Last week for chinook
The king season is winding down, but it’s not yet fading away.
Despite unfavorable weather conditions — wind and fog — plenty of chinook are being caught, including some big ones.
And this week, we finally have a 40-pound chinook on record.
Roy Scott weighed in a 40-pound, 14-ounce chinook at Swain’s General Store on Sunday.
Scott had a ticket to the Port Angeles Salmon Club’s monthly salmon derby, so his catch put him on the top rung of the derby ladder.
Shannon O’Sullivan is in second place with a king that weighed 34.11 pounds.
Third place is Tim Allison with a 25.06-pounder, and Robin Kirkman, no stranger to this summer’s ladders, is in fourth with a fish that weighed 24 pounds even.
The chinook fishery will end on the Strait of Juan de Fuca on Thursday, so this is the last weekend of the hallowed king fishery.
Since opening July 1, chinook fishing has been consistently productive on the Strait, and it appears to be sprinting toward the finish.
It definitely isn’t slowing down, according to Bob Aunspach of Swain’s General Store (360-452-2357) in Port Angeles.
“It has been really good [this season],” he said.
“It will be good for a couple, three days, and then slack off a bit. But then you might be out there a day or two later and it’s good again.”
While the fishing has been great, it hasn’t necessarily been easy.
“The stinkin’ weather,”Aunspach said.
The wind and fog have forced North Olympic Peninsula anglers to show their mettle.
Wind is a downright detriment, and fog is an annoyance.
“You need some good electronics to fish in the fog,” Aunspach said.
Coastal salmon
Dawn Lawrence of Big Salmon Resort (360-645-2374) in Neah Bay said a story is going around Neah Bay about some anglers who dropped a downrigger on one side of the boat while a pole was drifting on top of the water on the other side.
I think you can guess where this is headed.
The pole got a hit.
And when the fish was reeled in, it wasn’t a tiny silver, but a 25-pound king.
That story illustrates how well the chinook fishing has been in Neah Bay recently.
King fishing on the northern coast is doing so well, that the state Department of Fish and Wildlife announced late Thursday that it will restrict anglers to only one chinook as part of their two-fish daily limit (plus two additional pinks, of course) in Marine Area 3 (LaPush) and 4 (Neah Bay).
This new restriction goes into effect Saturday.
According to the weekly ocean sport salmon fishing reports on the Department of Fish and Wildlife’s website, 93 percent of the Marine Area 4 chinook guideline has been caught.
In Marine Area 3 (LaPush), 70 percent of the chinook quota has been caught.
The ocean salmon seasons is scheduled to be open through
Sept. 22.
Pinks on parade
The chinook fishery is coming to a close, but the humpies are about to hit their prime.
“The pinks are out in full force,” Aunspach said.
If you want to catch a pink, all you need to do is get in a boat and go fishing.
Aunspach was so sick and tired of catching them earlier this week, that he changed his lure to something they wouldn’t be as interested in eating.
Port Angeles and Sekiu both had big weekends for pinks.
Ward Norden, a fishing tackle wholesaler and former fishery biologist, expects the prime of the pinks’ run to arrive in Port Townsend this weekend.
“The main part of the run clearly isn’t in Area 9 yet as of [Wednesday], but should get there about the 10th or 11th if it is on time, and humpies are nothing if not predictable,” Norden said.
He said beach casters should do well with Buzz Bombs or pink Rotator Jigs.
“If the weatherman is right with cloudiness this weekend, the points around Port Townsend, Marrowstone and Wilson, should be flaming hot on the incoming tides by Sunday,” Norden said.
Crabbing update
Not much has changed on the Port Angeles crabbing front.
“It’s still hit and miss,” Aunspach said.
“It’s typical crabbing in Port Angeles for the last couple years.
“But guys are still dropping pots on their way out to catch salmon. If you’re going to go fishing, you might as well drop a pot on your way out.”
The harvest off Dungeness Bay and Sequim Bay hasn’t been quite as fruitful as it has been the last few weeks.
“Crabbing has slowed for a lot, but some are still getting crab, just not as many,” Brian Menkal of Brian’s Sporting Goods and More (360-683-1950) in Sequim said.
Bear hunt
Menkal said he’s heard of one bear being taken in the first week of the bear hunt.
Not bad.
Norden has a few ideas for all you Davy Crocketts out there.
“Haven’t heard any bear hunting stories yet, but I know bears have been active out on the Coyle Peninsula and in the Little Quilcene River drainage in the last month,” he said.
CCA meeting
The North Olympic Peninsula Chapter of the Coastal Conservation Association will meet Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. at the Sequim Library (630 N. Sequim Ave.).
The topic of discussion will be bottomfish and halibut management and the local and state chapter activities.
Archery warm-up
The Wapiti Bowmen Archery Club is holding a hunters’ warm-up on Saturday and Sunday.
The event features 30 full-sized 3-D targets.
There also will be raffle drawings for a Bear Encounter compound bow and a Rinehart 18-1 spot target.
Archers of all skill levels are invited to participate in the warm-up.
The cost for adults is $12 for one day, and $20 for both days. Youth can participate for $8 for one day and $12 for two days. “Cubs” cost $4 for both days.
Registration at 7:30 a.m. Saturday and Sunday.
Breakfast and lunch will be served for a cost of $5 both days.
Limited dry camping is available on a first come, first serve basis.
The Wapiti Bowmen facility is located at 374 E. Arnette Road in Port Angeles.
For more information, visit the club’s website at www.wapitibowmen.us.
Sekiu kids derby
The Clallam Bay-Sekiu Lions Kids Fishing Derby is next Saturday, Aug. 17.
There is no entry fee, and the derby is open to kids ages 5 to 14.
Registration starts at 5:30 a.m. at Van Riper’s Resort and Olson’s Resort.
The weigh-in will be at noon at the Lion’s Club swings.
For more information, questions, or to donate, phone Adam Campbell at 360-461-6701 or Roy Morris at 360-963-2442.
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 lhorton@peninsuladailynews.com.