Out with the old, in with 2011! By Tony Floor Leave a reply
BY TONY FLOOR
The calendar doesn’t lie. Without remorse, 2010 is history and hello, like it or not, meet 2011. I sense time is moving faster now and I’m barely hanging on as there is so much to do on and off the water.
It was only a month ago in this writing, I drew the fishing focus of attention to the winter season opening of the San Juan Islands for hatchery-produced chinook. The opener exploded with chinook salmon catches, throughout the Islands as anglers were blown away with the great fishing. I know, as I was there.
A sport fishing group in Friday Harbor, known as the San Juan Islands chapter of Puget Sound Anglers hosted the first ever Resurrection Salmon Derby, Friday and Saturday, December 3rd and 4th. Are you ready for this? Forty-seven boats entered this first time event and landed 120 fin-clipped, hatchery-produced chinook salmon. That is the definition of hot chinook fishing as it means nearly three chinook salmon per boat! And the fish were quality, with a 19-pounder producing a check for $10,000 for Lance Husby's Team Big Kahuna out of Everett's Bayside Marine. I was impressed. That 19-pounder made my 14 ½ pounder look like a trout. That’s okay. I’m betting mine tasted better based on mass passing out with friends and neighbors around my dinner table. I’m also betting it had nothing to do with the grape juice.
Since the opener in the Islands, fishing has remained hot despite blasts of arctic air coming down the Fraser River, and the monsoon conditions of rain and wind called the Pineapple Express courtesy of the south Pacific. Yes, it’s been tough to get on the water, any water during December in Puget Sound, with the exception of a bathtub. I don’t do bathtubs nor have I ever caught a salmon in a bathtub. Enough said.
Seattle Boat Show coming up January 21-30
Now, with December behind us including the Christmas holiday season, it’s time to start looking ahead to fishing options the next couple of months. Yes, fishing should remain good in the San Juans if you can find a weather window to go during the month of January. I’m looking for a weather break to get in a few days before the big Seattle Boat Show which begins Friday, January 21st running through Sunday, January 30th. Although you won’t hook very many fish inside the show, it is an outstanding venue to listen and learn from some of the best anglers in Puget Sound. If it turns your wheel, click on http://SeattleBoatShow.com and find the fishing seminars, 60 of them, offering the best from the pros. And, there are four 3-hour fishing seminars on each of the weekend days in the morning. Something to think about in January.
I dig the Seattle Boat Show. For me, it’s my beginning of the New Year, checking out new boats, motors, fishing electronics and product to support my passion – fishing for and catching salmon in Pacific Northwest saltwater environments. Nearly 60,000 people visit the Seattle Boat Show coming from 41 of our 50 states. I’ve rarely missed the Show during the last 35 years and when it’s over, I’m invigorated and renewed, ready to take on the water and get outside. New to the Show this year will be a Dungeness crab education center, helping crab fishers be more successful and becoming better educated about the crabbing rules. At last count, there were around a quarter million Dungeness crab sport fishing licenses sold in our state. I think it’s been discovered and rightly so as it’s a lot of fun and they eat pretty good too.
Following the mid/late January Seattle Boat Show, it’s time for the 7th annual Roche Harbor Salmon Classic. A high-end hatchery-produced chinook salmon tournament in the San Juans. This tournament, at $750 scoots per boat (maximum of four anglers per boat) is capped at 100 boats. At this writing, there are only a couple slots open before it’s sold out, which has been the norm for the last several years. Did I hear you whisper recession? Not when it comes to the Roche Harbor Salmon Classic and the best of the best fishing sticks in the Northwest, hanging out at Roche Harbor. Man, I hate this job.
Political wind blowing in Olympia
Finally, on a more sobering note, there is a lot of political wind blowing in Olympia constantly threatening fishing opportunities and our related industry. The Governor has once again called for consolidating the Department of Fish and Wildlife with other natural resource agencies, license fee increases are on the table and expect the Puget Sound commercial crab industry to file suit over the recent allocation shift from the commercial side of the ledger to the sport side. Stay tuned. It never ends.
Welcome to 2011 and another great year to get on the water. I am not one to wait for next week or next month. I am outside living the good life and last time I checked, there was plenty of room to join me. See you on the water.