Nice Crescent Moon at the start of another too bright day.
SF
SF
Puget Sound
- Thread starter Stonedfish
- Start date
4-4 this morning over two beaches. The first beach fished well at daybreak then died. No current, lots of salad, etc. Fished it for an hour or so as the tide came in and it never turned on. Switched to a different beach that had cleaner, moving water and got a couple more. One larger and both brighter than most of the fish I have caught the last couple of weeks. Kept those two and called it a day.
Slow fishing today but did get to cast at a legit double digit coho that jumped well within casting range. Unfortunately, it did not bite. 
Just too hot and too little current where I was fishing. We could use some rain to freshen up things and make some new fish available. Some are getting a bit stale looking.
Beach finds from today. If someone wants to pick up the Pro Chip flasher in north Seattle, let me know. If nobody claims it, I plan to remove the chip and lash it to one of my clousers.
Good talking to you today @VMP
Quick question for @Cabezon or anyone else that might know. Many times while salmon fishing, Dungeness crabs will come to the surface and swim upside down, legs moving wildly. What or why are they doing this? I saw four crabs do this today while fishing. A female popped up to the surface right near me and soon after a big male was following along with it on the bottom, like a trout looking up at a dry fly. First time I’ve ever seen that type of tracking behavior.
SF
Just too hot and too little current where I was fishing. We could use some rain to freshen up things and make some new fish available. Some are getting a bit stale looking.Beach finds from today. If someone wants to pick up the Pro Chip flasher in north Seattle, let me know. If nobody claims it, I plan to remove the chip and lash it to one of my clousers.
Good talking to you today @VMP
Quick question for @Cabezon or anyone else that might know. Many times while salmon fishing, Dungeness crabs will come to the surface and swim upside down, legs moving wildly. What or why are they doing this? I saw four crabs do this today while fishing. A female popped up to the surface right near me and soon after a big male was following along with it on the bottom, like a trout looking up at a dry fly. First time I’ve ever seen that type of tracking behavior.
SF
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I can't answer your question @Stonedfish, but I did floss a rock crab while dealing with a running line tangle. Saw some nice fish feeding early, but the sun and sea lions made things tough. Missed what felt like a smaller fish and a rod tip eat from a bigger fish at the tough moment between the last strip and the next cast. Both fish and the rock crab on this fly.
speedbird
Life of the Party
Much better than last year, I gotta get out there again
Ira and I had a fun and full day on the sound.
Fairly slow overall. It was just so hot and bright out there! But we found fish throughout the day. Mostly coho but we each did land a pink. It's not over!!!!!
Highlight for me was a point where a large school of coho just kinda appareared as we were fishing. Like a LARGE school of coho. On the cast when we saw the school I briefly hooked 3 separate fish, each spitting the hook before another ate it. Then the 4th time I Snagged one in the side of the head. After that fish fought like hell and the hook pulled, I made another cast and the school came back from the other direction and I again briefly hooked 2 more fish and missed several. So that was a total of 5 fish hooked and a 6th foul hooked on a total of two casts. Was pretty damned exciting.
Lots of bait out there. Herring, sandlance, and small concentrated schools of really small stickleback and the coho were occasionally feasting on. Also a surprisingly big number of like 16-18" coho seen and encountered today.
Earned some karma on the way back to Kingston when we came across this guy and his wife broke down maybe a mile and a half or so north of Kingston. Took some doing but we finally figured out how to tow him in. Getting him to the dock was rather sketchy but we pulled it off.
This one wanted to come home and join me for dinner
Fairly slow overall. It was just so hot and bright out there! But we found fish throughout the day. Mostly coho but we each did land a pink. It's not over!!!!!
Highlight for me was a point where a large school of coho just kinda appareared as we were fishing. Like a LARGE school of coho. On the cast when we saw the school I briefly hooked 3 separate fish, each spitting the hook before another ate it. Then the 4th time I Snagged one in the side of the head. After that fish fought like hell and the hook pulled, I made another cast and the school came back from the other direction and I again briefly hooked 2 more fish and missed several. So that was a total of 5 fish hooked and a 6th foul hooked on a total of two casts. Was pretty damned exciting.
Lots of bait out there. Herring, sandlance, and small concentrated schools of really small stickleback and the coho were occasionally feasting on. Also a surprisingly big number of like 16-18" coho seen and encountered today.
Earned some karma on the way back to Kingston when we came across this guy and his wife broke down maybe a mile and a half or so north of Kingston. Took some doing but we finally figured out how to tow him in. Getting him to the dock was rather sketchy but we pulled it off.
This one wanted to come home and join me for dinner
Greggor
'Schooled' by Roy Patrick
Way to go guys! Hopefully, your newly earned karma will bring you a full day of that coho insanity!
We saw you guys rip by us on the beach today and then quickly slam on the breaks for a bit. We figured you saw something worth exploring but you ended up moving on quickly. Your boat is so distinguishable
. I always notice you and the three other Whalers like mine with fly guys that fish off the beaches in that area.
They're giving you the finger.Slow fishing today but did get to cast at a legit double digit coho that jumped well within casting range. Unfortunately, it did not bite.
Beach finds from today. If someone wants to pick up the Pro Chip flasher in north Seattle, let me know. If nobody claims it, I plan to remove the chip and lash it to one of my clousers.
View attachment 81596
Good talking to you today @VMP
Quick question for @Cabezon or anyone else that might know. Many times while salmon fishing, Dungeness crabs will come to the surface and swim upside down, legs moving wildly. What or why are they doing this? I saw four crabs do this today while fishing. A female popped up to the surface right near me and soon after a big male was following along with it on the bottom, like a trout looking up at a dry fly. First time I’ve ever seen that type of tracking behavior.
SF
We saw you guys rip by us on the beach today and then quickly slam on the breaks for a bit. We figured you saw something worth exploring but you ended up moving on quickly. Your boat is so distinguishable
Yeah I'm pretty sure I know right when you saw us. There was something interesting there....it was my hat that came flying off my head that I had to loop back around on lol
At least it wasn't a Simms jacket!
I have a couple reports of folks running into significant pods of coho jacks.
Nick could those 16 - 18-inch fish been jacks? They typically a white bump on the end of their snout - the jack version of a hook nose? There has been a couple years where I have had fun "trout" fishing on those jacks by downsizing my flies (stuff in the 1.5 to 2 inch range). Fortunately the larger adults also find those smaller flies acceptable.
Curt
Nick could those 16 - 18-inch fish been jacks? They typically a white bump on the end of their snout - the jack version of a hook nose? There has been a couple years where I have had fun "trout" fishing on those jacks by downsizing my flies (stuff in the 1.5 to 2 inch range). Fortunately the larger adults also find those smaller flies acceptable.
Curt
wow those are nice salmon! also what reel is that?
Thanks! It’s a Ross Evolution LTX reel.
Quick question on the additional two extra pink rules that were just announced for MA 10 and 11.
Any particular reason they did it those marine areas but not in MA 8-1, 8-2 or 9?
Seemed late in doing it also and after the peak fishing for folks.
SF
Any particular reason they did it those marine areas but not in MA 8-1, 8-2 or 9?
Seemed late in doing it also and after the peak fishing for folks.
SF
I'm just guessing but I would think it's based on the unexpected number of pinks returning specifically to the Duwamish and Puyallup systems. The 8-1 / 8-2 areas are Hood Canal, right? I'm not sure what rivers in the canal get the humpies or how they're looking for returns this year. And 9 would include the Snohomish fish, maybe that system isn't seeing the high numbers that the Duwamish and Puyallups are?
Agree it was a late call. Although I haven't been out this week, maybe there are still bright pinks coming through in the south end. I will try to find out tomorrow morning if I can make it out before work.
8-1 and -2 are east side of Whidbey. HC is mostly 12.
As for why, it's probably based on quotas and encounters.
