Nice suprise on Puget Sound Sunday

[David Weitl]

Title: Re: First Popper with Success!

I have recently been on the saltwater using my newly-repaired 19’ Starcraft fishing for salmon (using downriggers and hoochies—no bait though!). It has been nice being on the water so much in the past week. The days have been incredible.   Yesterday was particularly interesting. On my way back to Kingston from the shipwreck/Norma Beach area (between Edmonds and Mukilteo), I wanted to fish the cove just north of Apple Tree Point as I marked a lot of fish and bait the day before while fishing with my two boys. We hooked a lot of ‘shakers’ that were mostly immature Chinook, but were fun for the kids to reel in.   As I approached the cove around 4pm, I noticed a few mist clouds that are the tell-tale sign of whales. Sure enough, a pretty good sized pod of Orcas must have also spotted some fish on their sonar system and they were busy working the cove for salmon. It was actually a pretty large pod of perhaps as many as a dozen or more whales including a couple of larger bulls. They were there for more than an hour and didn’t show any signs of leaving by the time I finally drove off. It was great to see the whales in the Sound again. I interpret the presence of the Orcas as a positive sign of a healthy salmon population.   I did try and fish a little when I thought the pod was heading back out, only to see them turn and come back into the water I was fishing. As I pulled up and reeled in I caught a nice salmon just under the surface (while reeling in). It turned out to be a very fat Chinook of about 24 in. Would have been great on the fly rod. Next trip out I am taking the fly rod to see what I can get near the surface. The shakers are a pain with downriggers and terminal gear, but will be fun on a 5-wt. or 6-wt.   - Dave   David Weitl Northwest Realty Advisors, Inc. 3380 NE Rova Road Poulsbo, WA  98370 (360) 779-3802 (360) 779-1467 fax [EMAIL PROTECTED]