THE WASHINGTON OUTDOOR REPORT July 16

Fishing Reports

The coho salmon are biting in Puget Sound, especially in Marine Area 10 near Seattle where creel checkers found anglers were averaging more than one salmon apiece last weekend. A few Chinook salmon are being caught as well there but better Chinook catches were observed in the Strait of Juan de Fuca.

Heading to Westport the Charter Boat Association is holding its annual derby and daily winners have been hauling in Chinook up to 21 pounds (after being gutted and gilled) as well as some very nice lingcod weighing up to 33 pounds. The coho salmon, as expected, are much smaller this early in the season. As of last week, the largest one weighed in was pushing seven pounds.

Checking in with Gorge Outfitters Supply in Rufus, Kylie reports the shad fishing has tailed off.

Anglers are trying for walleye and sockeye in this area of the Columbia River Gorge but she hasn’t gotten much feedback and overall, things are a little slow right now.

On the Upper Columbia River Mike Roth with Team Take Down Guide Service says the Brewster pool was fishing well the first week it was open but it’s been more of a struggle in recent days. The number of fish over the dams are good but colder than normal water temperatures could be causing the fish to move through the river much faster than normal. Roth also fished near Rocky Reach Dam a few nights ago and caught a couple of Chinook but no sockeye. As of July 12, 69,000 summer Chinook had passed through Bonneville Dam, below expectations, but more than 310,000 sockeye have traveled upstream past the dam, well above the preseason forecast. www.teamtakedownguideservice.com.

If you are looking for sockeye outside the Columbia River a good bet right now would be Baker Lake. Brianna Bruce, the owner of Livin’ Life Adventures, was out with clients when it opened on the July 8 and reports the fishing was lights out. Brianna said, “We had to go through a bunch of fish to finally land our 12, the guys had a hard time keeping them hooked, but we still got it done at 7:40 a.m. Another amazing Baker Lake opener.” Better still, this wasn’t just a good opener, Baker Lake has been fishing good all week long and as of July 11, there were over 19,150 sockeye salmon in the lake. www.livinlifeadventures.com

Rendezvous

The Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation will be holding their annual Washington State Rendezvous August 11-13 at the White Pass Ski Resort off of US Highway 12. Dry camping for tent and RV campers is available. Things kick off Friday morning with a volunteer work party meant to improve habitat in the Oak Creek Wildlife Area near Naches. Once the work day is done there will be a potluck dinner (bring a side dish) and a chance to feast on a roasted pig.

Saturday, August 12 begins with presentations from guest speakers followed by free time where you can shoot a 3D archery course, go horseback riding with White Pass Outfitters, compete in a very informal cornhole tournament, or go GPS geocaching. Everyone gets back together for dinner which includes raffles, prizes and a live auction.

The cost to attend is $80 per adult, $40 for teens between 15 and 18, and no charge for kids 14 and under. The cost includes meals all day Saturday and on Sunday morning. You can register for the event at www.events.rmef.org. If you are interested in volunteering for the work party, call Dan Paulson at 425-275-1975.

John Kruse – www.northwesternoutdoors.com and www.americaoutdoorsradio.com