Marine Area 2 — Westport and Ocean Shores — is scheduled to remain open for salmon fishing through Sept. 30, if the quota is not reached before then. Coho dominate the catch, but some Chinook pushing 20 pounds are still finding their way to the derby scales at the Westport Marina.
Nicholas Leverette from Lake Tapps won Tuesday’s daily salmon derby with a 19-pound Chinook, beating out Curtis Riess of Buckley with a 15.25-pounder. The big coho of the day weighed in at just under 11 pounds, caught by Vernon T. Lee of Challis, Idaho.
The latest counts from the Department of Fish and Wildlife, for the week of Aug. 19-25, a total of 1,637 anglers fished for salmon out of Westport, landing 190 Chinook and 1,596 coho. Through Aug. 25, a total of 1,995 Chinook have been counted, 16 percent of the area guideline. Through the same time period, 17,836 coho have been taken, 30 percent of the sub-area quota.
During the previous week, Aug. 12-18, 2,163 anglers caught 219 Chinook and 2,567 coho, according to Fish and Wildlife.
Some nice lingcod continue to come across the docks. Terry Steger of Lacey hauled in a 20.25-pound ling Tuesday, slightly larger than Olympia angler Keith Reiling’s 19.65-pound ling weighed earlier in the day. Frank Wu won the weekend derby Aug. 24 with a 26-pound ling. Wu hails from Seattle.
Tuna boats are reporting some good catches. The charterboat Predator reported a trip Monday with nine anglers aboard that had filled the boat in a matter of four hours. Sid Ottem of Selah weighed a 25.2-pound albacore at the derby scales Aug. 11.
The Westport Charterboat Association derby continues. Tickets are $5 available at charter boat offices. Prizes for the largest fish of the season include $10,000 for the largest Chinook, $1,000 for the largest halibut and tuna, and $1,500 for the largest lingcod and coho.
Here are the seasonal leaders listed on the Westport Charterboat Association website as of Aug. 28.
Chinook
26.2 pounds, Dennis Klain of Port Ludlow aboard the Stardust July 22
23.6 pounds, Mike James of Glasgow Montana aboard the Hula Girl Aug. 7
22.8 pounds, Walter Nakatsukasa of Seattle aboard the Cormorant Aug. 5
22.5 pounds, Mark Worchester of Kennewick aboard the Fury June 22
22.5 pounds, Jeff Chapman of Graham aboard the Advantage July 1
Coho
10.35 pounds, Robert Fronia of Puyallup aboard the Monte Carlo Aug. 5
10.35 pounds, Wayne McCartney of Montesano aboard the Blue Eyes Aug. 4
9.95 pounds, Roger Goodwin of Federal Way aboard the Sea Angel July 25
9.5 pounds, Thomas Ott of Seattle aboard the Hula Girl July 15
8.8 pounds, Marty Dong of Bellevue aboard the Hula Girl July 8
8.5 pounds, Robert Skipper of Brighton, New Jersey, aboard the Sea Angel Aug. 12
Albacore tuna
29.65 pounds, Steve Naval of Bonney Lake aboard the Ms. Magoo July 28
27 pounds, Mike Gornick of Missoula, Montana aboard the Fury Aug. 18
25.85 pounds, Mark Bartness of Spanaway aboard the Fury Aug. 11
23.35 pounds, Peter Abeyta of McKenna aboard the Fury Aug. 4
Lingcod
33.7 pounds, Todd Lakin of Sumner aboard the Tornado June 21
31.95 pounds, Ron Jennerjohn of Yakima aboard the Hula Girl May 12
30.5 pounds, Lauren Hayes of Bonney Lake aboard the Tornado June 14
29.25 pounds, Joe Haney of Olympia aboard the Predator June 26
28.9 pounds, Todd Fraser of Snohomish aboard the Slammer June 7
Halibut
60.55 pounds, Jeromy Jording of Olympia aboard the Ultimate May 12
56.4 pounds, Mat Walton of Fife aboard the Fury June 6
53.5 pounds, Barbara Isbell of Tacoma aboard the Fury June 29
52.8 pounds, James Riley of Imperial, Missouri aboard the Stardust June 28
51.25 pounds, Lane Glasoe of Burien aboard the Advantage June 20
COURTESY WESTPORT WEIGHMASTER Nicholas Leverette from Lake Tapps won the Aug. 27 daily Westport Charterboat Association derby with this 19-pound Chinook.
COURTESY WESTPORT WEIGHMASTER Nicholas Leverette from Lake Tapps won the Aug. 27 daily Westport Charterboat Association derby with this 19-pound Chinook.
