Area Nine: Two Schools of Thought. 2

The first local salmon "opener" of 2012 is slated for January 16 in north Puget Sound's Marine Area 9. This huge piece of water encompassing Admiralty Inlet features some of Washington State's premier salt water salmon locations, namely Possession Bar, Point No Point and Midchannel Bank. On a chart or on the water, "A9" can be a vast, intimidating area. Add some wind or fog to the mix and there is something here to challenge even the saltiest of salmon anglers. So for the novice or the old salt, here's one plan of attack to put you on the track for some early season success on one of my favorite areas.

Here's whats on tap starting January 16 on good 'ol A9. Winter chinook or "blackmouth" up to and well beyond the 30" mark

Two schools of thought are held here in A9 so for simplicity let's call them the "Upstream" Theory and the "Downstream" Theory. Puget Sound's tides are termed "diurnal" describing the characteristic of having two high tides and two low tides in a 24 hour period. That's a lot of water moving and playing the currents is your direct path to consistent success.

Very simply, upstream anglers will be found on the side of structure that the current is flowing into and downstreamers will fish the side of structure that current is flowing away from. I find myself dipping a toe into both schools of thought.

For example, Possession Bar extends from Whidbey Island into Admiralty Inlet and right into Possession Sound's tidal current cauldron. An ebb tide flows east to west and you'll find me on either the east bar or the middle bar or "Tin Shed" area adhering to the upstream school of thought.
On the other hand, when I'm out on Area 9's northwestern edge at Midchannel Bank, I go with the flow, starting my troll at Marrowstone Point on the ebb and ride the tide towards Point Wilson. It's common practice to fish with the current at Midchannel bank but since you start the troll at Marrowstone as the tide is running from it you're taking a page from the downstreamer's book.

Learn to turn the tide to your advantage and you'll have to make room in your fishbox! It's gonna get crowded in there!

What depths do we wish to target? Look to fish flats around 100 to 150 feet of depth keeping your gear right on the bottom at all times. One of the ways we accomplish this is to keep an eye on our Lowrance chartplotter/sonar and the Cannon STX Digitroll 10 does the rest! Here's a video of the Cannon Downrigger in Bottom Track mode.

Terminal Gear choices are as close as a trip to SilverHorde.com and include some old, productive standards such as the Coho Killer White Lightning

The Kingfisher Lite 3.5 "Yellow Tail"

Don't forget to pack along the "usual suspects" assortment of hoochies as well.

Area 9 is nothing short of a local gem that provides a solid, local opportunity right through April 30! We'll be keeping you up to date on this fishery and keep an eye on our Fishing Reports page as well! Good luck and we'll you on the water!

Tom Nelson
The Outdoor Line
710 ESPN Seattle
www.theoutdoorline.com