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Hood Canal Chum Salmon Fishing There is a good run of fall Chum Salmon in Hood Canal because the WDFW has been raising Chum in the Hood Canal & Skokomish hatchery which are situated at the lower, southern hook area of the canal. These Chum are raised mainly for the commercial netters, but the sport fishermen have found they can catch some also if they diversify. WDFW says that the yearly Chum run in Hood Canal is over 1 million fish, & that it is underfished by sportfishermen. This is probably because some sport fishermen think Chum were raised mainly for the commercial netters & that the table quality is not equal to other Salmon, which is untrue unless they are taken so close to the spawning beds that they have deteriorated. For a long time it was thought Chum could not be readily caught on sport gear. Also, it takes a while to perfect the technique of sportfishing for catching them. When: These fish may start to move in about mid October. By the end of October you should see more coming thru, & by the middle of November the run is in full swing, and can last up into December. These fish have to funnel down the canal past the floating bridge. The bridge is the boundary between WDFW marine area 9 & 12. One WDFW fish biologist said that Chum swim in the top section of the water when migrating, & therefore many of them seem to be confused & slowed down by the floating bridge. The fish will swarm thru when the bridge is opened for the nuclear subs to pass thru. If the season is open in area 9, it may be beneficial to fish north of the bridge, early to mid part of the season. It may take 2-3 weeks for the bulk of them to move down the canal from the bridge to the hatcheries at the southern end. The town of Hoodsport Community Assn. puts on a Chum Derby usually the 2nd week-end of November. Where: Fish can be caught about anywhere in WDFW marine area 12, which is the canal south of the bridge. They will be contained in the canal, as this water body is a long & narrow section & they can not stray, plus they are heading south to the hatcheries & home. The main concentration of fish will be encountered south of Ayock Point & in Annas Bay at the "Great Bend" & near the hatcheries, to the mouth of the Tahuya River. The Hood Canal Hatchery is right off hiway 101, in the town of Hoodsport.
Tide: The tide here is not really the issue
as it is elsewhere, but most fishermen seem to prefer the incoming tide & up
thru to the start of the outgoing. The bank fishers/waders have a better shot
at it from low tide up to mid part of the incoming tide. The high tides seem to
bring the fish closer to the shore & into the rivers. Boat Fishing: The boat fishing may be divided into 4 separate groups. (Group 1) This type of boat fishing will be from a anchored boat in shallow water, usually near the mouth of the river at the hatcheries. There will be many bank fishermen here, so the plan is to anchor outside of them in the channel. Most fishermen will cast a green corky, spin-glo & or yarn just like they would for Steelhead. You could also use a spinner, fished the same way. (Group 2)
Until recently, most chum Salmon were caught by salt water anglers actually
fishing for different types of Salmon. Standard mooching techniques will catch
an occasional chum Salmon. However, the odds go up if an angler focuses on areas
of known chum concentrations, and fishes a small herring bait very slowly. This bait rig is used under a float either from a boat anchored up-current of a concentration of fish, or by letting the boat drift through holding areas and casting the float and bait out from the boat. Either way, when the bobber goes down hook-ups are almost automatic, which makes this a great way for kids or neophyte anglers to fish. In the right circumstances fantastic chum fishing will result. If you get nothing, on the drift, slowly reel it in and start over. One thing he has found is that the fish are spooky, so don't drop an anchor with a big splash, or run right thru a school of these fish if you expect to catch many there soon. Greg has had many 10 to 25 fish (released) days with this technique, both in south Puget Sound and in Hood Canal. For more detailed information see an article by Greg Cloud "Real Chum Fun" in the October/November 1999 issue of Salmon Trout Steelheader Magazine. (Group 3) Many boats fishing here may be trolling. First off, troll slow and with the tide, use a 2 oz mooching sinker and a small green spoon, Spi-N-Glo, etc. These fish tend to be in the upper 30' of water, and many times right on the surface and near shore. These boats tend to stay close to the hatchery, trolling either north or south of the hatchery near shore. For those of you who have to use a downrigger, the word is to use a green or chartreuse squid 40" behind a green flasher. (Group 4) Fishing in marine waters near the mouths of spawning or hatchery streams can be very productive. The best known of these nearshore fisheries occurs every year in the vicinity of the Hoodsport Salmon Hatchery in southern Hood Canal. Sport anglers found that with several hundred thousand hatchery chum Salmon returning each year, phenomenal chum fishing was available at the hatchery in November. At first, anglers clustered at the hatchery outlet, but the crowds soon overwhelmed the capacity of the area. Chum anglers have branched out and have found less crowded, but still productive, chum fishing all along the south end of the canal. Many anglers now find productive areas by fishing from boats. Most other fishermen who are used to other Salmon fishing probably use a downrigger, however fishing the shallow depth these Chum are usually found in, a diver will also do well, however make it greenish in color. Troll slow, as this is the key to successful chum harvest, you just want that flasher to slip-slide back and forth, try to not even get a roll. Trolling for this group will be from the hatchery to the mouth of the Skokomish River & out toward the Tahuya River. The Hoodsport Hatchery is on Hood Canal. There is a special Hoodsport Hatchery sport fishing zone within 2,000 feet of the mouth of Finch Creek (see the current Sport Regulation Pamphlet) Chum seem to prefer the color green, whether it is a fly, spoon, spinner, yarn or a combination thereof. Therefore if you have to use a downrigger, hang a green glow Hot Spot with a green Grand Slam Bucktail, squid, Coyote or Coho Killer spoon, or maybe even a green Apex plug. You could also add some green yarn on the lures, if your little heart desires. Also you can use a dark purple or chartreuse 3.5" squid behind a flasher with long 50# leader 36 to 42 inches. If you run herring behind a dodger or flasher, fish the smallest whole herring you can get your hands on. Here is also a place to hang on a Fish Flash attractor in green color about 12" behind a diver. There has not been enough secrets shared yet to be sure that scent does any good, but a some sources say use herring or shrimp scent. These fish tend to run in schools, so if you catch one, go back & try that location again. Watch the surface for jumping & fining fish. If you are using a downrigger snap your gear on about a fathom apart the more the better, use as many as your boat will carry. Schooling chums like lots of flashers. You can actually get the entire school to follow you on a straight tack if your speed is right. Some say Chum seem to be moody at times, however it may be that they run in schools & you just have to find them. They seem to have somewhat of a soft mouth, so don't put a lot of pressure on them, play them out before trying to net them. Where to Launch: There are a few to choose from in this area, but the main ones will be as follows. (1) Hood Canal Recreational Park near the
Tacoma Public Utilities powerhouse & operated by them. A good
Bank Fishing: There is a closure at the entrance of the hatchery, so be sure to read & understand it's boundaries. I have tried to interpret these closure regulations at this hatchery, & have trouble understanding it. I asked a fish checker there & apparently what it means is that you can NOT fish Salmon in fresh water, but only SALT WATER. So in essence how I now understand it is that you can stand on the bank & cast into salt water. You CAN NOT turn around & cast into fresh water if you are near the stream. But as the tide comes in the shoreline changes so that saltwater will later be all the way up to the bank. I have seen on a low incoming tide, the stream being narrow & shallow, Salmon swim between fisherpersons legs if they were standing in the stream channel. But they can not touch these fish, much less kick a stranded wriggling one back into the water. Varied fishing techniques are used in Hood Canal and other near-shore areas, including drift bobber and yarn, flies, spoons, and spinners. The herring and float technique described above has proven particularly effective. For more detailed information on a variety of near-shore fishing techniques see "Chum City", an article by Tony Dunnington in the October/November 1999 Salmon Trout Steelheader Magazine.
Most of this fishing will take place near the
Hood Canal Hatchery at Finch Creek. There is limited parking at the hatchery.
The term bank fishing here may be misleading as you really need chest waders.
For a newby to this type of fishing, it is interesting to walk out past the
ponds at the hatchery & just stand there on the catwalks & get an education. There is another place you can bank fish also, it is called
Entai Creek, it is south of Potlatch State Park. You'll see lots of cars
parked there. What most people here use it seems, is a black corkie and green
or chartreuse yarn. Some fishermen will use flies and spinners. And the
snaggers like buzz bombs!! There are places along the lower canal where you
will see a school of them jumping and fining from along the road, you can stop
and fish there also. These areas are sometimes called "Combat fisheries" as they are usually very crowded, & if you don't tie your fish to your belt, they may disappear by the next time you look. You really do not need explicit directions, as when the fish are in, just look for lots of cars parked along the road & fishermen on the banks or in the water. As with most fish, fresh rain and therefore higher river water cranks up their bite potential.
Care of the Fish After
Landing: These fish are not as firm a
fleshed as Chinook or Coho, prime saltwater caught fish are fine table fare.
As the spawning season approaches they start to darken up, but when caught in
saltwater they are usually in good enough condition to be well worth taking
home. The above fish were taken just below the Hoodsport hatchery in the mouth
of Finch Creek. Chum do not travel far up the small rivers or creeks to spawn,
so as they get closer to spawning, even though they are still in saltwater, the
flesh deteriorates. The meat of a saltwater bright fish is normally a light
pink, but can change to a gray color & flavor disappears as spawning time
approaches. Hoodsport hatchery phone 360-877-5222 Copyright © 2004-2006 LeeRoy Wisner All Rights Reserved Originated 8-15-04, Last updated
1-06-2006 |
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