There will be good fishing opportunities opening this week with the start of summer hatchery-marked chinook fishing off the coastal ports of Ilwaco, Westport, La Push and Neah Bay. Doug Milward, a state Fish and Wildlife coastal salmon manager, said that after looking at what the commercial troll fishery is doing off the coast, things are setting up to where this will be a great fishery.
He also said that the catches are picking up and there have been fish caught by trollers off Westport and up north (off Neah Bay) the whole time. All coastal ports are open daily through June 25, with a daily limit of two hatchery-marked chinook. The hatchery-marked chinook fishery in south central Puget Sound has been more about quality than quantity.
Art Tatchell, manager of the Point Defiance Park Boathouse in Tacoma, said that there have also been a handful of fish in the 18-pound range caught off the Clay Banks and the Flats area. A few more chinook were hooked in the Tulalip Bay bubble fishery, but lots of tribal crab gear in the water so trollers should be aware. Better option is jigging Point Wilson Darts off the entrance to the bay at daybreak.
