Am I wrong or are the fish showing a little late this year? Last year seems like the river was full of fish by the 1st of Aug.Seems like they are late everywhere. I have a few zipper lips that I was nailing kings by the last week in july and nothing showin yet.TM

[This message has been edited by Timber man (edited 08-06-2000).]

I was on the Nisqually on Friday---zilch! Didn't even get my rod out of the truck. Talked to a dozen fishermen and they hadn't seen anything, none rolled or were hooked. One fellow said the tribal nets had a dozen or so fish in it last week, but that's the only report of fish I heard. It could happen any time now. Keep us posted.
JT

Timber Man I see you are from
shelton any fish in the skok yet? it was good last year too.

A few but not like it was last year at this time.They are pickin a few up on the point off pot latch state park.There on there way...(I say with fingers crossed)TM

I was there for the opener and did not even see a fish. I also talked to some guys that fished it alot and they said it was dead. I might go hit it tomorrow if I do I will give ya a report.

Chris -- where for the opener?

TM,
The netting pressure is the same as it is every year. Sunday noon to Wednesday noon. The tribe started netting at the same time of the year as they have for the last 4 years at least. The fish will be in heavy in about another two weeks, this is usually a good September fishery. A shot o' rain would help this out. Last year they were in early because the river level was higher longer due to the amount of snow run off we had last year. Be patient, they will be here.
Good luck and tight lines, Jeff

Talked to an old timer down on the nisqually sid there killing them out by the can. So looks like they just havn't moved in yet.

Tight lines
Kevin

Concur with Jeff and Kevin. It was the last week or so in July last year when the tides started bringing the fish upsream. I have cought 2 so far but both were caught on the high tide or just as it started to drop. Haven't seen any roll or heard of any caught on the low tide but have also seen several that were caught on the high tide last week. Several older Nisquallys that I have known for years (and they know) expect the run to start in 1 to 2 weeks; either from the rain and/or a change in barometric pressures in the area. What we are seeing is just the norm for this time of the year (July/August). Keep watching and bouncing and they will be there. Tight (new) lines to all...Tom

I have fished the Nisqually for many years and never really count on many fish being there until August 15th, that is always the official opener for me personaly. I was out at the "can" on Friday morning and the fish checker had counted 3 fish taken for 13 boats when we took out at 1:00 pm. (I lost one at the boat) We did mark alot of fish on the fish finder though and the fish checker did tell us that the fish that he is seeing are all big....all 3 were over 20 pounds. I have also heard that with the favorable ocean conditions the last couple years that there is supposed to be alot of 5 salt fish back this year and they should be big....I am keeping my fingers crossed. See you on the "Nisco" next weekend

I fished the skok for the opener and I am going again today.

I noticed that the Regs mention a "non-buoyant lure restriction Aug 1-Nov 30". At the risk of sounding thick headed, does that mean I am restricted "from" non-buoyant lures or "to" using non-buoyant lures? Are corkies ok for this fishery? Or do I need to be rolling eggs? I can not find a clarification in the Regulations Manual. Little help! Thanks.

Hey, the restriction means you must use lures that float or have only a single hook. Can't recall exact wording. Look in the definitions page of the regs, it states the meaning there.

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Just because I look big, dumb, and ugly, doesn't mean I am. It means I can stomp you for calling me it!

TM,

There may not be many in the river yet, but the numbers are building off the mouth quite a bit since last week. No action last week, one on yesterday, two on today, and a friend put one in the cooler. They were thick on the finder this morning.

The slight weather shift and good tide seemed to enhance the morning bite. If the weather continues to shift, that should scoot some up the river.

Sincerely,

Salmo g.

Hey Salmo G,
Nice to see ya continuing to post!!! I always learn something from your insights. I may not agree with everything (Cowlitz in particular) but that's cool. Mind if I ask what you have been using and which tide do you like to fish there ebb or flood??? I have been out there several times and just can't seem to get the hang of the jiggin' thing!!!
Good luck and tight lines, Jeff

[This message has been edited by salmonhead (edited 08-10-2000).]

Salmonhead,

No problem, but you really should ask one of the experts that fish the area. The reason I post more about steelhead and trout is because my luck with salmon has always been close to indifferent.

I've mooched herring out there with success, but mostly I'm jigging like everyone else - it avoids the hassle of getting decent bait. I'm using darts and that other one that's a little fatter and flater that's poplar here. I've used buzz bombs in the past, but not lately. I'm not sure color matters, but a little blue or green kinda', sorta' looks like a baitfish. So explain the pink one !?! They've all produced hookups.

The kings were concentrated about 20' deeper this morning and not so much on the snap as yesterday. Only saw two hookups and one landed. Oh well, maybe next week.

Sincerely,

Salmo g.

Fished the can this morning, from my drift boat(maybe you seen me?) on the low tide. Didn't get anything. seen one SLAB caught and one other a guy pulled out of his box. Lots of boats mostly fishing the oyster beds. They said they had a few but not much going on iether place.

with the weather changing I am thinking something is going to happen soon.

dcrzfitter

Stoped by there about four on my way home from the Cowlitz talked to one guy told me that he had been there about an hour and one fish had been hooked. netters came in when I was there and they killed them all in the 20 lb. class.

I fished it on the way to the cowlitz Friday night for a couple hours right around high tide. I saw a few rollers but nobody was hooking up! I didn't have one bite in 3 hours. One more week or so. Some rain would be nice, many rivers would hot for nookies or summerruns.

Fished the old nasty after low tide, saw 1 fish caught before the nets went in. About 5-6 lbs, little dark already, still waiting for the rain to make any big push from the salt.

hey Salmonhead, i drove down the other road, got to the big bent in the river, just above Franks landing, lots of snags, can i still get further down in my 4x4 S10? looked pretty rough, like a lot of jeeps and high ground clearence 4x4's had made a mess out of the trail.

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elmtree (woody)