Home » Travel » Washington State » Fishing in Washington State - A Local's View

Fishing in Washington State - A Local's View

© Jerri Brooker

I remember when I caught my first (and only) fish at Point No Point near Hansville, Washington. It was a ten-pound silver salmon that was small in those days, the 1970's. Now it seems large, as the fish population dwindles in our state. No matter. It was an exciting thing to have a fish on my line and reel it in. When I caught it I couldn't believe my eyes!

I'm not a morning person, so it took a lot more than getting in a stone-cold boat on a cold, wet, dingy morning to make me happy. There's not much I want to talk about until I'm wide-awake and have coffee and breakfast. Put me in a cold boat on Puget Sound and I could just as well go back to bed. Basically, I guess you can call me a morning grump. Fishing is not my favorite sport, either. I thought I was just along for the ride, but since I did have a license, figured it was better to dangle a line than not. When I caught this fish, did it ever wake me. My attitude jumped off the Richter scale! Ms. Grump was awake and ready to fight.

If you fish, you know the feeling. There's just something about the catch. You and the fish, all alone, it seems. I reeled the salmon in with just a little effort. When I saw I actually had a fish in the boat, I couldn't believe it! My husband was elated. So were the kids. I couldn't help but join them. Then when you take it home, take a photo of your proud catch and put it on the dinner table - well, you're really the proud fisherman (just can't do the fisherpeople thing today - you'll have to bear with my "fisherman" term).

Every spring my husband took the girls out on opening day of trout season. I cooked breakfast and waited at home for the proud crew to show. It was usually late morning when they rolled in with their catch. It was a cherished day. We have pictures of all the catches and the proud fishermen. Lots of memory building. Then they went salmon fishing when they could, and lots of times my husband went with his buddies. It was carefree days of fishing.

They still have fun, though. My husband recently went fishing with our son-in-law and grandkids in Eastern Washington. My youngest grandson could not contain himself when we walked in the door the day before (he's four). He had his life jacket on and was pleased to tell grandpa ahead of time that his birthday present from them was a new fishing pole (grandpa pretended not to hear). My other daughter's family went fishing in Western Washington. We all shared fishing stories at the end of the day.