Glyn Hackett is off to a fast start to the pink salmon season.

So far, the Oak Harbor angler has reeled in six pinks in the first half of July.

It’s the best start he can remember in more than 20 years of shore fishing for pinks on Whidbey Island.

“This is the earliest I’ve ever caught them,” Hackett said.

“It happens to be my lucky year, I guess. Normally, I don’t do so well.”

An estimated 6.8 million pink salmon are forecast to return to Puget Sound this year.

They surprised North Puget Sound anglers by arriving a couple weeks early and word has gotten out, sending shore fishers in droves to the island’s westside beaches to cast out artificial lures.

Boaters are experiencing the most success, in some cases catching their limits of four fish quickly, said John Hetherington of Oak Harbor’s Ace Hardware store.

“It’s active out there,” he said.

The big waves of pink salmon that come through Puget Sound every odd year on their way to their freshwater spawning grounds haven’t peaked yet and the ones being caught are typically only 2-to-3 pounds.

In a normal pink season, the peak hits in August with the entire month a good opportunity for even the most challenged angler to catch a fish.

Of the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife’s abundant forecast, 1.6 million pinks are returning to the Snohomish River system, which means most will be passing through Admiralty Inlet along Whidbey Island’s west side and around Possession Point in Clinton.

“It’s our strongest forecast to any one system,” said Ryan Lothrop, Puget Sound Recreational Salmon Fishery Manager for the state.

Another 1.2 million are bound for the Dungeness River in Sequim, which ranks No. 2 on the list and is triple the number of fish that returned to that river two years ago.

The Skagit River is expecting 600,000 pinks. The majority of those fish generally travel under the Deception Pass Bridge, Lothrop said.

Lothrop said the pinks, which are also called humpies, seem to be arriving in Puget Sound about 1-to-2 weeks earlier than expected.

One was observed being caught on the season opener, July 1, in Tacoma, which is uncommon, Lothrop said.

“It’s on the early side,” he said.

Whidbey Island is surrounded by four different marine areas defined by state Fish and Wildlife, each with their own set of restrictions.

Pink salmon fishing started July 1 on the island’s west side but won’t begin until Aug. 1 at Deception Pass and elsewhere around Whidbey.

“It’s been crazy today,” Bob Crouch, store manager of Sebo’s Hardware store in Bayiew, said Thursday. “Everyone’s going out. I’ve been spooling gear for crab and fishing both. I’ve heard of a few kings already out there. One friend caught a 20-pounder.”

Thursday was the much anticipated season opener for Chinook salmon, or kings, in Marine Area 9, which encompasses Admiralty Inlet.

Dozens of boats were seen in waters off Port Townsend and Marrowstone Island Friday morning.

Kings must be a minimum of 22 inches and only hatchery fish with a clipped adipose fin may be retained. All wild fish must be released.

Pinks don’t have a size limit and four may be retained daily as long as they’re the only salmon caught that day.

Another salmon in the mix are coho, or silvers, which will continue be caught in good numbers into the months of August and September, Crouch said.

It’s not bedlam yet for shore anglers chasing pinks with altered pink Buzz Bombs (only a single, barbless hook is allowed) or Rotators.

More than 30 anglers lined the shore near Driftwood Park at the Keystone spit in Coupeville Thursday night, producing only a couple small pinks in a few hours of effort.

Earlier in the day, two anglers caught three fish in less than an hour.

Friday morning, the bite was back on with several fishers landing pinks from the bank, some fighting the fish at the same time, before a lull set in again.

Other popular shore vantage points include Bush Point in Freeland, Ebey’s Landing in Coupeville, along west beach in Oak Harbor and on the beach near Deception Pass bridge.

Drought conditions in several areas of the state prompted the state’s Department of Fish and Wildlife this week to close or restrict fishing on more than 30 rivers to help protect fish runs.

The reduced flows and increased water temperatures in rivers could impact the next pink salmon run in 2017, Lothrop said.

“It reduces the amount of spawning habitat available. That translates to fewer fry,” he said. “It will have an effect in two years.”