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After fishing the Skagit the day prior with Russ Elgin, I met a fellow kayaker at the Edgewater Park launch and headed up river about 1 mile. Once we found the spot we wanted to fish, minus a few lulls, it was pretty much non-stop action. With the amount of current in the river, it was pretty much necessary to anchor up unless we wanted a full on work out.

I don't know how many in total I hooked up on, but it was a lot. Released some, lost some, and kept my 4, the last fish being a good sized pink at 25 1/2 inches. I was using an Elgin Fishing God's Tooth Spoon set to slow action, 4-5ft of leader, and a 1/2 ounce dipsey weight. Even only fishing in 4-6ft of water, with the current 1/2 ounce was needed. Best method seemed to be to cast the lure straight back, then a extremely slow retrieve with very subtle twitches. Many times there were multiple hook ups or hits or 1 retrieve. I could have caught and released about as many as I wanted to this morning. The friend I was with did keep track, he landed 23 not counting all of the hook ups that got off.

Some really look down at these fish, but with proper care of the catch, they are better than some make them out to be. I've got a full freezer that I will be able to pull out and smoke in the coming months to make dips, chowders, sandwich spreads, Caesar salads etc. with. They are also a great fish for folks newer to fishing, young and old a like as they are a lot more forgiving with presentation and are very accessible, and are just a ton of fun to catch on lighter gear. Get out soon and enjoy these feisty fish that fight a step or 2 above their weight class. They won't be around a lot longer.

Video shows the action from the morning.

ElginFishing

9/7/2021 10:39:59 AM

Nice work Josh! Fun time for sure!

JoshH

9/7/2021 2:24:23 PM

Thanks Russ!

ElginFishing

9/7/2021 10:40:09 AM

NWFshHntr

9/7/2021 11:37:47 AM

Great Report and Video! I totally second your opinion on Pinks. It's like all people sometimes think about is that pure grilled salmon syle of cooking them. But with a little investment in a smoker, there's so much more you can do with these pinkys.

JoshH

9/7/2021 2:26:37 PM

Thanks!

Guitarfish

9/8/2021 9:28:26 AM

Nice work. Might need to do the annual trip up there soon. Yeah I laugh at people that scoff at pinks. It's delicious when still chrome if you handle it correctly (good bleed and immediately put it on ice). It doesn't hold up in the freezer as well as king or coho so eat it fresh or pull it out of the freezer within a month or 2, for best results. Also a little cooking skill goes a long way. I think of pinks like chicken. What is great about chicken is that it is pretty darn flavorless - you can spice it up any way you like and make some really great stuff. Pink salmon is the same way. Spice it up and be creative. I make a teriyaki garlic dill mayo butter, spread that on top, and bake it, and it is amazing. Also when I smoke pinks I usually add soy sauce, garlic, onion, etc to the brine. Whereas with king/coho I just use straight salt and sugar.

JoshH

9/9/2021 10:45:13 AM

Yes they definitely arent kings, sockeyes or silvers, but proper care and cooking they are much better than the cedar plank :)

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