CHecked the new WDFW fish report for 14 - 20 July and I am at a loss for words here. On 20 July at Pt. D, 135 anglers checked for a whopping 12 Chinook! Now is it just me or should it be better fishing this time of year?? At my favorite South Sound fishing spot I hit limits on Thursday and Friday, fish 12 - 16lbs and thought they were finally here. since then....squat! Skunked Saturday, Sunday, Tuesday and Wednesday. Where are the fish? Don't you think we should be into some pretty good King fishing in the last week of July or do you think it is still a little early??

UM

I have always done best the first two weeks of august. I norally get afew in late july but it seems to peak in early august for me anyway.

When the Bay was opened earlier, we usually had good luck down by the mouth of the Puyallup in the last half of July. I used to think the fish were starting to get a little dark by August. After the Bay started to be shut down through July, I thought that you should be able to intercept these fish around Brown's Point or milling around the slag pile. But I never had much luck trying that. The nicer returning fish always seemed to be shallower, rather than deeper, even out past the deadline.

Um,
It seems the same to me. I C&R a 20lbs on July 1 in Area 10 and I thought that it would be great. But it is slow. Maybe we were just spoiled from last year. Hopefully they will be here in a week or so. Tight lines

The kings have been hit and miss for sure.

Could be late this year. I've seen other drought years when the fish stay out until the last minute. No water in the rivers means they probably aren't smelling their home waters. I can't remember the last time we had a real good rain.

JR,

I can certainly understand the frustration... At least you're home!

The 20th of the month usually marks the date for numbers of returning fish to the PD area with the peak generally in the first week in August. It is still a little early to be concerned about fish not showing up and several factors dictate their arrival. With the amount and size of fish out off the coast and in the strait, food sources were at a premium this year, I wouldn't be too surprised if this was the governing factor. Plus there seems to be a lot of 5 year fish too- which generally run a wee bit later! Hang in there, they're coming.

Generally returning fish only stay in one area for maybe two days max before moving on to the mouths. All you guys need a new wave of fish to move into the area. I'd almost bet the mouth of the Pew has a lot of staged fish right now. Unfortunately, it is closed for another few days.

PD is unique in that fish from the Pew, Nasty, Chambers, McAllister and Minter all meet the same area. If you've hit it right, you generally see nothing but nets on the water and hear a bunch of hoot'n and hollar'n. Apparently, this has yet to happen. Maybe some of the Area 13 fish have already left for southern waters.

I would say... if nothing comes about by the 8th of August then, "Houston we have a problem."

The Sinclair Bubble fish have at least another week or two before they start showing in your neck of the woods...

12-16 pounds huh? Those fish were probably Chambers or Minter fish- affectionately known as the Cookie Cutters.

We have had below normal rainfall and the barometer has been fairly stable over the last month. It's not just the rain itself that gets fish moving, it's barometric pressure. When a storm front moves in bringing rain, the barometric pressure falls and the fish migrate. Doesn't have to rain to get them moving, just as long as rain is on the way. I've seen rivers that are void of fish get huge pushes before the rains hit a day or two later. There was no rain for the fish to "smell" so why did they push upriver when the river was still considered low? Here's why:

Salmon and steelhead are extremely sensitive to changes in barometric pressure and base their migration timing on it. Just remember that when the pressure drops considerably, clouds move in and bring rain. When the pressure rises, weather gets nicer, rivers drop and fish that are present get more aggressive. Just my .02 and watch the barometer because when it drops....it's playtime!

Well let's hope we get a drop in pressure followed by some rain and the fish start thinking it's the first week of August!!

UMrules, Think my luck has finally changed and the Kings are waiting till the 7th of August to show up this year. They know Dangerous Dave on the CohoMojo will be returning home so their just toying with you guys till I get home.

Hey DD,
I hope you're right! Although I wouldn't mind getting into a few fish before the 7th. I've been waiting for it to get pretty decent so I could get Little Dangerous out on the water for some practice before you get home. i thought after last Thur / Fri it was time, but I guess not.

need to get some piled up in the freezer and some canned up to take up to Hi-hium. We could probably go through a few Jars on that trip

Looking forward to seeing the Coho-Mojo on the water!!

UM

I picked up another king off of Redondo this afternoon. A 15#'er.

Heard one boat on the VHF who had six fish in the boat. The guy even said one king was 52#'s. I was not able to verify.

JR...

DD has been trying to talk me into taking my custom flashers home... should I? He has done nothing but bug me that he is leaving in a few days.. Na.... He can't even sleep at night!

Those fish will be in... I am kinda surprised that Southworth hasn't had much action yet.
Maybe they are blowing through! Might try further southdown by the Cable Crossing.

52# being caught is great news... I like to hear confirmation reports if there are any. Should be a ton of big fish coming in. More than the average expected on 5 year olds coming back...

UM,

Well I sure hope the fishing picks up. I know Dangerous JR. would like to go if you have an open seat but if not I'll be there soon.
I'd like to smoke a bunch of fish for our trip to HiHium and maybe can some if we have time.
good luck out there and tell everyone I said hi!

Some years I have had some great fishing the last 2 weeks of July and some years it has been a bust. The first 2 weeks of August at Pt. D should be hot!! That is when I have had the best success. One year on the first of August launched at 5:00 AM and we were back at the dock before 6:00 AM with limits and the next day before 9:00!! They will be here, just in time for me when I get back from vacation next week!!!
Good luck and tight lines, Jeff
PS,
Downriggin',
I received the hooches I ordered from Tyee Tackle, you should check out the ghost shrimp pattern it's gonna be a winner. I was disappointed though, they were out of glow below.

My Sekiu trip was postponed (darnit) and so I pounded Southworth last night. Zip, nada, nuttin'. Tried all the proven hardware and herring rigs, worked all the depths, focused on the really excellent rip areas and just couldn't find a fish. Don't think that there were any there, at least biters weren't there. There were about a dozen or so boats out there and none of them had any success. It's not too early for them to be here, but I would agree that favorable ocean conditions may be keeping them out there a little longer than normal.

I'm 0 for 3 on Kings at Southworth this month. Kind of unusually slow IMO.

Seacat,

Haven't heard from you in a long time! Why was your Seiku trip postponed? When are you heading back up there? I should be home in about 12 days. Hopefully SW will pick up and we can get out there and bang some fish.

JH,

I hope I didn't beat you to 'em. I placed a large order about two weeks ago. Of course, being way out here... it will be a few weeks before I know for sure. Talking with John, the Ghost Shrimp has slowly been climbing to up the sales ladder. I bought a couple packs and will give them a try.

Tried that small 2 inch spoon yet? They are pretty killer off a 8" flasher.

Hey DD,

The trip was moved to tomorrow thru Tuesday instead of the original plan. I'll survive, but hopefully some big Kings will not.

Looking forward to your return, been too quiet around here. The women are ready for another dinner at Jak's, how about you?

Congratulations on the retirement! For those that don't know, DD is retiring from the Navy after 23 years!!! Good job dude, hurry back. We'll drink some celebratory Kok's and ESB's when you get here! 'Pook' says 'Hi Dave'.

Hey Seacat,
Have a good and safe time up there....but do us a favor and let a few of those 25lbers pass on through for us! Jeff and Directional Finder hit SW Thursday night.. still no joy. Think I am ggoing to avaoid the weekend crowd and start hitting it again Monday night after work.

UM