Hello everyone, I am a Seattle native who recently moved back to town from Bellingham after graduating from university.

Growing up I spent portions of my childhood and teen years in the Canadian Gulf Islands where I spent most of my time spearfishing, and hook and line fishing for rockfish. Salmon possessed a mystical quality, as I heard stories of family catching them back in “the day”, but never had any luck myself. In hindsight if I’d done a bit of research I probably would have had some success, but alas it wasn’t until last year when on a whim I threw out a jig while camping with friends at deception pass that I landed my first salmon (a pink). It is difficult to overstate how thrilling it was for me at the time, and I was immediately obsessed with honing my casting and jigging skills. I had many incredible mornings down at Deception pass (and even helped some friends get on their first fish too), and by October I was catching coho out of the Nooksack. Moving back to Seattle, and starting my full time job, I no longer have the privilege and freedom to fish all morning before class, nor do I have the repertoire of fishy spots within driving distance of my residence as I did in Bellingham.

I say all of this to bring us to today, which is the beginning of a new chapter for me that I will document on this forum. My goal for this fall is to land one (1) salmon (ideally coho), whether ocean run or resident, casting from shore within 30 minutes of my place. This range will limit me roughly from Picnic Point in the north, to Lincoln Park in the south. I will do this so that I may still reasonably fish in the morning before work. I have no idea how realistic or modest of a goal this is, but as a novice angler it feels like a fun challenge that will get me down to the water. I hope this long exposition wasn’t too obnoxious, and that someone will get joy out of remotely following me along this journey. Old posts on this forum was what made me realize this was even possible, and I want to contribute to that pool of shared knowledge.

With all that preamble out of the way, I’ll go over todays report: I drove to Carkeek Park at first light (6:00am or so) and waded out as far as I could. Low slack (-0.69ft) was at 6:45am. I was casting a chartreuse rotator, and a mirrored green 2in buzz bomb (both with a pink hoochie skirt). I did have some infrequent issues with weeds, but for the most part I could cast and retrieve pretty easily. There was lots of bait activity on the surface near shore, and right around sunrise I saw one probably 3lb chrome fish jump infront of me JUST outside my woefully insufficient casting range. With a better setup, I could have gotten a lure right in-front of it. A pod of dolphins and whale sized sea lion rolled by within a hundred yards of shore while I fished which was a cool bonus. I got one small *maybe* strike a few minutes before the slack, but besides that no action. By 7:15 it seemed like the baitfish had moved on and I decided to head in.

The old high test monofilament line I had on the reel was stiff, brittle, and heavy. I could only get out maybe 20 yard consistently even with the heavier rotator. Priority number one will be getting my spool refilled with some 15lb braid, which had served me very well last year. I’m also looking to pick up some silver and gold #4 size Vibrax spinners. Seems like the chartreuse rotators are the bread and butter for most shore fishermen, though. Tomorrow I will hit the low slack again. Any and all insight and tips are appreciated, maybe I’ll see one of you out there!

Cheers,
Grouse

Aaron

9/5/2022 10:27:59 AM

Welcome Grouse! Thanks for the report!

golsen24

9/5/2022 10:49:22 AM

The SST 8' 6" medium heavy rod should allow you to cast 50-60 yards with a rotator or buzz bomb. That my set up, but I also only use 10lb test line for coho.

Grouse

9/5/2022 11:31:52 AM

Thanks for the tip. I think I’m gonna go with 10# too, actually. Seems like being able to fire the lure way out there is the way to go. Do you use braided line or monofilament? What about a leader?

BentRod

9/6/2022 3:13:43 PM

Welcome to the club! I recommend at least 20# braid...I use 30# myself. You'll find you'll break off a lot of gear (and maybe even a fish) with 10# due to the no-stretch trait. Learn to tie a double-uni or similar braid-to-mono knot and add about 8'-10' of 12# mono to the end of you line, use this to tie on to your lure. This will allow you to break off just the mono if you get snagged or if the fish breaks you off and prevents braid from being left behind in the environment. Best of luck...this time of year the Coho are out there, but don't overlook that they're returning to our rivers too, so those are also options for catching salmon.

The Quadfather

9/5/2022 10:49:39 AM

Welcome Grouse, and thanks for your intro.
I live right up from Carkeek. You can pick off Coho from the beach there, when things line up. Sone days are better and some not, regarding the eel grass. Look forward to your reports.

Grouse

9/5/2022 11:22:35 AM

I’m happy to see you’re still active on the forum! I read through all of your old reports from Carkeek while I was researching this past week, which was actually what inspired me to write some reports myself. Keeping my expectations modest in terms of productivity, but its a great place to watch the sun come up.

Grouse

9/5/2022 11:29:59 AM

Thanks for the tip. I think I’m gonna go with 10# too, actually. Seems like being able to fire the lure way out there is the way to go. Do you use braided line or monofilament? Also, if you have any strong opinions on leaders I’d love to hear em’!

The Quadfather

9/5/2022 6:21:59 PM

I 2nd the 10lb braid.
I like the Vibrax in-line spinner with chrome blades over gold blades.

Go out there, early AM. Get your Zen moment on. Then turn around when the Sounder train goes by. See all the commuters going to work. Stop, pause, and be grateful for being on the beach. (-:

pgfrmr

9/6/2022 10:07:09 AM

Grouse, Here's another idea of a set up for beach fishing salmon or steelhead. I used to use it back in the day when the rivers were blown out and the salt was the only place to fish. Spin n glo with a hoochie skirt. Tie set up in this order from bottom of leader up. Hook or hooks, appropriately sized beads to separate hooks from hoochie, then hoochie, bead, and finally spin n glo. 2-3 feet of leader, swivel w/ some type of weight, then tied to mainline. Weight can be any type but I used pencil lead on dropper or surgical tubing off 3 way swivel. A large slip egg sinker would work also.
Cast out as far as you can and retrieve all the way back to beach. Some strikes will be right at your feet! Watch for followers on the retrieve. Vary retrieve speed and depth but stay close to bottom. Used this technique a lot on the Whidbey beaches back in the day. Good luck!

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