Lakes still best bet for putting fish in the freezer | The Olympian

The fishing has been mixed in recent days, with anglers finding the trout action good on lakes, while saltwater salmon fishing has been slow.

Meanwhile, Ronald Hobbs Jr. of Orting will be competing in the Forrest Wood Cup bass tournament beginning Thursday on Lake Lanier in Atlanta. Hobbs qualified for his first Cup through the FLW Series National Guard Western Division, where he finished seventh in the 2009 Angler of the Year race.

LAKES

Chelan: The best lake trout action has been trolling the indeterminate flat below the bar in the mid-morning. Anton Jones of Darrell and Dad’s Family Guide Service suggests using T4 Flatfish in purple glow or UV glow Kingfisher lite spoons.

Mayfield: The lake is producing quite a few trout. Trollers are using Wedding Rings and pop gear with worms or cocktail shrimp, said Marshall Borsom at Fish Country.

Mineral: Fishing has improved with the arrival of the cooler weather. A 6.8-pound brown trout and 6-pound rainbow were caught off the docks using worms and Power Eggs, said Mike Gordon of Mineral Lake Resort. The browns are hitting bait close to the bottom, while the rainbows are hitting bait 3 to 4 feet above the bottom, Gordon said.

Riffe: The lake is still producing good numbers of silver salmon. Borsom said reports indicate the fish are holding quite a bit deeper. Sand shrimp are working well along with night crawlers. Anglers also are catching a good number of rainbows.

SALT WATER

Fly-fishing: The action for sea-run cutthroat trout has been very good. Large resident coho also are showing back up, said Blake Merwin of Gig Harbor Fly Shop.

Ilwaco: Tuna fishing has been fair to good, according to local angler John Keizer. He fished his Team Lowrance boat in Saturday’s Oregon Tuna Classic. Keizer said they ran about 36 miles due west and found feeding fish in water 59 degrees. His team finished in sixth with 117.75 pounds of fish. The winning team caught 126.25 pounds. On Sunday, Keizer said they ran up north about 11 miles from the CR buoy and had no problem limiting on kings, and caught one coho.

Tacoma: Fishing has been off and on. Creel checks at Point Defiance on Saturday showed 19 chinook brought in by 150 anglers. On Sunday, 325 anglers had just 15 chinook. Point Dalco, clay banks and the slag pile have been the best spots, said Scott Knox at Point Defiance Boathouse Marina. Fishing off the mouth of Puyallup River has been slow. Crabbing has been fair to good.

RIVERS

Buoy 10: The action was slow on the Sunday opener. At the ports of Chinook and Ilwaco, a state report said 37 boats with 105 anglers had one chinook. Daily reports should be available at www.wdfw.wa.gov/fish/regions/reg5/buoy10.htm.

Columbia: Fishing on the lower river has slowed for salmon and steelhead. Sturgeon fishing has been slow. In the upper river, trolling for sockeye at the mouth of the Okanogan River has been very good, said Jones of Darrell and Dad’s guide service. Anglers also are starting to catch chinook out of Brewster. For sockeye, Jones said to try tandem 3/0 red hooks baited with shrimp chunks that have been cured in Pautzke’s Fire Cure.

Cowlitz: Fishing has been slow to fair overall, with boat anglers catching more steelhead than folks fishing from the bank. Try running plugs such as Brad’s Wigglers or divers with coon striped shrimp, Borsom said. Bank anglers are using a variety of baits – corkies and yarn, sand shrimp, eggs or spoons and spinners – and putting in their time to pick up a few here and there.

Puyallup: Reports indicate the action has been slow since the river opened Sunday.

Yakima: Fishing summer stoneflies from twilight into the early morning has been good. There also are good caddis hatches in the mornings and evenings, said Jim Gallagher of Troutwater Fly Shop, formerly the Yakima River Fly Shop.

Jeffrey P. Mayor: 253-597-8640 Jeff.mayor@thenewstribune.com blog.thenewstribune.com/adventure