For the past five years Trinity Lutheran Church has sponsored a popular fishing 101 workshop primarily designed for women who have little to no fishing experience, (men with little to no fishing experience are also welcome).
UNFORTUNATELY, this year’s workshops (2016) are cancelled due to the WA State Fish & Wildlife ruling not to open any season for silver salmon (Cohos). We plan to resume hosting the Fishinista workshops in 2017 because the pink salmon will be running in summer of 2017 and we hope that silver salmon will also be open to be caught.
This workshop provides both an overview of basic shoreline salmon fishing plus practical tips including the following:
Putting together your Fishing Kit:
- Fishing License — How to fill out a catch record – displaying a Vehicle Use Permit
- Fishing rod / Line / Lures (mainly buzz bombs) / Jellies / Skirts
- License & pen / Fish & Wildlife Booklet / optional laminated fish ID chart
- How to Identify the different types of salmon: King or Chinook / Silver or Coho / Pinks or Humpies
- How to identify the different salmon (humpies, silver, and kings and how many will be running this year)
- Wild or hatchery? How to tell. Why this is important.
- Why to use different color and sized lures
- Signs to look for on the water. Jumping, roiling, bait balls, scanning the water
Basics of Fishing
- Understanding catch limits & size (refer to booklet)
- Where you can fish according to the zone
- Private property signs
- Open places to fish on Whidbey Island
- Best times to go fishing
- How to read a tide chart
- Knowing the rules and safety tips (like looking in back before you cast)
- Preparing the hook.
- Basic Knots: Show Modified Clinch knot
- Tying on a buzz bomb
- Casting and Retrieving techniques
- How to cast
- Strikes — what they feel like, how to tell, how to set the hook
- What to expect according to different types of fish
- Retrieval techniques; how to ‘play’ the fish
- Common mistakes
After the Catch
- Once you land the fish, how to bonk, bleed and gut the fish
- Recording your catch
- How to donate salmon to Good Cheer Food Bank
- Local fishing derbies and fishing clubs you may enjoy