Minter Creek Coho and chum

  I called Minter creek hatchery, the guy said they were expecting about 14-15,000 retuning silvers this year. You need to be 1,000 feet from the creek mouth, it's no fishing in the creek itself.  IT empties into Henderson Bay, near Purdy. And there is a new chum fishery this year, here's the DFW item on that.

OLYMPIA – Beginning Nov. 1, anglers will get their first opportunity ever to fish for chum salmon downstream from the Minter Creek Hatchery on the Longbranch Peninsula near Purdy, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) announced today.

Anticipating a large return of chum salmon to the hatchery over the next two months, the agency will allow anglers to catch four chum salmon per day below the hatchery from Nov. 1 through Dec. 31. All other species must be released.

The open area extends from the mouth of the creek upstream to markers located approximately 50 feet downstream of the Minter Creek Hatchery rack.

"This fishery will be a first for Minter Creek," said Chuck Baranski, WDFW fish biologist. "All indications are that considerably more chum salmon will return to the creek than we need to meet the hatchery escapement goal, and we want to give fishers every opportunity to catch those excess fish."

Last year, 18,000 chum returned to the creek – considerably more than the number needed by the hatchery and for natural escapement, Baranski said. While this year's return is not expected to be quite that high, Baranski said there should be plenty of fish to provide a good fishing opportunity.

"Recreational chum fisheries at the mouths of rivers in Hoodsport and elsewhere in south Puget Sound have proven to be quite popular," Baranski said. "My guess is that Minter Creek will be too."

Baranski said parking and access to the fishery will be available at the Minter Creek Hatchery and that additional fishery information will be recorded on the hatchery phone line, (253) 857-5077.

To reach Minter Creek Hatchery, take State Route 16 to State Route 302. Follow State Route 302 west approximately 4.3 miles, turn south onto 118th Ave. N.W. and follow it approximately one-half mile to Creviston Drive. Turn west onto Creviston and follow it approximately one-half mile to Minter Creek.

 


 

I'm so friggin' there!!! Hopefully the chum won't let us down.

Z

Thanks for the info KT, hope I can make it out there as well.

Rob.

What's new about the Minter Creek Chum?  That fishery has existed forever and there are a lot of chum to be caught.  I've done the creek fishery itself, but would like to hit it from the salt on the outside this year.

Hmm ... perhaps get out there this weekend for some of the cohos?

-Allen

Agreed Allen, I don't know what they are talking about - people have been ripping those fish out of that ditch for years.  Chum are fun to catch, but that place is not much on the aesthetics side of things... to say the least. 
Now if they opened that part up for silvers  - that would be a real gong show!

where would we launch for silvers outside the mouth???

where would we launch for silvers outside the mouth???

Not sure ...

Wauna boat launch is ~3 miles away.  Kopachuck State park is 3 miles the other way and across Henderson.  That's probably as good a place as any.  Troll the bay ... if it's nice, shoot across.

Or I'm sure you can get out down Minter from the hatchery bridge at high tide.  The problem would be the low tide coming back.  Maybe do a one way from there over to Wauna?

-Allen

There's a bridge across Carr inlet shown on Yahoo map---hwy 302.  Wonder if there's water access at the West side of the bridge??? Guess  the only way to find out is to truck over there Saturday and give it a shot...

That's Purdy spit.  The Wauna boat launch is at the west end of the spit.

-Allen

ANybody know about the hatchery bridge??  IS that whole inlet a mud bank at low tide???  I have an event Sat nite on Vashon, or would be at the Silver Lake gig on Sat, so thinking Minter Saturday AM....

Looked at Google maps satellite image of the Minter creek area, pic must have been taken at low tide, the whole "lagoon" basin looks like mudflats.  THere's what looks to be access at the mouth of the lagoon, near a big house.

http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&q=map%20minter%20creek&safe=active&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wl

   Think if the weather is decent Saturday, I'll trek over there in the morning. I don't think you can fish in the creek or within 1000 feet of the creek mouth.  Water looks deep along the shore to the north of the creek, tho.

Hatchery bridge on down become a shallow mud flat at the low.  At the high you could probably kayak out from the bridge, but at the low it's a shallow trickle.

There is the Minter Creek shellfish place there that goes down to the water.  May want to call them and see if they'll let you launch there directly into the bay.  If not, grab some oysters from them anyway ... mmm mmm good.

-Allen