Salmon is set

[fishngamereaper]

http://www.theoutdoorline.com/blog/post/2021/04/16/salmon-fishing-seasons-set-for-2021-2022-and-despite-an-ever-dark-cloud-hanging-over-fisheries-there-are-some-highlights-worth-getting-excited-about.aspx?fbclid=IwAR3VzvFeUb4a6yt_UJ7myLcFGLDnPrm-gWksg8FmWSqXupO1an3k6YJCkPQ#.YHmhKBHynxw.facebook

[CP]

forecast of 2,925,681 pink salmon 

I bet that we get at least 2,925,682.

[fishngamereaper]

forecast of 2,925,681 pink salmon 

I bet that we get at least 2,925,682.

No bonus pinks though...which with a forecast like that sux. 
Some days getting thru the pinks to get to king's is a pain.
Now it's without reward.

[Stein]

No bonus is bogus for sure unless it somehow was taken into account and the coho quota was stretched longer.  Somehow I doubt that, but who knows?  It's not like WDFW has any transparency.

[hunthard]

I bet when the pinks start showing up in force they will allow 2 pinks in addition to your daily limit.

[huntnphool]

 431 chinook, guess they have to save them for the orcas because they don’t eat pinks or coho!

[Birdguy]

431 chinook, guess they have to save them for the orcas because they don’t eat pinks or coho!

You know its true, the science says so! Our poor south sound orcas have become so picky that is all they can stomach. They catch the poop the confirm it! They can catch whale poop but have no idea how manage anything other than legal sportsman.

[Stein]

I bet when the pinks start showing up in force they will allow 2 pinks in addition to your daily limit.

They didn't two years ago.  The school outside of Muk was over 1/2 mile long and you could boat limit in an hour missing half the fish you hook but their in season counts were not good enough to justify the bonus limit.  Not sure who was counting or how.

The big impact of not having a pink bonus is that a bunch of guys will release pinks that will become crab food or seal food.  I wish I was smart enough to understand how we aren't encouraged to take advantage of a bounty of fish when they occur.

[fishngamereaper]

I heard the reason was to get more fish into the rivers and build the runs. Apparently they increased retention limits of pinks in the rivers but not the salt. Doesn't make any sense to me, as stated now a lot of people will rail pinks trying to get limits of chinook and coho. Pinks bleed like a stuck pig so probably a ton of mortality with catch and release. What do I know though. Guess Ill be dragging my 6"-8" commercial spoons in the ocean looking for big kings.

[pnwbestlife]

I believe the reason for no bonus pink limit in the salt is because several rivers are expected to still have poor returns in 2021 that need to rebuild. I wrote an article a month and a half or so ago where I included all the salmon forecast shared by WDFW back in Feb: https://pnwbestlife.com/puget-sound-salmon-forecasts-2021/

If you scroll down to the section on pinks, it shows the map WDFW shared. I believe the two rivers expected to struggle are the Snohomish and Nisqually.

Many of our seasons end up getting set by the most constrained rivers that the fishing in the salt could impact...Sucks to suck, but it does make some sense assuming the data is accurate (big assumption).

[Jake Dogfish]

I tend to be conservative on harvest of our Salmon runs but, I am not worried about Pinks.
I do enjoy your YouTube channel PNWbestlife.

[pnwbestlife]

I tend to be conservative on harvest of our Salmon runs but, I am not worried about Pinks.
I do enjoy your YouTube channel PNWbestlife.

Oh man, thanks Jake!

[Stein]

I believe the reason for no bonus pink limit in the salt is because several rivers are expected to still have poor returns in 2021 that need to rebuild. I wrote an article a month and a half or so ago where I included all the salmon forecast shared by WDFW back in Feb: https://pnwbestlife.com/puget-sound-salmon-forecasts-2021/

If you scroll down to the section on pinks, it shows the map WDFW shared. I believe the two rivers expected to struggle are the Snohomish and Nisqually.

Many of our seasons end up getting set by the most constrained rivers that the fishing in the salt could impact...Sucks to suck, but it does make some sense assuming the data is accurate (big assumption).

It makes sense until you come to the realization that until every species in every stream in every watershed in the entire Puget Sound recovers to some unknown amount there will be a reason to clamp down on the seasons.  In other words, it will never happen.  It's like the dogs chasing the rabbits around the track, we will never catch the prize.

[huntnphool]

I believe the reason for no bonus pink limit in the salt is because several rivers are expected to still have poor returns in 2021 that need to rebuild. I wrote an article a month and a half or so ago where I included all the salmon forecast shared by WDFW back in Feb: https://pnwbestlife.com/puget-sound-salmon-forecasts-2021/

If you scroll down to the section on pinks, it shows the map WDFW shared. I believe the two rivers expected to struggle are the Snohomish and Nisqually.

Many of our seasons end up getting set by the most constrained rivers that the fishing in the salt could impact...Sucks to suck, but it does make some sense assuming the data is accurate (big assumption).

It makes sense until you come to the realization that until every species in every stream in every watershed in the entire Puget Sound recovers to some unknown amount there will be a reason to clamp down on the seasons.  In other words, it will never happen.  It's like the dogs chasing the rabbits around the track, we will never catch the prize.

+1

[TriggerMike]

Better than I realistically thought it was gonna be. I'm looking forward to Summer and getting out there now. The coast and Columbia system is looking pretty good.

[Stein]

Crazy times, I heard Canada is no retention on chinook but haven't seen it in writing yet.

Columbia looks promising for sure, hopefully it pans out for those headed down there.

My big hope for the year is that PS coho look a bit healthier, if they come in skinny again I can't help but think that's a negative trend.

I finally got around to figuring out a good lox recipe, so I'll have no problem bagging a pile of pinks in addition to whatever else I can get in my net this year.  I am also hoping to get a good shot at lings with a swing at the fence of finding a couple good cabezon spots I don't have to ride a ferry to get to.

[huntnphool]

Crazy times, I heard Canada is no retention on chinook but haven't seen it in writing yet.

Columbia looks promising for sure, hopefully it pans out for those headed down there.

My big hope for the year is that PS coho look a bit healthier, if they come in skinny again I can't help but think that's a negative trend.

I finally got around to figuring out a good lox recipe, so I'll have no problem bagging a pile of pinks in addition to whatever else I can get in my net this year.  I am also hoping to get a good shot at lings with a swing at the fence of finding a couple good cabezon spots I don't have to ride a ferry to get to.

The 11 coho were healthy last year.

 We typically release all pinks, I’ve just never had a quality recipe for keeping them.

[Stein]

Two years ago I canned a ton of pinks.  It was ok, I made tons of seafood stew and some really good dip over the winter.

I'm pretty much transitioning to not cooking much, if any, salmon.  Either sashimi, poke or lox, it tastes so much better to me raw than cooked and I look forward to giving pinks a try that way.

The coho in 9 and 10 have been dinkers the last few years.  Fairly numerous but noticeably small.  Last year was certainly better, the year before had a ton of 4 pounders.

[TriggerMike]

forecast of 2,925,681 pink salmon 

I bet that we get at least 2,925,682.

Whered you see the forecast number?

[Stein]

CP has a few biologists on staff.

Here is from WDFW:

https://wdfw.wa.gov/sites/default/files/2021-02/pinkchumsockeyeforecastcompilation2021.pdf

[CP]

forecast of 2,925,681 pink salmon 

I bet that we get at least 2,925,682.

Whered you see the forecast number?

I got that number from Mark Yuasa's blog. 

http://www.theoutdoorline.com/blog/post/2021/04/16/salmon-fishing-seasons-set-for-2021-2022-and-despite-an-ever-dark-cloud-hanging-over-fisheries-there-are-some-highlights-worth-getting-excited-about.aspx?fbclid=IwAR3VzvFeUb4a6yt_UJ7myLcFGLDnPrm-gWksg8FmWSqXupO1an3k6YJCkPQ#.YHmhKBHynxw.facebook

[The Fin]

Still no winter Blackmouth

[Stein]

Nope and unfortunately I wouldn't plan on it coming back.  I think it's one of those things we'll tell stories about "remember when you could...."

I haven't heard the actual reason, but my guess would be that it was where they could cut chinook encounters with the least amount of crying and yelling from fishermen.

If we get a year with more quota, it seems like most people would like that added to the summer fishery rather than winter, but that's just my perspective.

[CP]

I watched another chinook/pinniped encounter this morning.  If something was done to control those encounters we might get a bit more opportunities. 

[Stein]

My favorite is when they come to the surface, eat just the belly of the salmon, drop it, go down and get another one and keep repeating that.

[huntnphool]

My favorite is when they come to the surface, eat just the belly of the salmon, drop it, go down and get another one and keep repeating that.

 They do the same to sturgeon in the Columbia.

[HntnFsh]

My favorite is when they come to the surface, eat just the belly of the salmon, drop it, go down and get another one and keep repeating that.

 They do the same to sturgeon in the Columbia.

Seen it hundreds of times on the Columbia and lower Cowlitz.

[JimmyHoffa]

My favorite is when they come to the surface, eat just the belly of the salmon, drop it, go down and get another one and keep repeating that.

 They do the same to sturgeon in the Columbia.

Some gill netters I know have told me they like to do this to the salmon and steelhead in the nets.  The seals really like the fat females full of eggs.  They just take a bit and leave the rest. 

[TooTallMike]

My favorite is when they come to the surface, eat just the belly of the salmon, drop it, go down and get another one and keep repeating that.

 They do the same to sturgeon in the Columbia.

Some gill netters I know have told me they like to do this to the salmon and steelhead in the nets.  The seals really like the fat females full of eggs.  They just take a bit and leave the rest.

Imagine we had a season for them and you put in for it like the other tags? Man would that generate a lot of money for the WDFW and WE as outdoorsman would be making the difference to help the runs and you also can't forget the resident orca pod that only fine dines on kings.

A man can dream

[pd]

My favorite is when they come to the surface, eat just the belly of the salmon, drop it, go down and get another one and keep repeating that.

 They do the same to sturgeon in the Columbia.

Some gill netters I know have told me they like to do this to the salmon and steelhead in the nets.  The seals really like the fat females full of eggs.  They just take a bit and leave the rest. ddd

yuuuup.  As much as a lot of people here hate on gill netters, it would be a good experience to go for a ride out with one of these guys.  Look at the damage that seals etc cause.  It would open minds.