2013 Salmon SlayRide Derby Nov. 10, 2013

Any thoughts on the wind for that area?  And by that I mean dealing with it?  While it is still far away (weather wise), the forecast is calling for South wind at 16mph and 34mph gusts... I ask cause I'm not sure I know what a sustained wind of 16mph is like in a kayak... and I know I don't know what 34mph gusts do... any info is helpful.  tia.

Any thoughts on the wind for that area?  And by that I mean dealing with it?  While it is still far away (weather wise), the forecast is calling for South wind at 16mph and 34mph gusts... I ask cause I'm not sure I know what a sustained wind of 16mph is like in a kayak... and I know I don't know what 34mph gusts do... any info is helpful.  tia.

I was thinking the same thing.

I fished at John's River Wednesday.  I got a couple bumps but was not able to get the fish to stick.  Back at the launch, it appeared there was an average of one fish per pole coming in.  Here's some thoughts on tides/weather/strategy:

The John's River Launch was crowded.  It appears that DFW has gated off the area that non-trailer pulling trucks could park in, so you need to get there early.  You're supposed to display a Discover Pass to park there.   You can usually sneak past the line of trailers to unload, but may have to walk a ways to parking on the entrance roadside.

On the 28th:
Sunrise is 7:11 AM, so visible light about 6:30ish
High Tide (6.8') is 9:17 AM
Low Tide (3.9') is 2:38 PM

Water:  Most everyone was fishing the south channel, its about 20'-30' deep, from just west of Johns River to several miles east.

Gear:  Everyone I saw was using cannon-ball on dropper, rotating fish-flash, cut plug herring.

Wind:  The wind forecast is usually not very accurate until a day or two ahead of time.  My experience is that wind is mild in the morning and picks up around noon.  Wednesday the wind was from the west, which made the water very choppy on the ebb.  It was pretty much a wet washing machine ride in 10MPH+ west winds riding the ebb tide back to the launch.  If the winds are going to be like forecast this Sunday, over 10 MPH and gusts to 47 MPH, I stay home.  I use the SailFlow app.

Tide:  10' tide when I was out there.  Tide will be less on the 28th, so probably will push you around at about 1.5MPH or less, which should be doable.

It is almost 2 miles up the river channel before you hit the fishing grounds, so allow time both ways.  The best salmon bite seems to be on flood before high tide.  Best to get launched as early as possible.  Get in line to ride the flood east, make more passes as required, ride the ebb back.

Moving up river is an option if the winds are too strong on Saturday. 

I was out there yesterday (Thursday) with winds out of the east at 15 mph and the tide coming in from the west it was a washing machine, like fishing in a surf zone. It calmed down a lot once the tide slacked and the wind died down to 5 to 8 mph. The only way it worked well was to go with the incoming current for a mile in the channel, then head up into the shallows (2 or 3 feet deep) and work back to the starting point.

I agree with Rev, it's not an easy or safe place to fish with any winds of 15 mph or better. Throw some tidal driven currents in the mix and it gets nasty very quickly.

About half the boats got fish yesterday, but no joy for me from the fish. They were using everything from cut plug to whole herring and anchovies, even cut-plug lures. Most were using the fish flash dropper combo, but I did see some diver planes being used too. Just be ready to clean a lot of salad off your rig no matter what you use.

Guessing that closure will affect this?  Hopefully we can move to another location.

Sent from my GD300

Guessing that closure will affect this?  Hopefully we can move to another location.

Sent from my GD300

Closure? 

Or are you referring to where we parked last year.

Changes to salmon fishing in Marine Area 2.2 (Grays Harbor)

Action: Marine Area 2-2 east of buoy 13 line

-   Effective Sept. 22, 2013, release chinook salmon

-   Effective Sept. 23, 2013 through Sept. 28, 2013, CLOSED to salmon fishing

-   Effective Sept. 29, 2013 open until further notice, daily limit 3 salmon; release chinook. Chum retention permitted.

Marine Area 2-2 west of buoy 13 line

-   Immediately until further notice: CLOSED

Effective dates: 12:01 a.m. Sept. 22, 2013, until further notice.

Species affected: Salmon

Location: Marine Area 2-2 (Grays Harbor), Grays Harbor County.

Reasons for action: Catch and sampling information to date, suggests that the amount of effort and recreational harvest of chinook in marine area 2-2 (Grays Harbor) will exceeds per-season expectations with no indication that the run-size is commensurately larger. This action is necessary in order to ensure that a sufficient up-river escapement is achieved to allow other planned fisheries to be maintained to the extent practical while seeking to achieve conservation objectives. There is insufficient time to adopt permanent rules.

Other information: It is anticipated that the salmon fishery will re-open as listed in the Fishing in Washington Sport Fishing pamphlet beginning Sunday Sept. 29, 2013.

Information contact: Mike Scharpf, District Fish Biologist, (360) 249?1205; Kirt Hughes, Region 6 Fishery Manager, (360) 249-1204; Ron Warren, Regional Fish Program Manager, (360)249-1201

f#%ck a big fat duck!  I just got home from work and will look into some other options.  Stay tuned.

Scott

Maybe move it to Sunday the 29th. Or is it not guaranteed to open by then.

I'm sure that WDFW could change their mind on a whim, but I also think that the 29th could be an attractive alternative.

ruh-roh...

So if we move the event to Sunday the 29th, will everybody still be able to attend? We would close the weigh-in to an earlier time.  Everyone that was planning on going, let me know if this will work for you.

Scott

I can make Sunday work

Sent from my GD300

I think I can make it work