Northwest Fishing Reports

Cod are pretty much wiped out in Puget Sound. You gotta go out in to the Straight to get them now days. two years ago we took two trips to neah bay, and caught a whole bunch of black cod(not seabass/rockfish, actual cods) but we only kept a few cause my dad said they were very oily. anyways, are yo...

I get checked by wardens about 3-4 times per year.

[quote="Rutt"]Has anyone waded out about 3-5' and casted buzz bombs off local area beaches for coho as of late? There is a strong push of fish right now heading up the Cedar, and I was wondering if there is a fishery off local beaches. I know fly guys and gals that do well for sea-runs, but I was wo...

Sam- Have you ever tried the Rufus triploids for eating? These things are as pink as can be and some of the best tasting fish I have ever had cooked or smoked. I don't really love the taste of triploids....I've had them from quite a few other lakes, not Rufus, but can't imagine they would be that m...

Thanks. I live in bellevue so i could proboly get there easily. :) Are you using the floating eggs or the dough? Last question - is the basic wieght the swivel and three to six foot leader used in stocked lakes a good method for these guys?? i use the dough. that rig is what I use, except 4 feet of...

Thanks shad. Thats alot of help for me. I have a question though, on all of the piers i know, the milfoil is there, but, it is dead and a matt on the bottom now. I dont know how far the millfoil goes so do you mean to fish in the like 5 feet of water before the weeds start? Also, do you recomend an...

Fisherman_max wrote:that chuming thing sounds good, but were i fish unless i am un-informed it is illegal to use chum

Correct. chumming is illegal in WA state unless otherwise allowed. it is allowed in Lake WA.

A couple more tips: - when chumming, I using cooked/soft rice mixed with old (or fresh) salmon eggs. I get the salmon eggs from bait leftover from fall steelhead/salmon fishing, but some times you can find "feeder eggs" in jars at the stores. You get more mileage when you mix the rice with the eggs,...

commercial fisheries wiped them out in the late 1970s-1980s, just when I started fishing for them as a kid. Now, retention of cod, pollack, hake etc. is not allowed in Puget Sound. It's been closed since I remember, and it does not look like the stock are coming back at all. Environmental factors mi...

I've spent many years fishing for trout off Lake WA docks. A few tips: -winter is the best time for rainbows. still fish power bait or eggs with marshmellows. Nov-Feb are best -some docks are better than others--Waverly Beach Park in Kirkland is one of the more popular spots, but there are other goo...

I live in Area 11 and the regs say the limit here is 2 bottomfish. It says limit is 2 "for all other fish". If you look above a few lines, it says "BOTTOMFISH - Limit 15" The "all other fish" is intended to cover certain obscure species that do not fall under the specific "bottomfish" definition, l...

In the regs it says all other species statewide rules, so does this mean you can fish for salmon there durring the king/coho season? Actually, it says "other GAME fish" for the Samm River. Salmon are classified as "FOOD FISH" and not "GAME FISH". All freshwater areas are closed to salmon fishing un...

They sure are good tasting though...I only keep em if I'm fishing in open, clean water. I wouldn't advise keeping them when caught in dirty water around a bunch of boat or gast docks and the like... I have to echo what Sam says here. I have caught more than a few flounder with tumors growing off th...

it's been stocked and the word got out fast. lots of people there already

My only tip is that you will need to scrounge hard for scrap lead, in WA. Tire shops in the Seattle area have contracts with scrap metal dealers, and so they will not sell you any lead or will sell you at a price that approaches the market price for pure lead, which BTW is very high at the moment an...

All I can say is, when that cold wind is blowing in your face from the Straight of Juan de Fuca, the wind chill factor gets really low (frozen face, ears, nose). Casting repeatedly into the surf gets old real fast. It's nice to have a challenge when fishing, but some things are not worth doing for 6...

I have been going through the Voights Creek hatchery escapement reports that would deal with the Puyallup and Carbon River. 2000 to 2007. I was interested in seeing the week by week numbers to see when the runs start and end. I thought I would share this information. The King fall run can start as ...

After having fished for saltwater steelies, my conclusion is that it is a waste of time. YOu will roughly average about 1 fish for every 6 hours, if you are lucky. Most of the time you will get skunked for many trips. If you hook one, you will have a challenge bringing it to shore, since you are req...

I use a much simpler method. I look in the regs booklet... if the lake is not listed there, it is by definition open year round. For lakes that are listed in the regs booklet, the special rules will state the specific open season.

A lot of people forget (or don't know) that kokanee are classified as "trout" in WA state. So, the koke fishermen often post on the bulletin boards about catching and releasing dozens of them, until they retain their limit. Usually, they are using some sort of lure with a piece of corn or covered in...