Anyone catching pinks on the Snohomish river yet?

I'm thinking of taking the kayak out for salmon for the first time today, likely putting in at Cady park in Snohomish. Anyone catching pinks in the Snohomish yet and have a better suggestion of where to put in? Any tips on gear/tide/timing?

I know some folks that have been catching some. Not a lot holding in spots from what I understand. Having to find a school and follow it. I plan on putting in at Rotary park this Sunday morning and riding with the incoming up river until it changes about 9:30am then work my way back.

Went out for a while tonight, from about 6:00 to about 7:30. I tried pink maribou jigs and pink hoochie jigs and never got a single hit. I also didn't see anyone else catch a fish. I only saw about half a dozen roll during that entire time. The small talk there at the Cady Park boat launch mostly centered around the pinks still being farther downriver. I might have to try somewhere else in the next few days.

On the bright side, I'm calling my first time out in the kayak chasing salmon a success. I purposefully chose that spot right there at Snohomish where there's a lot of boat traffic, and the combination of that and the wind/current wasn't nearly as much of an issue as I was expecting it to be. My kayak is not the widest or the most stable, but I never felt worried. I'm not ready for surf launches or anything yet, but it's nice to have more confidence and experience than I had from fishing only in lakes.

That is what I understand too, most fish are between Ebey Slough and the Hwy 9 bridge still, that why I think I will try putting in at Rotary and riding the tide in up towards the bridge, then work my way back with the outgoing tide. I have a Hobie Pro Angler 14, not the best platform to try and fight the current in.

I just looked up Rotary Park here. It says that it costs $7 to launch a boat there unless you have the $89 yearly pass. Is that the same cost for kayaks, too?

Edit: I also emailed the Everett recreation department to ask if the charge applies to a kayak transported without a trailer. Ashley replied (in only 40 minutes!) that there is no charge for parking there to walk the trail or carrying a kayak down to the water. The charge is only for launching a boat. That leaves a bit of gray area for using the boat ramp to launch a kayak on a cart, but from a practical enforcement perspective I think the evaluation factor is going to be whether a trailer is used and then parked in the parking lot.

I went out last night from Rotary Park to scout the area out. I didn't get in the water until just after 7:00PM, but I saw more fish rolling there and found a few likely places that they will congregate. I only got one hit casting a pink rooster tail and nothing on pink maribou jigs or pink hoochie jigs. As I was putting the kayak in the water, I talked to a power boater who had caught one pink, but no one else I talked to had caught any. I think we're still a little early for them, but as new as I am to this I want to get in some scouting and experience before the bite comes on hard. Hopefully the pinks will help me polish my skills up a bit for the cohos that come later.

I'm going to try to get back out this evening or tomorrow morning, and may try floating a jig also. Rotary Park is definitely a much better place to launch than Cady Park down in Snohomish.

It sounds like the morning bite is much better than the evening. I try and time tides too, put in as close to low tide as I can, fish move in with the tide, then start moving up as the tide starts going back out. I like to head up to around the hwy 9 bridge then work back down and the current start going back out, anchoring up wherever I see activity. Pink 3/8 ounce jigs or little pink or frog pattern dick nite spoons.

Oh and most fish will be just about on bottom too. Want to get the jig or spoon right near bottom.

I went out this morning finally caught a salmon (two actually)! 

I put in at about 6:30am at Rotary Park and rode the tide up the river a bit. I still hadn't had any bites jigging 3/8 oz pink hoochie jigs near the bottom by the time high tide came around 8:00. Just after that, though, I saw a lone fish rolling and heading upriver. I thought it couldn't hurt to throw the 3/8 oz jig over in front of it, as there might be more under it. As soon as the jig hit the water, the fish disappeared. I thought I had spooked it and decided to "quick twitch" the jig back to the boat and go back to jigging deep. I got about four quick twitches in and BAM, the fish hit the jig. I had my first salmon hooked! It fought pretty well but I had it to the boat within 30 to 40 seconds. Just as I decide to grab for my net, evidently the fish saw the kayak and exploded into a reel screaming run, followed by a few more. After a good three more anxiety-ridden minutes of me trying to be as careful as I could to keep the fish from throwing the hook, I had it in the net. The two boats that I had passed on my sleigh ride all cheered, and a lady in one of them said that was really exciting seeing me sight cast at that rolling fish and then have it drag me around in my kayak.

I picked up another hen about 20 minutes later sight casting at a lone rolling fish, and either it was not nearly as strong or I was just better prepared, as I had it in the net within a minute or so. After no bites and no rolling fish visible for the next hour, I headed back to the boat ramp. My first ever salmon were both hens and both were just over 20" long. The first, that pulled me around a bit, was 4lb 10oz and it was bright and shiny. The second was 4lb 5oz, and was a bit worse for wear already for just having started the journey up the river.

Nice! Congrats on your fish. I think I am finally going to get out there Tuesday. I like Rotary for launching because of the tides, and when it's low not a lot of boats can launch there, plus plenty of parking. The fee sucks, but that is what it is.

I went back out again last night, and was on the water by about 6:00 and was off again by 8:00 or so. As I was launching, a guy mentioned that things were "slow" as he and his fishing partner came back in empty-handed. Since I was on the water around low tide, there was definitely no magic hour like there has been after high tide recently. I did pick up one 20" 4lb 13oz hen about 30 minutes in jigging just off the bottom, but never got another bite the entire time between deep jigging and sight casting to the very few rolling fish that I saw. I didn't see any other boats catch fish and didn't see any of those fishing from shore have any luck either.

The times don't seem to be working out for me to be on the water at high tide anymore this week and I'm doing family stuff all weekend. Anyone got advice for increasing my odds a bit when I'm not lucky enough to be fishing around high tide?

I haven't gotten out yet but it seems that fish are making it further up based on reports I've read.  Saturday is the earliest I can get out (if I'm lucky) but it will probably be pretty busy.  Cady park is a nice option since most pb are using the new ramp up the river. 

This site has been helpful to me.  I won't even bother launching on low tide with a flow of more than 10000 cf. 

https://waterdata.usgs.gov/wa/nwis/uv/?site_no=12150800&PARAmeter_cd=00060,00065

I was out Tuesday launched from the new ramp in Snohomish. Tide was completely out, right at low slack. We got in to 6 fish and lost another 5. Don't give up because of low tide, just don't be stubborn about one spot, move with the fish, they are there. Early morning to about 10am seems best. I'll be back out Saturday.

I've been out a couple more times and have only gotten one or zero fish each time. The last time was on Wednesday evening from about 6:00 to dark. I put the kayak in at the new boat ramp just up the river from Snohomish and fished mostly in the area of the bridge near the ramp. There were multiple times that I saw fish rolling and there was a few times that I saw lots of fish on the fish finder, but I never got a single bite fishing primarily with a pink hoochie jig and a pink spinner tossed at rolling fish occasionally. I only saw two other fish caught over the two hours. Those fish were caught during times that the powerboats weren't roaring through, which is similar to times that I have caught fish or seen fish caught over the past couple of weeks. Are there any good spots a bit farther up the river that I should consider putting in, preferably where there may be less power boat traffic and less of a wait to take my kayak out of the water when I'm done fishing.

This week I was out on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday. Monday and Wednesday I limited pretty quickly, but Thursday it was quiet. I pedaled down below the hwy 9 bridge each day. Thursday I heard it was good upstream a bit by the island. No other launches until Monroe on the Sky I believe. Not sure about any other spots that someone can put in. I've been using God's Tooth Spoons with good success. It is slowing down though now not many more fish are pushing in and it was a really small run of pinks for the Snohomish. Still fish to be caught though. Unless I hear of improvement I am going to wait a few weeks then start after Coho.