Green/Puyallup River Pink fishing

[kiara2425]

Hey,

I am a beginner fisherlady when it comes to salmon. I moved in from the midwest a few years ago and my father has been wanting to try the Pinks when they come up this year. (He is just as much of a beginner to salmon as I am)

I wanted to fish near the golf course in Kent, but I am seeing that the Green may not be open yet, or won't be where I live for a few weeks at least. So I am wondering when it will open. I am looking through the reg's pamphlet and I do not see much on the Green so far.

In the meantime while the Green opens up, I know the Puyallup is open. I also read that barbless hooks are the only type allowed. Is that only in the Puyallup, or all areas? I want to make sure to be a legal beagle.

I've read this forum like a book so I have seen etiquette, lures, areas on the Puyallup, etc.. but I am wondering if I should also have my father get a pair of waders to fish in, to have the best time/opportunities? It's going to be a once in a lifetime experience according to him.. a bucket list check mark.

Thank you for any help !

-Kiara

[RiverWarrior]

Welcome to the forum Kiara, and welcome to the PNW!

you are correct about the Puyallup River and being single point barbless hooks only. However not all rivers are barbless (most becoming barbless). If the Regs say "Single point barbless" crimp those barbs down with some pliers. As i look through the regulations about the Green River i do not see anything about barbless. So i assume you can use barbed hooks. Someone who fishes the green will probably chime in.

For your father, get him some waders! Most people fishing the Puyallup are fishing in waders, and if not they are wading through the water in some shorts. Now i don't recommend doing that but it certainly can be done.

Get out there and have some fun!

Hope this helps!


-RiverWarrior

[oneshot]

In the regs book look up the Duwamish. This is what turns into the green, it will show opening dates for certain parts of the river. It opens in sections all through September I believe..

Welcome!

[BentRod]

Welcome to the forum!

This is a good time to get into salmon fishing. Sounds like you're in a good spot. The Duamish/Green will be a great opportunity as it opens up.
If not waders, I recommend at least a good pair of rubber boots on the Duamish/Green. They will help you get access to some muddy sites and much easier to clean up then tennis shoes.
Good luck! Look forward to seeing your reports.

[kiara2425]

Thanks guys. My dad is set today on wanting to try in the sound first.. so we are heading to Des Moines and Redondo piers. If we have no luck at all, then we can go to the Puyallup where I hear the fishing is great right now. And I will have him invest in either waders or boots since I am pretty sure he only brought his tennis shoes.

[mizm05]

The way I read the regs, Green opens up September 1st, going up to 277th St in Auburn. The golf course in Kent should be an ok area after September 1st.

If you do end up hitting the Puyallup, I would recommend going down river a bit (soccer fields on River Rd were productive this past weekend). He will have a much better chance of getting into a decent amount of fish, but there will also be more people.

[kingroobes]

From 1st ave bridge to tukwila intl. bridge opens august 23
To 227 it opens up sept 1st
To auburn black diamond bridge (soos creek) opens sept 16
Nov 1st the rest opens

[kiara2425]

Thank you for that information.

I had planned to try near the soccer fields tomorrow for the puyallup since people will be there and dad can have a good time learning and talking even if we have no luck.

I look on google maps for the fields and am wondering what they are near that I can put in my GPS. Or what is the soccer fields official name?

[BentRod]

Did you ever get out to Redondo and try in the Sound?

Good luck on the Puyallup tomorrow. Sounds like it's full of fish right now.

[mizm05]

The soccer fields are by 44th st and River Rd.

[kiara2425]

I never made it to Redondo. We fished Des Moines with no luck, though we went a little later than expected and there were dead salmon carcasses that had been recently carved up floating near the entrance of the pier. (The seagulls were happy)

We may try Redondo on Wednesday and if we do I will let you know how it went.

Thanks for the intersection. I hope I have as good of luck as you had.

Can you tell me when the worst times to come are? In terms of worst for fishing, not for parking, which I read may be tricky and do not park in the cul-de-sac. ;)

[mizm05]

You can park in the cul de sac, just not in the middle of it.

Fishing is good first thing in the morning, 5-9am, then it seems to slow until 4-5pm then it picks up through sunset.

[NFCustom]

If I were you I would stay away from the Pinks in the Green. Catching them is fine but eating is another story. The lower Puyallup or any local beach will get you into fresh fish. Remember to bleed the fish out immediately and to throw them in ice. The meat will get mushy otherwise. I see lots of people making this mistake.

[Dustin07]

So I consulted Rafiki today regarding the Puyallup Pinks and you know what he said??


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=olLxrojmvMg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[racfish]

The Puyallup,Green,Snohomish are all nasty rivers. They are so full of polution especially the Green and Snoho. Poor fish have to swim through all the poop in the water.Im not big eating anything out of Commencement or Elliot bay. Good giveaway fish.

[Dustin07]

for those of us who unknowingly grew up on mcdonalds, the damage is already done. fish on

[kiara2425]

I agree with the McDonald's comment. ;)

We had some hits in Puyallup once we figured out how to fish salmon. Thanks to mizm05 for the company this evening and for putting up with my fishing. Tomorrow I think we will try Redondo in the morning.

[mizm05]

You were fine. We'll get out there an do it again. It was dang slow tonight.

[Dustin07]

We had some hits in Puyallup once we figured out how to fish salmon. .

If I am throwing the same thing long enough with no luck but seeing other people hook up I start to make changes. my changes yesterday were less and less yarn and smaller and smaller corkies, and switching to a dark hook (thinking it would hide it, vs a bright pink or red one) and that seemed to help.

[mizm05]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I refuse to believe the fish can see much of anything in that river. Why else would they bump into my legs? I know it's a touchy subject...but in the Puyallup, I think we're just flossing them. I know this is a whole other topic unto itself. I've seen the debates in various forums.