TI GH T L I N E S BY MARK YUASA
Silver Lining Summer may be waning, but MARK YUASA has some good news—September marks the arrival of coho season.
As a kid I couldn’t understand how my parents thought time went by so fast. Now I totally understand, it hit me like a ton of bricks during an August fishing trip that autumn is lurking around the corner. Despite summer being in the rear-view mirror, stowing the salmon fishing gear isn’t an option just yet. As I type this column, coho are barreling through the Strait of Juan de Fuca into Puget Sound and amplifying fishing expectations in the weeks ahead. Coho salmon—commonly referred to as “silvers” for their shiny, mint-bright sides—aren’t the biggest salmon species, averaging 4 to 13 pounds, with some as large as 20-plus pounds. However, pound for pound, a hooked coho is known to put on a scrappy fight with their acrobatic leaping abilities and erratic zig-zagging runs across the water’s surface. First, let’s take a closer look at the forecasted numbers in 2021. Some gratifying news is that the Puget Sound coho returns during the past two years have eclipsed the half-million mark. The prediction is 614,948 in 2021 up from an actual return of 504,604 in 2020. Even better news was that the resident coho (fish residing year-round in local marine areas) provided decent fishing around central Puget Sound from mid-June into early-August. These “stay at home” coho have put on a few pounds and join their migratory brothers and sisters in the upcoming early autumn fishing festivities. The marine locations to target coho are vast, but look for the bulk of fish early on in the Strait of Juan de Fuca at Sekiu (Area 5) and Port Angeles (Area 6). Both areas are open daily through September 30 for hatchery-marked coho with a two-fish daily limit. Look in the Strait’s shipping channels for the bulk of action, and watch for schools of fish and baitfish on your fish-finder. In the morning, silvers are often seen rolling and jumping on the surface. The southern portion along the east side of Whidbey Island (Area 8-2) below the Mukilteo-Clinton boundary line was closed for salmon in 2020. This was a coho fishing hotbed in 2019 and 2018, and a similar storyline is 66
possible this month as it reopens. Area 8-2 is open daily through September 19 with a two-fish daily limit, and requiring the release of wild unmarked coho, and all Chinook and chum. The northeast side of the island (Area 8-1) up into Saratoga Pass is also open daily through the 19th for all coho with a two-fish daily limit, although you need to release Chinook and chum. Most coho chasers will also dedicate time around northern Puget Sound (Area 9), open for hatchery coho only through September 30; and central Puget Sound (Area 10), open for all coho through October 31. South central Puget Sound (Area 11) is also open for all coho through the end of October, and southern Puget Sound (Area 13) is open year-round for hatchery-marked coho. A toss-up is the San Juan Islands (Area 7), which was closed to all salmon fishing under an emergency order in early July. WDFW staff was deciding last month whether to reopen it or not so check for any emergency regulation change at: wdfw.wa.gov/. Hood Canal (Area 12) is often overlooked, and the coho forecast is 84,531 down from 107,169 in 2020, but still a respectable number of fish! The “Great Bend” is open daily through November 30 with a liberal four-fish daily limit. Places like Quilcene Bay are expecting 32,158 coho, and they can be caught right now in this “terminal-type fishery” where your best success is casting and retrieving with a Buzz Bomb, Beau Mac or Point Wilson Dart jigs. Here’s to one the best “silver linings” of fall! Mark Yuasa is a longtime fishing and outdoor writer. Born and raised in Seattle, and a UW alum, Mark joined the Northwest Marine Trade Association in 2017 as the Director of Grow Boating Programs after 33 years at The Seattle Times. He also volunteers with the BSA Chief Seattle Council and National Order of the Arrow organizations, and enjoys fishing for salmon and other fish species in local waterways.
