[Steelhead]

Millions slimers are forecast to return to Washington state this season. That's a million reasons to skip work, ditch the kids, neglect your significant other and spend time on the water trying to trick a fish to eat something pink... or green or anything.

Things to expect this year:

1. 2x the amount of Fukushima radiation!
2. Crowds at your favorite top secret Point No Lincoln coho beach
3. Daily prizes from Orvis using the hashtag #orvispinkbuzzbombaward

****To enter be sure to post a picture of you and your pink salmon with no less than one middle finger in the photo. Be sure to use the above hashtag to qualify. ****

I leave you with the grand prize winner from last season. Recipient of a brand new used pink buzzbomb and Sage X 890.

#orvispinkbuzzbombaward

*orvis is the name of my dog and is in no way affiliated to Orvis Fly Fishing so definitely don't send Orvis Bellevue's social media dm's

 

[Go Fish]

If only they didn't taste like shit.

 

[Thrasybulus]

Will there be a pink salmon saltwater season?

 

[chrome/22]

#savepinksfromextinction

 

[J3000]

#savepinksfromextinction

I think you mean PINKSTINKTION.

 

[4sallypat]

I love eating pinks - very mild tasting salmon.

I can't stand the taste of sockeye - very harsh and strong tasting...

 

[Poopy McButtfart]

This will be my first season without pinks in my own back yard (moved away from Pugetropolis). Hopefully I'll have a chance or two to come up and get stinky. I'll miss fishing for them every day.

 

[joellirot]

My son is 6 now. I can't wait to take him out this fall for pinks! I'll have to get the smoker going. That's really the only way I can eat humpys. They're pretty good smoked. The flavor isn't so bad - they're just too mushy for me.

 

[SaltyTippet]

This year is all about Wilderness Pinks for me and by that I mean hiking into some remote locations on Vancouver Island where there are 8 to 10 pound bulldog pinks and finding some vacant estuaries and beaches and hopefully going after some springs and a few early coho as well.... but going to bump elbows with everyone at one of the canal beaches on the way to and from Vancouver Island to be sure....

 

[blackbird]

The haters got an early start but the enthusiasts are gaining strong.
This should be entertaining.

I am enthusiast. Pink salmon fishing on the fly in the salt is great fun for an inland guy like me.

And pink fresh from the salt and eaten the same day is as good or better than a variety of anadromous fish caught way inland.

Jay

 

[Chucker]

Still a long time til the slimers get here. I'll be ready when they do.

That is, IF they show up and if the state can negotiate a season

 

[TDB]

BOLD PREDICTION: We'll get to fish for em.

The Sage X 890 needs to be properly broken in.

 

[Steelhead]

BOLD PREDICTION: We'll get to fish for em.

The Sage X 890 needs to be properly broken in.

This years grand prize will be a pink Sage XXX rod.

 

[Steelhead]

7 months til pinkpocolypse 2017

 

[skyrise]

i have too many "pink" fly patterns to list now. every 2 years i go on a pink salmon craze of tying almost anything that comes in my head. then they sit there for a year until another odd year craze comes along again.

 

[Steelhead]

Resident coho will probably like your pink flies.

 

[SilverFly]

I'm in my 50's and still haven't gotten any pink! Depending on when the said slimers arrive in force, I might be persuaded to head north with anyone in the SWW / greater PDX area. Tuna still take precedence though (gotta have priorities!)

 

[Porter]

Pink Season - 6 weight heaven!

 

[Smalma]

Silverfly -
Be sure to check this site or elsewhere before heading north for pinks this summer!

The history of pinks in Puget Sound is pretty interesting with escapement estimates for some basins going back to at least 1959. From that point through the later half of that century pinks were largely a north Sound run with dominate runs in the Skagit, Stillaguamish and Snohomish where the combined escapements often were in the 1/2 to nearly 1 million range. On the rivers to the south they were not nearly numerous; the Green and Nisqually had the occasional stray and the Puyallup and Dungeness typically had escapements in the 10,000 to 20,000 range.

Things changed dramatically in the new century starting in 2001 where there significant increases on the Stillaguamish and Snohomish and smaller increases on the Skagit and for the first time significant numbers showed up in the Green. By 2003 the escapements on the Green were often in the 1 million range. Larger numbers showed up on the Puyallup in 2005 (with escape since in the 1/2 to 1 million range). The Nisqually did not experience a significant increase in 2011 (with escapements in the 3/4 million). The pink explosion did not hit the Dungeness until 2013.

2015 was not a good year (at least by this century standards) for Puget Sound pinks as a whole. The aggregate escapements of the Skagit, Stillaguamish, Snohomish, Puyallup, and Nisqually was only 1.27 Million compared to 4.47 million in 2013. The 2015 escapement was further compromised by the small size of the spawners. The fecundity of those fish (based on information from the Hoodsport hatchery) was only 35% of the previous two cycles.

Hopefully the low escapements in 2015 were driven by the impacts from the warm blob of the coast and we see rebound of pink numbers typically in recent years and not a continued slide to pre-2001 levels.

As I said the Puget Sound situation is interesting with lots of uncertainty.

Curt

 

[Steve Saville]

My personal observation has been that the '05 and '07 seasons were the "best" for the runs but since have dwindled due to weather conditions. I was primarily a beach fisherman for pinks and the weather has been so hot during the summer months that the beaches heat up on the outgoing tide. When the tide comes in, the water warms and the resultant heating reduces the oxygen. The fish stay out in the deeper, cooler water. Two years ago this happened and then in the early part of the run we had about three or four days of rain (unusual for August). The fish made their break almost immediately and the beach fishing was down. Guys in the rivers like the Puyallup had a banner year.

All that being said, I have no "scientific" evidence that proves that. However, I do fish for pinks and have eaten them many times. I would advise those to take care of the fish immediately and put them on ice. And by the way, for the haters, you don't eat the slime. The flavor is mild and the flesh is softer but if taken care of and cooked properly they can be quite tasty; not in the sockeye or king class but tasty, nevertheless. You catch and eat what is available.