Starting Thursday (Sept. 13), anglers fishing ocean waters off Westport can keep up to two coho salmon per day under a new rule approved by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW).The new rule brings the coho limit for those waters – previously set at one per day – up to the same number in effect in the three other ocean areas off the Washington coast.
Anglers can also count up to two chinook toward the overall two-salmon limit in those areas.
As before, anglers will be allowed to retain both hatchery and wild coho off Ilwaco (Marine Area 1) and Westport (Marine Area 2). Those fishing off LaPush (Marine Area 3) and Neah Bay (Marine Area 4) may retain only hatchery coho, which are marked with a clipped adipose fin.
“We wanted to keep the brakes on when we first opened the Westport fishery to retention of wild coho early this month,” said Pat Pattillo, WDFW salmon policy coordinator. “But after looking at the catch numbers, we are fairly confident we’ll have enough coho available for harvest to last through the end of the season.”
Ocean salmon fisheries are currently scheduled to run through Sept. 23 in marine areas 2, 3 and 4, and through Sept. 30 in Marine Area 1.

writen by Steve Kramer

I was on a walk this morning, enjoying the cool air that is starting to smell like fall. While I was taking in the sights, sounds and smells, I caught a whiff of a very familiar odor that I haven’t smelled in quite a few months. The strong, yet sweet smoky odor of a King salmon being smoked over alder chips.  It’s a smell that reminds me of my youth and the fall.  If you haven’t had a chance to smoke a fish or be around a fish being smoked, it’s an experience you don’t want to miss.
There are many inexpensive options for smokers on the market; my personal favorite is the Big Chief Smokers - fairly inexpensive and very easy to use.  The best part of this is, you can use it as an excuse to put off all of your honey-do’s and tell the wife that you need to go fishing!

The Washington Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is opening this 1.4 mile mountain bike trail after nearly a year of construction and hundreds of hours of volunteer support.
Tiger Mountain is a unique, multi-use destination located close to Seattle. It offers exciting mountain bike trails, diverse hiking experiences, paragliding launches, horseback riding opportunities, and is an overall great forest destination for those doing a variety of recreation activities.
The construction of this new mountain bike trail was funded by grants aimed at improving mountain bike experience by building a sustainable network of trails. This first trail has some of the best that Tiger Mountain has to offer with views of Mt. Rainier and a challenging descent through the forest.
Try it out soon! The trail will close for the season on October 15 (this may be adjusted based on actual trail conditions).