HOOK AND FUR By Bob Brown For those who have not been lucky enough to catch a steelhead this year, this might be a good time to try again. Steelhead are moving into the Cowlitz River by the hundreds and they are on the bite. Barrier Dam Campground personnel reported fishing has been very, very good at the barrier. The daily limit is three steelhead, and lots of anglers are catching limits. Bank anglers are using a variety of baits GÇô jig and bobbers topped with a piece of shrimp or Loonie Coonie tails and sometimes Blue Fox spinners, Little Cleos and of, course, corkies and yarn. Boat anglers have been pulling plugs and sometimes just free-drifting. Keep in mind: Summer steelhead tend to avoid, bright, direct sunlight, so fish open waters early or late in the day and shaded areas when the sun is high. Also, anglers are reminded barbless hooks are required. During the week of July 27-Aug. 2, Tacoma Power recovered 408 spring chinook, 62 jacks, 104 mini-jacks and 1,033 summer steelhead. Also, 749 summer steelhead were floy-tagged and recycled at the Interstate 5 boat launch. River flows were approximately 2,960 cubic feet per second on Aug. 3, with a visibility of 15 feet. Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) reported the Buoy 10 open was better than expected with nearly two coho kept per boat. It was the best Buoy 10 opener since 2001 when anglers averaged nearly 2/3 of a coho per rod. It should be noted 1.1 million coho returned that year. This year's preseason forecast is 539,600 fish. A couple dozen fall chinook were checked each day. Not including Buoy 10, angler effort was modest on the lower Columbia Aug. 1, with 235 boats and 472 bank angler tallied. About 25 percent of the boats were observed at the mouth of the Cowlitz .
Orca accidentally 'hooked'
An orca whale with a San Juan Islands salmon angler's tackle dangling from the side of its mouth is being closely watched by federal marine wildlife officials. The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) says J39, a 12-year old member of the Southern Resident orca pod seen cruising off the west side of San Juan Island, hasn't been hurt by the flasher hanging out of its mouth, nor by the probable barbless hook(s) at the other end of the setup. The orca was photographed Aug. 1 near False Bay by Barbara Bender of All Aboard Sailing. NMFS officials believe the orca either grabbed a chinook being battled by an angler, or caught up to a salmon that had broken off and kept the flasher, bait and hook as a souvenir of the battle. There was at least one salmon fishing boat in the immediate area when the photograph was taken. The NMFS is providing extra funding for a Friday Harbor-based whale research center to monitor the killer whale. The concern is how the tackle might affect the orca's feeding and behavior. NMFS officials think the set-up might wiggle out on its own. The San Juans are popular with whales for the same reason they are popular with salmon anglers. It is a migratory path for chinook returning to British Columbia's Fraser River. State and federal wildlife officials have worked for several years to keep boaters of all kinds away from orcas actively feeding in the area. Toxins close crab fishing
Elevated levels of marine toxins in crab tested north of the Queets River has prompted state shellfish managers to close commercial and recreational crab fishing in 45 miles of coastal waters from Point Chehalis to the Queets River, expanding on a closure in effect since early June that extends 45 miles south to the Columbia River. The area now closed to crab fishing includes more than half the state's 157-mile-long coast. Bays and estuaries affected by the closure include crabbing areas inside the Columbia River, Willapa Bay and Grays Harbor. Razor clams are a major food source for crab, and crabs in those waters have domoic acid levels that exceed health-safety standards, said Dan Ayres, coastal shellfish manager for WDFW.
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