[Les Johnson]

Don't wait for pinks to hit the rivers before you go after them. Pinks will be running very close to shore along the west side of Whidbey Island (one of many good spots in the salt) with easy access from Bush Point to Lagoon Point. These will be chrome bright fish, some of which are still actively feeding.
Go with small flies, 6-10 such as comets tied with Flashabou. Euphausids in the same size also trigger strikes. Use pink or cerise. These will be very edible salmon either smoked or on the barbie.
When they've cleared the salt pinks will usually be worth keeping while they are still in the lower reaches of our rivers.
Les Johnson

 

[Les Johnson]

This bulletin board is loaded with good information and nice people. It is on a par with Dan Blanton's Bulletin Board and that is a compliment.
Pinks usually arrive in mid to late July along Whidbey's west side as I recall with some slipping through Deception Pass at about the same time. Small flies are the answer in the salt...and sparsely tied. They will hit both wet flies and surface rattlers like Miyawaki's Beach Popper.
If you have a decent boat famous Humpy Hollow south of Edmonds is a good spot. It can be a festival of boats but you can find room to cast a fly and at times you see small schools of pinks swimming just under the surface.
In fresh water I've never found the need to go deep with heavily weight flies. It snags far too many fish. My wife Carol and I have fished pinks at Blue Stilly Park using floating lines with clear, intermediate sinking tips and have taken a good many pinks -- fairly hooked in the jaw. Our flies are not very far under the surface and we experience virtually no foul-hooked fish.
I think that working some kind of dry fly that kicks up a bit of a wake is well worth trying, particularly if you can get it over a school of fish that haven't been pounded too badly with heavy gear or lead-loaded flies.

Les Johnson