HATCHERY-SELECTIVE CHINOOK fishing finally picked up somewhat off Sekiu in Marine Area 5, while staying relatively fair off Neah Bay and Port Angeles.
Meanwhile, the chinook quota is nearly full in Marine Area 9 (Admiralty Inlet), and that fishery is being monitored daily and is not expected to last the weekend.
Hit up Midchannel Bank while you can, anglers. It might not last to Saturday.
Chinook catch rates were much lower in Marine Area 9’s second full weekend and earlier this week but not slow enough to last a third weekend.
“Chinook fishing in Area 9 has slowed down significantly as the main run of adult fish has already passed, said Ward Norden, owner of Snapper Tackle Company, and a Quilcene resident.
He thinks dogfish catches are being counted as part of the area’s quota.
Port Townsend Bay and Admiralty Inlet are notorious for the amount of dogfish anglers encounter.
Especially when anglers are rigged up with cut-plug herring and other live bait.
Those hungry sharks will soon strip your line and leave you muttering curses unprintable in family-oriented newspapers.
Trust me on that.
“One thing that anglers can do to combat all the dogfish sharks is to switch to lures that imitate candlefish instead of using any bait,” Norden said.
“Coho Killer spoons by Silver Horde have been the go-to candlefish imitation for years.”
Another option is Port Angeles lure designer Pete Rosko’s Kandlefish jig.
It does the job and produces a lot of large salmon.
Rosko recently ran me through his simple chinook technique for fishing off Ediz Hook.
He was fishing with his neighbor, Al Brown.
“I gave Al one of my baitcaster rods with its braided line marked at 40 feet with black magic marker,” Rosko said.
Between 45-and-125 feet, I vertical jig a 1 1/2-ounce Kandlefish 40 feet below the surface.”
Rosko explained that many of the bait balls are located from near the surface down to nearly 40 feet.
“Basically, I place my jig under the bait mass,” Rosko said.
“Vertical jigging to suspended fish is a difficult technique for an effective lure presentation.
“Without a quality color fish locator, knowledge of tide conditions and the best jig, hooking a suspended salmon is near impossible.”
Rosko’s instructions to Brown lasted all of about 10 seconds.
“I just told him to drop the Kandlefish down until he sees the 40-foot mark on the line come off the spool of the reel,” Rosko said.
Then turn the reel handle to engage the reel and jig with unhurried 1-foot lifts of the rod.”
The technique worked quickly as Brown yelled out the best words an angler can utter, “Fish on,” after about 15 seconds of work.
“The biggest salmon of the season exploded out of the water with the silver Kandlefish in its mouth,” Rosko said.
“Before I could react, and chase this ‘silver bullet’ heading to British Columbia, it jumped again and was gone.
“Usually, there are numerous salmon trollers nearby and invariably this technique hooks salmon when the trollers do not.
“I like keeping things simple.”
Rosko also told me that midnight squidding at City Pier in Port Angeles remains popular, but he didn’t see much success when he went in the early hours Thursday.
Now we’re hunting for…
Norden reminded me recently that the first major hunting season opens — bear season.
“Normally, I would be providing some thoughts about bear hunting strategies this time of year but this summer is a bit different in case no one noticed,” Norden said.
Norden’s referring to something he and I discussed earlier this summer: how quickly changes were occurring in the environment, particularly early-arriving berry crops and soon-to-turn leaves on maple trees.
I think those changes may herald a colder winter than normal — complete with more lowland snowfall than we’ve seen in nearly a decade.
But they also could have been compelled by the warm spring days we experienced in April and in May.
“The berry crop has been so enormous in the last few months that the bears don’t have to move around very much to gorge themselves,” Norden said.
“Even some predator calls that normally attract bears will probably not work like usual since the bears are already fat and happy.”
With temperatures finally creeping to normal levels and fields and clearcuts drying out and making stealthy movements more and more difficult,alternate methods may be required to take that bear.
“The best strategy might just be to sit at a spot with a great view of a clearcut and trust to luck with a longer-range rifle,” Norden said.
Bass action ongoing
Norden also reported that bass fishing continues to be excellent in various Jefferson County lakes.
“The large bass are cagey as always, but the 1-pounders will keep you excited when you fish at the right time of day,” Norden said.
Hikers meetup
The Olympic Peninsula Hikers will hold a social celebrating two years and 2,000 members at Port Angeles’ Station 51 Taphouse today at 5 p.m.
Wine, drinks and food will be available for purchase at Station 51, 125 Front St.
All hikers in the region are invited to stop by and connect with others.
Bird-watching trip
The Admiralty Audubon Society will host a bird-watching field trip along the spit between Kilisut Harbor and Port Townsend Bay from 9 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Saturday.
Participants will meet at Fort Flagler State Park, 10541 Flagler Road, in the campground parking lot.
The field trip is free, but a Discover Pass is needed to enter the park.
To reach the meeting place, after entering Fort Flagler, drive to the four-way stop, turn left onto Campground Road and follow it to the end to the parking lot across from the RV campground.
Participants are encouraged to bring binoculars, spotting scope and field guides, and to dress comfortably with a hat and hiking shoes.
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 360-417-3525 or at mcarman@peninsuladailynews.com.