Marine Area 9: Fishin' Just Fine!

[Nelly]

Hey Odie, we were on Possession Bar today when the big one bit

[Nelly]

Back at it this morning and there was a solid daylight bite to had!

The Outdoor Line donated a fundraising trip to the NMTA (Northwest Marine Trade Association) the good people that bring us the Seattle Boat Show and the Northwest Salmon Derby Series.

The generous folks who bought the trip should be enjoying a nice chinook dinner tonight!

Robert Fiala Jr. caught his first salmon today and his father Robert Fiala Sr. is happy he made a donation to the NMTA!

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Coyote flashers and 3.5 spoons dressed with Pro-Cure Krill-Anise Gel were the gear of the day.

We found our fish in the bait and we found bait in our fish too!

[Nelly]

Without question, we are looking at the final week of the Area 9 season. With MA10 closing tomorrow there could be a few more boats competing for the hatchery chinook.

Fortunately, there are still some fish to be had as evidenced by this dandy held up by Joe Dickerson while his son Caleb grins for the camera!

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Larger bait, -and therefore larger gear- have been our key to consistent action. Here's a 3.5 spoon and a OG-sized hoochie which is a pretty fair size match for the herring we pulled out of the king pictured above

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Get out there guys! This is our last summer weekend of chinook fishing in Puget Sound!

[Nelly]

A fairly quick limit today aboard Great White!
With the days getting a little shorter, we have a better opportunity to get gear in the water as dawn breaks and that gives us a chance to run some glow finishes on our flashers and lures.

Joining me on the "dawn patrol" today was James Safronek of Evinrude and his wife Shelley who are all smiles holding up the boat limit!

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Luhr Jensen's Glow/Double UV Coyote Flashers with Cop Car Spoons were keeping us busy this morning!

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It looks as if a fresh batch of fish has made it into Marine Area 9 and we could very well be looking at a fast and furious finish!

[spencerw]

Nelly-

Given area 9 remains open in to next week, high tide around the 7am timeframe, where would you coach me to start? East side of the bar?

[Nelly]

Hey Spence,
I absolutely LOVE the ebb tide which follows that high you referenced and the spots that lend themselves are as numerous as they are productive.

The middle of Possession Bar also known as the Tin Shed collects bait and therefore attracts chinook. This is a cross-tide trolling area and you'll find your boat moving sideways but don't let that bother you!

Midchannel Bank has not met expectations this season but if there is bait on the bank, there will be chinook on the ebb!

The most consistent place in the north Sound this season has been Point No Point. This corner of the Kitsap Penninsula is right in the heart of the chinooks migration corridor and the huge amount of feed at No Point causes them to slow down and BITE!!!

The common thread this season has been to find the bait and you'll find the chinook!

The advantage that I've had this season has been the excellent picture I'm getting from the Simrad/Lowrance CHIRP sonar.
I will soon be posting some screen shots detailing the effectiveness of this amazing new sonar technology

[spencerw]

Nelly- really appreciate all the detail! Kind of you to take the time. I'll report back if we have some success. I've spent most of the season on the East/West side of the bar and have got our fish......... but man, you've needed to be extremely patient.

PNP it is come Wednesday.

Cheers to you!

[Nelly]

I've never been a fan of fishing during a full moon phase and this time around it was called a "super moon"

The sun coming up over Whidbey Island was definitely worth a picture with the Daiwa DXS 1062 keeping the slack out of the line while the Cannon DigiTrol 10 is in bottom-track mode.

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By 0710 this morning John Martinis and I had our two fish limit and they were not small!

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Tomorrow is my last day on Marine Area 9 and I just can't believe how fast the last month has flown by!

[tantastic84]

Solid year for you Tom.

Out of my five times on the water trying for Chinook this season, I have only managed to hook up once on a really decent fish....for about 10 seconds. That was on the east side of Possession. Ever since that, I haven't hooked a single fish. I've thrown everything I've got at them to no avail. I have been marking bait but no takers.

Oh well. I've given up on the Chinook and am resting up for coho. Hopefully this year we'll have a run like last when I can limit almost every day we went out. The biggest heart break is, I purchased a bunch of Tomic plugs and now have to put them away until blackmouth season. Waiting......it's the hardest part!

[olympic]

Sorry you haven't had success this summer! Don't forget that Area 11 is still open for kings.......Also, don't be so quick to put away those tomic plugs just yet; silvers will hit those too. I know that hot Coho combo that John Martinis uses is real good, but a few minutes each trip switch out that combo for a 4" or a 5" plug and see what happens.