Puget Sound

ffb said:
Is it no pinks allowed at all or just not the 2 + 2 limit that everywhere else is getting? From the WDFW blog post:

"With the expected strong return of pinks, WDFW added two additional pinks to the daily limit for all inner-marine areas except Marine Area 8–2 (Ports Susan and Gardner) through Sept. 30."

To me that reads that pinks are allowed, just not the additional pinks added to the daily limit. I could be wrong though, that's the only information I had to go off of, wasn't sure if there was another document floating around somewhere that had more detailed information on 8-2.
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I understood it as no pinks in 8-2, but I could be wrong. Wouldn’t be the first time! 😂 Let me check with some folks.
SF
 
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My recollection of the NOF discussions is the same as Stonedfish, that is not pinks retention allowed in MA 8-2. There was some discussion as to when to open Port Susan for coho, whether August 1st or early September.

The reason for the lack of a pink season in Port Susan was the below escapement goal (155,000) forecast for the Stillaguamish.

Curt
 
jasmillo said:
Took the day off and hit the sound today in search of SRC. Found a lot of fish, both SRC and rezzies, but only a handful of decent fish to hand. Lots of smalls today. SRC ate everything, shrimp, chum fry, white flashy baitfish. Salmon really wanted the fry and white flashy pattern.

Some of the SRC

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Some of the rezzies (I think there’s a bm in there too)

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Dang, nice day! From the boat?
 
ffb said:
Is it no pinks allowed at all or just not the 2 + 2 limit that everywhere else is getting? From the WDFW blog post:

"With the expected strong return of pinks, WDFW added two additional pinks to the daily limit for all inner-marine areas except Marine Area 8–2 (Ports Susan and Gardner) through Sept. 30."

To me that reads that pinks are allowed, just not the additional pinks added to the daily limit. I could be wrong though, that's the only information I had to go off of, wasn't sure if there was another document floating around somewhere that had more detailed information on 8-2.
Click to expand...

Just spoke with WDFW and 8-2 is closed for pinks this year.
SF
 
Had a couple hours to kill. Thought I go out to a north ps beach. Quiet. All to myself minus a couple dog walkers over a 90 minute period. ‘Goose egg’. Beautiful morning!!!

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I decided to wet wade to save time …..🥶. Still a tad to early in the year to do that.

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I like this fly a lot but there was zilch activity on the water.

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I am really glad to see 2+2 limits back finally. Real shame about MA5 and 6, hoping 6 doesn't close down before i get a chance to fish Kings. I also hope 8-2 will open for pinks as I also live near two beaches up there that get them stacked up, I just haven't had luck getting them to bite
 
Porter2 said:
Had a couple hours to kill. Thought I go out to a north ps beach. Quiet. All to myself minus a couple dog walkers over a 90 minute period. ‘Goose egg’. Beautiful morning!!!

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I decided to wet wade to save time …..🥶. Still a tad to early in the year to do that.

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I like this fly a lot but there was zilch activity on the water.

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I did my first wet wade in the sound in flip flops this week. It was painful until numbness took over. The boots are a good call. Mud sucking flop blowouts and oyster cuts are a real hazard out here. I do like the simplicity of shorts though.
 
Porter2 said:
Had a couple hours to kill. Thought I go out to a north ps beach. Quiet. All to myself minus a couple dog walkers over a 90 minute period. ‘Goose egg’. Beautiful morning!!!
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I haven't had much luck at that beach for the handful of times I've been there. Let me know if you've ever had/have success there!

Hit MA 13, 12 and 10 yesterday. Started fishing in MA12 around 8am and finished around 1pm in MA10. Explored some new beaches (4 total) which made for more driving time than fishing. Beach 1 showed some promise with a few jumpers but that was about all the excitement the entire day. No contact with any fish. Way she goes sometimes.

Got to try my new Simms Freesalt boots which was a plus. Hoping for some good life outta these.

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It’s been years since I have had any decent cuttie action at that beach. I go there occasionally when I have a short block of time. I can leave the house and be on the water in 25 minutes. However it is a very good pink salmon beach.

There’s a beach a bit south that is much better. (It takes a bit of time getting to and fro on foot) Overall the north sound beaches can be tough but you get a surprise here and there. When you have a block of 4 hours to go fishing I tend to stick to the north sound beaches to maximize my time on the water and less in traffic.
 
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Porter2 said:
It’s been years since I have had any decent cuttie action at that beach. I go there occasionally when I have a short block of time. I can leave the house and be on the water in 25 minutes. However it is a very good pink salmon beach.
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Good to know about pinks there. I'll have to try it out this year.
Porter2 said:
There’s a beach a bit south that is much better. (It takes a bit of time getting to and fro on foot)
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I'm very familiar with this one and just like for you, can be there in 25 minutes. It does get a bit of pressure which is why I haven't been there in a while.
 
VMP said:
Apparently so, back in May 2023 @Smalma posted the following:



A quick look at the literature shows some further insight, see below excerpts from the following (page 16):
"Development of Washington State Salmon Sport Fishery through 1964. Frank Haw, Henry O. Wendler, and Gene Deschamps. 1967. Washington Department of Fisheries. Olympia, Washington."


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Also see page 30 of the following:
Hard, J. J., R. G. Kope, W. S. Grant, F. W. Waknitz, L. T. Parker, and R. S. Waples. 1996. Status review 'of pink salmon from Washington, Oregon, and California. U.S. Dep. Commer., NOAA Tech. Memo. NMFS-NWFSC-25, 131 p.

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Edited to add a link to a more recent paper (2021) on the diverse and historical use changes of eight salmonid species in the Salish Sea, very interesting analysis of timing and associated factors related to residents vs migrants. In a nutshell, after peaking in the 1970s-1980s, residency of salmonids in the Salish Sea has been declining overall.
Quinn, Thomas & Losee, James. (2021). Diverse and changing use of the Salish Sea by Pacific salmon, trout, and char. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences. 79. 10.1139/cjfas-2021-0162.
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Love the additional info to read thank you for that.
 
Been catching a few over the last week but not in big numbers. Covering lots of water and changing flies often seems to be the approach for me. The huge amount of chum fry may be why the fish have been so spread out.
Fished out of the boat from 7-9 yesterday. Got a few and lost a few. IMG_6539.jpegIMG_6535.jpegHit the beach for an hour this morning and got this guy. Surprised he even bit my fly with the massive schools of fry around. IMG_6542.jpeg
 
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