Father’s Day weekend… work has been pretty hard and I guess it showed. JoAnn suggested I spend the weekend going fishing and I agreed that would be just the ticket!

Saturday I fished with friends Robbie, Randy, and Hanna, Sunday it was a Father-Son and Dog Day. The targets were Puget Sound resident coho. The reports had been coming in good and it was finally my turn to fire up the boat and have a go at them. On Saturday we dealt with a bit of a breeze but, surprisingly, no one in line at the Edmonds sling. Arrived at 650am and we were number 3. Just a note, call ahead, they are limiting the launching so that no doubt had something to do with it.

On Saturday we ran down to West Point and fished the usual areas. We ran four rods but the only rods that had any action were the downrigger rods, set at 55 and 65 feet on the cable. Trolling speed varied around 2.8-3.2mph. We tried a variety of rigs but what worked best were hoochies with herring strips and 11” dodgers. The first day we lost a few and ended up with 5 in the boat.

Sunday the forecast was for light winds at 5 mph so I figured it would be perfect to introduce my springer spaniel Duke to saltwater boating. When we arrived the weather man was a bit off with winds at 10mph and a chop on the water, making me a little nervous for Duke. He did great, however and had a real interest in the fishing and watching boats go by. He’s going to be my new fishing buddy!

James and I started at the oil docks and within ten minutes the action started and held steady until 9am when we caught our fourth coho. Number four was on the small side so I suggested to James we release him and get a bigger last fish. Oh, pride that goes before the fall! The rest of the day (until we called it at 1pm) we got not one bite!

Tide fr the two days was a big out-going tide that ended at 11am and 1130am. Most of the action on both days came early, but Saturday was a bit more spread out and Sunday was definitely concentrated in the first two hours.

For us hoochies and flashers with herring strips were the ticket. Sunday we trolled faster, around 3.5-4.0. Direction didn’t seem to matter much either day.

The residents are smaller than their ocean cousins but it’s still fun to see the rod go off and get to play a salmon. Fish are running 2-3 pounds and cut a beautiful full red color. If you can find them you’ll do well. Finding them is the trick!

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