I did a bit of scouting over the holiday weekend in hopes of spotting a silver or two hurtling out of the sea around the Spit. Nada.

Why? Because I have received numerous inquiries as to when I think the first coho will make their summer debut at The Fishing Hole.

So, at the moment, how can I put this delicately? I don’t have a ^%$#*&@ clue.

I’m a bit more cautious now about throwing out pompous prognostications after what happened a few years ago.

Back then, the consensus of opinion amongst the unique Reeling ’Em In team surmised that small packs of kings would start trickling into the pond round the last of May and then heat up throughout June.

The staff of two humanoids and 1.5 dog interns couldn’t have been more perturbingly wrong.

As column spokesman and sacrificial flunky, I ended up with enough egg on my face that I might as well have been whacked between the eyes with an ostrich egg omelet. It wasn’t pretty.

If the chinooks had rolled in any later they would have been the following year’s run.

So anyway, last Monday, I ran into salmon assassin Mr. T near the ferry dock and mentioned I hadn’t spotted any silvers doing backflips off shore yet.

He looked around solemnly for a moment and pronounced he had just spotted a jumper.

If his lovely wife hadn’t been accompanying him, I would have probably uttered something that would have melted the tires off his rig.

He then produced his 2015 log book records from last year noting the coho run was strong on the Fourth. I’m sure I spotted an accompanying side glance implying that, if I would have bothered to show up then even I might have had a shot at a strike.

Thanks T, may this year’s silver karma bestow a multitude of backlashes upon your aging rod and bequeath your personage a cornucopia of missed takedowns.

For now, we wait. Hopefully, next week we’ll be singing “School’s in for the summer.”

Now let’s take a look at this week’s fishing report.

Regulation Reminders

Snagging is no longer open in the Nick Dudiak lagoon (Fishing Hole) until further notice.

A sub with an Aqua Super Suck attachment couldn’t have done a better job of cleaning out the aging kings than the employment of weighted treble hooks and seal teeth. Nice job.

Snagging is open in Kachemak Bay east of a line from Anchor Point to Point Pogibshi.

China Poot personal-use dipnet fishery is open and continues through Aug. 7. Personal-use caught sockeye salmon must have both tips of the tail fin removed.

Dipnetting success for sockeye in China Poot is fair. The peak of this run is about the middle of July.

The lower portions of the Anchor River, Deep Creek and Stariski Creek are open to sport fishing except for kings. Kings may not be targeted and if hooked, they must be released immediately. Gear is limited to one un-baited single-hook artificial lure.

The marine waters of Tutka Bay Lagoon within 100 yards of the hatchery net pens are closed year-round to sport fishing for any species.

Anglers are reporting fair success catching sockeye in Tutka Lagoon. Just watch where you fish.

Expect fair to good fishing for Dolly Varden in the roadside streams.

Try fishing for dollies with small bright single-hook spinners or spoons, egg patterns and bead presentations.

Note: Reports from the Anchor have reflected some fine dolly fishing as they push into the stream.

The pinks may be just starting to arrive in the roadside streams as well. Big whoop.

Lingcod season opened July 1. The bag and possession limit for these fish with an engaging smile and personality of a rabid piranha is two fish. The minimum legal size is 35 inches.

Sport caught pink salmon may be used as bait in the salt water fisheries because they are losers, but are still counted as part of your daily bag limit.

There are still some newly arriving hatchery king salmon in the Ninilchik River but the run should be wrapping up soon.

Only one un-baited single-hook, artificial lure may be used while sport fishing in the Ninilchik River through July 15.

Saltwater Fishing: Halibut

Halibut fishing in Cook Inlet is still gaining strength as more flats move into their summer feeding grounds. Some fish with swagger size have been hitting the cleaning tables lately.

Sampled fish harvested out of the Homer port averaged 10.85 pounds, with a range of 2.6-86.6 pounds.

Unguided anglers can retain two halibut a day, four in possession.

Herring has the primo bouquet required to lure them into scarfing down a circle hook but salmon heads, squid, octopus and shiny jigs are cool, too. Especially if you hate having to check your bait every time some critter takes a whack at your bait when it’s two hundred feet down during a big tide change and you are using a bowling ball as a weight.

Trolling for kings is reported as fair around Bluff Point and along South side of Kachemak Bay from Bear Cove to Point Pogibshi.

King hunters are reporting catches of chum, pink, sockeye and coho.

Rumor has it that a few silvers have started arriving at the Nick Dudiak Fishing lagoon but as of 04:00 hours, Wednesday, it was so slow the seals were coming inside just for naps.

When the silvers do make their grand appearance, they’ll be looking to nail salmon eggs and small herring suspended 18 to 24 inches under a bobber.

They also enjoy smacking bright spinners and doing barrels rolls out of the water when on the hook.

I shouldn’t have to suggest this again but, hit them during the tide change outs and/or dawn’s early light.

Shellfish

Razor Clam Emergency Order

All Eastside Cook Inlet beaches from the Kenai River to the tip of the Homer Spit are closed to all clams through December 31, 2016.

All shrimp and crab fisheries in Kachemak Bay remain closed for 2016.

Nick can be reached at ncvarney@gmail.com if you have any tips, tales or unsubstantiated rumors that you would like to share.