space is available on all fishing trips.

Pink salmon fishing is good from the Strait of Juan de Fuca to North Puget Sound. Try Neah Bay, Sekiu, Port Angeles, Midchannel Bank, Bush Point and Humpy Hollow near Mukilteo.

A horde of pinks entered some rivers, and good bets are the Skagit, Snohomish and Stillaguamish.

The Snohomish River Coho-Humpy Salmon Derby is Saturday and Sunday. Open areas for the derby are the Snohomish River and marine Area 8-2 (Port Gardner). Register at the Maple Street boat launch in Snohomish, 10th Street boat ramp in Everett, and Langus Park boat ramp in Everett.

Cost is $10. Sponsored by the Everett Steelhead and Salmon Club, and the Snohomish Sportsmen Club. Weigh-in is 10 a.m.-2 p.m. both days.

Fishing spots

-- Ilwaco - Very good for coho in the ocean, but slow at Buoy 10. Last week's checks: 3,840 anglers caught 4,247 coho and three pinks (also 50 chinook caught; all chinook must be released); 18,388 coho caught this season, which is 49 percent of the total quota. -- Willapa Bay - Slow for chinook, but places worth a try are North Cove and Sand Islands. Slow troll a herring along the surf line at depths of 10 to 20 feet. -- Westport - "The coho are nice size, averaging about 8 to 10 pounds, and limits have been the rule," said Doug Milward, a state Fish and Wildlife biologist. Last week's checks: 2,489 anglers caught 4,345 coho and seven pinks (also 15 chinook caught; all chinook must be released); 16,475 coho caught this season, which is 58 percent of the total quota. -- La Push - Good for coho. Last week's checks: 165 anglers caught 161 coho and 17 pinks; 882 coho caught this season, which is 50 percent of the total quota. -- Neah Bay - Very good pink salmon fishing. Last week's checks: 415 anglers caught 456 pinks (also 19 coho caught; all coho must be released). Ocean halibut fishing reopens Sept. 3-4 only. -- Sekiu - "The pink fishery is a sure thing and limits are the rule," said Bob Rice at Van Riper's Resort. -- Freshwater Bay - Good bet for pink salmon. -- Port Angeles - "Fabulous pink fishing off Ediz Hook," said Greg Mottis at Port Angeles Charters. -- San Juan Islands - Good for pink salmon off the west side of San Juan Island and in Rosario Strait. Try for chinook off Biz Point, Point Lawrence, Goose Rock and the west side of San Juan Island. -- Midchannel Bank - Fair for pink salmon. -- Bush Point - Good bet for pink salmon. -- Point No Point - Fair to good for pink salmon. -- Possession Bar - Reports indicate lots of dogfish on the bar's west side. Most pink salmon anglers are fishing the bar's northeast corner off the green buoy. -- Mukilteo area - Good pink fishing off Humpy Hollow, Picnic Point and Mukilteo State Park. -- Tulalip Bay - Slow, but a few chinook caught daily. -- Edmonds fishing pier - Good squid jigging. -- Elliott Bay - "There were 16 kings caught off the fishing pier (yesterday)," said Dana Biggerstaff at the Seacrest Boathouse. Piers 62, 63 and 86 are open for salmon. Bay is closed to boat salmon fishing. -- Alki Point - Good fishing yesterday for chinook up to 23 pounds, and coho up to 8 pounds. -- Restoration Point and Rich Passage - A fair morning chinook producer last weekend, but has slowed down since then. -- Lincoln Park - Cooled off from last weekend's hot chinook fishing, but still remains a fair to good bet. Mooch a herring from 100 to 180 feet off the Colman Pool, and north and south along Lincoln Park. -- Dolphin Point, Vashon Island - Slow for chinook, although a few have been caught daily. -- Southworth and Allen Bank - Fair to good for chinook at Southworth and herring baitfish remains abundant. Slow for chinook at Allen Bank. -- Redondo Beach-Des Moines area - "Good fishing for chinook up to 22 pounds from Redondo to Des Moines," said Maria Beppu, owner of Linc's Tackle Shop in Seattle. -- Point Defiance - "A little slower for chinook, but some were caught off the slag pile," said Jason Sandbeck at the Point Defiance Boathouse. -- South Puget Sound areas - "Pretty good chinook fishing off the mouth of the Nisqually River and Anderson Island," said Mike Zittel, at Zittel's Marina. Best fishing action is in the morning during low tide. -- Skagit River - A steady stream of pink salmon continues to enter the river. Should be decent along sandbars from Mount Vernon to Sedro-Woolley. Excellent water conditions for fishing. -- Stillaguamish River - River was murky yesterday, but it's worth a try for pinks and a few steelhead. -- Snohomish River system - "Pink salmon fishing is good in the Lower Snohomish," said Brian Nelson at Ted's Sports Center in Lynnwood. Slow to fair for steelhead on the Skykomish. -- Green River - A few steelhead caught during the mornings from Flaming Geyser State Park to Palmer. -- Puyallup River - Good morning bite for chinook from Highway 162 downstream. All pink salmon must be released on the Puyallup. Carbon River opens Sept. 1 for salmon fishing. -- Columbia River - Good for sturgeon in the estuary and in the Gorge. Fair for hatchery-marked steelhead from Cathlamet to Bonneville, and best action is off the Cowlitz River mouth. Good for walleye near Camas and the Gorge. On Tuesday, 6,101 steelhead passed through the Bonneville Dam fish counter. -- Kalama River - "A few steelhead continue to move upstream, and the best time to fish is early morning," said Mike Eckert, owner of Pritchard's Tackle Shop. Light angler fishing pressure. -- Lewis River - "Good for steelhead, and a few chinook and coho have shown up," said Leon Christianson at Lewis River Sports in Woodland. -- Cowlitz River - Fair to good for steelhead from Blue Creek downstream. One steelhead caught for every two anglers last weekend. -- Drano Lake - Fair for steelhead and chinook. -- Coastal rivers - "Not many anglers fishing, but it's picked up for steelhead, salmon and trout," said Bob Gooding, owner of Olympic Sporting Goods in Forks. Soleduck and Hoh rivers are worth a try for steelhead and salmon. Bogachiel River is fair for steelhead. The entire Quillayute River system is good for trout. -- Trout and spiny ray lakes - Slow fishing for trout statewide, but a few lakes are worth a try for spiny rays. Perch fishing is good on Lake Washington from Mount Baker to Seward Park, in the Arboretum, off the Kenmore dock and at Gene Coulon Park in Renton. Good for catfish and bass behind the UW Medical Center. Duck Lake near Ocean Shores is good for crappie.