Strong fish runs and a spectacularly sunny summer added up to a banner year for Washington anglers—and a windfall for state coffers.

The number of fishing licenses sold in Washington since the start of the year was up 11 percent through August to about 802,000, compared with around 720,000 during the same period last year. Revenue from licenses and endorsements for crabbing and clamming totaled $18.5 million, up $1.1 million over the same period in 2008.

The number of fishing licenses varies from year to year, but an 11 percent increase “is a pretty big jump,” said Matthew Meacham, an analyst for the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife’s licensing division.

State biologists say salmon fishing has been stronger than usual in some areas of Puget Sound, with pink salmon showing up in record numbers. Forecasts called for about 15 million pink salmon heading to the Fraser River north of Vancouver and another 5.8 million coming into Puget Sound—the highest forecast ever for the region, said Steve Thiesfeld, the WDFW’s salmon manager for Puget Sound.

“We’re having an absolute banner year on pink salmon in Puget Sound,” Thiesfeld said. “This will go down as one of the best pink salmon years ever, if not the best ever.”

Mike Chamberlain, who owns Ted’s Sports Center in Lynwood, chalked up the fishing boom to numerous factors, including months of superb weather, anglers staying closer to home and more unemployed fishermen with plenty of time on their hands.

“We see a lot of these guys who don’t have anything else to do, and it’s very inexpensive for them to (fish),” Chamberlain said.

But Chamberlain believes the single biggest reason for the year’s spike in fishing is the abundance of pinks. Though salmon fishing purists consider pinks less desirable than other salmon species, Chamberlain said, they’re smaller and easier to catch, an attractive prospect for fledgling anglers.

“Your return on the investment is low. You don’t need a boat. You don’t need to have a special rod and reel, because these fish average anywhere from three to seven pounds. It doesn’t take a lot of expensive tackle to fish for pinks.”

Coho ocean fishing has also been unusually good, said Wendy Beeghley, a WDFW fish biologist who focuses on ocean areas outside of Puget Sound.

“We’ve had phenomenal ocean fishing for coho this year,” she said. “Early on, we predicted that we would have some really good coho returns to the Columbia River. We expected a pretty good ocean fishery based on that and indeed, that has panned out. I’ve been here 22 years and these are some of the highest catch rates I’ve ever seen.”

The season for pinks is winding down and chum typically don’t start showing up until mid-October. But Thiesfeld said coho salmon have been showing up earlier than usual around Sekiu, a popular fishing spot on the southern side of the Strait of Juan de Fuca. Anglers have reeled in coho between 10 and 15 pounds in the area, Thiesfeld said, which is unusual.

“We don’t see those very often in the Sound and we’re seeing a fair number that size,” he said. “They’re rare and they’re prized.”

Not all areas and fisheries were bountiful this year; sockeye runs were too low to allow for any sockeye fishing at all this year in Puget Sound and Chinook were scarce from Port Townsend down through Tacoma. But overall, Beeghley said, the year has been a stellar one for anglers.

“It was amazing fishing, just amazing, some of the best fishing I remember having,” she said. “A lot of people who haven’t fished in a while went out and bought fishing licenses, myself included.”

The recession has prompted a growing trend of “staycations” – vacations taken closer to home – but Thiesfeld doesn’t think that’s what caused the spike in fishing this year in Washington.

“If you look at our boat ramps and rivers, there’s a tremendous amount of people out fishing,” Thiesfeld said. “I don’t think it’s just because they’re staying home. It’s because the fish are here.”

That’s been good news for both the state and business owners such as Chamberlain. Newbie anglers have been flocking to his store all summer, looking for guidance and ready to buy.

“A lot of people have come into the sport who have never fished before. We see it every day,” Chamberlain said. “We’ll draw them maps and show them places on the river that they can go. We’ll rig them up to the point where the line’s threaded through the guide and all they have to do is go out and cast.”

Consequently, Chamberlain said, business has been booming for the past three months, following a slow winter and a previous summer dampened by high fuel prices, the recession, bad weather and mediocre fishing.

“Having a very, very good pink salmon run like we’ve having this year is a boon to our business,” he said. “This is a year when pink turns to green. And you’ve got to capitalize on it.”