SEEK OUT SANDY or gravelly bottoms and participants in the Olympic Peninsula Salmon Derby, underway today through Sunday across a wide swath of the eastern Strait of Juan de Fuca, may catch a winning fish.
Or so said Ward Norden, owner of Snapper Tackle Company and a former fishery biologist who lives in Quilcene.
“If you know a place where the bottom is soft sand or gravel and about 100-feet deep, that is where you should be heading on derby days,” said Norden.
“The primary bait fish for chinook this time of year is candlefish, also known as sand lances, and those places are where candlefish bury themselves in the sand during winter.”
Next time you hook up and bring in a blackmouth check the fish’s gill plates for marks and scratches consistent with nosing around on the bottom in search of candlefish.
Chinook like to eat them because they are rich in oils, readily abundant and relatively easy to find.
Find the bait, find the fish, right?
Norden recommends trolling close to the bottom to find a derby ladder worthy fish.
“Trolling a medium to small bait or Coho Killer spoon very close to the bottom in that habitat is the best bet for hooking that one chinook to get on the winner’s ladder,” Norden said.
Knowledge of the tidal charts also will help derby anglers.
“Work the outgoing tide, that’s about the best piece of advice I can give right now,” Eric Brenner of Brian’s Sporting Goods and More (360-683-1950) in Sequim said Thursday.
“That’s the only time that people seem to be catching them right now.”
Low tides in the Gardiner portion of Discovery Bay, the traditional focal point of derby fishing, are at 7:43 a.m. today, 8:35 a.m. Saturday and 9:15 a.m. Sunday.
Saturday’s forecast is the most promising, with mostly sunny skies, a light wind from the southeast and temperatures near 50 degrees.
Anglers also are likely to have to pick through a batch of shakers to find a legal and ladder-worthy blackmouth.
“Nobody’s hardly catching anything of size,” Brenner said.
“But we sold a ton of tickets, so hopefully turnout is good.”
Hatchery importance
The blackmouth anglers will try to lure are hatchery salmon raised by the state Department of Fish and Wildlife and held past their typical juvenile release date.
This caused the fish to reside within the Strait of Juan de Fuca and Puget Sound year-round rather than migrate to the Pacific Ocean.
The importance of hatchery efforts and the continued presence of sports fishing are intertwined and can’t be understated.
A petition drive to express support for the continued presence of productive hatcheries is making its way around social media right now.
The petition, available at growsportfishing.com, has been endorsed by Puget Sound Anglers and the Northwest Sportsfishing Industry Association.
It was brought forth by a coalition of recreational fishing organizations, businesses and individuals working to conserve and enhance sports fishing across the state.
Coalition members are Fish Northwest, Coastal Conservation Association’s Washington chapter and the Washington Anglers for Conservation Political Action Committee.
No stalking the champ
The last piece of advice: find out where Jerry Thomas and Larry Quesnell are fishing.
Thomas’ 18.95-pound salmon claimed the 2015 derby’s $10,000 prize.
It was the second time in three years the Mount Vernon angler has fielded the top fish.
His fishing partner both years was Larry Quesnell, also of Mount Vernon.
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Send it to sports@peninsuladailynews.com or P.O. Box 1330, Port Angeles, WA 98362.
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Outdoors columnist Michael Carman appears here Thursdays and Fridays. He can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5152 or at mcarman@peninsuladailynews.com.