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Pink Recon

30K views 169 replies 68 participants last post by  wetline dave 
#1 ·
went to the south tacoma and did recon for pinks. results negative, no pinks south yet. i did catch a bunch of 10-12 inch kings and 8-12 inch cutts. ALL RELEASED FINE. sadly no pinks yet.

talked to a guy that had just returned from the striaght up north and said they r in thick. made it difficult to fish for kings kept getting pinks. said they are larger this year average 6-7 lbs.
 
#162 ·
Mumbles, Evan, Steve,

I'm curious about those puffins. Are they in south sound, where you fish for pinks around those points just north of Tacoma? I've only seen puffins out on the north coast and Neah Bay. I could get more interested in chasing the pinks if there's cool birds too. Is there a good place where I could launch my 16' Lund?

Sg
 
#163 ·
SG,

The Tufted Puffins are found mostly in areas with steep rock bluffs ie; San Juan Islands, Discovery Island, North Coastline of the Olympic peninsula, etc. Because of their habitat preferences you won't likely find them in central or south sound areas. Kind of like fish species, birds have habitat preferences too.
I watch birds for enjoyment wherever I fish, rivers, streams lakes and on the salt. It really adds to my enjoyment (and sometimes helps increase my fishing success) on any waters.
 
#165 ·
Hi SG,

I was responding to the puffins, not the pink fishing report. No, I've never seen tufted puffins in the South Sound, but I've spent very little time on the water in that area. The place where I have seen several at a time is Iceberg Point on the south side of Lopez Island, not far from Cattle Pass [this was a decade or more ago; given the substrate of the cliffs, I wouldn't be to surprised to find that they were breeding there in tunnels in the cliffs]. We were collecting sculpins from the subtidal and intertidal (collected 9 species from one pool!). On rare occasions, I have seen tufted puffins in Cattle Pass (between the south ends of Lopez and San Juan) especially off Goose Island. [If you want to see harlequin ducks in winter, go to Cattle Point lighthouse].

While Goose Is. has a great reputation as a King salmon hole, I don't much about the salmon fishing prospects at Iceberg Point (rockfish / lings / greenlings might be good though). Generally, incoming salmon that hit the islands from the Strait of Juan de Fuca pod up between Cattle Point and Eagle Point on the low tide and then use the incoming tide to assist them around the west side of San Juan and then the north side of Orcas. Sockeye wander more, hence the several set nets found between the islands, such as off Shaw Island and Lopez Island.

Steve
 
#166 ·
Sg,

The Tufted Puffins we spoke of were within a cast off the beach at Point No Point. Until Constructeur pointed them out as Puffins I thought they were ordinary. Once he said it I was blown away thinking they only lived in much colder climates. After that I paid more attention to them while I stripped my fly in cast after cast. They were cool.

Your Lund could be launched a nearby location that I could tell you about if you asked nicely.
 
#168 ·
Sg,

There is or at least use to be a good launch at Eglon, about 3 miles south of Pt. No Pt. Launched there many times in the past. I believe there is a launch at the point itself. Another launch I use to use quite often was on the west side of the canal right next to the bridge at the mouth of Bywater Bay and due west of the end of Hoods Head.

If I was going to fish from Pt. No Pt. to Kingston on the flood I would launch at Eglon. If I was going to fish Foul Weather Bluff and to the west and north then I would launch on the Canal at Bywater Bay.

Dave
 
#169 ·
Salmo-

If you're going to launch at Eglon you need to mind the tides, and only launch and pull out on or very near high tide. A couple 3 summers ago another board member and I watched a goof ball loose his Jeep in the surf as the tide came in...

In regards to the birds, scroll back to my last post and follow the links I put up. One of them lists a breading site somewhere in the San Juans, and another site just to the West of Port Townsend. We saw the birds to the East end of the point, where the two currents meet, and they were eating baitfish in the 3" or so range.
 
#170 ·
Any time you launch in the Sound be mindful of the tides! That is basic sound fishing rule #1.
Rule #2 if you cann't put your boat on any beach then you probably don't need that boat nor want it.
Rule #3 if the weather and wind come up and you cann't make it back, beach boat, reffer to rule #2 and be prepared to wait out the situation.
Rule #4 don't be stupid! or, be prepared for anything that can come up. I've spent more than one occasion where I spent time high up on a beach or thankfully in dry abode as an unexpected quest because of weather.

Dave
 
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