Northwest Fishing Reports

Do the chum run every year or only on even years?

Every year

Sweet. Thanks. When do they start running? I guess I could google, but Im exhausted and this is easier

Chum.... nasty little critters.....

they will start rearin there ugly heads around the end of September. Fun to catch big fish like that but gawd are they nasty looking. Big ole teeth, damn near need steel leaders

Sunset falls already came across a chum a week or two ago..

We got some really bright chum last year, great for smoking

Remember no chum retention on the sky this year. They wardens will be out looking for people targeting them and writing tickets, even for catch and release. I don't know how many you can cnr before they say your targeting them, but I saw a guy get ticketed a couple years ago.

ResQ wrote:Sweet. Thanks. When do they start running? I guess I could google, but Im exhausted and this is easier

their are summer runs in a few rivers on hood canal and i've seen dark ones in the nisqually in september but usually late october to early december with a really late run in the nisqually in january.

great fighters, so so eaters

catch em fresh from salt and they make decent table fair. But the eggs, well I will properly dispose of those for you. Caught several dime bright fish last year and they were awesome smoked up!

obryan214 wrote:

ResQ wrote:Sweet. Thanks. When do they start running? I guess I could google, but Im exhausted and this is easier

their are summer runs in a few rivers on hood canal and i've seen dark ones in the nisqually in september but usually late october to early december with a really late run in the nisqually in january.

great fighters, so so eaters

Yeah, there are so many summer chum in the Big Q. I accidentally hooked a 15 pounder last year, and it snapped my line, big sucker it was!

I normally don't keep them but the are great to catch. Is there a reason for the change? I have seen very little wardens on the sky. I guess you could agrue you targeting "steelhead"....

spoonman wrote:Remember no chum retention on the sky this year. They wardens will be out looking for people targeting them and writing tickets, even for catch and release. I don't know how many you can cnr before they say your targeting them, but I saw a guy get ticketed a couple years ago.

I don't know they closed it two years ago and you couldn't keep em off your hook. I guess wdfw doesn't want us to have too much fun, one year you get humpies, the next you get chum

Steelheadin360 wrote: Chum.... nasty little critters.....

they will start rearin there ugly heads around the end of September. Fun to catch big fish like that but gawd are they nasty looking. Big ole teeth, damn near need steel leaders

True, but I love a big nasty fish that wants to destroy me (they are mean-looking like a Largemouth Bass, but fight way way harder.) I swear that when I land them they look at me like they'd KILL me if they had the ability. I catch them way low in the river, and they fight HARD, REAL HARD. Destroying most all of the beautiful/delicate coho/steelhead in that regard. I catch and release so the numerous, and user-friendly, Oncorhynchus keta are near the top of my list. I free float jigs, or else I end up foul-hooking a bunch (a potential problem with chums.) 100 hookups for the boat in a weekend (plus sore arms) on ugly fish beats praying for the occasional strike from a beautiful steelhead on the penninsula, in my opinion at least. Use 20 pound leaders. Coho, at least in the Snohomish, might be prettier, but their general smaller size and reputation for shunning lures makes them below the chum in my opinion.....I like gettin' BIT.

Chums are way to much fun on the 6wt to not fish for.

fear_no_fish wrote:Chums are way to much fun on the 6wt to not fish for.

A 6wt, eh....you definitely fear no fish! For big chums I generally use a fighting chair I took off a Marlin boat, backed up by a team of horses (just in case) to haul the beast ashore, and the rod I use is a 600 wt.

By the way, my truck got stolen years ago, and, seriously, how it was found (abandoned) was by a co-worker of mine who saw my "I Fear No Fish" bumper sticker on it, and remembered that was mine.