Marine Area 13

Green Point/Fox Island Sand Spit

In mid May 2007 I received a phone call from Pro Staffer Mike Callier with an invite for a day’s fishing off Green Point. Since either one of us had recently spent much time on the water, I was looking forward to a much needed day off and the possibility of fresh fish for the barbeque. The plan was meeting the following morning at Narrows Marina and catch up with fellow Pro Staffer Larry Palermo at Green Point in hopes on landing a few Minter spring runs or large blackmouth on some newly developed hoochie colors and patterns.

The morning was still dark yet brisk, but warming rather quickly as the reddish yellow glow of a new day starting to appear on the horizon. We had already been through several schools of small herring and waiting on the first take down. Dozens of seals were working the clouds of bait in close to the beach and stragglers following us off the port and starboard quarters. Without warning we noticed the seals had disappeared when my rod tip slammed the water.

It was an incredible morning of fishing- three fish in the box before 6:45am. I started to wonder how long it would take to get the fourth. We talked about heading home if the fourth fish came, but it came to soon to finish the conversation. Being still early in the morning, we made the quick decision to release the fish to stay on the water longer. What a morning! It seemed that no sooner that we released a fish the next one would hit. This went on for the next three hours… a good-sized keeper fish every 15-minutes or so! Both Mike and I shook our heads in disbelief as we could never remember a morning of incredible fishing like this. It is rare to experience fast pace action, but releasing 8 keeper size fish? Larry had faired a lot less than us; however, he did release a large “wild” springer on a spoon. It wasn’t until we came alongside to drop off the winning combination that Larry completed punching the card. We ended up with one nice springer weighing 16-pounds and 3-blackmouth ranging from 8 to 11-pounds.

There are many fond memories of Green Point… One of the best memories is the first time Mike and me ever fished together- Green Point in a row boat! That was an experience and a whole different story!

Of the several areas in the Puget Sound to fish, the Green Point/Fox Island sand spit area is my absolute favorite spot. The reasons are numerous and I struggle to wonder why anglers do not fish this unmolested strategic chokepoint. Considering the odds a salmon faces with life’s struggles, e.g., nets, anglers, predation, etc., the Minter Creek hatchery sees remarkable numbers of fish every year. In fact the hatchery received 1,024 White River spring chinook, 16,004 fall run chinook, and 10,997 coho this year (2008). Pretty astonishing numbers despite heavy tribal netting in Carr Inlet when the fish arrive. With that said, having once lived on Key Peninsula for several years made this area extremely convenient to fish a minimum of three days a week and I learned to fish it well over the years.

The Green Point and Fox Island sand spit area offers the angler a good potpourri of species and run timings as well as quality blackmouth fishing. Several methods and techniques can be employed to target these fish 11-months out of the year- much longer than the other Marine Areas. A great attribute of this area is that it can be fished on any tide with a great deal of expectable success without firing up the main motor to fish either location. You can troll spot to spot no matter the tide!

Although Pacific herring will be the primary source of feed here much of the year, November marks the beginning of Pacific sand lance spawning within Puget Sound, and the beach from Shaw’s Cove to Horsehead Bay will start to see an increase of the numbers of these eel-like fish. Generally, the beginning the second week of December, the numbers of sand lance have increased significantly and this seems to draw more fish into the area for a brief 10 to 14-day period around the 10^th of December. Every year we manage to boat at least one fish over 15-pounds and several in the 10 to 12 pound range. My largest blackmouth came, 24 December 2004, on a solo B2 Squid behind a flasher. Nearly 18-pounds of pure early Christmas present!

Strategies for Green Point Blackmouth

A quick look at the bottom contours of Green Point on the chart shows a fairly easy troll in the area. However, looks can be deceiving. There are several drop offs and ledges that are not visible on the chart. These contours will require some attention on the sonar and helm to follow them closely- mainly in the deeper 135-foot plus water. Inside 135-feet you’ll have an easy troll.

My most desirable time to be on the water for blackmouth fishing is the beginning of an early morning ebb tide. As current pushes south from the inner reaches of Carr Inlet, the tide is cushioned by Green Point setting up a very large lee area along the beach. This lee will stretch for a several hundred years to the unnamed point that is recognized by an old grounded barge on the beach. On slower moving tides (3 to 6-foot swings), I start in fairly close to the beach in 80-feet of water and work my way down to the barge. I’ll troll in a race track fashion covering the 120-foot contour on the return loop to Green Point. Back at the Point, I turn towards the beach and cover the 100-foot contour. I’ll continue this cycle of covering deeper until I begin to start working into the tide.

It is along this stretch of beach I can comfortably work in both directions without too much worry of stronger tidal movement. Typically these currents go unnoticed until I reach 130 to 140 foot depth contours (dependent of tidal movement and stage). Once I feel I can no longer effectively head into the direction of the tide (essentially fighting the tide at this point), my trolling pattern and strategy changes. This means trolling in one direction out in the deeper water.

Assuming I haven’t hit a fish on the “inside” and/or the tidal currents required me to slightly spool (speed) up the kicker to head into the tide, at this point I am forced to fish elsewhere or fish deeper as fishing into the tide is more often than not very productive. Being one for covering water thoroughly in the least amount of time, it is time to start trolling with the tide and covering deeper water.

Once the tide has begun to move in greater fashion, or during heavier tidal swings, I like to set up at the 150-foot contour and work this line all the way over to the Fox Island side. Unfortunately, the tide doesn’t always allow productive trolling back to Green Point. It is best to pick up the gear and head back to the starting point. I’ll next target the 165-foot contour traveling from the starting area off the Point. I‘ll encounter the first drop off in front of the first home on the beach. The water depth immediately drops to 180 to 185-feet. At this point, there are three things I do can. (1) Make the move towards the beach and continue to follow the 165-foot contour or, (2) let out more downrigger wire as you should be at roughly 180 to 185-feet rather quickly. (3) Place the motor in neutral and allow the gear to drop and hit the bottom. If the weight hasn’t hit the bottom, I'll let more wire out quickly and thump the bottom. More often than not, bait will be sitting just on the other side of the ledge and the “banging“ of the ball off the bottom will attract fish to your location. The 165-foot contour can be fish all the way over to the Fox Island side.

Depending on the period of the tide, it isn’t uncommon to find bait and fish as deep as 250-feet plus here. Although 99-percent of anglers will never fish this deep, I highly recommend fishing as deep as you feel comfortable going. The common depths (90 to 150-feet) have been beaten into our heads over the years, and it is hard for many angler to realize fish can be this deep, but it pays big dividends over the long haul to venture out deeper on occasion. Remember commercial trollers, the guys that make a living fishing salmon, are often a lot deeper- as much as 400-feet!

Let’s assume we haven’t touched a fish despite covering a lot of water and depths. We can now work our way around to Shaw’s Cove. On the chart you’ll notice an under point of land out in front of the “shipwreck” symbol on the chart. This point protrudes out a ways and will sneak up on you rather quickly if you are not paying attention to the sonar. You can either pick up the gear or make a starboard turn and follow the contour around in to Shaw’s Cove. It is always best to leave the gear in the water. If your not in the water, you cannot catch a fish! This structure allows forage to hide behind the current- even on the greatest of tidal swings.

Once in to Shaw’s Cove, it is important to work water depths of 60 to 90-feet as these depths are blocked by the underwater point. (More so towards the end of the ebb.) There may or may not be a lot of bait in this area, but don’t fret as this area offers a good resting spot for fish- very little current on the ebb.

On the flood tide, the correct strategy is to move over to the Fox Island side; however, you can continue to fish Shaw’s Cove. There will be times when the bait will be forced into this area from the current from Hale Passage vice moving around the corner at the spit. You can also work the contours back towards Green Point and even around the point towards Horsehead Bay as annotated on the chart. Many times the bait will follow the Green Point side and push around the corner to alleviate the current.

Strategies for the Fox Island Sand Spit Blackmouth

On the flood tide, Fox Island is the place you will want to be. This natural spit provides a large lee to the south where bait swept from Hale Passage will tuck themselves in to the softer water. More often than not, a very noticeable rip and current can be seen just off the point traveling to the northwest and you‘ll want to be tucked inside to the south. The common trolling pattern will be back and forth following the shoreline. However, I would recommend trolling a horse track pattern that will cover the maximum amount of water. This includes setting yourself up in the deep water first and trolling out toward the mouth of Hale Passage then making a port turn in towards the beach and working the 80 to 90-foot depths. Once the turn has been made and you’ve covered that depth, make another port turn towards deeper water again. The reason for this particular pattern is the ability to troll slightly into the tide. If you troll the pattern in the opposite direction (shallow to deeper water) you wouldn’t make much head way into the tide. Lastly, don’t overlook trolling further out in to Carr Inlet. This water will get progressive deeper, but there’s a little known area called “The Trench.” The Trench is a quasi-channel that runs north roughly 100-yds in to Hale Passage before immediately becoming shallower. It always seems to hold bait on the flood and I believe the current running parallel to the south side of Fox Island and from around the spit provide a very large lee in this area effective trapping the bait in this spot. Look for water in the 160 to 190-foot range and you‘ll find “The Trench.”

Spring Chinook

Believe it or not, the waters of the southern Puget Sound were once frequented by other stocks of spring chinook, including a Green River stock. Unfortunately the White River spring chinook is the only remaining stock today.

Years before the Endangered Species Act listing “Threatened“ in 1999, the White River stock was considered “critically depressed.” In historical data from 1941 to 1950, the average return was just under 2,800 adults. Significantly lower return rates were documented between 1951 to 1975 averaging 586 adults. In subsequent years after 1975, the average return rate was fewer than 100-fish with the fewest in 1982 at the Buckley trap- 6 fish. Just 6-fish from extinction! Hoping to save the run, the adult fish were captured and transferred to Hupp Springs hatchery for spawning, and once becoming juveniles, were then released into Minter Creek. The program has enjoyed welcome success to date. Adults are now trapped and egged (or transferred) at the Minter facility then transferred to Hupps Springs. Excessive juveniles from Hupps Springs are now transferred to the middle and upper rearing ponds on the White River for natural seeding. This transfer of juveniles has showed promise too as the numbers of wild fish returning has now reached approximately 550 adults.

Since the hatchery inception, the returning numbers of spring stock has historically averaged between 300 and 700-fish each year. However, the numbers of returning spring stock have steadily increased within the last three years to over 900-fish per year. Unfortunately, although these are hatchery fish, they are unclipped and therefore must be released under the new selective fishery program. Prior to the selective fishery, we enjoyed this fishery as the late spring run generally coincided with early returning fall run fish to Minter Creek which allowed us to fish at least one downrigger suspended in the water column. Comparatively speaking, with such small return numbers, will were lucky enough to maybe boat a handful or fewer each year despite spending hours on the waters. They certainly were tasty while the fishery was open to retention of these fine fish. Perhaps we will see a retention fishery again…

Coho

If your timing is right, there are plenty of coho to be caught starting the first of September! Into the second and third weeks a few thousand fish should be passing through the area and traveling throughout many selective areas within Carr Inlet before the first few hit the hatchery.

The two main areas you should find coho are in the immediate vicinity of the sand spit and out in Carr Inlet where they enjoy the faster currents and/or rips that frequent these locations. If you decide to fish the sand spit area, I recommended flat lining gear or drifting and casting to jumpers on the ebb tide. Position your boat on the inside of the lee east of the spit and following the current down to the Fox Island boat ramp. On the flood, covering water anywhere between Fox Island and Shaw’s Cove to Green Point should be productive. Trolling further out in the open water of Carr Inlet will require you to cover water locating the schools.

The schools of coho will travel fairly quick through this area unless there is plenty of feed. If you truly want to target coho and cannot find them, a quick run across Carr Inlet to the shoreline of Key Peninsula in the vicinity of Penrose Point to Glen Cove is a great area to target these fish. Another overlooked area is the Cutts and Raft Islands areas and the shoreline from Allen Point north towards Purdy.

As a side note, if are targeting coho there’s a very good chance of hooking a big fall run Chinook headed towards Minter! Into September these late run chinook can become quite large and full of vinegar!

Best times to fish

Blackmouth fishing is usually fair to good year around with October through December best for 5-8 pound fish. Current regulations remain a 2-fish limit in October! December brings large blackmouth into the area with quite a few over 10-pounds! May is a great time to be on the water and there should be a lot of fish in the area if the bait has arrived on time.

Springers will arrive in late April/early May. Late May into early June is the time to target these fish. These are non-clipped hatchery fish and must be released with current “selective fishery” regulations.

Fall run Chinook start to appear in early to mid July with the bulk of the fish arriving mid August. Fishing can continue to be good through mid Spetember. There’s a lot of hatchery fish to be caught! This area clearly beats the Chambers Creek area in numbers for total return!

Coho fishing in this area is usually hit or miss. Mid to late Septemeber is best. If you hit it- hang on to your hat! If the fish are not in, you’ll have to travel to find them. The upper reaches of Carr Inlet around Penrose Point or Cutts and Raft Islands are great spots to locate the fish.

Spoons:

The Silver Horde Sonic Edge spoon in Green Splatterback, Chartreuse Splatterback and UV finishes will produce good numbers of fish. In late winter into spring switch to the smaller Silver Horde Kingfisher spoons which are far more productive. Adding the Green/Glo (50/50) and Army Truck color patterns to your arsenal will definitely take fish if the aforementioned color schemes are not working.

Plugs:

A 3-inch Tomic Tubby or 4-inch standard Tomic plug in the #140, #602 and #603 color schemes are pretty hard to beat when the bait is tremendously thick. A good plug will help weed out the numerous shakers that tend to frequent the area yet hook into the quality fish that you‘re after.

Hoochies:

Leave no doubt, the Captain Downriggin Special in glow or the UV pearl is my top producer in this area. The new Blackmouth Bites series was test fished here with superlative results! Also look at the South Sound Special, UV Herring, Lime Jellyfish, and White Knight to produce fish. Remember to scale these down in size to approximately 3 ½-inches for blackmouth.

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Disclaimer: The above article is based solely upon the author's experiences, opinions and thoughts of nearly 35-years of fishing on Puget Sound. Although there may be some similarities with other written or electronic information available to the public, no effort has been made to copy nor plagiarize similar work submitted verbally or in writing manually, via machine or electronically.