FOR TWO DAYS this weekend, anyone and everyone can fish, whether the have a license or not.
Free Fishing Weekend is Saturday and Sunday throughout the state of Washington.
During those two days, no license will be required to fish or gather shellfish in any waters open to fishing in the state, and no vehicle access pass or Discover Pass will be required to park at any of the 650 state-maintained water-access sites.
The event, held yearly by the state Department of Fish and Wildlife, offers new anglers, or those who have taken a break from fishing or found devoted their time to a different hobby, the opportunity to fish without needing to purchase a license.
I feel safe making the assumption that someone who doesn’t possess a fishing license also doesn’t own boat.
Luckily, the North Olympic Peninsula is chock-full of options for boat-less anglers.
Lake fishing is probably the best pick for anglers taking advantage of the free fishing, because it tends to be easier.
Lake Leland in Jefferson County (just off Highway 101, about five miles north of Quilcene ramp) has been a hot spot for trout for the 10 or 11 months.
And Leland remains a great spot for trout since the state planted a total of 6,002 rainbows in the lake on April 30 and May 1.
But, the warmer weather has brought warmer water, which has brought the beginning of another good fishery to Leland: bass.
Quilcene’s finest fishing tackle wholesaler and former fishery biologist Ward Norden went bass fishing on Lake Leland Tuesday evening.
“I caught a couple, with the largest being two pounds, so the bass fishing is getting going,” he said.
Norden also had this to say about trout fishing at Leland: “I didn’t bring my trout trolling rod, so it was hard to keep anything pinned, but I did get five hits in short order on the way back to the launch after sunset
“With the water temperature rising rapidly, trout anglers need to get out pretty soon before the fishes’ meat starts to get soft due to warmer temperatures.
“Best fishing is early and late, and there is currently a pretty good insect hatch in the evening that has the trout rising.”
For the record, Norden said the water temperature was 63 degrees on Tuesday night.
Another nice lake spot is Lake Sutherland in Clallam County (10 miles west of Port Angeles, off U.S. Highway 101).
I have been hearing a lot of word-of-mouth buzz about the kokanee fishing at Sutherland lately.
Not only are many kokanee being caught at Sutherland, but I’ve been told a few times that a lot of big ones have been reeled in.
“Kokanee is big there right now,” Brian Menkal of Brian’s Sporting Goods and More (360-683-1950) in Sequim said.
Menkal added that you’ll probably need to fish deeper for the kokanee, but, “They are in there.”
Sutherland also has a lot of cutthroat and rainbow trout, plants from previous years.
River opportunities
River fishing requires more expertise than does lake fishing, but a boat isn’t required/
Spring chinook and summer-run steelhead are both hanging around on the West End rivers.
The Sol Duc River has been the best place for springers. It is also one of the only three rivers open to salmon fishing, along with the Hoh and Quillayute rivers. The other West End rivers open to salmon on Monday, July 1.
Meanwhile, the Bogachiel River and the lower Callawah River are the top spots for steelhead.
The warmer temperatures have melted the snow, which has brought up the water levels on the West End Rivers.
“It’s keeping them up,” Bob Gooding of Olympic Sporting Goods (360-374-6330) in Forks said.
Gooding and Menkal both said that the extra water hasn’t made it so the rivers are too high for good fishing.
Sekiu derby
If you happen to have a boat but no fishing license, you might want to use Saturday to fish for halibut, the celebrity fish of the North Olympic Peninsula.
The Clallam Bay-Sekiu Chamber of Commerce is sponsoring a one-day Last Chance halibut derby on Saturday.
The buy-in for the derby is $15.
I’ll provide more details in Friday’s column.
There are rules
Free Fishing weekend isn’t a lawless weekend.
There are still rules and regulations. For instance, if a fishery isn’t open, such as crabbing, then you can’t do it.
Other regulations, such as size limits and bag limits are still in effect.
In addition, all anglers will be required to complete a catch record card for any salmon, steelhead, sturgeon or halibut they catch during Free Fishing Weekend.
Catch record cards and the Department of Fish and Wildlife’s rules pamphlet are available free at most sporting goods stores and other license dealers throughout the state.
The rules pamphlet is also available online at www.tinyurl.com/WAFishRegs.
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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 lhorton@peninsuladailynews.com.