The 2015-16 Sportfishing rules pamphlet is out now, and listed are the opening dates for the Nooksack river pink salmon run. Opening on July 16th this year, retention of up to 4 pink salmon will be allowed in a limited section of the Nooksack river. Fishing for pinks is only allowed from Everson down to the Lummi Reservation boundary below Ferndale, and bait is prohibited again this year. This means that the highly popular method of plunking with sandshrimp will need to be modified to not use bait. Not to worry, there are plenty of other techniques that work great to catch humpies. Pink spoons, pink jigs (twitched) or a plunking rig with a small pink hootchie instead of shrimp should all do the trick.
Along with the no bait rule are regulations on hook size (1/2″ or less from point to shank), and only one single point hook may be used. Nooksack river pinks are generally smaller in size than Skagit river fish, but they are still a lot of fun to catch. Read the regs before heading out to double check your gear and fishing spot. http://wdfw.wa.gov/fishing/regulations/
