A rare catch -- sockeye in Lake Washington

It's a testament to the tasty flavor of the sockeye, and the rarity of being able to catch these salmon in the middle of a metropolitan area: Richard Lundquist plans to be among the thousands trolling in Lake Washington Saturday with lines out.

The state Department of Fish and Wildlife, in consultation with tribal leaders, announced yesterday that enough sockeye are returning this year to allow recreational fishing in the lake from one hour before sunrise until one hour after sundown. It will be only the sixth time in the past 20 years that sockeye could be caught in the lake.

Lundquist, 71, of Bothell is especially grateful for the opportunity because he never got a chance to catch any sockeye two years ago, the last time the state allowed them to be caught. His 14-foot runabout nearly went down that year and took him with it.

He had gotten only one line in the water for about 10 minutes by the Evergreen Point Bridge when a winch with a cable attached to a heavy weight got caught in his only working engine. The boat's second engine didn't have any gas in it.

"I had to quickly lift up the motor, and I was trying to unwind it," Lundquist recalled yesterday. But that tipped the boat over enough for water to begin pouring in.

Nearby, two Seattle police officers and Shoreline Fire Department Battalion Chief Jim Batdorf were out sailing. "My son-in-law (one of the police officers) said, 'That boat looks like it's about to sink,' " Batdorf said. "And just when he said 'sink,' it did."

Lundquist's brother and grandson -- with whom he was fishing -- got out of the boat. But Lundquist got his foot caught in the winch, and found himself underneath the capsized boat. "I was getting just enough air in between the waves," Lundquist said.

A third boat -- with another Seattle police officer, a retired police lieutenant and his son -- also came to help.

The lieutenant's son dove under the water to cut Lundquist free, while the other boats fished the two others out of the water.

Lundquist's boat was missing its front windshield and some seats, and one of the motors was ruined. But it ultimately was saved too, and now it sits ready to go in Lundquist's garage.

When asked whether he'll go out again this weekend, Lundquist replied, "Oh yeah."

Steve Thiesfeld, the Department of Fish and Wildlife's recreational salmon biologist for Puget Sound, said the state and tribes agreed after reviewing weekend counts of sockeye from the Ballard Locks to update their sockeye run estimate to 385,000. The goal had been 350,000.

In 2002, 29,000 boats only caught an average of 12,000 sockeye a day over the three days fishing was allowed.

Contributing to this year's surplus is the temporary sockeye hatchery on the Cedar River.

Batdorf plans to be out there too.

"It's a real treat," he said. "Sockeye is one of the best table salmon around. Certainly the best we have in Washington.

"As with most salmon, the redder the meat, the more oil content and better the flavor. Sockeye has nice, red, good-tasting meat. And the opportunities to catch them this close is very, very limited."

Batdorf caught the limit last time, and hopes to pull out the two-fish limit this year. But no fishermen, though.

IF YOU GO

The state Department of Fish and Wildlife will allow a rare opportunity on Saturday: the chance to catch sockeye salmon in Lake Washington. Here are some rules:

Fishing will be allowed from one hour before sunrise to one hour after sunset.

There will be a two-sockeye daily limit, with sockeye retention limited to those fish measuring at least 15 inches. All other salmon must be immediately released unharmed.

No fishing will be allowed within 100 yards of the floating bridges.

Waters within 1,000 feet of the mouth of the Cedar River in Renton will be closed to all fishing.

Anglers must have a freshwater fishing license and salmon catch record card. Kept salmon must be immediately recorded on the catch record card.

Under freshwater fishing rules, anglers may only fish with one rod and must stop fishing once their personal daily limit is caught.

The following Web site has more information about Lake Washington sockeye salmon: wdfw.wa.gov/ fish/sockeye/counts.htm

P-I reporter Kery Murakami can be reached at 206-448-8131 or kerymurakami@seattlepi.com