This was my first experience fishing for pinks, and one I'll remember for a lifetime. We motored down from High Bridge on the Snoqualmie to the 522 bridge and rock wall on the upper Snohomish. It took us a while to get things dialed in -- probably 2 or 2.5 hours until the first fish. Once we found the recipe, though, the fishing was "lights out". We fished catch-and-release for the majority of the day, and I'd estimate we put close to 40 pinks in the boat along with one Coho.

Our tackle choices included jigs of various sizes and colors, with some predictable emphasis on pink, cerise, and purple. We also had incredible success with a #1 Dick Nite nickel frog spoon, about four feet behind a half ounce dropper. I probably caught 90% or more of my fish on a single spoon. For both the spoon and jigs, the secret was keeping our offerings low in the water column, and using longer, slower jigging motions and retrieves. If the bite slowed down, we would either choose smaller lures or move the boat to places where we could see rollers.

We went back out on Labor Day, and had an even bigger day -- probably somewhere north of 50 fish. The fishing from shore seemed to be a lot less productive, as the larger schools of humpies seemed to be moving up the center of the channel, or holding at creek mouths.

I know people sometimes don't think much of pink salmon, but I feel like they punch above their weight class, and provide a great fishing experience. I wouldn't trade those two days of pursuing humpies for anything.

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