I THINK WE’VE seen this before.
The same hot start enjoyed by halibut anglers in the eastern Strait of Juan de Fuca came west last weekend.
Creel check numbers from the first three days of Area 5 (Sekiu) flatty fishing tell the story: 145 boats, 171 halibut.
That, my dear Peninsulites, is hotter than an educated brunette with an affinity for lower back hair.
(Translation: Pretty darn hot.)
“Last weekend they did really good,” Val Olson of Olson’s Resort (360-963-2311) in Sekiu said. “They were all between 20 and 87 pounds [on Saturday].
“They are going both directions really . . . [fishing] Slip Point [out east] or else down by the Hoko-Sekiu rivers [out west] and straight out.”
Most of the success on Thursday came at the former, according to Randy Jones of Venture Charters (360-895-5424) in Sekiu.
“I heard that east of Slip Point was doing pretty good. I can tell you [fishing out in front of] Sekiu River sucked,” Jones said.
“We got one halibut, one little halibut, and the lingcod all seem to be too small.”
Primo tides certainly helped anglers Thursday. And those promise to get only better during the next two days of fishing: today and Saturday.
“It’s been good,” Olson said. “Nothing of real size [was caught Thursday] . . . all around 20 or 30 [pounds], but there are a lot of them.”
Sekiu will host its annual halibut derby on Saturday from 5 a.m. to 7 p.m., with fishing limited to the area between the Sekiu River and Pillar Point.
The top fish on the ladder will pay out $10 per pound.
That means a 100-pound barndoor, if it were in fact the top fish on the ladder, would score one lucky angler $1,000.
The second-best fish takes home $200 and the third $100, while the top sea bass is worth $100.
Derby tickets cost $15.
Area 5 will remain open to halibut fishing Thursdays through Saturdays until June 19.
Coastal halibut
Maybe it’s time to start constructing a wooden horse.
Perhaps then, after we’ve appeased Poseidon with a proper gift, we can get a decent day of halibut fishing off the coast.
Choppy seas and foul weather once again made for more so-so fishing during Thursday’s opener.
“It was definitely lumpy,” Randy Lato of All-Ways Fishing (360-374-2052) in LaPush said. “There were some pretty good-sized swells.
“It took us [maybe] two hours to get out [to the southwest corner of the bottomfish closure zone from LaPush].
“Then we got out there, and everybody got sick except for me and one guy.”
Yes, it was that kind of day out on the coast.
You better have brought a hearty constitution and a sturdy stomach, or it wasn’t much fun.
As it was, Lato and company hooked into five halibut between 20 and 30 pounds and a fair amount of lingcod.
But their story was shared only by a few.
Another was Tacoma’s Alan Perkins, whose boat scored a couple of flatties eight miles west of Tatoosh Island.
After rough water sent him inside the Strait, Perkins ran into a 105-pound monster just north of Tatoosh.
“It hit like a railroad train, and it came up like a log, fighting all the way,” said Perkins, who caught the 54-inch fish in 320 feet of water.
“That’s the biggest barndoor I’ve ever caught.”
It’s also the top fish on the ladder of Big Salmon Resort’s annual halibut derby, set for Thursday and Saturday.
“That was a nice fish, but other than that we haven’t seen many anglers moving around,” Joey Lawrence at Big Salmon (360-645-2374) in Neah Bay said.
“It’s really slow for us as far as people. We may have 40 or 50 boats. Maybe once the weather lays down we’ll start seeing some better fishing here.”
Derby tickets cost $25 apiece.
The top fish on the ladder will take home 50 percent of the buy-ins, with the top lingcod earning $200 and the top sea bass $150. Complete rules are at bigsalmonresort.net.
Halibut fishing is Area 3 (LaPush) and 4 (Neah Bay) comes to a close after Saturday.
There are two tentative dates, June 17 and 19, also scheduled for halibut if enough quota remains.
“You’d think we’d at least get one more day,” Lawrence said. “It’s just so hard to predict what the state is going to do.”
Regardless, coastal anglers can look forward to selective chinook fishing (hatchery fish retention only) in both areas starting June 12.
“There’s a lot of salmon around,” said Lawrence, referencing reports he’d gotten from commercial trollers. “We’ve kind of got our fingers crossed and our hopes high that they will stick around.
“We think they will because the feed is still around.”
Summer steelies
The rivers should be in for Saturday’s opener.
So too should the summer steelhead, according to Bob Gooding of Olympic Sporting Goods (360-374-6330) in Forks.
“There’s quite a few around,” said Gooding, referring to the Bogachiel and Calawah rivers, both of which open Saturday.
“[The summer steelhead run] really gets hit hard when it opens, and then it slows way down. The rivers start dropping [and] it gets tougher.”
Spring chinook continue to show up in the Sol Duc and Hoh.
Those might be a little tougher to catch, but there won’t be near as much competition for them considering the army of anglers sure to hit the Calawah Ponds and its surrounding areas Saturday.
Learn to row
Rowing need not be reserved for Ivy Leaguers wearing ugly argyle sweaters.
No, you, the plebeians of the Peninsula, can also partake in the wonderful world of oars, strokes and coxswains.
Now is the perfect time to start, with the Olympic Peninsula Rowing Association set to hold a Learn to Row Day on Saturday morning at Ediz Hook.
As long as the weather cooperates, which it appears it might, there will be some on-water activities.
Participants will also get to test out rowing machines, receive off-water instruction and get a tour of the Association’s boat house at 1431 Ediz Hook.
The free event will run from 8-11 a.m. at the boat house. It is open to ages 12 and older. (The flier says 12 to infinity, but I won’t guarantee rowing in heaven.)
Make sure to dress in comfortable layers. River sandals or old tennis shoes are the preferable footwear.
The Association has four-person and eight-person shells, with rowing sessions held on Wednesday and Saturday mornings.
For more information, contact Tim Tucker of the Clallam County Family YMCA at 360-452-9244.
Father-son moment
Father-son steelhead experts Bill and John McMillan will speak at the monthly Olympic Peninsula Fly Fishers meeting Monday night in Port Angeles.
John, the son, is a NOAA biologist who has done extensive research on North Olympic Peninsula steelhead and spoken to the Fly Fishers in the past.
He will explain why some rainbow trout stay in the river and others go out to sea, eventually returning to mate as steelhead, at the Monday meeting at 7 p.m. in the Loomis Log Cabin at Lincoln Park.
His father, Bill, is considered an expert in steelhead conservation and has passionately supported that cause. Bill is also the originator of floating line (aka “greased line”) techniques for steelhead fly fishing, and is thought to be a major influence on Pacific Northwest fly fishing.
He will give a fly tying demonstration of the “Winter’s Hope’ steelhead patter he developed in 1970.
Also . . .
• Non-spot shrimp harvesting opened in Marine Area 9 (Admiralty Inlet) earlier this week.
All spot shrimp caught must be immediately returned to the water. Small mesh pots ( ½ inch minimum) may be used in these areas.
• A quick heads up for geoduck diggers: next weekend’s tides will be the best of the year.
Duckabush and Dosewallips will both see low tides in the -3-foot range June 12-14; prime time digging conditions for anyone on the lookout for the state’s most phallic clam.
• Free Fishing Weekend returns to the state June 12-13.
Anglers need no license, two-pole endorsement or vehicle use permit during the weekend, although a catch record card (available at almost any license dealer) must be completed for certain fisheries.
• Washington Trails Association launched a new interactive map on its Web site last week.
The map allows hikers to look for trails using a variety of filters like mountain views, waterfalls, kid friendly hikes and more. Each trail is denoted by a clickable icon.
To view the map, visit wta.org.
• Rich Osborne will present “Orcas, Humans, and Salmon: Shared Ancestries and Shared Destinies” at Feiro Marine Life Center in Port Angeles on Saturday at 6:30 p.m.
Osborne is a former research curator and director of the Whale Museum on San Juan Island and is now its research associate.
To reserve a spot at the event, or for more information, call 360-417-6254.
• Clallam County Streamkeepers is looking for new volunteers to collect data, perform data entry and analysis and conduct public education and outreach.
Those interested can participate in free training provided by Streamkeepers, beginning June 15. No experience is required.
To register or inquire, call Streamkeepers at 360-417-2281, or send an e-mail to streamkeepers@co.clallam.wa.us.
• State shellfish specialist Rich Childers will speak at the Puget Sound Anglers-East Jefferson Chapter’s monthly meeting Tuesday.
Childers will discuss crabbing and enforcement issues in the area at the meeting, set to begin at 7 p.m. in the Marina Room at Hudson Point Marina in Port Townsend.
• Trolling tips for Strait selective chinook and coho fisheries will be discussed during the Puget Sound Anglers-North Olympic Peninsula Chapter monthly meeting June 17.
Walt Blendermann will give out some basic downrigger and tackle techniques with some area descriptions provided to help harvest hatchery fish.
The meeting begins at 6:45 p.m. at the Trinity United Methodist Church, 100 S. Blake Ave., in Sequim.
• The Olympic Peninsula Paddlers Club will hold its monthly meeting Wednesday at 7 p.m. in the Vern Burton Community Center, 308 E. Fourth St., in Port Angeles.
Send photos, stories
Want your event listed in the outdoors column?
Have a fishing or hunting report, an anecdote about an outdoors experience or a tip on gear or technique, why not share it with our readers?
Send it to me, Matt Schubert, Sports Department, Peninsula Daily News, P.O. Box 1330, Port Angeles, WA 98362; phone, 360-417-3526; fax, 360-417-3521; e-mail matt.schubert @peninsuladailynews.com.
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Matt Schubert is the outdoors columnist for the Peninsula Daily News. His column appears on Thursdays and Fridays.