THE WEST-END RIVERS are in good shape, the weather is supposed to be decent this weekend, the steelhead are big and they are biting.
Plus they seem to be plentiful in all the rivers.
That makes steelhead the best bet this weekend as long as the winds and storms continue to make blackmouth salmon fishing difficult in the saltwater.
The salmon are there but the on-again, off-again heavy winds this past week have made saltwater fishing a touch-and-go proposition.
But anglers brave enough to go out between storms have been catching nice-sized winter blackmouth, Brian Menkal of Brian’s Sporting Goods and More (360-683-1950) in Sequim said.
But let’s get to the good news first.
“People are going out to the west for the steelhead,” Menkal said.
“I have been getting conflicting weather reports [for the west end] for the weekend,” Menkal said.
“One says it is supposed to be showers [Thursday] through the weekend and the other says it is supposed to be nice.
“If it’s nice, this would be a great weekend to go steelhead fishing. The rivers should be dropping nicely.”
Bob Gooding of Olympic Sporting Goods (360-374-6330) in Forks, who lives and works in steelhead country, said it is a perfect time to fish steelhead.
“It’s cool out here right now, light gray, but really pretty nice,” Gooding said Thursday afternoon.
“We’re supposed to get rain [in the near future] but we’re not expecting to get that much.”
The rivers are in great shape and they’re all producing fish, Gooding added.
“The Sol Duc’s been good, Hoh has been pretty decent, and Bogachiel and all of them are still kicking out some fish,” Gooding said.
“The Sol Duc is still the best.”
The Sol Duc still attracts the bulk of anglers, and for very good reason.
“There’s a saying that you ‘don’t ever leave good fishing to look for good fishing,’ ” Gooding said.
“As long as the Sol Duc is kicking out fish, the fishermen will continue to fish it.”
Menkal also has heard that all the rivers out west are producing.
“It’s a good time to fish the Bogachiel, it has fish in it, and the Hoh and the Sol Doc have fish in them.”
Windy days
Saltwater fishing is a different story these days thanks to that nasty wind coming and going this past week.
“Saltwater fishing has been tough,” Menkal said. “That wind has been brutal.”
Still, some brave souls are going out and getting some good-sized salmon.
“Some guys are getting fish in front of Sequim,” Menkal said.
“One guy has been getting a fish every day.”
The anglers are going out between storms when the wind is calm.
“There is so much wind that it makes it tough for fishing,” Menkal said. “They are coming from the northeast at times, the west.”
All is not lost, though, for anglers set on fishing for salmon, according to Menkal.
“This is a good time to clean up your gear and get the boat and trailer ready,” he said.
“Clean your reels and get the leaders tied.”
Slow in Sekiu
First is was the salmon derby and now it’s the wind as activity for blackmouth fishing just hasn’t picked up yet in Sekiu.
“It’s been pretty quiet here,” Donalynn Olson of Olson’s Resort (360-963-2311).
“A couple of fish were caught Saturday. I’m sure we have good fishing, everything points to it, but the weather isn’t helping.”
Freshwater lakes
It’s not too early to hit some of the year-round lakes in the area to try for trout, bass, bluegill and other kinds of freshwater fish.
“Some people are braving the weather to go fishing in lakes,” Menkal said.
“Some guys have caught fish in Leland Lake.”
Leland, located in Jefferson County close to U.S. Highway 101 and Snow Creek Road, has six species of fish, including catfish, bass, bluegill and trout.
Another good place to try your luck for freshwater fish is just west of Port Angeles called Pooh’s Ponds, where anglers pay for the opportunity to fish steelhead (catch-and-release) and a couple of species of rainbow trout.
“It is a great place to go,” Menkal said. “It’s great fun.”
Bob Triggs wrote on the Internet about Pooh’s Ponds a few years ago: “It is Pay-to-Play. Backyard. Very small. Great for teaching someone how to hook and land a lot of fish in a day. I remember it was very inexpensive.
“A friend took me up there on a birthday and I caught an 11-pound steelhead in that little lower pond.”
Here’s some directions from Triggs to Pooh’s Ponds: “Head west of Port Angeles on route U.S. Highway 101.
“At state route 112, you go right.
“After crossing the Elwha River, you will go about a mile or so and you will see a four-way intersection at “Place Road” (I believe that Place Road is on the right.)
“You go left there.
“It’s up the road a ways, a residential rural area, a few miles maybe. There are some signs. It will be on the left.”
PA fishing derby
Don’t forget about the ongoing Port Angeles Salmon Club’s monthly Salmon/Halibut Derby in the Port Angeles area that started in February and continues through October.
The club pays out for the top four fish each month. Depending on the season, it’s either salmon or halibut that get put on the ladder.
Tickets cost $40, which also includes entry in the Salmon Club’s Memorial Day weekend halibut derby.
Actually, the tickets are for the Memorial Day derby and double for the monthly derby.
The tickets can be bought at derby headquarters, Swain’s General Store (360-452-2357) at 602 E. First St. in Port Angeles.
Swain’s also is the weigh-in station.
Prize money is $100 for first, $75 for second, $50 for third and $25 for fourth.
The derby area is Marine Area 6, which includes Port Angeles and Freshwater Bay.
The seasons include blackmouth salmon now through April 10, halibut in May and June (there’s a two-day halibut season in June), then back to salmon in July through mid-August (kings), September (silvers) and October (kings and silvers).
The Memorial Day Halibut Derby does not count toward the monthly derby.
Puget Sound Anglers
Tom Burlingame of Excel Fishing Charters will be the guest speaker at the March 15 meeting of the Puget Sound Anglers- North Olympic Peninsula Chapter (360-582-0836).
Burlingame’s 20 years of Puget Sound fishing provides his customers with outstanding success rates for salmon, halibut, ling cod and bottom fish off the northwest Washington coast.
The meeting will offer information on fishing techniques and opportunities with Excel Charters out of Neah Bay at 6:45 p.m. at Trinity United Methodist Church, 100 S. Blake Ave., Sequim.
Those darn clams
We know we’re beating you over the head with this, but if you missed the other two columns this week on the new clam digs, this is for you.
You veteran diggers can skip over it if you’ve read it already. (Déjà vu all over again).
North Olympic Peninsula’s Kalaloch Beach is scheduled to open for the first time this season April 7-9.
The beach is not included in the new morning March digs, though.
A series of morning razor-clam digs are being planned in March and April on Washington’s ocean beaches as long as marine toxin tests show the clams are safe to eat.
The final word on beach openings will be announced about a week before each dig is scheduled to start.
“We’re announcing tentative dates now so people can get them on their calendars,” said Dan Ayres, coastal shellfish manager for the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW).
“We’ll confirm the dates once the test results are available.”
WDFW may announce additional digs in late April and early May at some beaches if enough clams are still available for harvest, Ayres said.
Unlike previous openings this season, all digs planned in the months ahead are timed to coincide with morning low tides.
No digging will be allowed on any beach after noon.
Proposed beach openings, along with morning low tides, for upcoming digs are:
■■ March 10, Saturday (7:39 a.m. -0.3.): Long Beach, Twin Harbors, Copalis, Mocrocks.
■■ March 11, Sunday (9:28 a.m. -0.4.): Long Beach, Twin Harbors, Copalis, Mocrocks.
■■ March 24, Saturday (8:25 a.m. +0.3.): Long Beach, Twin Harbors, Copalis, Mocrocks.
■■ March 25, Sunday (8:59 a.m., +0.3 ft.): Long Beach, Twin Harbors, Mocrocks.
■■ April 7, Saturday (7:36 a.m., -1.2 ft.): Long Beach, Twin Harbors, Mocrocks, Kalaloch.
■■ April 8, Sunday (8:23 a.m.,
-1.5 ft.): Long Beach, Twin Harbors, Mocrocks, Kalaloch.
■■ April 9, Monday (9:11 a.m.,
-1.5 ft.): Long Beach, Twin Harbors, Kalaloch.
Kalaloch Beach, tentatively scheduled to open April 7-9, has been closed to digging all season due to a low abundance of clams.
Located inside Olympic National Park, the beach is managed by the National Park Service in cooperation with WDFW.
Under state law, diggers can take 15 razor clams per day, and are required to keep the first 15 they dig.
Each digger’s clams must be kept in a separate container.
All diggers age 15 or older must have a valid fishing license to harvest razor clams on any beach.
Licensing options range from a three-day razor clam license to an annual combination fishing license, which can be purchased on WDFW’s website (https://fishhunt.dfw.wa.gov) and from license vendors around the state.
Updated information on razor clam seasons is available on WDFW’s toll-free Shellfish Hotline at 888-562-5632.
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