Shoreline anglers have until Aug. 31 to fish for pinks and coho salmon in Marine Area 11, which includes all of Vashon Island.
The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) lifted fishing restrictions in the area for those fish earlier this month. Salmon fishing is open daily through Aug. 31, from the shoreline only, for pinks and coho salmon returning to the South Puget Sound.
Angling from a floating device other than a dock or pier attached to shore is prohibited. The daily limit is two salmon, with no minimum size. Anglers must release all Chinook and chum.
Marine Area 11 will reopen for salmon fishing from vessels Sept. 1 – 30, with similar restrictions: Pinks and coho only, a daily limit of two salmon with no minimum size, and Chinook and chum must be released. That doesn’t affect the planned Oct. 1-31 salmon fishery.
The Marine Area 11 summer Chinook fishery began on July 1 and was closed on July 15 due to high sublegal encounters, according to WDFW.
“Re-opening Marine Area 11 in July and August would have led to an early closure of coho, pink, and chum salmon fisheries through the rest of the year due to unmarked Chinook impacts,” WDFW said in an explanation of recent angling restrictions, choosing to reopen “to shore-based fishing only, which allows for coho and pink opportunities without adversely impacting Chinook stocks.”
The Vashon Sportsmen’s Club had to cancel its Frank Matsumoto fishing derby this year, club President Mike Witt said in an email, due to a lack of concrete season dates from WDFW.
It’s been “exceedingly challenging” over the last couple of years to plan the derby, he said.
“The Vashon Sportsmen’s Club supports conservation and certainly understands the last-minute season windows, but the downside of the matter is that it impacts our ability to offer the derby,” Witt said.
Marine Area 11 stretches from the northern tip of Vashon Island to the Tacoma Narrows bridge, covering the waters of the Puget Sound in between. Public fishing piers include the Dockton Park Pier on Maury Island and the Point Defiance Marina Boathouse, a short walk from the Point Defiance ferry terminal.
For full details, visit wdfw.wa.gov/fishing/regulations/emergency-rules.
