Posts Tagged ‘fishing reports’
Well it’s been a long cold winter but spring has sprung and it’s time to get ready for LaPush Halibut.
I took a trip up recently to fish lings and rockfish just to get back out on the big ocean. It was a great day. Got our lings and a couple seabass, had great ocean conditions and even saw some transient Orca whales. I am including the video link, even though it is crappy, because these big guys were running and you don’t see that all the time.
I spent the winter upgrading the boat, pics to follow, and taking classes for my OUPV (captain) license. Exams were successful and I am now officially Captain Kerry W Allen. I am a Navy veteran, I have worked for the federal government for 25 years and I finally have a marketable skill. The jury is still out as to whether I will start chartering this year or next. Oh, and no I can’t marry people.
The new regs are out. Area 11 will be closed for Salmon during May but Lings will be open May 1st through June 15th. 26 to 36 inches.
We are planning several Ocean trips this year for Halibut, Tuna and maybe even a Salmon trip or two out of Westport. I will start sending the newsletter again soon to keep everyone up to date on what’s Happening.
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
It turns out there is more quota left so there will be some more Chinook retention in the ocean.
The rule now reads: Change daily bag limit in Marine Areas 1, 2, 3 and 4 to two salmon only one of which may be a chinook, release wild coho.
Effective dates are:
Sept. 5 through Sept. 30, 2011, in Marine Area 1 and Sept. 5 through Sept. 18, 2011 in Marine Areas 2, 3 and 4.
Good Fishin' To Ya'
Kerry W Allen
Last Saturday we had the first of two derbies in area 11. It was the South King County PSA derby and was held in area 10,11 and 13. I will post results as soon as I get them.
We caught on king about 7.5 lbs. first thing in the morning and had nothing the rest of the day.It wasn’t much but it was good for a prize. My friend Jeff scored a beautiful fillet knife set, which if you’d a seen the hatchet job he did on that fish you would appreciate. We also had a lot of fun catching herring to use for bait and test running the bait tank as we get ready for Tuna.
It seemed fishing was slow for everyone with a very few fish turned in. I believe the winner was 23ish.I will post the rest of the results when I get them.
Lets hope next Saturday is better when the Gig Harbor PSA hosts their derby. Tickets are still available and there is still time to join the chapter at the meeting this Tuesday night at the TOA in Tacoma at Titlow Beach.
Good Fishin' To Ya'
Kerry W Allen
Wow!!!! 
Every year we get a couple fish caught around Dalco and Point Evans in the thirties but this is the first 40+ I’ve seen here in a long time.
Check out the TNT story below:
Angler lands 42-pound chinook salmon off Point Dalco.
Good Fishin' To Ya'
Kerry W Allen
I was out a week or so ago and my kicker started pumping oil out the top of the block. I’m no mechanic but I’m sure that aint good. The old Honda has had a hard life and it was time for her to go.
A beautiful day in Gig Harbor
Saturday I took out a couple guys from fort Lewis, which was cool, and we tried trolling with the big motor. At dead idle the boat trolls about 3.2 mph in this configuration so I didn’t expect much but we had 4 shakers and two nice take downs that we couldn’t button up. It was a gorgeous day and everyone had a great time.
What you do if your kicker dies
This morning I went out and
tried dragging a bucket to try to slow the boat down a bit.
I have told a lot of people to try this but have never done it myself. It worked pretty well and slowed the boat down to about 2.8 to 3 mph. I did not catch any shakers this morning but I got royally slimmed by some nasty jellies.
Do you Know this guy?
After a couple hours my attention started to drift. I took some pictures of other people catching fish, and some bad eagle pics, for the blog. Later, I was in the cabin driving and about half asleep, the cool part about trolling whith the big motor is the heater works so my feet were warm at least, when suddenly ZZZZZZZIIIIIIIIIIIIIPPPPPPPPP!!!!. I look out the window and the rod is dancing like crazy. I run out to grab the rod and remember that I can’t slow the boat from there so I go back in to put the boat in neutral but I pull too hard and kick it into reverse. crap!! I reach back up get the boat into neutral and go back out to play my fish (I was honestly surprised it was still there). I start reeling and the fish starts swimming at me. I have to reel fast to keep up but thanks to these new reels I had made I am able to. These reels have a 4:1 retrieve, 4 ball bearings and are very smooth with strong drags.
Wild Chinook. Released
Unfortunately when I got this guy in the net I realized it had an adipose fin so I would have to let it go. I took a couple pictures, careful not to remove the fish from the water and let it out of my net. At first it just lay there and I was beginning to get concerned but when I reached to grab it by the tail and try to revive it it gave a quick shake and was gone.
Good Fishin' To Ya'
Kerry W Allen
It looks like this rain has done it’s job and some kings are moving in to the area and plenty more are on the way. Try the girl Scout Camp on an incoming tide or Point Defiance on the out. There have also been some nice fish caught in front of Gig Harbor early in the mornings and evenings this last week or so. When fishing in the Gig Harbor area I will often stay “between the cabins”
View Gig Harbor (www.GigHarborFishing.com) in a larger map
I have been known on an out tide to fish farther south near Point Evans. You don’t want to get too close to point Evans because the bottom is rough and you will lose gear.
Try kingfisher spoons in cookies and cream and green uv, the 3.5″ apex in green and smoke or ace high flies. Any of these can be run with a flasher.
I have also been seeing great reports coming from my friends in
Ucluelet, BC 
and LaPush. 
Westport has been doing well also and if your like me and excited about Tuna a friend of mine went 40 miles and got one last weekend. That was an expensive Tuna but it is only the beginning of some great fishing to come.
Good Fishin' To Ya'
Kerry W Allen
Columbia River anglers will get at least eight more days to catch hatchery-reared spring chinook salmon below Bonneville Dam under a decision announced today by fishery managers from Washington and Oregon.
The lower Columbia will reopen to fishing Friday, April 8, through Friday, April 15. Fishery managers will meet again April 14 to determine whether to allow additional fishing time.
Through April 4, anglers had caught and kept a total of 4,500 spring chinook. Approximately 3,800 were upriver fish, compared to a 7,700-fish harvest guideline for upriver chinook set at the beginning of the season.
Along with the eight additional fishing days, lower-river anglers could get another chance to catch spring chinook in May, once fishery managers update the run forecast. While the preseason forecast projected a return of 198,400 upriver fish, the fishery has been managed with a 30 percent “buffer” to guard against overestimating the run.
Read the press release here
Good Fishin' To Ya'
Kerry W Allen
I copied this from a forum I follow. It should be a good time.
APRIL 9th DEFIANCE MARINE GRAND OPENING!!!
The Seminars will be as follows:
10:00 AM Downrigger Fishing with Flashers by Ken Pinnell
11:30 AM Bottom Fishing for Halibut and Monster Lings by Tommy Donlin
1:00 PM Puget Sound and Ocean Fishing For Salmon by John Keizer
2:30 PM Mooching Mastery by Rob Endsley
4:00 PM Albacore Fishing by Tommy Donlin and Todd Schwartz
As you can see we will have quite a lineup of the best fisherman around. So be sure to be at this great event to get all the info you need to have an incredible summer of Fishing Success!
We will also have many Doorbuster Sales items, and big discounts on many of the top name brands of fishing gear that you need!
Good Fishin' To Ya'
Kerry W Allen
I attended a Northwest Tuna Seminar today at the Seattle Boat Show. The three hour seminar was put on by Captain John Keizer of saltpatrol.com. I was again impressed with John’s ability to make everyone feel comfortable with the concepts involved. One of the most important things in any offshore fishing is to know where you are going before you leave. John was very thorough in explaining where to get the proper information to make good decisions on where to go. John’s seminar also included information and examples on such things as terminal gear, rods and reels and how to choose a bait tank. Of special interest to me was his explanation on how to make the transition between trolling lures to swim baits to live bait.
There was also tons of information on Electronics and safety equipement. He even told us which hooks to buy.
Overall I would recommend this seminar to anyone even thinking about maybe someday going tuna fishing.
Thanks John
Good Fishin' To Ya'
Kerry W Allen
Gig Harbor Fly Shop
Gig Harbor.com