Outdoors - Hunting and Fishing

POSTED: Tuesday, Apr. 21, 2009

OUTDOORS: Classes polish fishing skills

This year's saltwater spring break for anglers between the April 15 end of winter blackmouth and the July 1 rekindling of summer salmon fishing is a good time to scrub the hull, add a new electronic toy or two, tune up tackle box contents and hone knowledge of saltwater fishing arts.

Locally, there's no better way to do the latter than in Jim Jorgensen's annual six-week saltwater salmon fishing course.

The 2009 edition of this local angling institution gets underway the evening of Thursday, April 2 in Bellingham at the Bellingham Senior Center on Halleck Street. The class will meet each Thursday evening from 7-9 p.m. thereafter through May 7.

Though long retired from the high school classroom and more recently from his charter fishing business, Jorgensen has lost none of his keen interest in saltwater salmon angling or his enthusiasm for teaching. Both have been hallmarks of his trademarked 'Salmonaars' for decades.

Another element that figures prominently in these salmon tutorials is the exchange of stories and ideas; getting angler participants to share their own experiences.

And though the ex-professional saltwater guide could himself fill a book on hook and line technique, Jorgensen says he still finds the each session to be a rich source of fresh ideas and new insights.

FROM QUARRY TO HOTSPOTS

By way of introduction, Jorgensen first focuses on the life histories and current complex of management regimes for Pacific salmon on the North American west coast.

From there, the class moves to discussions about how to select a bay boat, either your first or an upgrade, as well as the pros and cons of various electronic add-ons designed to enhance safety and/or improve your catch rates.

Session three gets into the nuts and bolts of the two main salmon fishing styles - mooching and trolling - that are practiced hereabouts as well as derivations of each that have evolved over time.

Jorgensen also will distill down the bewildering array of lures and terminal tackle accessories to the most effective ones that should be in your tackle box.

If you're inclined toward the traditional approach of using cut-plug or strip baits, a part of one evening will include hands-on practice cutting and tying up herring.

No matter what's on the angler dance card from year to year, catchable salmon of some sort are almost always coursing through our local marine waters.

So, if highly prized chinook or coho aren't present, humpies (in the odd years mainly), dogs or the ubiquitous Fraser River reds are almost always available in Marine Area 7 and make fine consolation catches.

Jorgensen will cover the array of techniques it takes to catch each and unlike some classes that gloss over the subject, you also can be assured that the "where to" aspect of salmon fishing won't get short changed.

In fact, students are encouraged, if they don't already have one, to buy the NOAA 18421 marine chart depicting waters of the greater San Juan Islands and bring it to one session along with colored pencils.

Jorgensen always shares some pretty precise intelligence on just where your path is likely to cross a salmon's and under what combination of tide and weather conditions.

And for the days when you strike out with salmon, despite your best efforts, tips and tactics for plumbing the depths for everything from halibut and lingcod to cabezon and rockfish will be covered one evening.

Tuition for the six-session class is $100 and includes everything but the marine chart that you'll need to buy yourself. To register, call 360 332-6724 and if you don't get Jim or his wife Pat directly, leave a message to reserve a chair.

BETTER YOUR BOTTOMFISHING SKILLS

LFS Marine and Outdoors on Roeder Avenue at Squalicum Harbor is planning a spring bottom-fishing and shrimping seminar day Saturday, April 11 in Bellingham.

Ocean and Puget Sound opportunities for lingcod, halibut and spot prawns are coming up soon and these two-hour sessions are chock full of handy fishing tips and insights into each species behavior.

Well-known local charter fishing skipper Captain Darrell Stacey leads off the morning (9 a.m.) with a focus on lingcod fishing in the San Juan Islands.

At 11 a.m., Puget Sound bottom-fishing pro and tackle maker John Beath will reveal his prescription for successful halibut fishing in Washington's inland waters.

Following a lunch break, LFS staffer Zack Miller at 2 p.m. will discuss pot fishing techniques for spot prawns, Puget Sound's premier shrimp.

LFS seminars are free to the public but reservations are required because seating at the Squalicum Boathouse is limited. Call 734-3336 weekdays during business hours to sign up for any or all of these sessions.

Doug Huddle, the Herald's outdoors correspondent, works for the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife's Wildlife Program and has written a weekly hunting and fishing column for the Bellingham Herald since 1983 that appears Fridays. E-mail him at doug.huddle@bellinghamherald.com.