South Puget Sound fishing report for Oct. 18

SALT WATER

Crabs: Not many are heading out to drop pots in areas that are open because of poor weather, but those making the effort are doing well, said Mike Chamberlain of Ted’s Sports Center in Lynnwood. The waters of the South Sound, areas 11 and 13, remain closed.

Clams: Wednesday (Oct. 19) is the final day of the first coastal razor clam dig at Twin Harbors. Digging isn’t permitted before noon and low tide is at 9:55 p.m. The next dig is scheduled for the evening tides Oct. 28-Nov. 4 at Long Beach and Oct. 28-30 at Twin Harbors, if tests show clams are safe to eat.

North Sound: Not many anglers on the water, but squidding has been good at the Edmonds Pier.

South Sound: Action is slow with only Marine Area 13 (Olympia) open for salmon fishing. Last week, fly fishermen were catching coho from the beach on the western portion of this marine area.

RIVERS

Cispus: Tacoma Power released 480 coho adults and 231 coho jacks last week at the mouth of the Yellow Jacket Creek.

Columbia: Salmonid fishing has been good in the Gorge, according to the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife. White sturgeon fishing from Buoy 10 to the Oregon-Washington border is catch-and-release. Walleye angling is good in the John Day Pool. The current fall chinook return estimate is 707,600 fish.

Cowlitz: Last week, Tacoma Power recovered 3,105 coho adults, 1,081 jacks, 957 fall chinook adults, 44 jacks, 410 summer-run steelhead and 87 cutthroat at the hatchery separator. The agency released 464 coho adults, 314 coho jacks and three trout at Packwood’s Franklin Bridge.

Dungeness: The river opened last week to coho fishing from the mouth of the hatchery intake pipe 11.3 miles up the river. It is scheduled to remain open through Nov. 27.

Green: The best bet for catching coho has been drifting eggs.

Puyallup: Open for salmon fishing from the 11th Street Bridge to the mouth of the Carbon River through Dec. 31. Anglers may keep any combination of two chum and hatchery coho. Wild coho and wild steelhead must be released.

Skykomish: Anglers are catching steelhead in the Reiter Ponds area. Coho have been biting and action should improve as river conditions become more ideal for anglers, Chamberlain said.

Snohomish: The river is not yet in good shape for fishing, Chamberlain said early Tuesday.

Tilton: Last week at Morton’s Backstrom Park, Tacoma Power released 902 coho adults, 142 coho jacks, 866 fall chinook adults, 40 jacks and 21 cutthroat.

LAKES

American: David Anderson of Bill’s Boathouse says not many anglers have ventured out in the poor weather.

Black: On Monday, the lake was stocked with 1,007 rainbow trout.

Clear (Pierce): Anglers have been catching kokanee and rainbow.

Harts: Stocked last week with 425 rainbows.

Longs: On Monday, the pond was stocked with 204 rainbow trout.

Munn: The Thurston County lake was stocked last week with 275 rainbow trout.

Stevens: Anglers have had luck catching kokanee.

Tanwax: Last week, 350 cutthroat were added to the lake.

Washington: Trout fishing should be picking up soon, Chamberlain said. Anglers are catching coho.

This story was originally published October 17, 2016 at 9:32 PM with the headline "South Puget Sound fishing report for Oct. 18."