Saltwater salmon opened July 1 and we caught a bunch.
Guests are not allowed to view images in posts, please
Register or
LoginAbout 200 boats around us off Ediz Hook at Port Angeles. In pitch dark at 4:00 AM the waiting line for the two lane boat launch was a third of a mile long.
Seven or eight minutes after we started fishing, I hooked a 14 lb. king (Chinook) and landed it. Good start to the day and to the year. Seven minutes after landing it I hooked another one of about 12 lbs. and five minutes after landing it yet another one of 13. My cousin hooked a dandy while I played mine so we had a double going till he lost his.
I released a couple more under ten lbs. Altogether four of us caught about 18 fish and kept a limit of eight: two apiece. My cousins caught three nice fish of 14 and 15 lbs. that they had to release because their adipose fins had not been clipped in a hatchery. Once the fish is up to the boat we decide immediately whether to keep it and never lift it out of the water if we release it. Most of those we never net, just reach down and slip out the hook if possible, the only good thing about barbless hooks.
We were one short of a limit by 7:30, but the bite died off and we didn't get our final keeper till ten, though we caught fish we had to release.
The fish checker who measures salmon, (photo below), takes a scale sample and retrieves a fish's 'flight recorder" if it has one. They use an electronic scanner to check whether each fish has the little electronic capsule embedded in the top of its head.
Guests are not allowed to view images in posts, please
Register or
LoginThe fish checker above is taking a scale sample from our smallest salmon of the day, about ten lbs. though head on it looks smaller. Not a real smart photographer to take a pic of that fish.!
Most of our fish were 13-14 lbs., nothing really big and no hero pics. Mighty fine eating. I marinated one slab for 24 hours and cooked it for a Sunday dinner for our big family.
Good work. Sounds like a great day fishing and probably an even better time eating!