Notebook: Record-size small fish alluring to anglers, too

You don't need to catch a big fish to set a state record.

On Tuesday, Andrew Kneipp of Bremerton landed a 6.05-pound sockeye while trolling off Eagle Point in 35 feet of water aboard Sekiu Charters boat "Gussie Mae."

Since no standing state record exists for a sockeye salmon caught in saltwater, Kneipp decided to submit the fish to state Fish and Wildlife. Kneipp had the sockeye weighed on a certified scale at Clallam Bay Grocery Store, then sent the proper forms and photos to fisheries.

Sockeye catches in saltwater areas are rare. Usually they are caught incidentally while anglers are pursuing other salmon species.

On June 22, Richard Bethke was fishing off Lawson Reef in Island County when he landed a state-record Pacific sanddab (flounder) that weighed .81 pounds.

Jim Byrd, state Fish and Wildlife's keeper of fish records, reports that Ronald Moss of Richland broke the state kokanee record with a 6.03-pounder caught in Lake Roosevelt on June 16. The previous record of 5.47 pounds, also from Lake Roosevelt, had been unchallenged since June 1993.

Moss trolled an Apex Kokanee Special to fool his lunker.

Moss's record didn't last 10 years, though.

Ten days later on June 26, Clarence Rief of Davenport upped the record with a 6.25-pound whopper out of Lake Roosevelt. Rief's record catch fell to an RC Spinner Fly with corn and maggots.

Byrd says that since kokanee usually put on weight rapidly as they get ready for fall spawning, even larger ones are a possibility this summer.

Many state records have been set the past two years. The list:

2002 — Tench (minnow), 5.19 pounds, James E. Moore, Sprague Lake, June 10; golden trout, 3.91 pounds, Angus Kerr, unnamed lake in Okanogan County, Sept. 22; resident rainbow trout, 29.6 pounds, Norm Butler, Rufus Woods Lake, Nov. 11; tiger trout, 1.22 pounds, John E. Moore, Washburn Lake, Sept. 23; walleye, 18.90 pounds, Kimo Gabriel, Columbia River (John Day Pool), March 3; white catfish, 19.85 pounds, Donald W. Huffman, Walla Walla River, April 17.

2001 — Tiger musky, 31.25 pounds, John V. Bays, Mayfield Lake, Sept. 22; largescale sucker, 5.34 pounds, Andrew J. Wallman, Mason Lake, April 22; coho (freshwater record), 25.27 pounds, Brad Wilson, Quinault River, Nov. 11; chum, 25.26 pounds, Fred Dockendorf, Westport, Aug. 7; coho (saltwater), 25.34 pounds, Martin Cooper, Sekiu, Sept. 28; pink salmon (saltwater), 11.56 pounds, Jeff Bergman, Possession Point, Aug. 25; lake trout, 35.44 pounds, John G. Hossack, Lake Chelan, Dec. 31; pink salmon (freshwater), Alex Minerich, 14.86 pounds, Skykomish River, Sept. 30.

Lake Washington sockeye

The sockeye run continues to build, but fishing for them looks doubtful.

"The good news is this run is coming in four-to-five times stronger than their parent fish, although it is not at the harvest level," said Mike Mahovlich, a Muckleshoot tribal biologist.

The run is hovering between 200,000 and 250,000, compared to the parent run in 1999 of 50,000 fish. To have a season, at least 350,000 fish must enter the lake.

"The run has been real steady for the past two weeks with not many fluctuations," Mahovlich said.

So far, about 140,000 sockeye have streamed up the Ballard Locks fish ladder. The peak was July 3-4, when more than 30,000 entered the lake. The majority of returnees are 4- and 5-year-olds.

"We definitely have a strong run of 5-year-olds, and some of the fish are big in size," Mahovlich said.

The smaller 3-year-old sockeye start to come in now, and the next three weeks will tell the story as to how well they are doing, according to Mahovlich.

Here are the daily sockeye counts: July 9, 7,191 (8,948 at this date last year); July 8, 6,672 (6,172); July 7, 4,873 (2,689); July 6, 7,094 (5,126); July 5, 7,955 (8,080).

Notes

• The National Rifle Association's Women on Target program hosts an instructional shooting clinic for women at 8:30 a.m. Saturday at the Old Skagit Gun Club, 14933 Josh Wilson Road in Burlington. All equipment will be provided. Cost is $25 pre-registration by Tuesday, and $30 at the door.

The clinic will feature hands-on training in safe handling of shotguns and the fundamentals of shooting. Details: 360-424-8783. Event guide available at www.nrahq.org/women/wot.asp.

• The Puget Sound Anglers Whidbey Island Chapter meeting is 7 p.m. Thursday at Holmes Harbor Rod and Gun Club, 3334 Brooks Hill Rd., Langley. Expert fly-fishers Leland Miyawaki of Washington Fly Fishing Club and Gil Nyerges of Whidbey Island Fly Fishing Club will discuss salmon fishing from the beach. Details: 360-341-1783.

• The Seattle Poggie Fishing meeting is 7 p.m. Wednesday at the Seattle City Light Building, 97th St. North and Stone Ave. North. Guest speaker is Steve Parsons, who will discuss the new salmon rules and regulations in Washington fisheries. Details: 425-742-7948 or www.seattlepoggies.com.

• The Ballard Chapter of Ducks Unlimited banquet is 5:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Elks Ballard Lodge No. 827, 6411 Seaview N.W. Cost is $55 per person, $80 for couples and $25 for youth. Details: 206-781-7162.

• The Washington Trails Association hosts TrailsFest from 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Saturday at Rattlesnake Lake near North Bend (Exit 32, follow signs for 2-1/2 miles). The festival offers dozens of free activities and workshops.

Some of the program items have a modest fee (use of canoes and kayaks costs $1). Details: www.wta.org or call 206-625-1367.

Mark Yuasa: 206-464-8780 or myuasa@seattletimes.com