Fishing Reports for May 10

By on May 10, 2017

Washington

Marine Area 1 (Ilwaco)

no report this week

Marine Area 2 (Westport)

no report this week

Marine Area 3 (LaPush and Forks)

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

Ling fishing and prawning have been good in Marine Area 7. Halibut was pretty slow on the opener. Hopefully we will see some more flatties on the next open day.

Submitted by Kevin Klein, Team Parker Boats NW. The cover image of this week’s report was also submitted by Klein.

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

no report this week

Marine Area 11

Fishing report: Ling Cod season is open May 1- June 15, 2017 for a one fish limit 26-26 inches slot length in 120 feet or less in depth. Several legal ling cod have been caught this week up to the maximum size limit in 120 feet of water or less. Most anglers fish with live herring on the bottom on slack tides in areas where there is structure for them such as the Tacoma Narrows. Area 13 is now open for hatchery chinook and coho. Anglers are trolling 10 feet off the bottom in 120-140 feet of water with flasher spoon or flasher squid. Also some have been catching salmon jigging. Pt Fosdik and Wollochet bay have been giving up a few chinook as well. For more information call 253-591-5325

For an updated report call (253)591-5325.

The shrimp opened in Area 11 is scheduled for May 6, 2017 from 9 am to 1 pm . May 6 was a great day for those out shrimping in Area 11. Area 13 is May 6 and May 20 from 9am to 1 pm

Crabbing is now closed until July 1 with no winter crabbing in Area 11. For a more up to date report call 253-591-5325

Point Defiance Marina has rental boats and motors and launch and overnight moorage facilities with pump out stations and shore power. In addition, we have storage space for boats up to 17 feet as well as kayak storage. For more information call 253-591-5325

Learn Basic Fishing Youth/Adult June 17, 2017 Saturday 10 am to 12 noon Cost $15 (ages 8+). The Adult (Age 15+) is on May 27, 2017 form 10 am to 12 noon. Cost is $15 . To sign Up call 253-591-5325

Plan ahead for the ABC Boater’s Education Class on Wednesday Nights from 7-9 pm May 3-31, 2017. This class will provide the requirements for the mandatory WA State Boater’s Card for boats with 15 hp or greater. The class will provide a Boater’s Manual and Navigational Software. Cost is $50. The class is taught by Tacoma Power Squadron. Info call 253-591-5325

ABC Boater’s Class II for beginning boaters on Monday and Thursday nights from 7-9 pm , June 5-19 (5 nights total) This class will provide the requirements for the mandatory WA State Boater’s Card for boats with 15 hp or greater. The class will provide a Boater’s Manual and Navigational Software. Cost is $50. The class is taught by Tacoma Power Squadron. Info call 253-591-5325

Summer Camps Available Sails and Trails Camp for Ages 11-15. Monday-Friday 8 am to 5 pm. Cost $260/wk. Participants spend the week fishing and educational trail hikes at Point Defiance and Sailing and Kayaking at Tacoma Youth Marine Center. Also one day is spend at Foss Seaport Center with hands on marine science. July 10-14, July 17 21, July 24-28, July 31-Aug 4.

Point Defiance Marina Swap Meet. Come Shop or Sell/Trade on Saturday, May 20, 2017 from 10 am to 3 pm. Cost is $15 for a 10X 10 covered space. More information call (253) 591-5325

Report submitted by Point Defiance Marina. For more information contact: Art Tachell, Boathouse Marina Technician, 253.591.5325 art@tacomaparks.com www.pointdefiancemarina.com.

Marine Area 12

Pre Shrimp Opening – Area 12: The Skokomish are carpet bombing the Dewatto area for shrimp in all of the sweet spots. Nothing on their website available on their season and nobody will answer the phone on their end…

Shrimp Opener – Area 12 – South Hood Canal: Some of the poorest shrimping days anyone can remember. More people soaking til 1p than I can remember in my 12 yrs here. We had 5 people and got 3 1/2 limits in 2 pulls with excellent bait; north of Dewatto with USCG, Sheriffs, and WDFW all around.

Shrimp Opener – Area 12 – Dabob Bay: A beautiful day on the water. Shrimping not as in years past. Few people got their total limit. Local residents said that the area had been heavily fished in the weeks prior by the tribal shrimpers. Sure hoping shrimping picks up for Wednesdays outing.

Reports submitted by SU readers.

Freshwater – Lake Chelan

Mr. Johns with his near mythical Lake Chelan Landlocked Chinook!

What’s hot is trolling for Kokanee within a mile or two of Wapato Point. Also hot is trolling for Lake Trout in the State Park area. Finally, Roses Lake is great, bait fishing for planter rainbows from the State access area.

The Bartolotta party with their (and Jeff’s) limit of Kokanee

Kokanee Fishing continues to be red hot for 11 to 15 inch fish. Fish just above schools spotted on your sonar with Mack’s Lure’s mini Cha Cha Squidders in orange and hot pink. Rig them on a 15” leader behind a Mack’s Double D Dodger in chrome. Bait each hook with 2 kernels of white shoe peg corn marinated gently in Pro Cure’s Bloody Tuna scent. Pull that whole ensemble at a leisurely 1.1 mph. The odd Landlocked Chinook jumping on for a ride is a very welcome bonus!

Laker fishing continues to be productive albeit less consistent than previous years early in the morning along Colyar Ledge. I would suggest staying until you are blank for an hour. Some days that happens by 8AM. Others the bite can last until noon. I pound the Ledge with Worden Lures T-4 flatfish in the GPLF pattern. The State Park area has been my secondary location working depths of 125 to 225 feet deep depending on when I get there. As always, fish within 3 to 5 feet of the bottom and keep your speed around 1.2 mph. The Mack’s Lure Bead and Blade combo our guide, Jeff Witkowski has developed has been very productive. Bait this rig with a chunk of Northern Pikeminnow.

Roses Lake continues to produce Rainbow trout at a phenomenal rate. Fishing Pautzke’s Fire Bait in American Wildfire on a slip sinker rig with a 30 inch leader from the shore works well. These fish have mostly ranged from 11 to 14 inches.

Your fishing tip of the week is an oldie but goody. Periodically check your hook points when banging the bottom for Lakers on Chelan. Pounding the wood and rocks can turn a hook point and cost you fish. Twenty seconds with a file and you’ll be back in business.

The kid’s tip of the week is to pick your battles. Taking on every single misbehavior of a toddler can be exhausting and counterproductive. Sometimes ignoring minor misbehaviors can extinguish it better than corrective action. Sometimes, the function of those behaviors is to get attention. Even negative attention is attention… It takes some thought to determine the source cause of the misbehavior.

The Hiskeys with their morning Mackinaw.

The safety tip of the week is to really start keeping a lookout for woody debris as Lake Chelan fills. The Straits are beginning to collect lot of debris. With the little burst of warm weather, I expect the Narrows to begin to load up.

For more info call Anton & Sandra Jones of Darrell & Dad’s Family Guide Service;darrellanddads.com; antonj@aol.com or call (509)687-0709 or toll free at (866)360-1523.

Freshwater – Potholes Reservoir

This past weekend Walleye fishing was epic. It was the 13th year of the Rod Meseberg Spring Walleye Classic. There were 57 teams competing in the two event. In the two days there were 480 Walleye weighed. Most all of the fishing was done back in the dunes. The water is dropping and Walleye will be moving out into the main lake. Last week I fished some of my spots on the main lake and found nothing. The heaviest Walleye on Saturday was 8.48-pounds caught by the second place winner of the event with the team of Todd Priddy and Jeb Race. The top 15 two-day weights were 27.41-pounds and ranged up to the top combined two catches up to 40.86-pounds. The winners were Jeff and Jordan Reeder. After the awards there was a large raffle. All profits from the event went to the Habitat program to help pay for the habitat program of protective boxes being placed for protection of fish fry of all species.

Bass fishing with water really warming is getting better in all parts of the lake. The trout fishing remains good in Worden, Windmill and Canal lakes. There are many other lakes in our area that for the most part are walk in lakes.

Report submitted by Tom Pollack

British Columbia

Vancouver

Limit of Georgia Strait chinook salmon from this week

The last couple weeks have continued to provide some very good fishing over on the eastern shoreline of the Gulf Island’s. The fishing is not as crazy as it was in the last 10 days of April and the first week of May, but there definitely have been some periods of activity. There have been some good pockets of fish on the Vancouver side as well depending on the day, tides, and weather.

Seth with a nice chrome chinook

On most of our full day trips, we have been concentrating on the eastern shoreline of Gabriola Island. For the most part, we have been out in the deep water in 300 to 1000 feet water doing long tacks searching for feeding chinook. Most of the chinook salmon have been taken trolling from 90 to 180 feet down depending on the day. As we progress into May, we will likely see more fish start to show a little tighter to structure in 150 to 300 feet.

The Vancouver side has also had some good pockets of fish. Hole in the Wall was quite productive last week, but really slowed over the weekend with only the odd fish landed. Cowan Point up to Roger Curtis in a little tighter has had some nice fish the last few days. The outer reaches of Vancouver Harbour and out off Point Grey have also been good at times over the last few days. The fishing has been better around the tide changes and days with smaller tides.

For more info call Jeff or Jason at Bon Chovy Fishing Charters (604) 763-5460,bonchovy.com email: info@bonchovy.com. 

Alberni Inlet and Barkley Sound

no report this week

Bamfield

no report this week

Becher Bay

Salmon fishing was GOOD this past week when it wasn’t too windy. The best fishing has been near Beechey Head and Aldridge Point. There were some hatchery spring as large as 16 lbs springs caught as well as the more common smaller 6-10 lb hatchery springs. The best depths for trolling has been 100 – 130 feet on the downrigger.. More anglers are using bait now and are finding anchovies in glow teaser heads have been working best. Spoons, especially G-Force and Skinny G spoons, in No Bananas or Outfitters’ colours have been very effective. For flashers, the Red Glow Hot Spot, Lemon Lime and Green/Glow Hot Spot.

Submitted by Tom Vaida, Island Outfitters, 3319 Douglas Street, Victoria, BC (250) 475-4969 info@fishingvictoria.com; www.fishingvictoria.com

Oak Bay

Len Rasile with his second place salmon in the Sidney Derby

Salmon fishing was EXCELLENT early in the week but it died off and was slow on the weekend. There are hatchery springs into the teens near Brodie Rock and on the Flats. The salmon are feeding on needlefish and have been at depths from 65 to 145 feet, depending on where the feed are located. All of the anglers have been either bottom bouncing or jigging close to the bottom. Good trolling lures have been Coho Killers, Bon Chovi or Outfitters Skinny G spoons or AP Tackleworks needlefish spoons. Sandlance lures and squirts (needle fish) are best in pearl, white & green, or white glow. Good jigging lures have been Nickel/Silver Point Wilson Darts, GIBBS Minnows and the Delta Mac Fish.

Halibut fishing was SLOW this past week. The halibut were recently taking salmon heads or bellies, large herring and octopus. Be sure to get setup about an hour and a half before the slack to catch the tide swing and to be able to stay on the bottom. Most anglers that were fishing for halibut are using extra large herring, salmon bellies and/or octopus for bait. Also working well was the 8” Powerbait Grubs and Delta Hali Hawgs.

Submitted by Tom Vaida, Island Outfitters, 3319 Douglas Street, Victoria, BC (250) 475-4969 info@fishingvictoria.com; www.fishingvictoria.com

Pedder Bay
Pedder Bay Marina reports GOOD BUT SPOTTY salmon fishing when it’s not too windy. The salmon seem to be concentrated in some areas, but those areas vary from day to day. What’s hot one day is cold the next. There are lots of needlefish in the area and salmon are targeting them. Most anglers are using artificial lures and trolling close to the bottom, but anchovies are also producing well. Spoons, especially G-Force, Skinny G and AP Tackle works spoons in Outfitters’, Bon Chovy or No Bananas colours, have been very effective. Hootchies and squirts with a green and glow color combination have been good plastic baits to use. 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 Hot Spot Red/Glow, Lemon-Lime and Madi.

Submitted by Tom Vaida, Island Outfitters, 3319 Douglas Street, Victoria, BC (250) 475-4969 info@fishingvictoria.com; www.fishingvictoria.com

Sidney

The Sidney Anglers Association Derby took place this last weekend on May 6th. Carol Holman of Friday Harbor won top prize with a 23.1 lb Spring. Thanks to all the folks who put on this great event, and all the sponsors. We will see you next year!

Submitted by Kevin Klein, Team Parker Boats NW.

Sooke

The salmon fishing has been SLOW for springs. Most of the hatchery fish are running from 6 to 10 lbs in size. The best fishing remains in 110 to 130 feet of water with the salmon close to the bottom looking for needlefish. Good areas have been near Otter Point, the Bluffs, and Tugwell Creek. With the current chinook restrictions in place, it makes little sense to travel west off Otter Point and Muir Creek. About half of the anglers are using artificial lures and the Skinny G needlefish spoon in the Outfitters color scheme has been the most effective spoon. The top spoons for Sooke anglers have lots of glow, red or Moon Jelly as the primary color. The other half of the anglers is using bait, and anchovies are the most popular natural bait. 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. Halibut fishing has been slower west of Sooke and the fish have been in shallower water than usual.

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 SLOW this past week. Constance Bank was much slower because of the big tides on the bank. Along the waterfront the fishing has definitely been even slower than last week. There were a few hatchery springs up to 10 lbs were caught. Best areas have been Albert Head, Brotchie Ledge and Clover Point. Your lure should be close to the bottom when trolling off for springs this time of year. Spoons have been very successful in getting hook ups. Green Spatter Back UV Coho Killers, 3.5” Cop Car spoons or AP Tackleworks needlefish spoons have brought some hookups. Like elsewhere, needlefish are the predominant feed right now.

Halibut fishing was GOOD this past week. The halibut have been fairly deep with depths of over 250 feet the most productive. Most anglers that were fishing for halibut are using extra large herring, salmon bellies and/or octopus for bait. Also working well was the 8” Powerbait Grubs and Delta Hali Hawgs.

Submitted by Tom Vaida, Island Outfitters, 3319 Douglas Street, Victoria, BC (250) 475-4969 info@fishingvictoria.com; www.fishingvictoria.com

Lakes and Rivers

Fishing was VERY GOOD in most lakes for trout and GOOD for  bass as the weather improves.

Submitted by Tom Vaida, Island Outfitters, 3319 Douglas Street, Victoria, BC (250) 475-4969 info@fishingvictoria.com; www.fishingvictoria.com

Oregon

Tillamook Bay

no report this week

Willamette River

no report this week

Great Lakes

Lake Michigan

no report this week

Salmon University Staff
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