By Larry Ellis

Pilot staff writer

The kickoff to Monday's ocean salmon season at the Port of Brookings Harbor lacked yardage, with only seven fish reported to Skylar Renwick, ODFW fish checker.

However, this was one opener that couldn't be blamed on inclement weather. The sea was flat calm and the climate was like summer.

"It's hard to come up with numbers for salmon when nobody's fishing it," said Mike Ramsay, owner of Sporthaven Marina, "And I think it's directly related to the price of gas. Usually, on opening day, you have boat trailers having to park in the street."

Ramsay said that when one of his charter boat operators looked out over the Chetco River bridge at 6 a.m. and saw the parking lot was deserted, he thought that there must have been a tsunami warning.

Because of idyllic water conditions, most anglers decided to head out toward Thomas Creek to try and intercept a Rogue River springer. Indeed, the Chinook that were caught were nice fat footballs.

The largest fish was estimated to weigh 30 pounds.

Some anglers fished for salmon in the morning, later switching to bottomfish, while others reversed the scenario.

According to Marge Mansur of 4M Tackle in Harbor, a slow start to the salmon season is not unusual.

"It gets better and better every day, and by the end of May, everyone's picking them up," Mansur says.