Outdoor recreation activities usually reach their peak around the Labor Day weekend and the way the pink salmon have been congregating around Whidbey Island, the final weekends before the kids head back to school could be memorable for anglers.

Thousands of pink salmon continue to push into Puget Sound; meanwhile, for those who want to try their luck on coho, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife reports catch rates remain strong in ocean waters.

Ken Petersen, fishing guru at Oak Harbor Ace Hardware, said the pink run is at its peak right now.

“It’s not going to get much better,” he said. “Typically the pink return is the last 10 days of August so if you are going to go pink fishing, now is the time.”

Petersen said recent catch ratios have been about nine pinks to one coho.

“The pinks are thick right now and the straits have been really productive,” he said.

The ideal time to try your luck off the beach is an hour before to an hour after high tide. Popular locations around Whidbey Island include Fort Casey, Keystone Spit and West Beach.

“The pinks, when they come through they come through in waves so if you are there when you see jumpers and a lot of activity in the water, you know they are there,” Petersen said. “A wave of pinks will come through an area and the next day or two could actually be kind of slow until the next wave comes in. They come through in big schools.”

Petersen said the lure of choice for Whidbey Island anglers has been the two-and-a-half-inch hot pink Buzz Bomb.

“You have to watch the area that you go to,” he said. “Some areas like West Beach in Area 6 you have to have a single-point hook, you can’t use treble hooks. Now in Area 9, you can use treble hooks.”

For any angler who hasn’t gone after the pinks yet, now is the time — you may not have a better opportunity.

Crabbing

Summer crab fishing remains open in Marine Areas 8-1, 8-2, 9, 10 and the southern portion of 7 around the San Juan Islands until one hour past sunset Sept. 3 when they will close for a catch assessment. However, the northern and eastern portions of Marine Area 7 will remain open through September.

See the WDFW’s sport-crabbing Web site at wdfw.wa.gov/fish/shellfish/crab for more information.

Freshwater fishing

Freshwater anglers will have more opportunities beginning Sept. 1, when portions of the Skagit, Stillaguamish, Skykomish and Snoqualmie open for salmon fishing. Anglers fishing those four rivers must release chinook. Those fishing the Snoqualmie and Skagit also must release pinks.

Shrimp

The coonstripe and pink shrimp fisheries are also open in the region and shrimpers can still drop a pot in marine areas 8-1, 8-2, 9 and the northern and central portions of area.

Check wdfw.wa.gov/fish/shell

fish/shrimpreg/shrimpindex.shtml for all the latest news.