After all the snow, ice, and wind events we’ve had in the Puget Sound area lately, I finally made it out to fish for Blackmouth in Puget Sound. I had heard some recent good reports in Marine Area 10, so we decided to target fishing near Kingston. Marine Area 10 has been open since the start of the year and has just started to produce Blackmouth.
2020 Salmon seasons have been released as the North of Falcon process concludes. While the biggest headline and disappointment is the loss of most of the winter blackmouth season in 2020-2021, it may only be a one year setback. Summer chinook seasons have a slightly higher quota. Everything kicks off on June 1st with the opening of the Marine Area 10 coho season.
My final update to this post is a link to the 2021 Puget sound salmon season post just released.
Puget Sound salmon fishing has tailored off significantly as coho runs are fully in the rivers (some runs like the Puyallup are basically over). Chum are now making their way through Puget Sound, but there is some bad news on that front we will dive into.
I’m sure you’ve heard something about the Marine Area 11 Salmon 2019 Season Opener at this point but are probably curious on what is the truth of how it went and what it means for the rest of the season.
We were out there on the water and will share everything we observed while on the water and what we learned later on compiling the various reports to equip you with everything you need to know.
Unfortunately, almost all the news on setting the 2019 Salmon Seasons is bad. Yes, there are more coho this year than in previous years. Yes, we need to do our part for conservation purposes and the SRKW situation, but some of the season cuts don’t quite make sense to me.
Anyone who has fished for Puget Sound salmon has no doubt heard of (or experienced) the “good old days”. We’ve all heard the many theories about what has happened to the great abundance of fish.
I just recently finished reading a fantastic book on the history of Puget Sound salmon runs that is a must read for anyone interested in what has happened to these great runs of fish that once made Puget Sound the center of all salmon fishing and more importantly to glean insights about where we are going.
NWSportsmanmag.com covered the North of Falcon Salmon forecast reveal with a great article outlining what to expect. You never know exactly what to expect, but based on some of the macro trends we’ve been following, the forecast isn’t a huge surprise. I’m personally excited about a few of these forecasts
Chasing salmon in the winter time in Marine Area (MA) 13 and 11 required navigating some windy conditions, but ultimately yielded the rewarding experience of hooking into winter blackmouth on light tackle.
I got the opportunity to fish aboard my friends boat up in the San Juan’s and I was happy to drive the 2.5 hours to make it happen. I’ve only been able to make it out up there a few times, but the scenery and experience never lets me down. The fishing for fish can be pretty awesome at times as well.