The state is holding a meeting tonight to discuss potential changes in fishing rules to curb illegal fishing practices, particularly on the Skokomish River.

The meeting is set to run from 6-8 p.m. in Room 172 of the Natural Resources Building, 1111 Washington St. S.E., Olympia.

The state Department of Fish and Wildlife scheduled the meeting to discuss this year’s salmon returns and potential fishing seasons in southern Puget Sound as part of the season-setting process, also known as North of Falcon.

Attendees will have the chance to talk to fishery managers about the pre-season forecasts and potential recreational salmon fisheries in south Puget Sound, particularly in the Puyallup, Nisqually and Skokomish rivers.

At the March 1 meeting when the preseason salmon run forecasts were released, fishery managers talked of potential changes in the rules. They want to take steps to cut down on the illegal taking of fish and leaving behind garbage and human waste in hopes of avoiding shutting down a fishery.

While the issue is reaching a crucial level on the Skokomish, it also is becoming a concern on the Nisqually River, Larry Phillips, district fishery biologiist for Pierce and Thurston counties, said at the March 1 meeting.

Among the changes being discusses for the Skokomish is a requirement anglers use circle hooks and that they be fished under a bobber. Other people want to drop the requirement that fish be hooked in the mouth to be legally caught.

I talked with Frank Urabeck, a long-time recreational fishing advocate, and he doesn’t feel the situation is so bad as to require the use circle hooks.

“I’d like to see us go back to the statewide regulation that it’s hooked anywhere in the head, and if it’s a hatchery fish, you keep it,” Urabeck said. “You get your two-fish limit and then you get out of there.”

He also said a limit on leader length, perhaps 6 feet, would reduce the amount of snagging that is done.

Urabeck said he does not think the situation is as bad as portrayed, especially compared to the Samish River. He argues most anglers are good at policing themselves.

“Hopefully we can come up with some ideas that will address their concerns and still keep the fishery as it is,” he said of tonight’s meeting.

If not, he admits, drastic measures could loom in the future.

Puyallup 8,556 1,128

Green 12,745 1,700

Nisqually 36,326 1,296

Chambers 5,013 None

Deschutes 12,926 None

Skokomish 43,997 3,057

Minter Creek 9,002

Nisqually River 7,719

Deschutes River 156

Squaxin Island area 38,888

Skokomish River 17,786

Rivers

Green: Anglers are reporting there are plenty of chum and coho in the river. Effective methods for catching them have been drifting shrimp on a pink jig. The action seems to be best in the upper river, above the state Route 18 bridge.

Kennedy: The chum action is heating up, with more fish entering the creek and drawing a crowd. Many of the fish are already dark. Green is a good color to start with, but it seems getting your gear in front of the fish is the most important factor.

Skokomish: The river is full of chum, according to mulitple reports. Try fishing with a green or pink jig tipped with a prawn under a bobber. People also are reporting landing some bright coho.

Lakes

Chelan: Trolling Worden Lures T4 Purple Glow Flatfish has been productive for lake trout as well as Mack’s Lures Cha Cha Squidder. Trolling off the yacht club at speeds of 1.2-1.6 mph worked best.

Omak: The action for Lahontan cutthroat trout has been fair to good. Try the north end of the lake. Silver Horde Kingfisher Lite spoons in cookies and cream and chartreuse Silver Horde plugs are effective. The fish have varied from 12 inches to 5 pounds.

Washington: Trolling a white shrimp fly in water 40-60 feet deep is producing some decent catches of cutthroat trout. In recent days, the action has been best of the Interstate 90 bridge.

Saltwater

Beaches: Digging for razor clams continues. Here are the openings and times for low tide: Wednesday, 6:41 p.m., -1.9 feet, Twin Harbors; Thursday, 7:29 p.m., -1.9 feet, Long Beach and Twin Harbors; Friday, 8:18 p.m., -1.6 feet, Long Beach, Twin Harbors, Copalis and Mocrocks; and Nov. 17, 9:09 p.m., -1.1 feet, Long Beach, Twin Harbors, Copalis and Mocrocks.

Fly fishing: The beach action has been pretty good for searun cutthroat trout. People also are still catching some resident coho in the Tacoma Narrows. People are using baitfish patterns in olive over white for both species.

Hoodsport: Creek samples by the state show people are averaging well over a chum per person, and two fish on some days.

Saltwater

Beaches: The next razor-clam dig of the season gets under way at four ocean beaches today. Twin Harbors beach will open for digging after noon Saturday-Tuesday. The other beaches – Long Beach, Copalis and Mocrocks – are open for digging today and Sunday. The low tide times are: today, 5:57 p.m., +0.2 feet; Sunday, 6:36 p.m., -0.1 feet; Monday, 7:12 p.m., -0.3 feet; and Tuesday, 7:46 p.m., -0.4 feet.

Hoodsport: The chum are coming back in better numbers. Try an anchoive under a bobber or green corky and yarn.

South Sound: The salmon fishing has shown some signs of improvement, with people catching blackmouth. Some of the fish are weighing over 14 pounds. Try trolling flashers and hoochies. Chum salmon are being caught south of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge. Crab fishing in Marine Area 13 has been pretty good since the season reopened.

Lakes

Offut: People are catching plenty of rainbow trout, most measuring 12-18 inches long. They are fishing worms and Power Bait off the bottom.

Spanaway: Fly fishermen are having success because the trout are at the surface most of the day. Chironomid patterns are working well. The brown trout are moving toward the creek at the north end. Rainbow trout are hitting dough baits on the bottom or a trolled Wedding Ring tipped with a worm.

Rivers

Carbon: Anglers are reporting catching some coho. Many of the fish are on the small side, weighing 2-3 pounds. Anglers are having the most success casting spinners.

Humptulips: People are catching a mix of chinook, coho and chum, but most chinook. Drifting eggs seems to be the best method right now.

Methow: People are having some success for steelhead. Try swinging medium-size flies on an intermediate sink line or skating flies on a floating line with river flows this low.

Skokomish: There are a multitude of reports indicating tribal nets have been in the river. For sports anglers, the fishing has been off and on. A few coho are being caught, and more chum are starting to come in.

Rivers

Nisqually: The action has slowed down in recent days. Anglers are catching a few dark chinook, but not much else.

Puyallup: The fishing has been slow in the latter part of the week. Most folks are blaming the low water levels.

Skokomish: The river is producing a fair number of coho, and a chum salmon here and there. Eggs seem to be the best bait to use right now.

Lakes

Black: The action remains on the slow side. Trout anglers should try slowly trolling a Ford Fender with a worm-tipped Wedding Ring.

Kapowsin: The action for largemouth bass has been very good lately. People are catching some big fish. An angler warned that the water level is down, so boaters should be wary of stumps.

Leech: Anglers are catching brook trout on size 10 olive or tan callebaetis nymphs. Midges and small chironomids also have been productive.

Saltwater

Ilwaco: The action has slowed down, with anglers averaging just .50 fish per person last week. The majority of fish caught were coho. The salmon fishing remains open until Sept. 30.

South Sound: The coho fishing has been very good in the waters around Tacoma, the best it has been in a long time. In the morning, the fish seem to be holding 30-50 feet down, then dropping to 70-150 feet later in the day. People are having success using just about everything, including spoons, hoochies, flies and plugs.

Westport: The salmon fishing was the best is has been all season, it terms of average catch. Anglers last week, took home 1.10 fish per person, thanks in part to a change in the coho catch limit. Unfortunately, the season ends Sunday, as it does off La Push and Neah Bay.

Rivers

Carbon: Orange corkies and yarn have been producing bites from some chinook, but the action has been fair overall.

Green: Trolling Wiggle Warts or Dick Nite spoons has been producing plenty of hits from coho on the lower river.

Nisqually: Eggs fished under a bobber seems to be the most effective method for catching salmon. The action has been off and on in recent days.

Puyallup: The fishing seems to have slowed in recent days, although there are still plenty of people on the river. Anglers are reminded that the river downstream of the City of Puayllup outfall structure will be closed Sunday-Tuesday.

Skokomish: Drifting eggs continues to produce catches of chinook, although the action seems to have slowed down compared to two weeks ago. The river from the mouth to the state Route 101 bridge is closed after today, and reopens Sept. 16. The stretch from the route 106 bridge to the U.S. Highway 101 bridge reopens Oct. 1.

Lakes

Clear (Pierce): The lake is still producing limits of kokanee. Look for the fish holding about halfway to the bottom in water 60-90 feet deep. People are trolling pink artificial squid behind a dodger.

Mineral: A 7 pound, 8 ounce rainbow trout was landed Sunday by an angler using rainbow Power Eggs. People are catching limits from a boat while the dock action has been a little slow.

Offut: The trout action has been on these warm days, but the perch and bass fishing has been good. Nightcrawlers are working for all species, Power Bait for the trout and topwater lures for bass.

Saltwater

South Sound: The coho action has been good in the Redondo area, with anglers trolling pink/white hoochies behind a blue flasher. In Tacoma, the clay banks to the slag pile have been producing coho on the outgoing tide. People are hooking some salmon on the Nisqually Reach.

Westport: Boats have been heading straight out from Grays Harbor, with a few boats heading north toward Pacific Beach. Most people are catching coho, with a few chinook as well.

Saltwater

Sekiu: The fishing has dropped off, but a good number of coho are still being caught. The number of anglers has dropped since the area is closed to keeping of chinook.

South Sound: Salmon anglers have been having some luck catching chinook and a handful of coho. The fish are scattered with anglers hooking fish off the Gig Harbor shoreline, Point Dalco, slag pile and the clay banks. Most people are trolling flashers with with bait or hoochies, running their gear 60-90 feet deep early and 30-120 feet deeo during the day. Anglers are catching a few chinook in Marine Area 13.

Lakes

Drano: Including fish released, boat anglers averaged just over a steelhead per rod. A few fall chinook also are being caught.

Tapps: People are catching a few tiger muskies, mainly by trolling bucktails in deeper water than normal.

Rivers

Buoy 10: The fishing improved for Chinook over the weekend. A few coho are also being caught.

Nisqually: There are fish in the river, anglers have yet to figure out what will cause them to bite.

Puyallup: Not many reports of success, but anglers are catching an occasional coho using orange corkies and yarn, as well as a few chinook.

Skokomish: The river has been hot one day and dead the next. People are having success using corkies and yarn, drifting eggs or using beads and yarn. A lot of fish are weighing 10-15 pounds, and there was a report of a 35-pounder being caught.

I got this two calls after I had filed my report for Saturday’s paper, so I thought I would include them here.

Mineral Lake: People are catching rainbow and brown trout, fishing with worms and marshmallows off the bottom with a 6-foot leader, said Doreen Douglas at Mineral Lake Resort. The lake is warming up, so fish early or late in the day.

Silver Lake (Pierce): The trout fishing has been good, especially before the sunshine hits the water. The trout have been cruising near the docks looking for small largemouth bass. The fishing for catfish and bass has been good, said Amy Kenney at Henley’s Silver Lake Resort.

Here is an early look at some of the reports from fishing spots around the area:

Rivers

Nisqually: The fishing has been very slow.

Puyallup: The river is still fishing rather slow. There are reports of people catching some steelhead and chinook, drifting corkies and yarn through some deeper holes.

Skokomish: There are a lot of chinook in the river, and a lot of anglers chasing them. Most people are drifting corkies and yarn in dark colors, while some are fishing eggs early in the day.

Lakes

Harts: The crappie fishing has been very good, despite the heat, with some of the fish reaching 11 inches long. People are using crappie rigs with worms. The action for bluegill and sunfish also has been good.

Leech: The brook trout have been feeding on damsel fly nymphs as they approach the surface. Anglers are having to contend with lots of mosquitos, consider yourself warned.

Spencer: This Mason County lake has been fishing slow, but a little better than the rest in the area. Fish you dough bait or worms right off the bottom in the deep part of the lake.

Saltwater

Ilwaco: Anglers averaged 0.84 salmon per rod last week, but had to contend with bad conditions late in the week. The catch was nearly two thirds coho. Through Sunday, an estimated 21 percent of the coho quota and 48. percent of the chinook guideline had been taken.

South Sound: The salmon fishing has improved in the last week. Chinnok are being caught at places like the slag pile, Browns Point, Owen Beach, clay banks, Point Dalco, and from Redondo north. Fishing the tide change has been the best time, while method doesn’t seem to matter as much.

Westport: The salmon fishing has been off and on in the last week. It was the busiest, in terms of the number of anglers checked, 3,422. But the average catch was .68 per person. The albacore tuna fishing action has been very good, with boats heading out about 40 miles.