Fishing Reports for December 21
Washington
Marine Area 1 (Ilwaco)
no report this week
Marine Area 2 (Westport)
no report this week
no report this week
Marine Area 4 (Neah Bay)
no report this week
Marine Area 5
no report this week
Marine Area 6
no report this week
Marine Area 7
The fish checker at the Port of Friday Harbor gathers information from our catch. This Chinook had a tag in it’s head that when analyzed, will show which hatchery it came from.
Winter Chinook fishing has slowed a bit in the San Juans since the December 1st opener. Windy conditions have nullified some potential days out. We also had a cold, clear stretch of nights with a big full moon that seems to put the bite off. The best explanation for this I’ve heard is that the fish feed all night, and aren’t as active in the day. Hard to tell, but Blackmouth do seem to get lock jawed during a full moon. Crab is open until December 31st. Chinook and Crab for Christmas Eve is getting to be a tradition.
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- We landed on some nicer fish last weekend. I long armed the phone for a change, instead of the fish, and snapped a salmon selfie with Bob Wilson.
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- Some sneaky scrooge has been stealing everything but one side of a head and gill plate in a certain small area in the San Juans. This has been happening more and more, as Pinniped populations have exploded past natural levels in the Ocean, Puget Sound and Columbia River. More Seal and Sea Lion eating Transient Killer Whales have been frequenting these waters, and the White Sharks are on the hunt off the coast of South West Washington, and even inside the Columbia River.
Submitted by Kevin Klein, Team Parker Boats NW. The cover image of this week’s fishing reports was also contributed by Klein. It shows Bob Wilson with a chunky Blackmouth; a Silver Horde 3-inch Kingfisher spoon behind an 11-inch flasher did the work.
Marine Area 8.1
no report this week
Marine Area 8.2
no report this week
Marine Area 9 (Admirality Inlet)
no report this week
Marine Area 10
Results of the seventh day of the 71st Tengu Blackmouth Derby on Dec 18: 19 members fished, 0 blackmouth caught.
Only 19 members fished the last day of the Derby on Sunday and couldn’t catch anything legal. The frigid weather did allow members to fish everywhere within Derby boundaries but they reported just small shakers caught and very little bait.
Final standings for the season are:
1st place – Benny Wong, 10 lb 1
2nd place – Justin Wong, 8 lb 11
3rd place – Nelson Park, 5 lb 0
Most Fish Award – Benny Wong, 3 fish
The date and location for the Tengu Awards Banquet will be announced shortly.
Salmon University staff
schools of squid near the bottom. Several double hook ups on fishing two squid jigs and a 3 oz weight at the bottom. Each drop was an almost guaranteed bite. The more you catch, the more you have to clean. I stopped after 5 lbs and warmed my hands up for a bit while pedaling back to the marina. I dropped a drop shot worm rig near the rocks on my way in and a good sized Pile Perch whacked my line. A quick photo and release. Another great day on the water.Report submitted by Brad Hole of Kayak Fishing Washington. (also, on Facebook)
Marine Area 11
Polar Bear Plunge January 1, 2017 Point Defiance Marina Boat Launch. Cub Plunge 11:30 am and Bear Plunge 12:00 noon. Volunteers needed. Shuttle to parking provided. More information. 253-591-5325 or genea@tacomqaparks.com
Limited Hats provided by BECU to the first 300 Plungers. Free hot chocolate/coffee, tea, and snack bars. Changing and heated tents on site. Wear foot protection (shoes/water shoes )
Basic Fishing Classes are offered throughout the year. 2 Hour classes are $15.00 and can be designed for youth and adults. Boat House Tackle Shop open 7 days a week. Learn fall fishing opportunities and how to pursue thm.
Boat lifts open from 6 am to 6 pm. Tackle Shop hours are 6:30 am to 5:30 pm. For more information call 253-591-5325 Call 253-591-5325 or visit us on Facebook “Point Defiance Marina”
Squidding classes at Point Defiance Marina December 3, 2016 from 4-6 pm. Cost $15 Learn the regulations, locations to fish, equipment and tackle . Also care, cleaning and cooking. Call 253-591-5325 or genea@tacomaparks.com.
Pier Peer Tacoma Marine Education Program with Tacoma Nature Center and Point Defiance Marina. Saturday, November 19 from 7:30-9 pm Cost $8.00 (Must be age 8 + and each child must have an adult with them). See and touch marine creatures brought up by local divers as well as participate in a lighted area dip net for smaller sea life to observe and release. Great way for the family to see nighttime marine life on the Puget Sound.
Report submitted by Point Defiance Marina. For more information contact: Art Tachell, Boathouse Marina Technician, 253.591.5325 art@tacomaparks.com www.pointdefiancemarina.com.
Freshwater – Potholes Reservoir
As I sit at the computer at the Potholes at zero degrees I know that warmer days are coming. Soon after the first of the year we will be seeing sportsmen shows where lots of new gear will be shown. Bargains galore on things we all need to replace old and lost gear. I, like most after enjoying a day on the water, do take care of our catch and then close the gear box and put the rods and reels in the garage.
Be it that you have fished salt water or in a lake fishing bass or walleye the water transfers salt or algae to the gear, rods and reels. I do not take the time to really clean up my gear. Now, with the fishing for the most part being closed or the weather being bad, take the time to really take care of your gear. Take the reel off the rod and give the rod a warm water bath. Check the tip top to make sure it is secure. With a cotton swab run it and around the inside of your guides. The cotton will catch on a guide insert that might be cracked and will chafe and weaken the strength of your line. Most all tackle shops do carry replacement guides and the thread and the finish for the thread. Check the wraps on the guides and that may be a need to top coat the thread. Give the whole rod a warm water and soap bath.
On the reel, consider pulling all the line off for replacement. Now give the reel a good soaking in warm water with a grease cutting soap like dish soap. Now give it a clean water rinsing. Back off the drag as with the drag on you are compressing the drag washers. Now take a cotton ear swab and coat with a reel lubricant. Lightly coat the level wind gear and carefully remove the bearing caps and coat with a small amount of the reel liquid lubricant. and replace the bearing caps. Screw down snugly and then loosed to the point you can almost feel side movement of the spool.
All of the mono or copolymer lines have some stretch and after a time do loose their stretch. Also the memory is on the line meaning it will take the spool shape in different degrees and time to replace. There are so many brands of lines on the market so take a look of them at the shows. They all have some differences but they get better each year. The braids do not seem to break down and usually if you do loose some line the level of the line on the spool changes the pickup ratio and the drag. I choose to top my braid with a mono so I do not get premature releases on my downrigger clip as the small diameter of the braid the clips do not hold very well. Also with the small diameter you can downsize the size of your reel reducing bulk and weight. You might also put a filler on your reel and then run your braid on top increasing you pick up speed.
While I think of it pull off your propeller as this is probably where a lot of your line has gone. Wind, sharp turns and excitement some how directs line into your prop. Line under the prop can take out seals or put excessive load on your motor. The braid is the worst.
A lot of fish are lost to dull hooks. On some lures the cheapest hooks are put on good looking lures. I check hooks on leaders and lures by pulling over my thumbnail. If it sticks it should be fine, A point file will touch up a dull hook. In days gone by all hooks were not really sharp enough. Now most all replacement hooks are pre sharpened. In doubt change them out.
We have and for the most part very few opportunities to get a solid hook set. Getting all your gear into tip top shape especially the time. Now you have no more football to watch or yards to attend to. Take this time to really get ready for this next year fishing and get the most out of it.
With the cold temperatures and Potholes iced over there has been no fishing. The ice is too thin to walk on.
Tom Pollack – retired
British Columbia
Vancouver
no report this week
Vancouver Island (Saltwater)
no report this week
Becher Bay
Salmon fishing was FAIR this past week. Mostly small winter springs up to 8lbs were caught in the bay for the very few anglers who went out fishing. Most of the anglers have switched over to artificial lures and trolling close to the bottom. Spoons, especially G-Force and Skinny G spoons, in Bon Chovy or Outfitters’ colours have been very effective. Anglers using bait are finding anchovies in glow teaser heads have been working best. For flashers, the Betsey, Lemon Lime and Green/Silver Hot Spot have been good. Halibut fishing has been FAIR.
Submitted by Tom Vaida, Island Outfitters, 3319 Douglas Street, Victoria, BC (250) 475-4969 info@fishingvictoria.com; www.fishingvictoria.com
Salmon fishing was FAIR to GOOD recently but very few, if any, anglers were out fishing. There were some springs up to 10 lbs caught on the flats but not too many. Most of the springs are too small for retention. The coho haven’t been running strong in this area as well. Good trolling lures have been Coho Killers, Bon Chovi or Outfitters Skinny G spoons or AP Tackleworks needlefish spoons. Anglers jigging have been using Needlefish Darts, Point Wilson Darts or Deep Stingers.
Halibut fishing was FAIR this past week. Most anglers that were fishing for halibut were using extra large herring, salmon bellies and/or octopus for bait. Also working well was the 9” Jumbo Squid in Green Glow. Also working well, and discouraging to dogfish, was the 9” Jumbo Squid in Green Glow.
Submitted by Tom Vaida, Island Outfitters, 3319 Douglas Street, Victoria, BC (250) 475-4969 info@fishingvictoria.com; www.fishingvictoria.com
Salmon fishing was GOOD this past weekend in the bay. The bay entrance has held lots of springs from 3 to 8 lbs and Whirl Bay has produced springs up to 10 lbs. Most of the anglers have switched over to artificial lures and trolling close to the bottom. Spoons, especially G-Force and Skinny G spoons in Brass/Silver, Bon Chovy or Outfitters’ colours, have been very effective. Hootchies and squirts with a green and glow color combination have been good plastic baits to use, especially with a 28” to 32” leader. Anchovies were still working this past week. Good choices for teaser head colors are UV Green, Chartreuse, Bloody Nose and Purple Haze. Flashers that are popular include the Betsey, Lemon-Lime and Madi.
Halibut fishing was FAIR this past week. The best areas were Race Rocks, William Head, 27 Fathom reef and Constance Bank. Anglers that were fishing were using extra large herring, salmon bellies and/or octopus for bait. Berkley Gulp and Powerbait soft plastics also work very well.
Submitted by Tom Vaida, Island Outfitters, 3319 Douglas Street, Victoria, BC (250) 475-4969 info@fishingvictoria.com; www.fishingvictoria.com
Sidney
Salmon fishing was FAIR this past week. We’ve heard of springs up to 14.5 lbs caught recently near Deep Cove and Wain Rock. There were some undersize springs caught in the Sidney Channel near the Red Can. Anglers using spoons found Coho Killers, Gibbs Needle G and AP Tackleworks needlefish spoons the most successful spoons this past year.
Submitted by Tom Vaida, Island Outfitters, 3319 Douglas Street, Victoria, BC (250) 475-4969 info@fishingvictoria.com; www.fishingvictoria.com
Sooke
The salmon fishing had been GOOD for springs with most of the fish under 10 lbs in size. The area around the basin entrance was best but the fish are moving around more on the outside now. Most of the anglers have switched over to artificial lures and are trolling close to the bottom. The top spoons for Sooke anglers have lots of green, glow or Moon Jelly as the primary color. Anchovies are still a good choice for bait though and good choices for teaser head colors are UV Green, Chartreuse, Bloody Nose and Purple Haze. For flashers, you can’t go wrong with a Super Betsey, Madi or Bon Chovi Flasher. Hootchies in White, Glow/Green and Purple Haze have been effective recently. Shrimping has been very good in Sooke Basin.
Submitted by Tom Vaida, Island Outfitters, 3319 Douglas Street, Victoria, BC (250) 475-4969 info@fishingvictoria.com; www.fishingvictoria.com
Victoria
Fishing for salmon was GOOD recently but very few anglers were out on the water.. The best fishing has been out at Constance Bank where springs up to 12+ lbs have caught. That said, some springs are also coming from close in between Albert Head and Clover Point. Spoons have been very successful in getting hook ups but you have to check you line every 10 minutes for shakers. Green Spatter Back UV Coho Killers, 3.5” Cop Car spoons or AP Tackleworks needlefish spoons have brought good results at Constance Bank.
Halibut fishing was FAIR with lots of dogfish around eating the bait. Some anglers did well with Powerbait grubs. Also working well, and discouraging to dogfish, was the 9” Jumbo Squid in Green Glow. Anglers that were fishing were mostly using extra large herring, salmon bellies and/or octopus for bait.
Submitted by Tom Vaida, Island Outfitters, 3319 Douglas Street, Victoria, BC (250) 475-4969 info@fishingvictoria.com; www.fishingvictoria.com
Lakes
Fishing was SLOW in most lakes for trout and SLOW for bass during this past week’s cold spell. Some winter run steelhead are just starting to enter the rivers.
Submitted by Tom Vaida, Island Outfitters, 3319 Douglas Street, Victoria, BC (250) 475-4969 info@fishingvictoria.com; www.fishingvictoria.com
Oregon
Tillamook Bay
The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) reports that Chinook fishing is fair to slow on Tillamook Bay. Chinook fishing will probably slow down as the end of the run nears but some Tillamook-area rivers are known to have late Chinook so there are still some possibilities out in the bay. Keep an eye on the weather.
There are some large wild coho being caught; remember that coho fisheries are hatchery fish only (adipose fin clipped), and all unclipped coho must be released. Know how to identify coho by the white gum line at the base of the teeth, and the ribbed tail fin rays (Page 95 of the Oregon Sport Fishing Regulations). Don’t assume it’s a Chinook just because it’s large.
Due to a wetland restoration project between the tidewaters of the Trask and Wilson Rivers, public access to the Wilson River tidewater from the end of Goodspeed road, and to the Hospital Hole on Trask tidewater, are currently unavailable.
Great Lakes
Lake Michigan
no report this week
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