WANT A LITTLE rain? You got it.
The final days of summer ended up looking awfully autumn-like as the wetness seeped its way onto the North Olympic Peninsula.
No doubt that will spur a little outdoor action from the Hoh to Hood Canal.
Just don’t expect there to be a massive salmon grab out west, Bob Gooding of Olympic Sporting Goods (360-374-6330) in Forks said.
The summer coho are jumping for love at the Sol Duc Salmon Cascades, but anglers still need a little more liquid sunshine to get things in full swing on the Quillayute system.
“It depends on how much more it rains,” Gooding said Thursday afternoon. “If it keeps raining, it will be good, if it doesn’t, it will be so-so. And if you think I’m going to predict the weather, you’re as crazy as a bug.”
So there you have it.
Give it a few more days, and we just might have the sort of West End salmon flossing free-for-all we all know and love.
Those a little too anxious to wait it out can hop around various river banks during the next few days. It probably won’t be a complete waste of time.
Not only is the Sol Duc packed with summer silvers, but it’s also starting to see a few fall kings and coho swimming around.
The Quilcene River (yes, still) and a few other Hood Canal tributaries on the other side of the Peninsula are welcoming some randy returning salmon as well.
SDLq[This rain]’s just going to get this whole ball rolling that much more,” Bob Aunspach of Swain’s General Store (360-452-2357) in Port Angeles said. “Fall is coming up on us now.
“It’s just going to get better.”
Strait salmon
Of course, the real reel action isn’t going to be on the rivers this weekend anyway.
With Marine Area 5 (Sekiu) open to coho retention of any kind (including natives), the true salmon spectacle will be out in Clallam Bay this weekend.
Unfortunately, anglers are still waiting for the true coho bite to finally show up.
A few more fish arrived near Slip Point on Thursday, according to Chris Mohr of Van Riper’s Resort (360-963-2334) in Sekiu, but not the sort of feeding frenzy he was hoping for.
“[The rain] moved a bunch of fish in here, but not a ton. Limits are more the exception than the rule,” Mohr said.
“I was really excited when it started raining last night. I thought, ‘Oh this will do it.’ I’m a little disappointed to see the outcome.
“But we’ll give them one more day before we say, ‘Oh, uh oh.”
Anglers have only a week left to take advantage of the popular silver fishery in Sekiu, which closes after Sept. 30.
The question is whether all of the silvers that anglers were running into out in the ocean will move into the Strait of Juan de Fuca before then.
Those that have showed up around Sekiu recently have been in the 10- to 12-pound class, Mohr said.
“We’re just not seeing any of those great, big 15-, 20-pound bucks,” he said.
“I don’t know what that means. It’s kind of an odd deal, so time will tell.
“Our charter boat limited out today, so the guys who know what they are doing are catching fish.”
A few stalwart anglers to the east are hooking silvers near Port Angeles, Protection Island and off the beaches surrounding Port Townsend.
It just takes a little dogged determination, according to Brian Menkal of Brian’s Sporting Goods and More (360-683-1950) in Sequim.
“Guys who are putting the time in are getting some fish,” Menkal said.
“You might have to move around a bit to find them, but they are there. You just have to kind of seek and destroy.”
One other saltwater note: the Area 3 (LaPush) late season bubble fishery opens to salmon fishing Saturday.
It will remain open through Oct. 9 and will be accompanied by the Last Chance Salmon Derby on Oct. 1-2.
There is a $25 entry fee for the two days of fishing, with $500 going to the largest coho and chinook on the ladder, $250 for the second-largest and $100 for the third-largest.
For more information, contact the Forks Chamber of Commerce at 360-374-2531 or visit www.forkswa.com/salmonderby.
Hunting update
Mother Nature must be a black powder fan.
Perhaps it’s jus the timing of the season — OK, so it probably is the timing of the season — but it seems like every time the muzzleloaders get ready to hit the hills, they get a little rain to soften things up.
Expect this last little spatter to be just what the doctor ordered for those seeking out a buck as the season starts Saturday in select Game Management Units (GMUs).
“It’s going to make it better,” Aunspach said.
“You’re not trying to call something [like with elk], you’re spotting and stalking, [and] now they are out moving around more.
“They know winter is on it’s way, and they are going to start feeding.”
They might even start looking for a mate.
According to Menkal in Sequim, a few bucks have been seen sparring during the past week.
If that means there’s an early rut going on, Peninsula black powder buffs will surely benefit.
“There should be . . . a lot of deer taken in these next three days with all this rain,” Menkal said. “It definitely improves the situation 100 percent.”
Early muzzleloader deer season opens Saturday through Oct. 2 in the Pysht, Sol Duc, Goodman, Clearwater and Coyle GMUs.
Those looking to target elk will have to wait until Oct. 1.
After a relatively productive archery season, that might be a good one to get in on.
“It was a good season overall, it really was,” Aunspach said. “There was definitely opportunities for these animals.
“With the hot weather, the elk were talking.”
Public Lands Day
Kalaloch Beach will be the site of a special National Public Lands Day celebration Saturday.
With the help of Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary, the park will offer a series of interpretative activities and organize a special beach cleanup.
Park rangers and Marine Sanctuary educators will be available from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. with displays at the campground day use area where visitors can hear coastal stories or earn Junior Ranger badges.
A coastal/campground cleanup will be held at the same time, with visitors welcome to join a ranger for a two-hour cleanup between noon and 2 p.m.
An evening program titled “The Giving Sea” is set for 8-9 p.m. at the Kalaloch Amphitheater. It will examine the “give and take” relationship with the ocean.
As part of National Public Lands Day, entrance fees will not be charged throughout the park.
For more information about visiting other areas within the park, visit www.nps.gov/olym.
Also . . .
■ Expect the recent damp conditions to produce a few pieces of fungi in the coming days.
Those might be good to take a shot of with a certain mushroom photo contest right around the corner.
■ Recreational crabbers have until Oct. 1 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.
■ Photographers can now submit their best shots to Washington Trails Association’s annual Northwest Exposure Photo Contest.
Participants have until Oct. 10 to submit photos into one of five categories: wild landscapes, flora and fauna, hikers in action, families on trail and offbeat outdoors.
For more information, visit http://tinyurl.com/yj29nxg.
■ The state Department of Fish and Wildlife is now accepting public comments on the upcoming 2011-12 razor clam seasons.
Suggestions for the fall, winter and spring seasons can be sent via email to razorclams@dfw.wa.gov or by Postal Service to: RazorClams, 48 Devonshire Road, Montesano, WA 98563.
Comments regarding fall digging must be received by Sept. 29, but Fish and Wildlife will consider other suggestions throughout the season.
Information about current razor-clam stocks, marine toxins and digging options is available at http://bit.ly/rpeWt8.
■ Dungeness River Audubon Center will offer a new backyard birding class at its Sequim headquarters, 2151 Hendrickson Road, next Saturday, Oct. 1, from 10 a.m. to noon.
The class will meet each month and is for anyone interested in knowing more about local birds.
Students will also learn how to make their own homes attractive wild bird habitat.
Coast is $5 for adults and free for ages 10-18. To register, contact the River Center at 360-681-4076.
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.
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Matt Schubert is the outdoors columnist for the Peninsula Daily News. His column appears on Thursdays and Fridays.