Salmon fishing has been slowly improving throughout the area. Pink salmon in large numbers have made it as far south as the Redondo area. Local lakes are good for bass and crappie, especially Harts Lake.

RIVERS

Buoy 10: Chinook catches are slowly improving, and a few more coho are showing up in the catch, a state report said. Over the weekend, the average was about one fish per three boats, with the majority being chinook.

Columbia: A check of more than 2,700 anglers below Bonneville Dam last week showed a catch of 58 adult and 16 jack fall chinook, 1,151 steelhead and one sockeye. In the Bonneville Pool, there were good catches of steelhead outside the mouths of Drano Lake and the White Salmon River.

Cowlitz: The best reports are coming from Blue Creek and downriver. Boaters are catching some chrome-bright summer-run steelhead using divers with coon shrimp or side-drifting eggs, said Marshall Borsom at Fish Country. Bank anglers are having a tougher time but are picking up fish here and there. Sand shrimp, corky and yarn, flies and jig and bobber are some of the baits being used.

Lewis: The action is on the slow side, but anglers are catching some steelhead.

Puyallup: People are getting some good catches of pink salmon. Corkies and yarn in pinks, reds and oranges seem to be working best. Fish are coming in waves, according to online reports, so be patient and wait for them to run upriver. Anglers should note that the stretch from the 11th Street Bridge to the city of Puyallup outfall structure near Freeman and North Levee roads opened Tuesday.

Yakima: Trout fishing in the Farmlands stretch has been average. The real action has been in the canyon as evening falls, said a report from Red’s Fly Shop. A staffer recommended using a larger caddis dry fly, with a small nymph behind it, in the evenings.

LAKES

Chelan: Trolling over the Bar as well as off Minneapolis Beach is producing nice numbers of eating-size lake trout, said Anton Jones of Darrell and Dad’s Family Guide Service. Fish are concentrated in water 135 to 155 feet deep, then moving into water deeper than 180 feet when the sun is high.

Harts: Fishing has been really good, especially for large crappie, said Carol Parsons at Harts Lake Resort. Some are close to a foot long. Crappie jigs tipped with worms are the most effective baits. Anglers also are catching a lot of bass and catfish.

Mayfield: Anglers are starting to catch some better-sized trout. Muskie fishing is still on the slow side. Last weekend’s tournament produced only two fish caught, nothing of good size.

Riffe: The lake is still producing silvers in good numbers at the dam end and the fishing bridge.

Tanwax: Trout fishing has been on the slow side, but anglers are catching plenty of crappie, bass and perch, said a staffer at Rainbow RV Resort. One bass caught last week topped 6 pounds.

SALT WATER

North Sound: There are fish being caught throughout the area, but no spot is particularly red-hot, said Mike Chamberlain at Ted’s Sports Center. Ocean-going coho are starting to show up. Pink salmon action has been improving as well.

Sekiu: Fishing remains very good. State fish sampling Sunday at Olson’s Resort showed 406 anglers brought in a total of 64 chinook, 14 coho and 363 pink salmon. On Saturday, 291 anglers caught 19 chinook, 11 coho and 438 pinks.

Tacoma: Beach and dock fishing reports are varied. Some days anglers are having good luck, and others days it is slow. Pink Buzz Bombs remain the preferred lure. The best pink action has been in the Redondo area, based on state fish checks. Anglers there are averaging more than a fish per person. The chinook action has been fair.

Jeffrey P. Mayor, staff writer