Fear not, fishermen, it just means the pink salmon are returning to the waters of Puget Sound. Pinks return in odd-numbered years, and the run this year is forecast at 5.98 million fish.
A huge run in 2009 is fueling anglers’ hopes of putting fresh-caught salmon on the grill or smoker in coming weeks. That year, the run was forecast at 5.47 million fish, but the actual run reached 9.8 million fish.
Already, anglers at places such as Sekiu and Port Townsend are starting to catch pinks. They should reach saltwater locations such as Dash Point in the next week and make their way into the rivers in two to three weeks.
Anglers shopping for pink salmon gear will have to find their way through the assortment of pink lures, jigs and flies. Auburn Sports and Marine alone has 4,000 Buzz Bombs and 7,000-8,000 jigs in stock. To help, we asked some local experts for their tips.
GREEN RIVER
Of area waters easily reached by South Sound anglers, the Green River will have the biggest run this year. Fish biologists are predicting a return of more than 2.1 million fish, the most to any single Puget Sound waterway.
When the lower river opens to salmon fishing Aug. 20, there should be plenty of fish in the river, said Todd Rock of Auburn Sports and Marine.
Rock recommends twitching pink-colored jigs off the river bottom. Other options include spinners such as a silver Mepps Aglia or a pink Blue Fox Vibrax in size 3 (1/4 ounce, $3-$4), or pink spoons and corkies and yarn.
Many people use spinners because that also gives them a chance to hook a coho, Rock said.
Anglers casting lures should cast straight out, keep the line tight as the lure moves downstream and then begin to retrieve it when the line is at a 45-50 degree angle from the angler.
“You want to feel that lure working,” Rock said. “You want it close to the bottom.”
For corky-and-yarn rigs, cast slightly upstream and let the sinker tick along the bottom until it is downstream at about a 45-degree angle. Then reel in and cast again. Most anglers use two small corkies before a single barbless hook. Most weights range from a half-ounce to 1 ounce, depending on the current.
PUYALLUP RIVER
The South Sound run is forecast at 922,632 pink salmon. The majority will come around Brown’s Point, make a left into Commencement Bay and head up the Puyallup.
Most gear anglers there use a spinner or corkies and yarn, Rock said.
Some people like spinners because coho, often in the river at the same time, will sense the vibration of the lure and, even though the water is brown, bite the lure.
When it comes to corkies, pink is the color. But color is not crucial, Rock said. “In my opinion, the buoyancy is more important. It’s just a question of where are the fish in the water column.”
When the river opens Monday, Rock recommends using a size 10 corky (10-25 cents). When the river level drops in early to mid September, he’ll switch to two size-14 corkies.
If anglers want to put scent on the yarn, anise or shrimp seem to work best. But given the number of fish that will be in the river, Rock said he doesn’t use scent a lot.
As for timing a trip to the Puyallup, Rock said, “People say the fishing is red-hot when the (Puyallup) Fair starts.” That would be Sept. 9 this year.
For fly anglers, the approach isn’t too different from fishing on a Puget Sound beach.
“I like to fish for them in the slower water, sloughs and eddies,” said Anil Srivastava, who owns Puget Sound Fly Co. “I prefer to cast sink tip (lines) and strip it back in.
“A lot of people, because they’re fishing for salmon, use flies that are too big and retrieve it too fast.”
DASH POINT-BROWN’S POINT
For many beaches around Tacoma, gear anglers will be casting pink Buzz Bombs ($3-$4, www.buzzbombzzinger.com), about 21/2 inches long.
Most people use medium-weight spinning or casting rods with a 10- to 15-pound line. The technique is as simple as casting out as far as you can, then reeling in as slow as you can.
Rock’s advice on method really applies to any water.
“Don’t make it complicated, keep it simple. Look at how other people are doing and what they are using,” he said. “Stand back and watch what they’re catching fish on. Don’t be afraid to ask people for help.”
When people come in to his Tacoma fly shop, Srivastava said people want to talk rods, reels and flies. For him, however, the most important items to fly fish for pink salmon are an intermediate sink line and stripping basket.
“When you’re standing on rocky, barnacle-covered beach, you want a basket so your line is not getting tangled in the rocks,” he said.
While he recommends an Orvis basket ($59, orvis.com), Srivastava said the key is to make sure the basket has some sort of divider so the line doesn’t slide around the bottom and tangle.
Srivastava prefers fishing for pinks with a 6- or 7-weight rod. The intermediate line, with a sink rate of 11/2 to 2 inches per second, will get your fly down to where the fish are.
“You’ll see them rolling and cavorting on the surface and you think it’s a small school. But in a boat, you can see it’s 10 fish rolling, but there’s 150 underneath them,” he said.
As for flies, they should be 11/2 to 2 inches long and some shade of pink.
“You don’t want to get a fly that’s too heavy. Otherwise they’re on the bottom or you have to strip them in faster than the fish like,” Srivastava said. “Most popular are head-heavy flies, ones that have some sort of jigging action.”
While pinks take a fly pretty aggressively, they’re not feeding, so a slower retrieve with a start-stop action is most effective, Srivastava said.
“They’re just doing laps, cruising around the beach, growing their humps, growing their egg sacks before heading up the river. That’s why I think going a little slower and having the jigging action is more important.”
Srivastava said to cast out 60-80 feet, at a 45-degree angle.
“Your fly will be in the strike zone much longer than if you cast 40 feet straight out,” he said.
HOOD CANAL
While the run here is not as large as other Puget Sound locations, it’s certainly worth checking out, said Ron Adams of Verle’s Sports Center in Shelton. According to preseason forecasts, a run of almost 11,200 fish is expected to return to Hood Canal this year.
But when the fish reach the canal, anglers need to leave the Buzz Bombs in their tackle boxes. Instead, try a bright pink lead-head jig with pink marabou dressing or a 2-inch pink squid, Adams said.
He recommends using steelhead jigs such as Worden’s Li’l Corky Jig ($1.90, in 14- or 3/8-ounce size). Late in the run, he’ll often drop to a 1/8-ounce jig.
“It seems when they get this far south, Buzz Bombs aren’t nearly as effective,” Adams said. “(The lures) need to be a little smaller, and have some wiggle to them.”
Adams said he likes to use a line like Maxima Ultra Green ($8-$9) in 6- to 8-pound test. He said the line is more supple, allowing anglers to give their jigs more movement.
“You just throw it out in front of the school, let it sink for a second or two, then raise your rod, reel in, drop your tip and repeat,” he said of the retrieve technique.
Adams recommends fishing from the Hoodsport hatchery and from the beaches north to Lilliwaup.
Jeffrey P. Mayor: 253-597-8640
jeff.mayor@thenewstribune.com
blog.thenewstribune.com/adventure
