ANGLERS HOPING TO give halibut fishing one last try before next spring can fish Marine Area 5 (Sekiu, Pillar Point) today, Friday and Saturday.
Barring another fishery reopening, that will conclude the 2012 halibut season.
Of course, we live in the North Olympic Peninsula, so anglers still have many excuses to avoid honey-do lists.
In fact, Sekiu will still be a good place to be when the ocean salmon fishery opens on Sunday, July 1.
“It’s one of the top two or three salmon fisheries in the state,” Eric Hodgson of the new charter business Strait Fishing LLC (360-460-2237) in Sekiu said.
According to the state’s Fish and Wildlife website (http://tinyurl.com/wafishrecords), the state-record chinook, coho and sockeye salmon were all recorded in Sekiu.
“We have the best small-boat port in the state of Washington,” Gary Ryan of Van Riper’s Resort (360-963-2334) in Sekiu said.
Donalynn Olson of Olson’s Resort (360-963-2311) in Sekiu adds that the area is safe because those boats don’t have to travel far from shore.
“It’s close and easy,” Olson said. “A nice fishery.”
Hodgson said major groups of salmon tend to congregate near Sekiu, and unlike river salmon you don’t have to drop your bait right in front of the fish’s mouth.
Saltwater salmon are hungry.
“They’re actively feeding,” Hodgson said, “salmon are going to be wherever the bait is.”
Rules and details
For hatchery coho, there are no size minimums or periods in which only catch-and-release is permitted from Sunday July 1 to Oct. 31 (or Nov. 30 in Marine Area 9).
The rules for hatchery chinook are more complicated. Here is a quick chinook breakdown for the areas opening Sunday, July 1:
Marine Area 5
■ Sunday, July 1 to Aug. 15: Minimum size of 22 inches
■ Aug. 16 to Sept. 30: Catch-and-release chinook.
■ Oct. 1 to Oct. 31: Minimum size of 22 inches. Only one chinook may be retained.
Marine Area 6
■ Sunday, July 1 to Aug. 15: Minimum size of 22 inches.
■ Sunday, July 1 to Aug. 15, chinook catch-and-release area: East of a true north/south line through the No. 2 Buoy immediately east of Ediz Hook.
■ Aug. 16 to Sept. 30: Catch and release chinook.
■ Oct. 1 to Oct. 31: Minimum size of 22 inches. Only one chinook may be retained.
Marine Area 9
■ Sunday, July 1 to July 15: Catch and release chinook.
■ July 16 to Aug. 31: Minimum size of 22 inches.
■ Sept. 1 to Oct. 31: Catch and release chinook.
■ Nov. 1 to Nov. 30: Minimum size of 22 inches.
The daily limit for all three marine areas is a combination of two salmon of any species.
Elwha hatchery plan
The state is seeking public comment on the updated draft management plan, known as a Hatchery and Genetic Management Plan, that will be used by the agency to operate its hatchery program for chinook salmon in the Elwha River watershed.
This plan describes the operation of the artificial production program for chinook in the Elwha River, as well as the potential effects of the program might have on wild fish species, such as salmon and steelhead, that are protected by the federal Endangered Species Act.
“Since completing the original draft . . . for Elwha River chinook salmon nearly a decade ago, we have made significant changes to our hatchery operations,” Ron Warren, regional fish program manager for the state, said in a press release.
“This updated draft plan is designed to be consistent with those changes.”
Two public meetings have been scheduled to discuss the draft:
■ Monday, June 25, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., at the Department of Fish and Wildlife’s North Puget Sound Regional Office in Mill Creek (16018 Mill Creek Blvd.)
■ Thursday, June 28, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., at the City Council Chambers in Port Angeles (321 East 5th St.)
Public comments will also be accepted by email or mail through July 16.
Email comments to Jon Anderson at jon.anderson@dfw.wa.gov or mail them to Jon Anderson, 600 Capitol Way North, Olympia, WA, 98501.
You can review the plan on the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife’s website http://wdfw.wa.gov/hatcheries/hgmp/.
Learn to spey cast
Waters West is offering three spey casting classes this summer.
The first one is Saturday at 9 a.m. on the Sol Duc River.
The other classes will be held July 22 and August 22.
These summer classes will focus on the dry line techniques that are used to catch summer-run steelhead.
Casting and fishing with sink tips and heavy sunk flies will also be covered to help prepare participants for spring and summer chinook.
The cost for each class is $95.
For more information or to register, call 360-417-0937 or email info@
waterswest.com.
You can register on the Waters West website, http://tinyurl.com/wwspeyclass.
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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.