Chum
My original plan was to go to the Sportsmans Show in Puyallup on Saturday but on Thursday I couldn’t take it any more. I’ve been talking to guys about reels, shopping for parts for the boat, working on the trailer and studying everything I could on electronics.
I need to get back out on the water so bad I can taste it.
So I left work early, called a buddy of mine and off we went to the show.
We stopped to look at the chainsaw carvings on the way in. This guy does some great work. We watched some dock dog practice and got some info for the wife for next year. Patti plans to enter Grace in the competition next year.
We finally entered from the boat side and worked our way through. There were the Defiance boats first then some bass boats and drift boats. Outside the tent area we found the River Hawk Boats. These are the big Aluminum boats you see at Cabelas. These are good boats made in Medford, Oregon.
Next we checked out the camp cooking tent. It smelled yummy but since we were so early there was nothing going on yet.
We entered the main hall and walked through the myriad of outfitters, guides and lodges. Spoke to a few. Spent a little extra time at the Women in Waders booth.
We came to the Wooldridge section and could see the big offshore they had there. Next to that was the something I had till now thought was impossible. The new Wooldridge 20′ Sport Pilot House. Not a typo, a 20′ Pilot house boat. I include a link to the video but this little rig ROCKS!!!
This is a great boat for the Pacific Northwest. Whether winter blackmouth fishing or offshore for halibut this is a great boat for two or three fishermen and with a 75 gallon fuel capacity it has the range to run for tuna with the big rigs. This little rig has everything right where it needs to be from locking rod storage to and enclosed head. They even hid a sink under one of the seats. All this at a weight of 2540 lbs. means you can tow it behind just about anything and launch and retrieve it by yourself, which happens more often than you might think.
After that we went buy to see what was happening at the Stealhead pond and watched Tom Nelson catch and release a couple stealhead. Walked by the archery area as some kids were learning to shoot. and back out into the maelstrom.
We went by some RivTech drift boats and picked up some “Wiked Lures”. I’ll let you know how the Wiked Lures work out but they look killer for Blackmouth. Stopped at the XRodz booth and chatted up Jim Mercier. He had some great deals on some beautiful rods. Not only do these rods not suck, each one is a work of art.
And lastly we went by the Sportco booth to see what was happening there. 
They had some great deals on gear including this one on Lamiglass Rods.
I learned some new things about Lamiglass production that we will be discussing later. Overall it was a good show. I spent too much money but enjoyed some great people, made some new friends and learned a few things.
Good Fishin' To Ya'
Kerry W Allen
It’s the end of October and that means some great fall fishing is coming to a close and with it goes the retention of wild kings and the ability to keep two Chinook. The good news is blackmouth season is upon us. My personal favorite Puget Sound fishery is blackmouth, or local kings, so I get very excited about this time of year. We are back to releasing wild Chinook (adipose fin in tact) and only keeping one Chinook but there are still some chum around and local coho to fill the two fish limit. And we will have winter crabbing in area 11 this year starting November 21st seven days a week til December 31st.
There is nothing like a crisp clear winter day, where the sun is out and the water is perfectly flat. There is very little competition for these fish so I am usually the only boat out, or one of just a couple. If I’m lucky I can get my buddy James or one of the other hard cores to go. We fish Blackmouth mostly at the tide changes, and hour before to an hour after. I’ll fish the Girl Scout Camp or Point Richmond on the in and Point Defiance on the out. Or Gig Harbor on either tide. There is a hump just north of the harbor that holds fish on the leeward side.
I troll between 2.5 and 3 MPH but will go slower if I’m running fat plugs like the Tomic Tubby’s. I usually run spoons or hoochies in green. I also have a couple Tomic Plugs one white and one green that work really well for Blackmouth. For instructions on rigging these check out my youtube channel. Don’t forget to subscribe. And you want to run this right on the bottom. usually if you run your downrigger ball the same depth as the water, or even a little deeper for the angle, you will usually be close enough. These fish are sitting on the bottom and feeding up.
Don’t forget to wear a life jacket when fishing in the winter and let someone know where your going and when you’ll be back. Unlike the summer, there aren’t a lot of other people around so a small mistake could be disastrous. Good Luck
Good Fishin' To Ya'
Kerry W Allen
I reported a while back on the Oil Spill in Gig Harbor on November the 19th. Surprisingly I have heard nothing more about this from any source. I have googled it just about every day and there seems to be no news on it at all. Today I sent E-Mails to the City of Gig Harbor and to the Department of Ecology to see what I could find out.
From the City I get silence. From the Department of Ecology I received two responses; one was a comment on the earlier blog post, the other was an E-Mail from a nice lady named Mary-Ellen Voss.
Both were identical wording.
Here is what they said.
Thank you for your questions about the Nov. 19, 2010, oil spill in Gig Harbor. Unfortunately, Ecology didn’t receive timely notification of the spill and by the time our responders arrived, they were unable to locate the source.
We worked with the U.S. Coast Guard to respond. However, since the spill wasn’t reported to us in a timely manner as required by state and federal law, the fuel had evaporated and dissolved into the water. Unfortunately, it was too dispersed and thin to recover by the time our responders got to the scene.
Ecology does anticipate environmental damage as a result of this spill.
All spills matter, regardless of size – even small- to medium-sized spills such as this one. Although there may not have been dramatic visual evidence of wildlife damage, cumulatively these spills add to the pre-existing toxic loading to Puget Sound – and that affects virtually all parts of the Sound’s ecosystem.
Ecology is committed to a rapid and aggressive response to hazardous materials spilled into state waters. Please report oil spills to 1-800-258-5990. You can also find more information about reporting environmental problems on our website at: http://www.ecy.wa.gov/reportaproblem.html
Best regards,
I ended up with more questions than answers but have decided not to pursue this any further. It is obvious that what I got was a canned CYA response but I understand that. They greatly underestimated the size and scope of the spill originally but at least they are admitting it will cause some environmental problems now.
It is obviouse that if people don’t see it on the evening news, or the Daily Show, they don’t know what is going on. It is up to us as boaters and fishermen, the people that are out there using the resources to protect and patrol. When we see something wrong we need to report it immediately. I will be carrying these numbers on the boat and I have already plugged the website into my phone. And I’m asking you to please don’t be affraid to report these things because if we don’t, nobody else will.
End of Rant
Good Fishin' To Ya'
Kerry W Allen
The Gig Harbor City Council will be conducting a public hearing to accept comments on the Maritime Pier Components. The public hearing will be held in the City Council Chambers located in the Gig Harbor Civic Center at 3510 Grandview Street on Monday, November 22, 2010 beginning at 5:30 pm. All interested persons are invited to attend the public hearing and make their views known. Contact City Administrator Rob Karlinsey at karlinseyr@cityofgigharbor.net.
Good Fishin' To Ya'
Kerry W Allen
Since 1972, the Gig Harbor Fisherman’s Club has been raising and releasing chum salmon at Donkey Creek in Gig Harbor. For the last four years harbor residents have been celebrating this accomplishment with the Donkey Creek Chum Festival.
This years festival on October 16th features Booths, Kayak Races, Chum Burgers, Refreshments, “Paint Your Own Salmon” t-shirts, and the giant FIN salmon among other exciting events. The Puyallup tribe is planning to have a booth and the Harbor History Museum will be open throughout the event with displays and activities based around Gig Harbors rich fishing heritage.
Get details here.
Events begin at 10:00am with lots of great kids events, chum burgers at noon and Kayak Races at 2:30 to 3:00pm. Come out and enjoy the fun!
Good Fishin’ To Ya’
Kerry W Allen
Good Fishin' To Ya'
Kerry W Allen
The Washington State fishing regs Pamphlets aren’t set to be released till the end of the week but I found these sneak peaks posted on this site on the left side bar and in this post. These are for the Marine areas and the Columbia River. I will continue to look for others.
Marine area rules:
Columbia River rules:
Good Fishin’ To Ya’
Kerry W Allen
Good Fishin' To Ya'
Kerry W Allen
At the Meeting today in Olympia, WDFW and the Treaty Tribes released their Projections for 2010 returns. These forecasts are the starting point for discussions that will culminate in the development of the 2010 salmon fishing seasons. These meetings are kinda like the NFL Draft. The first hour or so is fairly exciting but they quickly become very tedious, and go on for days. Here are the highlights:
Phil Anderson, WDFW director, said fishery managers face new challenges this year in designing fishing seasons that not only meet conservation goals for salmon, but also minimize impacts on depressed rockfish populations in Puget Sound.
Fishery managers also are considering recreational selective fisheries for hatchery chinook in Washington’s ocean waters, where selective fisheries for hatchery coho salmon already have been in place for a decade.
Nearly 653,000 fall chinook are forecasted to make their way along the Washington coast to the Columbia River this season, about 234,000 more chinook than last year’s actual return. The increased numbers represent abundant returns to Spring Creek and other Columbia River hatcheries, which traditionally have been the backbone of the recreational ocean chinook fishery.
While the chinook forecast is up, the Columbia River coho return is expected to be down this year. Nearly 390,000 Columbia River coho are projected to make their way along Washington’s coast this year, compared to one million coho in 2009.
In Puget Sound, coho returns are expected to be up this year. Nearly 614,000 coho are forecast to return to Puget Sound streams, about 31,000 more fish than last year’s forecast. That could translate into good coho fishing in several North Sound rivers, including the Skagit, Snohomish and Stillaguamish, said Pattillo.
Summer/fall chinook salmon returns to Puget Sound are expected total about 226,000 fish, slightly higher than last year’s projection. Pattillo said chinook fisheries in Puget Sound likely will be similar to last year.
Meanwhile, another strong fall chum salmon return is forecasted for Hood Canal and other areas of Puget Sound, where the run is expected to total about 1.3 million fish. But a Lake Washington sockeye fishery is unlikely this year. The sockeye forecast is about 123,000, well below the minimum return of 350,000 sockeye needed to consider opening a recreational fishery in the lake.
Additional public meetings have been scheduled in March and April to discuss regional fisheries issues. Input from these regional discussions will be considered as the season-setting process moves into the “North of Falcon” and PFMC meetings, which will determine the final 2010 salmon seasons.
Read the News release here.
Good Fishin’ To Ya’
Kerry W Allen
Good Fishin' To Ya'
Kerry W Allen
The second annual Bremerton Boat show is scheduled for January 22-24th (one week ahead of the big seattle show) in the new Bremerton Marina down town by the ferry dock. I don’t remember hearing about the first one, and I almost missed this one but I ran across it on a blog I was reading about Kitsap County. I will be interested to see what this show has to offer to fishermen and will be sure to let you all know what It’s like. The show has limited hours so be sure to check the web site by clicking the picture here:
Good Fishin’ to Ya’
Kerry W Allen
Good Fishin' To Ya'
Kerry W Allen
I always get exited this time of year for what I call Sow season. The Big Seattle Boat Show and the Puyallup Sportsman’s Show. Portland has a Boat show and a Sportsman Show. There are several shows in Eastern Washington, Central and Eastern Oregon and Idaho.There will be no Vancouver BC Show this year, turns out there’s something else going on. I don’t know what could be more important than the boat show but Canadians a funny like that. Finally the Tacoma Dome Boat Show is April 1st.
This year will be a little tricky for me. I try every year to make the Seattle Boat Show and the Sportsman’s Show in Puyallup every year but this year the dates overlap so I may have to pick one or the other and if I have to pick one, it has to be the Sportsman’s Show. I get excited to visit the booths and see whats new in fishing as well as try to find great deals on gear.
Here are the links:
Good Fishin' To Ya'
Kerry W Allen
Great news for Gig Harbor. And for the salmon run in Donkey Creek. Gig Harbor City Councilman Tim Payne said “This is a dream come true. The restoration of Donkey Creek will bring attention to the importance and influence of salmon on one of Gig Harbor’s earliest industries: commercial fishing.”
Here is a link to an article in the Kitsap Peninsula Business Journal
More info on grant funding from Washington State 
Here——————————–>
Good Fishin’ To Ya’,
Kerry W Allen
Good Fishin' To Ya'
Kerry W Allen
Gig Harbor Fly Shop
Gig Harbor.com