Any of you guys hitting the Elliott Bay opener next weekend?

If you do it right you can catch nice Kings (18lb) like this one I caught from last year. The peak of the run is Seafair weekend.


Notice where the picture was taken......hint, hint, hint.

Hey Easy,
I'm going to do my best to get out on the water for the opener, maybe not Friday but definitely for the weekend. Aside from your "hint" any other general tips you care to share? Also, is the opening weekend usually very good? Hope to see you out there. I'll be in an open aluminum Harbercraft.
James

A couple of tips:

Get out there early, 4 AM or earlier! If you can see your bait it is too late.

Fish right next to the pilings that support Todd Shipyard.

If it is dark, which it should be, fish your offerings right on the surface. I don't let out more than 20' of line.

Use dodgers and bait (my favorite white/glow hoochies) that glow and charge them with a flash bulb from a camera. Don't forget to use a little herring oil too.

Carl,

I think you are putting all these salmon posts and pics up just to tease me. I'm stoked already for the fight

I love fishing ten minutes from home before work....



For you booger pickers...55-75 feet was good for us last year with a hoochie behind a green flasher. We got them both at the shipyard's mouth and out towards the bouey.

Now who said there's no good info shared on here anymore?

Bruce

what if my fathers boat doesn't troll slow enough. Can you catch them while mooching?? We tried to troll in his boat last weekend and it was way to fast. Also we tried the bucket and dual bucket trick but dual props do not seem to care what we drag. Also what part of Elliot is open? And what day does it open??

I don't think trolling speed is relevant with these fish. They are big time feeders. I have caught them on a turn, going fast, going slow, it does not matter. They are very moochable too. A lot of guys sit right in front of the mouth just of the shipyard jigging. Funny thing is, there is always a huge bait ball just off the end of the shipyard dock and guys sit right on top of it jigging. Some guys sit under the Hanford St. bridge and jig for them too.

Starting next weekend, the inner Elliott Bay (east of a line from the Duwamish Head to Pier 91) is open Fri, Sat, and Sun. only, for the next six weekends. Last year it was only three. The peak is Seafair weekend.

Hey Carl,

Let me know when you plan on headin' out.
Thats just down the road from me.
Need to get some DR's though.

Ken

Kennyray, I will be hitting the bay this weekend, Sat and Sun morning. Gotta get up early (or stay up late), 0300 to be fishing by 0400.

What are DR's? Are you talking about downriggers?

Sorry Bud,

Can't this weekend,
Well,Saturday's possible. But that evening
I have a wedding to go to,
then I have a gig in Port Orchard.
Sunday I'll be burned out, and chasing
crappie at Duck Lake!

Ken

See, easy is a newbie if you doesn't know what a DR is. . I was talkin to mike when we went out for Mack about your king you posted from the year before, and how i saw it and had to top it by posting my pic. But you got me beat now with that 18lb beauty. I forgot about that one. Maybe i will have to follow you out this weekend. I think we are going to hit Redondo on Friday though. Get ahold of me if you could and give me some directions and your # again.. I wanna try that backtrollin you did last year too. That sounds like a buttload of fun.

Well I will see you guys Friday. I have got the permission from my father to spend the night at the Marina all-weekend in his boat and Fish till I puke. No my only question is where do you party in a boat and where can i rent a bait girl??

The bait girls in west Seattle are descent. Just grab one that is jogging by.

Hey Easy, Is that part of E bay doable in an 11 sportcat (livingston style) real stable , lots of freeboard. Just wondering if it might be a bit too small next to some of those big guys! Thanks.

Oh ya, your boat should be fine. If you stay in the mouth of the river all you get is swell from the ferry. If you head into the bay it will be rough.

I saw two guys out there last year in a canoe with downriggers on it. They had about six inches of freeboard before they were goin' down. It was quite the sight.

This is your early morning report for the Elliott Bay opener. I got to the ramp a little before 4:00 and only had to wait for 4 other boats to launch. It went fast as anyone launching in the wee hours of the morning usually knows what they are doing. If I had to guess, I'd say there were 75 to 100 boats with the majority trolling. During the three hours I was out I saw 2 fish landed and 1 lost. I talked to one of the boats who caught a fish and they were trolling near bottom (110 feet down in 120/130 feet of water on the West side of the West channel. I passed them again awhile later and they reported losing another fish. There was a whole other group of boats trolling around the Duwamish Head area, but I didn't get any info on how they were doing. Most people were still on the water when I left, but the fish checkers said they had only heard of a few fish caught.
JMS

s l o w

Yup, we were trolling in front of the shipyards by 4:00 this morning and did laps around there till around 8:30 before heading to work. We had one shaker to the boat, saw a couple keepers go in other boat's coolers and watched a couple coho set loose. We were regularly marking nice bait balls but nothing for us.

The fish checker said they had counted three Kings so far. Biggest one at #17. It's still early. Let's hope it'll pick up.

Bruce

ps. Anybody else see the boat with the three older gentlemen almost get plowed by the barge? I don't know what they were thinking by not getting out of the way quicker.

My favorite boat out there today had to be the 30' pontoon party boat.

Try fishing for them right on the surface in the early morning hours, when it is still dark. Save the downriggin' for later in the day. I use an 8 ounce banana weight and let out just 20' of line.

Pretty slow this morning. Not much pressure either. Saw one kid playing one for a minute or two then he lost the fish. Most guys were heading in by about 10 AM. Going to hit it again tomorrow.