Soos Opener Fun Despite Lack Of Salmon

The inaugural chinook salmon fishing opener at Soos Creek was a bust, but anglers enjoyed the added opportunity, state Fish and Wildlife surveyors said.

"It's like we threw a party and the salmon didn't show up," said Pat Pattillo, a state Fish and Wildlife fish resource manager.

About 250 chinook have returned to the Soos Creek Hatchery, and the run size is about 16,000 chinook (12,000 are hatchery fish) averaging 8 to 20 pounds.

"The run is just starting to move into the creek, and despite an absence of fish, people were just happy to have the opportunity to catch a salmon," said Dick Geist, a state Fish and Wildlife fish resource manager who viewed yesterday's opener.

Fishing is open Wednesdays only, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., from Soos Creek mouth to the concrete bridge at the hatchery. The creek will remain open on Wednesdays for an undetermined length of time.

Only one single-pointed hook (barb hooks allowed) may be used, and the daily limit is two salmon.

State Fish and Wildlife might expand the fishery to include weekend openings.

Hot spots of the week

1. Chinook and coho salmon in Central and South Puget Sound: The north portion of Central Sound opened Monday for catch-and-keep salmon fishing. Places such as Richmond Beach and the Edmonds oil dock were fairly good for late-arriving kings, coho and fat blackmouth (resident chinook).

Farther south, Dolphin Point is a fair bet for late kings, and Southworth is plugged with herring.

Also try West Point; Lincoln Park off West Seattle; Alki Point; Yeomalt Point; the Des Moines-Redondo area; the Clay Banks off Point Defiance in Tacoma; off the Puyallup River mouth; the mouths of McAllister and Chambers creeks; the Nisqually flats; and Lyle Point off Anderson Island.

Lots of pesky dogfish and a few blackmouth and coho off Kingston and Jefferson Head.

2. Chinook salmon in Grays Harbor: "Monday's opener started off with a bang near the Johns River, and some boats had limits of kings, but it was slow (Tuesday and yesterday)," said Tony Floor, a U.S. Fish and Wildlife spokesman. A few kings caught weighed 20 to 36 pounds. A salmon gill-net fishery in Grays Harbor yesterday might slow fishing near the Johns River.

The Grays Harbor south jetty was fair to good yesterday for coho and chinook. The 15 boats fishing along the jetty averaged one salmon per boat.

Other areas worth a try are the finger jetties off Westport, Damon Point and off Buoy 13.

3. Coho salmon in Strait of Juan de Fuca: "Not hot for coho and pinks, but it's pretty good for people who put in a few extra hours to find them," said Bob Rice at Van Riper's Resort in Sekiu. Coho and pinks caught averaged 4 to 7 pounds, with a few large hook-nosed coho up to 14 pounds.

"Lots of 4- to 6-pound coho, and our charters are limiting pretty fast off the 4- and 6-mile buoys," said Cal Metzler at Port Angeles Charters.

Through Monday, 35,000 coho had been caught in Catch Areas 5 and 6, and the 44,000 catch quota should be reached by Sunday. The Strait goes to catch-and-release fishing starting Monday.

4. Chinook and coho salmon in Columbia River: "Good for coho and chinook off Buoy 10," said Doug Milward, a state Fish and Wildlife coastal salmon resource manager in Olympia.

Also try near the Astoria-Megler Bridge at the Church Hole, the St. Helens area and off the mouths of the Cowlitz, Kalama and Lewis rivers.

5. Pink salmon in the Skagit and Stillaguamish rivers: "Lots of pinks in the Skagit, especially the North Fork, where a huge run came in (yesterday), but the fish aren't really biting," said Kelly Hawley at Priced Less Sporting Goods in Sedro-Woolley. Murky water conditions yesterday.

"Good fishing for humpies (pinks) in the Stillaguamish," said Kim Weymouth at Skagit Fly Anglers in Mount Vernon.

Nibbles and bites

-- Bad news for Willapa Bay salmon anglers - the bay's chinook run size this year has been downgraded from 65,000 to 35,000.

-- Strange things are happening off Washington's coast. Water temperatures are 68 to 70 degrees, and biologists blame El Nino , a warm-water current pushed up from South America.

Huge schools of mackerel are being caught this summer from the Columbia River to Vancouver Island. A state Fish and Wildlife surveyor at Neah Bay last weekend saw a sunfish, another warm-water species, milling in the Strait.

Another weird catch occurred yesterday 30 miles off Westport.

Dick Miller of Cle Elum, was fishing for tuna when he caught a 104-pound marlin, and "once verified it will become a newly validated state record," said Wayne Palsson at the state Fish and Wildlife office in Mill Creek.

Striped marlin have been caught in recent years off Oregon's coast, but none had been documented off Washington's coast.

-- Strong-fighting albacore tuna are milling 35 to 45 miles off Ilwaco and Westport, and charter anglers were averaging eight to 15 fish per trip.

-- Elliott Bay is closed for salmon fishing and reopens Sept. 16. The Seacrest Boathouse fishing pier and the Elliott Bay fishing pier are open.

-- North Puget Sound (Catch Area 9) is closed for salmon fishing through Sept. 30.

Fishing spots

-- Willapa Bay - "Sad state of affairs for king and coho fishing, and there's a lot of mackerel," said Rose Taylor, owner of Tokeland Marina. A few kings caught last weekend weighed 30 to 36 pounds, and coho averaged 8 pounds. Lots of eel grass and angel hair seaweed off North Cove. Tuesday, 15 boats caught four coho and two kings. -- Westport - Ocean salmon fishing ends today. -- Neah Bay - Open for catch-and-release salmon fishing with unweighted surface flies only. -- Hood Canal - Slow to fair for coho and pinks. -- San Juan islands - Fair to good for coho and pinks off Hein, Middle and Eastern banks. Slow for kings throughout the island chain, but a few caught off Cypress Island at Secret Harbor, President Channel and the west side of San Juan Island. -- Tulalip Bay - Slow for kings. -- Everett area - Fair for coho and pinks in Port Gardner and from Humpy Hollow to Mukilteo. -- Edmonds fishing pier - Slow for kings and coho. -- Point Monroe - Slow to fair for coho and kings. -- North coastal rivers - Slow to fair for steelhead in the Soleduck, and anglers caught and released a good number of coho. Fair to good for sea-run cutthroat in the Quillayute River system. -- Stillaguamish River - Slow to fair fly-fishing for steelhead in the North Fork. -- Skykomish River - Slow to fair for steelhead in the North Fork from Sultan to Reiter Ponds. -- Green River - Very slow for steelhead from Palmer to Flaming Geyser State Park. Fair for Atlantic salmon in open sections of the river. -- Puyallup River - "The kings are more active, and it's best below Anton's Hole, but with the murky water I'd use as much sand shrimp or salmon egg scent attractant as possible to get their attention," said Mike Goodchild at Sports Etc. in Sumner. -- Lewis River - Fair for steelhead and coho in the North Fork. -- Kalama River - "Good numbers of fall chinook in the tidewater, and more coho showed up," said Rob Orzel at Pritchard's Tackle Shop. Fair for steelhead below the upper salmon hatchery. -- Cowlitz River - Fair to good for steelhead from Blue Creek to the mouth. -- Wind River mouth - Fair for steelhead. -- Drano Lake - Fair for chinook and steelhead. -- White Salmon River - Slow to fair for steelhead. -- Columbia River - Good for steelhead below I-5 bridge. Slow for sturgeon from the Gorge to estuary.