Ron Newberry
360-754-5432
rnewberry@theolympian.com
Chester Allen
360-754-4226
callen@theolympian.com

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Paul Trent
You can't legally fish for chum salmon at McLane Creek anymore. That ended Oct. 31. But that doesn't mean you can't view the spectacle of salmon returning to the creek.
After reading about salmon viewing opportunities at McLane Creek Nature Trail in The Olympian, Paul Trent and his wife visited the creek Wednesday. He sent Chester Allen an e-mail about the experience:
"It was as if we were in some part of remote Alaska," he wrote, "and not just a few minutes from downtown Olympia. All that was missing was the bears! To be able to hike to within a few feet of this spectacle is amazing."
Paul also sent us a photo of their experience. Thank you, Paul!
Ron Newberry
Chum salmon are few and far between in South Sound's saltwater inlets right now, and it seems like most of the run has arrived and rolled into freshwater.
Lots of big, hot chum salmon are muscling into Kennedy Creek right now, and a good number of anglers are usually on hand to exercise the fish.
Get your pots ready and maybe plan on some crab with Thanksgiving dinner, as crabbing in four Puget Sound marine areas -- including Hood Canal -- will reopen Saturday and remain open through Jan. 2.
Fishing for chum salmon will explode any day now in South Sound inlets, creek mouths and streams.
I wrote about stumbling around the Cowlitz River and losing just about every fish I hooked in this week's fishing column.
Most diggers will get their first razor clams of the fall season with a lantern or flashlight shining nearby.