Puget Sound

Which end of Bainbridge Island do migratory coho use to get into the Sinclair Inlet area?

I have access to private beaches on the north and south sides, pretty decent spots. I've had a tiny bit of luck getting chinook off the south side in the passage, targeting Gorst Creek fish. So they likely are using the deeper water there instead of the North side shallow waters. But never got a coho in the south passage. I've nailed big fat hooknose 13+lb coho in sinclair inlet but never could figure out which way they came in from east of Bainbridge. There can be some small resident coho that I think go to the Agate Pass net pens? Although I don't know of anyone getting bigger migratory fish up there headed for sinclair.
 
BigBubba said:
Which end of Bainbridge Island do migratory coho use to get into the Sinclair Inlet area?

I have access to private beaches on the north and south sides, pretty decent spots. I've had a tiny bit of luck getting chinook off the south side in the passage, targeting Gorst Creek fish. So they likely are using the deeper water there instead of the North side shallow waters. But never got a coho in the south passage. I've nailed big fat hooknose 13+lb coho in sinclair inlet but never could figure out which way they came in from east of Bainbridge. There can be some small resident coho that I think go to the Agate Pass net pens? Although I don't know of anyone getting bigger migratory fish up there headed for sinclair.
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Seek ye the passage soaring over agate. The old man awaits you.
 
the_chemist said:
So here's a question. Do you think the wet August is bringing fish in earlier or are we seeing a larger than forecast return?
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Maybe both. Those rains seam to have altered the fish I follow from up north as they migrate deeper into the sound.

I also think that any year when the fish are nice and fat, even resi coho, which they have been decent this summer compared to last year, bodes well for the fish numbers as well, indicating a healthy amount of food for the populations. Last year was sort of sad for my local coho spots with majority in the 2-4 lb range and not many at that. Year before that was gangbusters and some of the fattest we've seen since the 2013 uber runs.
 
BigBubba said:
Maybe both. Those rains seam to have altered the fish I follow from up north as they migrate deeper into the sound.

I also think that any year when the fish are nice and fat, even resi coho, which they have been decent this summer compared to last year, bodes well for the fish numbers as well, indicating a healthy amount of food for the populations. Last year was sort of sad for my local coho spots with majority in the 2-4 lb range and not many at that. Year before that was gangbusters and some of the fattest we've seen since the 2013 uber runs.
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Interesting you say last year was “sad”. My side of the Sound, last year was really good. Better than most I have fished. Not size wise necessarily but numbers wise and that’s the consensus of many I know who have done this for years. West sound last year was really, really, strong. This year, west sound has been slow comparatively but eastside fisheries are kicking out some very nice fish.

It’s all super interesting. The puzzle of Puget Sound. Year to year, something new to figure out. It’s what makes this fishery so interesting in my opinion.
 
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jasmillo said:
Interesting you say last year was “sad”. My side of the Sound, last year was really good. Better than most I have fished. Not size wise necessarily but numbers wise and that’s the consensus of many I know who have done this for years. West sound last year was really, really, strong. This year, west sound has been slow comparatively but eastside fisheries are kicking out some very nice fish.

It’s all super interesting. The puzzle of Puget Sound. Year to year, isomething new to figure out. It’s what makes this fishery so interesting in my opinion.
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Ya I don't consider last year terrible by any means. I'm north
Puget sound. Made a solid dent on a second punch card and 90% of those were coho on the fly.
 
I can concur that while last year was mediocre size wise it was bonkers numbers wise. I spent a late morning and afternoon at Posession Bar and hooked around 15 coho. At least dirt bagging from the boat, I've caught most of my fish on the West side of the sound this year. Good to know east side fisheries are kicking out fish, I'll have to check out my local beaches when tide/time is right
 
I'm catching two dominant sizes of fish, separated by sex:

7.5 and 5.5 for males, and around 5 for females.

I am very curious if the smaller males I am boating are just resi's that really fattened themselves up this year. My usual resi vs ocean fish conclusion comes from how relatively fat they are compared to length, but the skinny fish that are pretty clearly resi are making a big minority of catches so far.
 
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