Fishing report for Aug. 4
▪ Cody Wright wins South King County PSA salmon derby.
▪ Snohomish and Skagit rivers recently opened. The latter is producing more catches.
▪ Fishing in Yakima River is good and will continue to improve in coming weeks.
SALT WATER
NEAH BAY: State fishery managers are reminding anglers all chinook caught in ocean waters off Neah Bay must be released. The state Department of Fish and Wildlife estimated that chinook harvest limits were met by Saturday.
NORTH SOUND: More pink salmon than anything, which should last until mid-September. At the Everett Boat Ramp Sunday, fishermen averaged better than three pinks per boat. Beach fishing on Whidbey Island at Lagoon Point and Bush Point has been very good. Starting to see a few coho salmon in Area 9 though not in huge numbers.
SOUTH SOUND: Cody Wright landed a 21-pound, 14.88-ounce salmon to win Saturday’s salmon derby held by the South King County chapter of Puget Sound Anglers. He took home a check for $3,500. In second place ($1,500) was David B. Conrad, at 17 pounds, 14.72 ounces. Taking third place ($1,000) was Marcus Kyle with a 17-pound, 1.92-ounce salmon. The Gig Harbor chapter will holds its derby this Saturday. Fishing for pinks is starting to pick up in the Browns Point area. Anglers also are catching a few pinks off the mouth of the Puyallup River. The action is getting better every day.
WESTPORT: Anglers have only been averaging about one coho per day, but the catch was better today. Success is being found off Copalis, according to Westport Charters.
LAKES
AMERICAN: Still slow across the board. Water temperatures in the mid-70s are hurting anglers’ chances. Still-fishing with green or yellow PowerBait is the best bet for success.
BLACK: People are catching plenty of largemouth bass, just not a lot of big fish. Try using a black-headed jig.
DRANO: Bank anglers found very little success from July 27-Sunday. Boat anglers fared better.
TAPPS: People are catching some smallmouth bass. Try using green plastic baits fished along the bottom.
RIVERS
BUOY 10: Saturday was opening day, and anglers averaged almost two coho kept per boat. It was the best opening since 2001.
COWLITZ: The going is slow for anglers. One boat with four people kept only one adult chinook since the month started.
COLUMBIA: An estimated 351 anglers on the lower river were checked over the weekend, and they landed nine chinook and 61 steelhead. All the chinook were kept and 37 of the steelhead were kept.
YAKIMA: Fishing has been good. Dry flies in the morning have been working, along with subsurface flies. Water temperature has been an issue, so efforts have been focused on early-morning fishing. It’s best to be off the river by noon. Better fishing will be found in a couple weeks during the evening when water temperatures start to cool down.
SNOHOMISH: Opened Saturday, but Mike Chamberlain from Ted’s Sports Center said he hasn’t heard many positive things so far. Might be just a little too early so far.
SKAGIT: Better success than on the Snohomish. Anglers are doing well with Spin-N-Glos and sand shrimp. Three anglers ended up with 11 fish using that combination.
SNOQUALMIE: Only steelhead game in town is near High Bridge and Goldbar. A few fish are being caught but only by fishermen who really know what they are doing. Only cooler weather and some rain will stop more river closures in the area.
PUYALLUP: People are starting to catch some chinook. Pinks are doing OK on the lower end.
Staff report
STATE EXPANDS CRAB CLOSURE
Elevated levels of marine toxins in crab tested north to the Queets River have led state shellfish managers to double the area of the coast closed to crab fishing.
According to a state Department of Fish and Wildlife news release Tuesday afternoon, recreational and commercial crab fishing is being prohibited in 45 miles of waters from Point Chehalis to the Queets River, expanding on a closure in effect since early June that extends another 45 miles south to the Columbia River.
Dan Ayres, coastal shellfish manager, said the area now closed to crab fishing includes more than half the state’s 157-mile coastline. Bays and estuaries affected by the closure include crabbing areas inside the Columbia River, Willapa Bay and Grays Harbor.
Domoic acid, a natural toxin produced by certain types of marine algae, can be harmful or even fatal if consumed in sufficient quantities, Ayres said. Cooking or freezing does not destroy domoic acid in shellfish.
This story was originally published August 4, 2015 at 6:43 AM with the headline "Fishing report for Aug. 4."