Whatcom Creek - Bellingham Wa

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dj2loud
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Whatcom Creek - Bellingham Wa

Post by dj2loud » Sat Aug 20, 2016 9:04 pm

Had another chance to stop by the tech college this morning to see if any fish are showing and just happened to see the damndest thing....... Walked down right below the falls at the footbridge and watched 2 harbor seals chasing fish right up to the falls. Strangely enough while watching them they disappear to what looks like a void or cave under the falls? I watched them not only go to the end of the concrete barrier by the fish ladder and then right up to the falls and again disappear... Had anyone ever seen this as well??

I honestly didn't see but a few fish rolling the 2 or so hours i was there and had 0 bites... Hoping the fish show sooner or later....

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fisherman92
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Re: Whatcom Creek - Bellingham Wa

Post by fisherman92 » Mon Aug 22, 2016 6:54 am

Are you already seeing Chum in there? I usually dont hit whatcom till late Oct. And im wondering id there is a slot right under the concrete wall they are shooting down? interesting...

dj2loud
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Re: Whatcom Creek - Bellingham Wa

Post by dj2loud » Mon Aug 22, 2016 11:23 am

No, chums won't be in until october as stated, but whatcom does get a few coho and supposedly a run of chinook.. At least that what i have been told and have read online although I've personally never really fished it heavily due to hearing about the
" wall " and seeing a few of my friends with battle scars of 4 oz lead to the head and face..... I was just up there scoping it out since August 1'st was the opening day and had nothing better to do after PM work in seattle..... I have however gone down to the samish and not much there yet as well... I'm hell bent on catching a few kings this year.....

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fisherman92
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Re: Whatcom Creek - Bellingham Wa

Post by fisherman92 » Mon Aug 22, 2016 11:55 am

Yeah. It is a really fun chum fishery if you can try to avoid idiots haha fishing the opposite side of the wall is just as good. All i ever use is 1/4 - 1/2 slider weights and corkie and/or yarn and i reel em in till i get bored haha. Ill be on the Samish later this year after my honeymoon at the end of sept. Samish should heat up after a big rain.
Good Luck & keep us posted!

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Jakefish
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Re: Whatcom Creek - Bellingham Wa

Post by Jakefish » Mon Aug 22, 2016 5:49 pm

Whatcom Creek kings and coho can be visible from the foot bridge - in a few weeks they should be stacking up. They should be in the mouth already, but normally there isn't enough water for them to come up the creek for a while still. I believe the kings are the same stock as the Samish. I've never seen one caught there that wasn't well past it's prime.

It's disappointing that the seals are there already. They have been coming in bigger numbers and earlier every year. Ten years ago, I hardly remember seeing any of them. As far as I know, all of the salmon are hatchery fish, so there is no real reason to protect them from the seals, but I sure wish the seal problem could get under control.

countryboy87
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Re: Whatcom Creek - Bellingham Wa

Post by countryboy87 » Tue Aug 23, 2016 5:34 pm

Great fishing to be had up on Whatcom.. Anytime now it will start up

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fisherman92
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Re: Whatcom Creek - Bellingham Wa

Post by fisherman92 » Wed Aug 24, 2016 7:59 am

Would it be better to try at low or high tide this early in the season? I might head up and check it out this weekend. Any advice helps. Thanks!

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Jakefish
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Re: Whatcom Creek - Bellingham Wa

Post by Jakefish » Wed Aug 24, 2016 8:25 am

As long as it isn't an extreme low, it is fishable. Two hours before and after high tide is best. When the tide is lower, fish off of the beach across and downstream from the wall with spinners. When tide is ideal, fish at the downstream end of the wall with jigs and/or bait under a float (you may need an outgoing tide for this if there isn't enough water coming down the creek). There are lots of small fish to steal your eggs, so maybe try egg sacks or prawns. BTW - you must release unclipped coho (I don't think they are really wild), but I don't think the hatchery clips any. I've caught one coho there and seen quite a few over the years, but never have I seen a clipped one at Whatcom Creek.

Be VERY CAREFUL in the park, especially at dawn and dusk, as there is a major homeless problem along with lots of drug use and not so rare violent crime (I think there have been at least 3 rapes this summer). Also, a body was found floating in the creek mouth a few months ago, but I think they figured out he died of a heart attack. I personally would not go down there alone unless there were other anglers already down there.

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fisherman92
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Re: Whatcom Creek - Bellingham Wa

Post by fisherman92 » Wed Aug 24, 2016 9:28 am

Thanks jakefish. Yeah I have had some hobo steal my tackle box there, luckily it was a small box i prepped for the day there with minimal corkies & hooks. I keep my eye out and usually fish with a guy. And I have seen a report a couple years ago from someone with an unclipped Chinook, so I assume thats okay to keep since I saw nothing in the regs about it.

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Re: Whatcom Creek - Bellingham Wa

Post by countryboy87 » Wed Aug 24, 2016 10:50 am

Whatcom creek can be a absolute **** show with the homeless problem drug use and blatant snagging but I've never not caught fish there.. fish the lower bar with spoons/spinners or float and eggs. I'm heading up now to check it out..

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fisherman92
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Re: Whatcom Creek - Bellingham Wa

Post by fisherman92 » Thu Oct 13, 2016 4:03 pm

Any word if any chum have showed up yet???

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Jakefish
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Re: Whatcom Creek - Bellingham Wa

Post by Jakefish » Thu Oct 13, 2016 4:37 pm

There are one or two in there. I saw one in the white water on Monday and heard of one hooked and lost yesterday. It is pretty early still, but a few more might show up with the coming storm.

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Re: Whatcom Creek - Bellingham Wa

Post by dj2loud » Thu Oct 13, 2016 4:54 pm

Jakefish wrote:There are one or two in there. I saw one in the white water on Monday and heard of one hooked and lost yesterday. It is pretty early still, but a few more might show up with the coming storm.

Those 3 you seen in the pens are chinook..... was talking to one of the students at the tech yesterday, fish are still out in salt, test nets on monday were few and far between with regards to fish....

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Jakefish
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Re: Whatcom Creek - Bellingham Wa

Post by Jakefish » Thu Oct 13, 2016 4:56 pm

I saw one in the creek just off the wall. It circled around and rose up high enough to see that it had bars and looked like a female chum. Yes, the bulk are still out in the salt, but there are few trickling in.

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Re: Whatcom Creek - Bellingham Wa

Post by countryboy87 » Tue Oct 18, 2016 10:39 pm

Think it would be worth a trip up thursday or friday?? ought to be one or 2 in there by now

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Jakefish
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Re: Whatcom Creek - Bellingham Wa

Post by Jakefish » Wed Oct 19, 2016 6:01 pm

countryboy87 wrote:Think it would be worth a trip up thursday or friday?? ought to be one or 2 in there by now
Depends how far you are coming from. My office is a few blocks away, so it is always worth the trip! Was there this morning just after the tide turned - should have been the hot time if there was going to be one. I saw one stiff fish on the bank that must have been caught a couple hours earlier, but nothing hooked while I was there, and didn't see any fish in the creek. There still doesn't appear to be more than a handful in there. Maybe another week until it is worth coming from anywhere down south.

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branweeds
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Re: Whatcom Creek - Bellingham Wa

Post by branweeds » Thu Oct 20, 2016 5:49 am

jakefish, I work a couple blocks away as well. Have you had best luck on the creek early in the morning? Or just about any time as long as the fish are coming up the river? I could either fish it at 5 am or maybe over a lunch break, but I'm looking to try as soon as a pod comes up the creek

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Jakefish
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Re: Whatcom Creek - Bellingham Wa

Post by Jakefish » Thu Oct 20, 2016 6:42 am

Time of day doesn't matter - it's all about the tides. Best for me has been the 2 hours before and after high tide. I use the tides here: http://www.dairiki.org/tides/daily.php/bel

I haven't touched a fish yet this year, but I haven't been pounding the white water with the flossers either. It will happen soon. The creek has a good amount of water coming down it now, if they don't open up the floodgates on the lake any further, it will be good fishing when they get here. It's hard to fish when the current is too fast.

The tide should be pretty good if you hit it on your lunch break tomorrow. [laugh]

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branweeds
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Re: Whatcom Creek - Bellingham Wa

Post by branweeds » Thu Oct 20, 2016 8:14 am

Awesome thanks, if the rain isn't pouring down like today I'll give it a shot

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Jakefish
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Re: Whatcom Creek - Bellingham Wa

Post by Jakefish » Thu Oct 20, 2016 8:18 am

branweeds wrote:Awesome thanks, if the rain isn't pouring down like today I'll give it a shot
I like to keep my Helly Hansen bibbed rain pants in my car for just this reason. Also, fishing tends to be messy, and I don't want to go back to the office with fish blood or slime on me.

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