Do the Puyallup? Today's the final day

Anglers have just today to fish for steelhead on the Puyallup River system before it shuts down.

The state Department of Fish and Wildlife has announced it will close the Puyallup and four other Puget Sound systems Thursday.

The closure includes Puyallup, Nooksack, Stillaguamish, Samish and Snohomish rivers and their tributaries.

The state made the decision because returns of wild steelhead will fall far short of target levels in all five river systems, said Bob Leland, steelhead manager.

The Puyallup closure includes the mainstem from the 11th Street Bridge in Tacoma upstream to the Electron power plant outlet, the Carbon River from the mouth to the Highway 162 bridge and the White (Stuck) River from the mouth to the R Street bridge in Auburn.

Saltwater

North Sound: The action remains slow to fair at best, said Mike Chamberlain at Ted’s Sports Center. Those fish being caught are weighing 7 to 13 pounds, but there are not a lot of them and anglers are having to work hard to find them. Oak Harbor has been producing some good catches of smelt.

Tacoma: Angler reports and the word from the staff at Point Defiance Boathouse Marina show the slow fishing continues. Art Tachell said some fish are being caught off Quartermaster Harbor and along Ruston Way. Try trolling with flashers and hoochies, spoons or bait close to the bottom in water 120 to 150 feet deep.

Rivers

Cowlitz: Fishing on the river remains hit and miss for the most part. There were reports of a few steelhead being caught at Barrier Dam this weekend and a few more from the Blue Creek area. Boat anglers were doing better, running divers with bait and side drifting eggs, said Marshall Borsom of Fish Country.

Kalama: The river conditions slowly improved over the weekend and should be good now, said Wayne Orzel at Pritchard’s Western Angler.

Methow: There are decent numbers of fish being caught. The fish aren’t very bright, but there is a good chance of hooking one here.

Puyallup: Angler reports over the weekend showed a few folks were catching some steelhead, but they seemed to be the exception. The situation seems to be the same on the Carbon.

North Sound: The Sauk and Skagit, also impacted by poor steelhead returns, closed Monday.

Olympic Coast: The rivers have come back down after recent rain, said Bob Gooding at Olympic Sporting Goods. The fishing has been better than average so far. The Sol Duc or the Calawah would be the best bets. The Hoh should be cleared up by the weekend.

Skookumchuck: The action has been slow. Anglers have been trying spinners, bobber and jigs or bait.

Lakes

Kapowsin: Local angler Kevin Bye said he fished the lake last week and came up empty. He wrote that he heard some folks were catching largemouth bass with Senko plastic worms in green/pumpkinseed.

Lone: The fishing has dropped off compared to last month. Trout anglers are catching some fish measuring 12 to 14 inches.

Mayfield: The lake is still producing good numbers of trout for the trollers pulling Wedding Rings with cocktail shrimp and worms. The bank anglers by the hatchery and state park are also picking up a few with marshmallows and worms, Borsom said.

Pass: The trout fishing has been poor.

Riffe: Fishing has really picked up for silvers this weekend, on the U.S. 12 side and Mossyrock side. Anglers are using cocktail shrimp and worms.

Washington: There are some cutthroat in the 16- to 18-inch range being caught, but not in the numbers like last year, Chamberlain said.

Jeffrey P. Mayor: 253-597-8640

jeff.mayor@thenewstribune.com

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