Go fishing!

Samish River fishing is classified as "combat fishing" – it's so crowded fisher people jockey for a place to plunk their poles in the water. A mini-boatless Bristol Bay.

Over 50 hopeful fisher people attired in hip waders, camouflage jackets, ball caps and sunglasses, holding nets and casting poles, crowded the Samish River Sunday morning at the Samish River bridge on Bayview-Edison Road west of Farm to Market Road. The bridge is across from those cool live-aboard boat moorings. At 9:30 a.m. fishers were still climbing over the road's guardrail and wading into the river.

Billowing stark-white cumulous clouds dotted the skyline.

The recent rain made for a muddy shore and had more than one fisherman flailing in a soupy mix well past his ankles as they struggled to get to the river. A fellow went down on his butt, passed his long-handled net to his buddy and still had no leverage or solid ground for raising himself up.

King salmon – also known as Chinook – is the main species caught in the Samish river along with silvers – also called Coho. Later in the season – November into December – steelhead show up.

Kings are anadromous. They are born in freshwater, migrate to the ocean and return to their rivers as adults to spawn.

Kings are the largest and most valuable. White Kings lack the red pigment found in regular King salmon and are sometimes marketed as "ivory king" and are considered more flavorful than their common cousin.

Kings arrive in August and peak in September – their numbers swelling well into the thousands. Kings as large as 30-plus pounds have been caught here.

It's illegal to park on the bridge; vehicles instead pull off Bayview-Edison Road and their passengers walk on the shoulder and down the embankment, then head a bit upstream. The river flows through private farmland, so be respectful and don't trespass. Get there early if you want to get a spot not clogged with fisher people – before the sun's up. No boat required. Further south are other sites, though not as accessible, just look for cars. The river is not visible from the road.

But whatever spot was their favorite, the river was empty of humans at 1 p.m. The tide changed, of course.

The freshwater salmon season runs through Sept. 30 on the Samish River The daily limit is two at 12-inch minimum with release of wild coho and chum.

Anadromous fish rules change frequently: wdfw.wa.gov.

Written for Barbara Carson.