After the pink salmon season got off to a surprisingly early start, it has since come to a seemingly sharp halt around South Whidbey.

Anglers at Bush Point and elsewhere have reported spotty hauls thus far from what was predicted and hoped to be a massive year for the smallest salmon species in Western Washington.

“People are catching pinks off the beach here and there,” said Kari Gerow, manager of Freeland Ace Hardware and an avid angler. “I thought it was going to be stronger by now.”

“Once they really start biting, I think it’s going to be record breaking,” she added.

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 of weeks early in mid-July, rather than later in the month. Word spread fast, sending boat and beach anglers in droves to the island’s westside beaches to cast out artificial lures.

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. Pink salmon, also called “humpies” for the distinct humps males develop in freshwater, being caught thus far are typically only 2 or 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 second 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.

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

“It’s on the early side,” Lothrop 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, Marine Area 9, but won’t begin until Aug. 1 at Deception Pass and elsewhere around Whidbey, marine areas 8-1 and 8-2.

“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.”

The king salmon season on Whidbey’s west side closed July 26 after the retained quota was reached. Kings had to be a minimum of 22 inches and only hatchery fish with a clipped adipose fin may be retained.

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

Other salmon in the mix are coho, or silvers, which will continue to 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.

On Thursday, a few boats, a kayak and a dozen lines hit the water from Bush Point, the most popular fishing beach on South Whidbey. During a low tide, plenty of anglers reported getting bites, even a few were landed and kept. One man arrived to the parking lot after catching one farther south at Double Bluff. Scott T. Starbuck, an author and outdoor blogger from Freeland, hooked into a small one while being photographed before letting it wriggle free near his feet.

Starbuck had hooked into five fish that day and kept two. The Riverseek blogger and Northwest Fishing Report writer is a relative novice to beach fishing, having only done it for two years. His approach has been to ask questions, pay attention to the other anglers and listen well. Do as they do, he said, and fish will get hooked.

“Ask a lot of questions of the locals and be a good listener,” he said.

“Be friendly without being obtrusive,” he added.

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

Other popular shore vantage points include Ebey’s Landing in Coupeville, along West Beach in Oak Harbor and along the shoreline near Deception Pass bridge.

Drought conditions in several areas of the state prompted the state’s Department of Fish and Wildlife recently 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.”

Whidbey News Group reporter Ron Newberry contributed to this report.