Nets go in today. The fishing from the bank at Aberdeen was very slow yesterday (I calculated a CPUE of about one fish for every 15 rod hours during the 3 or so hours I was there). Obviously, that fishery is very inconsistent, and a slow spinner bite doesn't necessarily indicate low numbers of fish (we all know tidal coho can be notoriously poor biters), but I didn't see many nets flying in the boats, and the seals weren't doing very well either. The fish I saw caught were very small. We're talking 3-4 pounds; just barely big enough to be called adults.

Of course, my personal anecdotes ought not be extrapolated out as indicators of any fishery; I am only one person, fishing in one location at a time. I hope others saw more encouraging signs than I did yesterday. I did hear a positive report from the bay, so that's something. I started out very hopeful we were going to have a good year in the tribs, but with each weather system that has fizzled out, I'm seeing shades more and more similar to how things went down a couple years ago, when they shut down the tribs until the rain finally came in late October.

We'll see how the nets do. A bit ironically, I'm hoping they get enough to prevent WDFW from declaring any "emergencies." Mostly, I'd just like some assurance that something is out there, even if not much gets above the nets before the first brown-out as a result.

Good luck out there, whether you use a rod or a net....