LOCKJAW IS STARTING to set in.
All of those hook noses swimming around the saltwater are starting to get love on the brain. Oddly enough, that doesn’t do much to help their appetite.
Thus, as the late season bubble fishery hits full stride in Area 3 (LaPush), and a salmon free-for-all approaches in Area 6 (eastern Strait of Juan de Fuca) and 9 (Admiralty Inlet), now is the time for patience.
Certainly it helps that a sack of loot will be on the line in one of those spots because of the Last Chance Salmon Derby on Saturday and Sunday in LaPush.
As long as the weather cooperates, there should be quite a few returning salmon to target in the waters just outside the Quillayute River.
You’ve just got to be smart about where you look, Randy Lato of All-Ways Fishing (360-374-2052) in LaPush has said in the past.
“Anything that is ready to go is going to be shooting right in [to the Quillayute],” Lato said last year.
“You get within two miles [of the river] and they are terminal, but there is no west boundary on this bubble, so you can go out to the Rock Pile.
“The fish out there are still bitey.”
The top coho and chinook will each bring in $500 from the derby, with $250 going to the second-largest and $100 for the third-largest.
There is a $25 entry fee covering both days, with fishing running from daylight to 4 p.m. on Saturday and daylight to noon on Sunday.
For more information, contact the Forks Chamber of Commerce at 360-74-2531 or visit www.forkswa.com/salmonderby.
Strait salmon
Anglers have one last day to take down a few coho in Area 5 (Sekiu).
The always popular wild coho keeper fishery brought the crowds to Slip Point like it always does at the end of September.
But with most of the mob filing out before it actually closes at the end of today, area anglers could actually enjoy a serene swan song to the Sekiu summer salmon season.
“It’s been a good season,” Gary Ryan of Van Riper’s Resort (360-963-2334) in Sekiu said. “This is one of the better seasons we’ve had in a long time.
“There’s been a lot of people, and a lot of fish.”
A nice chunk of those fish were actually caught last week, when state fish checkers counted 1,463 anglers with 1,915 coho coming out of Sekiu.
No doubt, a few of their buddies will be moving through the Strait this week, meaning things could get productive in Areas 6 and 9.
The latter opens to coho retention of all kinds starting Saturday, while the former will open to all salmon retention on the same day.
Yes, that includes the kings.
“I expect a pretty good bunch of people in the water come Saturday,” Bob Aunspach of Swain’s General Store (360-452-2357) in Port Angeles said.
“It’s been a good season for us. I think we’re going to see the best of it in the next couple of weeks coming up for silvers.
Added Aunspach, “I think there could be some late fall chinook that could be available [near Freshwater Bay].
“That’s what they are catching [out in LaPush], so there’s definitely a chance of some fall chinook still here.”
Rivers on rise
Before you read any further, go ahead and flip ahead to the back of the C section of today’s PDN.
Depending upon how many of those rain clouds actually show up, river anglers can expect either feast or famine during the next couple of days.
“It’s going to rain, but it just depends on how hard,” Bob Gooding of Olympic Sporting Goods (360-374-6330) in Forks said.
In other words, if we’re in for a classic early October downpour, all bets are off on West End rivers.
If it’s just another Peninsula spritz, however, grab the rod and head to the Quillayute System.
Those streams are swarming with salmon, and they should be willing to go after some gear if the conditions are right.
The Sol Duc Hatchery reported 508 adult coho in its traps this week, and that’s likely just the start of something much bigger.
“There should be some decent ones in there,” Gooding said. “Little ones are 5-6 pounds, the big ones are 12 to 14.
“I’ve heard of a couple of bigger ones than that, but, then again, you hear of all kinds of things.”
Another salmon story floating around the area: More coho are swimming into the Quilcene River.
“They are still getting them,” Brian Menkal of Brian’s Sporting Goods and More (360-683-1950) in Sequim said, “and still getting fresh fish.”
On the hunt
This, my dear Peninsulites, is hunting weather.
Want to score some elk meat this weekend? Get ready for a good soaking.
According to Aunspach, hunters might want to have their bugling muscles ready to go to work as well.
As talkative as the animals were for this month’s early archery season, there’s a chance they might be making some noise when muzzleloader season starts Saturday.
“From the guys I’m talking to, the bulls that are out there are talking quite a bit,” Aunspach said. “They are out there pretty visible for everybody to find right now.
“It’s going to be a little wet, but it will still be a little good.”
Early muzzleloader season for deer is set to come to a close after the end of the weekend.
Those who get out into the woods for the final two days may get a chance to take advantage of an early rut period for the bucks.
No doubt, feeding activity will be on the rise as well.
“Those days are getting shorter and those nights are getting colder,” Aunspach said. “As winter comes on, they feel the need to put on that winter fat, so they feed pretty aggressively.”
Also starting up this weekend is the fall pheasant hunt at Dungeness Recreation Area.
Approximately 900 pheasants are expected to be released at the hunting site between now and the end of November
Hunting is open 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays through Nov. 30.
The one exception is this Saturday, in which hunting does not open until noon.
Salmon Cascades
Schools of coho continue to jump for love over at the Sol Duc Salmon Cascades.
According to Olympic National Park Chief Fisheries Biologist Sam Brenkman, 980 adult wild coho have been counted above the Cascades during recent snorkel surveys.
“That’s a really good start. It will be interesting to see what’s behind these fish,” Brenkman said.
Even if salmon jumping begins to wind down around the Cascades, there are other viewing opportunities on the upper river.
That includes the waters of Mink Lake Creek, which are typically a coho love den once spawning activity picks up during the last couple of weeks of October.
The Cascades are located 28 miles west of Port Angeles off Sol Duc Hot Springs Road.
Bring a camera but not a rod. Fishing is prohibited.
Also . . .
■ Darrel Martin will discuss Amazon River fly fishing at the Olympic Peninsula Fly Fishers monthly meeting this Monday in Port Angeles.
As is the case each month, the meeting begins at 7 p.m. in the Campfire USA Club House located at 619 E. Fourth St.
■ Recreational crabbers have until Saturday to report their summer catch.
Those who fail to report on time will be subject to a $10 fine when they purchase their 2012 crab endorsement. Reports can be submitted online at http://bit.ly/WkXeA.
■ “Mushroom Mania: A Fungus Festivus” has returned to the pages of the PDN.
The annual mushroom photo contest asks mycophiles to send in shots of the largest and prettiest pieces of fungi they can find, as well as one resembling a notable figure.
All submissions must be emailed by Nov. 7 to matt.schubert@peninsuladailynews.com.
Full contest rules can be found here: http://tinyurl.com/6dd39xr.
■ The East Jefferson Chapter of Puget Sound Anglers will hold its monthly meeting Oct. 11 in the Marina Room at Hudson Point Marina in Port Townsend.
The meeting begins at 6:30 p.m., with refreshments served.
■ Admiralty Audubon will visit Kah Tai Lagoon and Chinese Gardens for its first birding trip of the fall next Saturday, Oct. 8, starting at 8 a.m.
Birders can expects lots of ducks, some shorebirds and perhaps a Virginia Rail or two.
To pre-register for the trip, email David Gluckman at cgluckman@aol.com.
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; email matt.schubert
@peninsuladailynews.com.
__________
Matt Schubert is the outdoors columnist for the Peninsula Daily News. His column appears on Thursdays and Fridays.