July has been going pretty well, and there are some indications that we may see some big kings taken this fall. Pier fishing and trolling at the mouth of the river for steelhead was very productive with cooler than normal water temps until recently. Alewives have been plentiful, and pier anglers have done well when using them for bait. Boat anglers have had the option to fish shallow for the steelhead or fish for lake trout in 100 – 140 FOW. When the conditions have been right offshore, some nice steelhead and the occasional four-year king have been taken on spoons fished on copper and lead core lines while the downriggers and wire diver rigs have been tapping bottom looking for Lakers.
Lake trout fishing has been very good so far this season with decent numbers of fish coming from within 10′ of bottom in 100 to 140 FOW. Dodgers or Spin Doctors with Spin’N’Glo’s trailing 14″ to 30″ behind the attractor have been very effective. The new chrome and glow WhirlyGigs behind 8 and 10” Spin Dr’s from Dreamweaver have been taking a lot of fish as well. Look for this fishery to remain strong all season as trout will remain as long as they keep finding food. Kings are starting to show up in even greater numbers as they begin to hone in on the rivers they intend to run. Fish up to 20 pounds have been fairly common so make sure your tackle is in good shape before heading out. Meat rigs will be solid producers early in August with glow plugs like the Ace High from Silver Horde and others like the J-Plug getting hotter as we get further into the month. Another consistent combo to keep in the water is the 11″ White Paddle trailing an Oceana fly early and late in the day. Swap this out with your favorite meat rig later in the morning when the kings get a little more finicky. As a final thought for August, look for some great coho fishing to develop as they’ve been relatively plentiful and they’re running nearly twice the size they’ve been the last few seasons. If you’re marking fish up in the warm water, make sure to run some plugs up there early in the day as those are often mature coho and kings, and while the bite will be short, it can be very fast. Good luck and a have a great August!
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