Biting Blackmouth Make Fishing In Rain Worthwhile

Don't let the miserable weather dampen your weekend fishing trip.

Resident chinook salmon, commonly known as blackmouth for their black jaw line, are lurking in some Puget Sound areas.

The Tengu Blackmouth Derby in Elliott Bay began Sunday, and despite lots of pesky dogfish, participants found salmon fishing productive off Todd Shipyards.

"Fishing was fairly good during the morning tide change, and 43 anglers caught 18 blackmouth along with some silvers (coho salmon)," derby president Mas Tahara said.

The sandy-bottomed banks of Jefferson Head, northwest of Shilshole Bay, are good for blackmouth and late-migrating coho.

"We found good blackmouth fishing (Sunday) at Jeff Head, and it remains the most consistent spot," said Keith Robbins, skipper of A Spot Tail Salmon Guide in Seattle.

Farther north, small blackmouth (less than the 22-inch minimum) outnumber their larger compadres by 10-to-1 or higher at Point No Point and Midchannel Bank off Port Townsend.

"There was a lot of small blackmouth on the bank, but I managed to catch a few nice fish in the 10- to 12-pound range," said Jim Bates, a King County Superior Court judge.

A state Fish and Wildlife check at the Port Townsend Boat Haven Marina on Sunday showed 10 boats with 20 anglers caught 16 chinook, averaging 7 pounds.

Other Central and North Sound options are Manchester (loaded with spawner-size herring); Southworth; Blake Island area; West Point near Shilshole Bay; Kingston; the Edmonds oil dock; Richmond Beach; Possession Bar; Point Monroe; and Bush Point and Double Bluff off West Whidbey Island.

Coho must be released in North Sound (Marine Catch Area 9) through Oct. 31.

Hot spots of the week

1. Coho salmon in north Lake Washington and Lake Sammamish: "Very little sport-fishing effort in the north end of Lake Washington, but there's quite a few coho milling around for people to catch," said Mike Mahovlich, a Muckleshoot tribal biologist.

About 5,000 coho were in the Issaquah Hatchery rack, and more than 4,000 headed upstream. Final coho run size is 38,500.

Jig with chrome spoons or lead-style jigs. Trolling is productive, using a spoon, spinner, Flatfish, Kwikfish, Wiggle Wart or cut-plug herring behind a flasher.

2. Trout in Yakima and Kittitas county lakes and steelhead in Scootney Reservoir: Naches Hatchery personnel are stocking 20,000 rainbow and 12,000 brown trout (averaging 7 to 8 inches long) in some lakes and ponds, which should provide good fall and early-winter prospects.

In Yakima County try North Elton Pond; Clear Lake; I-82 Ponds Nos. 3, 4 and 6; Myron Lake; Mud Lake; Rotary Lake; Tims Pond; Wenas Lake; and Wide Hollow Creek. In Kittitas County try North and South Fio Rito lakes; Gladmar Pond; Lower and Upper Hanson Pond; Mattoon Lake; and McCabe Lake.

About 200 adult steelhead will be planted this week in Scootney Reservoir. Game-fish license required, but not a steelhead license or punch card.

3. Walleyes in the Columbia River: "Fair to good above Camas this week," said Chuck Tracy, a state Fish and Wildlife biologist at Battle Ground.

4. Coho salmon at Puget Sound area fishing piers and shorelines: Hot shore spot of the week is Deception Pass, where some anglers caught their coho limits by casting Buzz Bombs. Other fair to good bets are the Edmonds Marina fishing pier; Dash Point fishing pier; Les Davis fishing pier; Seacrest Boathouse fishing pier in West Seattle; and off Possession Point. Also, fair coho fly-fishing off Lincoln Park.

5. Chinook salmon in the Columbia River at Hanford Reach: The chinook fishery continues to improve at midweek. The water level was high.

Nibbles and bites

-- Tengu Derby results - 1, John Forstrom, 15-pound, 4-ounce blackmouth. 2, Gordon Chui, 14-4. 3, Gary Dodobara, 12-7 and 7-9. 4, Steve Parsons, 12-3. 5, Chad Buchanan, 11-8. 6, Victor Mizumori, 8-15 and 8-10. 7, Shari Stoican, 8-13. 8, Kyle Buchanan, 8-0. 9, Paul Baccetti, 7-10. 10, Osamu Kitano, 7-4. Derby is held Sundays through Dec. 21, at the Seacrest Boathouse in West Seattle. For details, call 206-932-1050.

-- Long Beach, Twin Harbors, Copalis, Mocrocks and Kalaloch beaches will be open for razor-clam digging Oct. 15, 17, 19 and 21. Twin Harbors will remain open through Nov. 19 on odd days and during p.m. tides only. Long Beach, Twin Harbors and Mocrocks reopen Jan. 30-31; during p.m. tides only.

-- The Bonneville Power Administration has extended the northern squawfish bounty program in the Columbia and Snake rivers. Earn $3 to $5 for every squawfish more than 11 inches long. Since May, nearly 111,000 squawfish were caught. Top angler this season is Roy Kendall of Selah, who has earned more than $11,500. For details, call 360-737-2091.

-- An irate angler called The Times to say he was cited by a state Fish and Wildlife enforcement officer Tuesday for bludgeoning a dogfish with a knife off Possession Bar.

Is it illegal to kill a dogfish?

"Yes, citations are frequently given to anglers for killing dogfish," said Sean Carrell at the state Fish and Wildlife enforcement office in Olympia.

Technically, under a wastage law, it is illegal to cut or mutilate any type of food fish. In British Columbia, there is a commercial fishery for dogfish to process the meat for consumption. History indicates Native Americans ate a lot of dogfish meat. In Germany, dogfish bellies are smoked and eggs are also eaten by people.

The flesh is soaked in a weak acid solution (vinegar or lemon juice in water) to remove the urea.

Fishing spots

-- Tillamook Bay, Oregon - "Not too good for chinook, but the bay is muddy," said Raxine Rollins at Old Mill Marina in Garibaldi. -- Willapa Bay - Slow for coho and chinook. -- Westport Boat Basin - Slow for coho. -- San Juan islands - In between storms, coho and chinook fishing has been fair to good off Hein Bank, Salmon Bank, Middle Bank, Smith Island, the west side of Orcas Island and Point Lawrence. -- Hood Canal - Slow for coho and chinook. -- Port Gardner - Good for coho near Mukilteo. -- Saratoga Passage - "Blackmouth fishing has been quite good off Camano Island's west side," said Larry Carpenter, owner of Master Marine in Mount Vernon. -- Point Defiance area, Tacoma - Fair to good for coho off the Clay Banks, Point Evans and Point Dalco. -- South Puget Sound - Fair for coho off Anderson Island, Chambers Creek and Harstene Island. -- Humptulips River - Commercial netting has affected sport fishing this year. Guides were catching only a few chinook near the hatchery, and coho and chinook were virtually nonexistent in the middle and lower river. Poor fishing conditions through yesterday. Open for salmon through Wednesday. -- Chehalis River - Closed for fishing. -- Satsop River - Opens for salmon tomorrow. -- Wynoochee River - Poor fishing conditions. Open through Oct. 31 from its mouth to the 7400 Line Bridge above the mouth of Schafer Creek. -- North coastal rivers - Poor fishing conditions, but last weekend was fair for chinook in the Soleduck. -- Nooksack River - Poor fishing conditions. -- Samish River - "Slowed down from two weeks ago, but they're getting a few kings, some silvers, and it's been good for cutthroat," said Kelly Hawley at Priced Less Sporting Goods in Sedro-Woolley. -- Skagit River - "Bait anglers in the Mount Vernon area were catching a lot of little silvers (coho)," said Kim Weymouth at Skagit Fly Anglers in Mount Vernon. Cascade River is fair to good for coho. -- Stillaguamish River - Poor fishing conditions, but was fair for steelhead in the North Fork. -- Snohomish river system - Lower Snohomish tidewater area was fair for coho. Skykomish North Fork and the Wallace River are fair coho bets. Slowed for steelhead in the Skykomish above Sultan to Reiter Ponds. Marginal fishing conditions through yesterday. -- Skokomish River - Fair to good for coho, but fishing conditions were marginal. Open for salmon fishing. Release chinook longer than 24 inches. -- Green River - OK for coho downstream from the Auburn golf course. -- Soos Creek - Slow for chinook, but a few caught last weekend. Fishing open daily 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. -- Puyallup River - Fair to good for coho near the mouth of the Carbon River, and fishing conditions were fair. Poor fishing conditions in the lower river. -- Lewis River - Good for coho in the North Fork below the hatchery. Dam was releasing lots of water, and fishing conditions were marginal. -- Kalama River - Poor fishing conditions, but once the water level drops try the Canyon area. Areas from Kalama Falls Hatchery to Summers Creek must use artificial flies or lures with single barbless hooks. Areas above Summers Creek open to fly-fishing only. -- Cowlitz River - "Lot of coho and a few chinook caught below barrier dam, and a good bite (yesterday) for steelhead at Blue Creek," said Karen Glaser at the Barrier Dam Campground Tackle Shop. River flow was 7,500 cubic feet per second. -- Drano Lake - Fair for steelhead. -- Green River (Cowlitz County) - Good for coho. -- Columbia River - Good for sturgeon, and fair for chinook and coho in the Gorge. Slow for coho, chinook and steelhead along the Lower Columbia sand bars. Slow to fair for walleyes and bass in the John Day Pool.