WDFW Crunching Puget Sound King Catches After 3-day Opener

Puget Sound Chinook anglers should know soon whether they’ll have another July go at the marked fish after last week’s opener “saw plenty of effort and catch,” particularly in Admiralty Inlet.

WDFW reported on its blog that staffers are working on catch estimates for the concurrent July 18-20 fishery held on Marine Areas 7, 9, 10 and 11 and says it “should be available by Tuesday (July 23) afternoon and a decision could be announced as soon as Wednesday on what marine areas may possibly reopen on July 25–27.”

Marine Area 9 saw “a record angler turnout and number of fish sampled by WDFW fish checkers,” the agency posted, and also noted that Area 7 effort was “high” as well.

Raw creel checks for the three days show 1,053 Chinook for 2,537 Area 9 anglers interviewed at public ramps from Port Townsend to Kingston to Everett to Seattle. The figures would not include catches for fishermen mooring at private marinas. This year’s harvest quota for Admiralty Inlet is 3,900.

Areas 7, 10 and 11 are also operated under harvest quota as well as other guidelines.

The July mark-selective Chinook opener from the San Juans down through Admiralty Inlet, Seattle and Tacoma was aligned this year “to spread out angling pressure.” It essentially forces anglers to decide on one marine area, or bordering ones, instead of spending early July in the San Juans, midmonth in Area 9 and late July in Central and South Sound.