SUCCESS CAN BE fleeting, especially when everyone finds out how well you’re doing.
The chinook fishery on the northern coast saw a limit decrease from two to one fish last week.
Wednesday afternoon, the state Department of Fish and Wildlife announced that chinook retention will close at the end of the day Saturday in the portion of Marine Area 4 (Neah Bay) west of the Bonilla-Tatoosh line.
Starting Saturday, the Strait of Juan de Fuca side of Neah Bay, the section east of the Bonilla-Tatoosh line, will close to chinook fishing.
This means that come Sunday, there will be no more king fishing in Neah Bay this year.
The strait-side closure has been in the state Department of Fish and Wildlife’s plans all along.
But the ocean closure is an unexpected blow to Neah Bay.
“That’s a bummer,” Joey Lawrence of Big Salmon Resort (360-645-2374) in Neah Bay said of the coastal closure.
We’re really taking it this year. A short halibut season and now they cut us down [for salmon].”
Despite last week’s limit reduction, too many kings are still being caught.
The state estimates that anglers will meet the chinook harvest guideline by the end of the day Saturday in the coastal section of Neah Bay.
“Chinook catch rates have remained high, and now we’re bumping up against the chinook guideline,” Doug Milward, state ocean salmon manager for the state, said in a news release.
As of this past Sunday, the catch total for the chinook fishery had reached 82 percent of the guideline for Neah Bay.
Chinook retention remains open in the other coastal areas, including LaPush (Area 3). The harvest limit in LaPush is still one fish per day.
Lawrence said that the kings that are being caught off Neah Bay have been impressive, averaging between 12 and 20 pounds, though it isn’t uncommon for a chinook to exceed that average.
“There have been some really nice fish coming in for the last week or so,” Lawrence said.
“I weighed in a 36-pounder. That’s the biggest fish I weighed. That’s a good size.”
Silvers coming
The impending chinook closure does not affect fishing for other salmon species in Area 4.
Anglers fishing in the area will continue to have a daily limit of two salmon, plus two additional pinks.
The good news for Neah Bay is that the coho are slowly starting to show up.
“Silvers are still offshore, but we’re staring to get reports that the fish are starting to move inside,” Lawrence said.
The coho likely will be delayed.
“It’s one of those years things are so dry that silvers will hang offshore,” Lawrence said.
“I’d say a week or two — the first week of August, or the second week of August, for sure, we’ll see some real good coho.”
Lawrence also said that the sea bass fishing on the coast has been strong lately.
Lingcod fishing, meanwhile, has been slow.
Some silvers should be here
Ward Norden, a fishing tackle wholesaler and former fishery biologist from Quilcene, visited the Quilcene hatchery Tuesday and said the recent rain hasn’t brought coho to the Big and Little Quilcene rivers.
“After getting three-fourths of an inch of rain this weekend plus more in the hills, and with [temperatures] the past two mornings in the mid-40s, both the Big and Little Quils are much cooler and have a little more water.
“If the early bell-weather coho run is coming, there should be some in the river and at the hatchery. As of [Tuesday], nothing at the hatchery and only one jack in the river holding pool near the bridge.
“As the saying goes, ‘Houston, we have a problem.’ The run is now over two weeks late.”
Leland camping
After being closed the past few years, the Lake Leland campground will reopen Saturday.
A group of volunteers has spent nearly 50 hours preparing the campground to be reopened.
Camping is $15 per night.
Along with camping, Lake Leland offers nice fishing and swimming.
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Sports Editor Lee Horton, who is filling in for a vacationing Michael Carman, can be reached at 360-417-3525 or at lhorton@peninsuladailynews.com.
