THE WAIT FOR the crab and salmon season will end before the weekend is over, as both fisheries open Sunday.
This is fantastic news for both the catchers and eaters of seafood.
Even better, both openers should be fruitful.
This crab season should be similar to 2011.
Rich Childers, shellfish policy lead for the state, said in a press release that recent tests indicate an abundant crab population.
“The test boats have done very well,” Childers said.
“I expect this summer’s fishery to be similar to last year’s, when crabbing was good throughout the entire season.”
There are two types of crab to harvest, Dungeness and Red Rock, but only one gets the North Olympic Peninsula salivating.
“Dungeness is what everybody’s going for,” Brian Menkal of Brian’s Sporting Goods and More (360-683-1950) in Sequim said.
“They are better and larger, and they have more meat.”
Dungeness crab have white-tipped claws and a brownish shell.
The daily harvest limit is five.
Only males can be harvested and they must measure at least 6.25 inches big from the widest part of the shell.
To identify the gender, look at the abdomen. If it is narrow, the crab is a male. If the abdomen is wide, it’s a female.
The daily limit is six for Red Rock crabs, and they must be at least five inches wide. Both sexes can be harvested.
Red Rock crabs have black-tipped claws and a reddish shell that is significantly wider than it is long.
Sequim Bay and Dungeness Bay are two of the best crabbing spots.
“The crab opener should be outstanding,” Menkal said.
Throughout the Peninsula, the season begins Sunday and lasts until Sept. 3.
It is important to note that because crab is a Thursday-to-Monday season, it will not be open on the July 4th holiday.
Salmon everywhere
After opening in LaPush and Neah Bay two weeks ago, the ocean salmon season opens everywhere else Sunday.
As we discussed last week (read online at http://tinyurl.com/sekiusalmon), Sekiu should be a good spot for king salmon.
“The kings are jumping in Sekiu,” Menkal said. “There are a lot in the water.
“It looks like a great opener. They’re going gang-busters out there.”
Kings of Neah Bay
The king salmon are thick in Neah Bay.
“There are a lot of salmon,” Joey Lawrence of Big Salmon Resort (360-645-2374) in Neah Bay said.
“The anglers who go out are doing real well. There are some really nice kings.”
And the harvest is about to get better.
Starting Sunday, the selective salmon fishery ends in Neah Bay and LaPush, and anglers can start taking home the wild chinook they catch.
They can also start taking coho.
Bob Rogers of Belfair and Jason Berthiaume of Port Orchard were beneficiaries of the plentiful chinook near Neah Bay.
Earlier this week, the two of them were fishing out in the Strait for lingcod and ended up reeling in three hatchery kings that weighed more than 20 pounds, and another that weighed 15 pounds.
Oh, and they also got some lingcod.
Kids salmon derby
Big Salmon Resort will be celebrating July 4th with a kids salmon derby in Neah Bay on Wednesday.
The derby is open to kids 16 years old and younger.
The buy-in is $5, and prizes include an Xbox and peddle bike. There also will be drawings.
For more details, call Big Salmon Resort at 360-645-2374.
Shellfish closure
The Department of Health has closed areas along the Strait of Juan de Fuca to recreational shellfish harvesting due to detection of Paralytic Shellfish Poisoning.
This follows last week’s shellfish closure of Sequim Bay because of Diarrhetic Shellfish Poisoning.
Judging by the names of the two poisons, it appears the latest closure is a little more serious.
But as with the diarrhetic poisoning, Paralytic Shellfish Poisoning is found in clams, oysters, mussels and other invertebrates such as the moon snail.
The crab opener is not affected, as crab meat does not contain biotoxin.
However, don’t eat the crab guts, also called the butter, because they might contain unsafe levels.
For more information about the closure, call the Marine Biotoxin Hotline at 1-800-562-5632, or visit the Department of Health’s Marine Biotoxin website at http://tinyurl.com/biotoxin.
Fly fishing class
After concluding his rivers fishing course, Menkal will hold a two-part fly-fishing class each of the next two Tuesday nights.
Both classes run from 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at Brian’s Sporting Goods and More, located at 542 W. Washington St. in Sequim.
Menkal said the fly-fishing classes will discuss such topics as rod options and places to go.
The class is free and open to people of all experience levels.
For best results, bring a pen, chair and notepad.
For more information, call Menkal at 360-683-1950.
Send photos, stories
Have a photograph, a fishing or hunting report, an anecdote about an outdoors experience or a tip on gear or technique?
Send it to sports@peninsuladailynews.com or P.O. Box 1330, Port Angeles, WA 98362.
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Outdoors columnist Lee Horton appears here Thursdays and Fridays. He can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5152 or at lee.horton@peninsuladailynews.com.