Salmon season slow but on
in Kitsap,
closed in Oregon and California.
HANSVILLE — On any given mid-summer Monday, fishermen line the shores of Point No Point with reel in hand and tackle box at the ready. Daydreaming of a cherry-red king salmon steak dinner, they stand — toes cold and numb at the waters edge — and let their reels fly.
For fishermen in the states to the south, however, it’s a much different story. For the first time salmon fishing is closed completely along the coasts of Oregon and California.
With mounting evidence of depleting salmon runs, there is a growing fear that closure notices will abound in marine areas where once coho, chum, pinks and kings used to return.
Although no closure notices exist yet in the North End, fisheries in marine areas 9 — our bordering Admiralty Inlet — and 10, Seattle/Bremerton, started much slower than last year, said Steve Thiesfeld, Puget Sound fish biologist for Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife.
“Catch rates are definitely down in both areas this year,” he said in a statement released last week. “But anglers are still finding bright fish in some areas.”
The forecasted fewer catches don’t have fishermen at Point No Point hanging their reels just yet.
“It’s good (fishing) right now from shore,” said Rodger Ogren, as he cast, standing in his rubber boots and a huge straw hat.
For 15 years Ogren worked as the salmon biologist at the Seattle Aquarium before moving up the food chain to work with the seals and sea lions.
“The salmon are stuck against the shore right now. Right now it’s the coho, and later on it’s supposed to be the chinook (king). Salmon fishing has just been weird all over, though,” he said citing the coast closures of California and Oregon. “We are so lucky out here.”
Out on the water seagulls fought with other birds diving for small candlefish and herring, while a seal — known to fishermen as the poor man’s fish finder — trolled for its share of the salmon runs.
“The indicators of the fish are all the birds out here now,” he said. “The salmon are coming in the straits and there is lots of playtime for them here.”
Ogren said three weeks ago, the beach was a ghost town as there was no sign of salmon. However, as runs come through there are fishermen casting at the point, including Jeff Arnold, a Keyport resident and Point No Point fishing regular of 10 years.
“I tell you coming out here is really nice,” he said. “There’s always a chance of seeing a porpoise or orca and there’s always a couple of eagles out here.”
Monday, Arnold was fishing with his able accompaniments — son Gregory, 13, and daughter Makenzi, 9.
Both kids are fishermen in their own right and in previous years reeled in kings weighing more than 20 pounds standing off the point.
“It was a tussle,” Makenzi said, grinning ear to ear about the fish-fetching adventure. She’s received honorary title of “my big fisherman” from her proud father because of another fishing trip when she caught a salmon twice the size of her dad’s.
“I kept saying ‘Where’s your fish? Where’s your fish Dad? Oh, it’s in the shadow of mine,’ ” she said laughing.
Sisters Sydney, 15, and Madison, 12, were also working their casting magic with their dad Jerry Severson of Poulsbo.
As candlefish jumped out of the water teasing the girls, Severson hoped it was a sign the salmon were feasting below.
“All the little candlefish are what the salmon are scarfing on,” he said laughing. “And I am hoping to catch the salmon that are scarfing on the candlefish that are being eaten by the seagulls.”
A few of the local kids felt tugs on their lines, muscling in their struggling prized salmon.
Salmon, however, must have some tricks up their sleeves. Out of water, the catch of the day wasn’t a fish at all but a slimy green ball of seaweed.
“It’s quite a sight to see out here,” Arnold said, “even if the fish aren’t biting.”
