HALIBUT DERBIES WILL wrap the flatfish season Saturday and Sunday in Port Angeles and Sunday in Sekiu.
Hundreds of anglers are expected to compete for the $5,000 top prize in the Port Angeles Salmon Club’s 16th annual Port Angeles Halibut Derby.
Anglers will be hard-pressed to top the 177-pound monster landed earlier this month off Freshwater Bay by Port Angeles resident Mike Constant, but I imagine there’s another 100-plus pounder out there just waiting to hit your herring or mash your mackerel.
Last year’s winner, a barn door weighing 143 pounds, was caught by Phil Flanders of Ocean View, Hawaii, north of Ediz Hook.
Flanders was cagey about his catch, saying he landed the fish in a spot he and his pals call “the Sizzler,” due to tidal flow.
Fishing in the Port Angeles derby will be conducted in Marine Area 6, between Low Point to the west and the Dungeness Spit to the east.
Fishing hours are daylight to 2 p.m. Saturday, , and daylight to 2 p.m. Sunday.
A total of $20,000 in cash prizes will be up for grabs.
Anglers can launch their boats for free thanks to the Port of Port Angeles.
High tide is 5.31 feet at 5:19 a.m. Saturday and 4.56 feet at 6:45 a.m. Sunday.
Low tides are 0.12 feet at 2:23 p.m. Saturday and 0.76 at 3:14 p.m. Sunday, so plan your return to shore accordingly.
The weigh-in will be held at the West Boat Haven ramp and docks at 2 p.m. Sunday, and all fish must be brought in by water.
Anglers can pick up a derby ticket for $40 at three North Olympic Peninsula locations: Swain’s General Store and Jerry’s Bait & Tackle in Port Angeles, and Brian’s Sporting Goods and More in Sequim.
Sekiu halibut derby
Anglers heading to Sekiu for the long weekend can participate in Sunday’s Clallam Bay/Sekiu Chamber of Commerce’s 20th annual Halibut Derby.
Fishing will run from 5 a.m. to 5 p.m. and the awards ceremony will be held at Van Riper’s Resort just after 5 p.m.
Tickets are available at Van Riper’s Resort and Mason’s Olson Resort for $15 per person.
Organizers insist that everyone onboard a participating derby boat must have a valid ticket.
The top-prize fish will take home $10 for every pound. An 80-pound halibut, for example, would win $800.
The runner-up will win $400 and the third-biggest halibut earns $100.
Another $100 will go to the angler who weighs in with the biggest black or blue sea bass (rockfish).
Full rules are available at either resort.
Shrimp on the barbie
The spot shrimp season will wrap this weekend in the Hood Canal Shrimp District in Marine Area 12 and the Discovery Bay Shrimp District in Marine Area 6.
Brinnon hosts the 23rd annual Shrimpfest from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday.
It will be between Yelvik General Store at 251 Hjelvicks Road and the Cove RV Park & Country Store at 303075 U.S. Highway 101.
Admission is $5 a day, with active military and veterans admitted free. Also admitted free will be children younger than 12 with a paying parent.
Ludlow Lake gated
Ward Norden owner of Snapper Tackle Company and a former fishery biologist who lives in Quilcene, reports the gate on the road leading to Ludlow Lake remains closed about one-third of a mile from the lake.
“I still see a couple cars parked there on weekends,” Norden said.
“Besides all the trout, it is a wonderful lake for largemouth bass.”
The above information is a rarity. A bass fisherman offering up a prime fishing spot doesn’t happen too often.
New rockfish record
Rochester’s Steven Charles Orr has set a new state record for the largest black rockfish caught in state waters, the state Department of Fish and Wildlife confirmed this week.
Orr’s catch topped out at 10.72 pounds and measured 26.15 inches. It was caught May 15 in Marine Area 1 near Ilwaco while Orr was bait fishing with herring.
“I thought I had a ling cod,” Orr said.
“It was like fighting a big king salmon, and when I got it up to the boat, it absolutely dwarfed a 7-pound sea bass we had onboard. It was definitely a fighter.”
The new record exceeded the previous black rockfish record by almost half a pound.
That record was held by Joseph Eberling for a fish he caught in the Tacoma Narrows in 1980.
A photo of Orr and his record catch is available at tinyurl.com/PDN-RecordRockfish.
Join waterfowl group
Fish and Wildlife is accepting letters of interest through June 17 for membership on its Waterfowl Advisory Group.
The group advises the department on issues such as hunting regulations, hunter access, and conservation projects funded by sale of duck stamps.
Director Jim Unsworth will appoint up to 20 members for the group. Members will be appointed to three-year terms beginning July 1.
The department is looking for candidates with varied backgrounds who can effectively present their views on waterfowl management to the department and the public.
Applications must be submitted in writing and include the following information: applicant’s name, address, telephone number and email address.
Applicants should detail their relevant experience and reasons for wanting to serve as a member of the advisory group, list waterfowlers the applicant represents and provide examples of effective communication.
Applications can be submitted to Don Kraege by mail to Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, 600 Capitol Way N, Olympia, WA 98501-1091, or by email at don.kraege@dfw.wa.gov.
For more information, phone Kraege at 360-902-2522.
Send photos, stories
Have a photograph, a fishing or hunting report, an anecdote about an outdoors experience or a tip on gear or technique?
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. 57050 or at mcarman@peninsuladailynews.com.