Peninsula Daily News
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TO RAIN OR not to rain, that is the question.
If the decent weather holds out from the last couple of days (which isn’t in the forecast) this could be a great weekend for steelhead fishing, blackmouth saltwater fishing and clam digging on the morning tides.
However, if it starts raining Thursday night and rains through doomsday (which is in the forecast), then the rivers will blow out for steelhead fishing, and if there’s any wind, you can kiss ocean fishing goodbye.
But there’s still those clams waiting for you at four ocean beaches.
The closest beach to the North Olympic Peninsula, Kalaloch, won’t be open (it opens for the first time in months April 7-9 if the toxin reports come back good), but there are still four to pick from, including Long Beach, Twin Harbors, Copalis and Mocrocks.
Steelhead fishing still is the top choice for area anglers if the weather holds.
“Going west for steelhead is a great way to go,” Brian Menkal of Brian’s Sporting Goods and More (360-683-1950) in Sequim said.
But it won’t be if heavy rains hit this weekend, Menkal added.
“They are calling for a lot of rain this weekend,” Menkal said.
“If that’s the case, it would be a good time to go south to go clamming.
“It would be a good opportunity for people to go out for razor clams.”
Sol Duc was popular again this past week for wild steelhead.
Menkal and his friend, area fishing guide and Peninsula Daily News columnist Pat Neal fished the Sol Duc on Sunday.
“It was a lot of fun,” Menkal said. “The Sol Duc had good color in it.”
Ironically, there were more anglers on the Bogachiel on Sunday than on the Sol Duc.
Both rivers have been fishing well but the Sol Duc has easily been the best fishing river all season.
“Maybe everybody went to the Bogachiel because they assumed the Sol Duc would be crowded,” Menkal said.
Menkal and Neal caught three wild steelhead, and of course let them all go.
A fourth got away on its own.
Of course, the one that got away was the Big One, Menkal chuckled.
“Isn’t that always the case? The 14-pounder we caught was 30 pounds when we hooked it but by the time we got it to the surface, it was 14 pounds.”
All kidding aside, the two veteran fishermen caught one 17 pounds, that mythic 14-pounder and one 9 pounds.
Blackmouth fishing has been spotty this past week, to put it lightly.
“Fishermen I know who fish all the time have been catching blackmouth,” Menkal said.
“There are fish out there, but you can’t fish [in saltwater] when it’s windy.”
The wind was very strong in the beginning of the week.
“There’s an opportunity to catch blackmouth if the wind’s not blowing,” Menkal said.
Mike Deese of Swain’s General Store (360-452-2357 in Port Angeles said he heard about a blackmouth being caught Thursday morning.
He also said he knows someone who caught a 16-pound wild steelhead this past week on the Sol Duc.
“He released it because he had already caught a native steelhead,” Deese said.
Swain’s sponsors a monthly salmon derby. The February winner and runner-up were Mike Jones, who won with one 16.12-pounds, and second-placer Jeff Reynolds with one 16.08.
Currently, in the March fish derby, Gary Tuttle leads with one 15.12 pounds, while Lyle Newell is in second at 11 pounds even.
All four live in Port Angeles.
Big Salmon Resort
Neah Bay’s Big Salmon Resort (360-645-2374) opens in April in time for the spring fishing season in Marine Area 4.
The Neah Bay anglers can catch two ling cod and 10 rock fish starting in April.
The halibut season begins May 10 in Neah Bay.
Anglers can fish Thursdays and Saturdays — and also go after the deep sea lings, according to Big Salmon Resort owner Joey Lawrence.
Here are the days the state gave to Neah Bay for halibut in 2012: May 10, 12, 17, 19, 31 and June 2.
Neah Bay should get at least two more days after June 2, Lawrence said.
“One charter boat that we book for still has some availability for the halibut dates, so call us at 866-787-1900 and we can get you on the Windsong,” Lawrence said.
“The four-person charter boat is full already, sorry.”
The Big Salmon Resort is currently open for charter boat reservations Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
The business will open its doors April 1 for regular business days through September.
Big Salmon Resort is seasonal only, open April through September of each year.
Jefferson report
Ward Norden of Quilcene reported that fishing has dropped off in Lake Leland.
“Until a couple weeks ago, fishing was fair in this lake with some trout in excess of 15 inches, but in the last 10 days the lake water temperature has dropped from 48 degrees down to 39 degrees [Wednesday],” Norden wrote in an email.
“This has brought trout fishing and early warm-water fish angling to a standstill.
“It will take another 10 days of good weather to get this 100-acre lake back to good fishing temperatures.”
Early March is the best time of the year for predator hunting (coyotes, bobcats and cougars), Norden wrote.
“Vegetation is at its barest, so visibility is excellent and predators are most active all day since prey numbers are at their lowest for the year,” he wrote.
“Coyote numbers are up on the Coyle Peninsula, and injured cottontail calls are producing.
“Cougar season ends soon, so the next few days will be your last to bag this trophy.
“Cougars also respond well to the cottontail call but fawn bleats will also draw them if you have the patience for their slow approach.”
Anglers meeting
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.
Burlingame’s 20 years of Puget Sound fishing provides his customers with outstanding success rate for salmon, halibut, ling cod and bottom fish off the northwest Washington coast.
There will be information on fishing techniques and opportunities with Excel Charters out of Neah Bay at 6:45 p.m. at the Trinity United Methodist Church, 100 S. Blake Ave., Sequim.
For more information, call 360-582-0836.
Dig those clams
This weekend’s clam dig — set for Saturday and Sunday — marks the first time this season that clam diggers will be allowed to harvest razor clams on morning tides.
No digging will be allowed after noon at any of the four beaches.
Low tides
Morning low tides and beach openings for this weekend are:
■■ Saturday, (7:39 a.m., -0.3 ft.): Long Beach, Twin Harbors, Copalis and Mocrocks.
■■ Sunday, (9:28 a.m., -0.4 ft.): Long Beach, Twin Harbors, Copalis and Mocrocks.
it is recommended that diggers hit the beach about two hours before morning low tide for best results.
Remember, daylight-saving time begins Sunday, which is why there is an extra hour between the low tides this weekend.
“It’s important that everyone is operating on daylight-saving time for the dig on Sunday, because the beaches close to digging at noon,” Dan Ayres, state coastal shellfish manager, said.
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 2011/2012 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.
Shellfish managers have also tentatively proposed two other morning digs through early April, although final approval will depend on the results of future marine toxin tests.
Proposed beach openings, along with morning low tides, for those digs are:
■■ March 24, Saturday, (8:25 a.m., +0.3 ft.): Long Beach, Twin Harbors, Copalis and Mocrocks.
■■ March 25, Sunday, (8:59 a.m., +0.3 ft.): Long Beach, Twin Harbors and Mocrocks.
■■ April 7, Saturday, (7:36 a.m., -1.2 ft.): Long Beach, Twin Harbors, Mocrocks and Kalaloch.
■■ April 8, Sunday, (8:23 a.m., -1.5 ft.): Long Beach, Twin Harbors, Mocrocks and Kalaloch.
■■ April 9, Monday, (9:11 a.m., -1.5 ft.): Long Beach, Twin Harbors and Kalaloch.
Updated information on razor clam seasons is available on WDFW’s toll-free Shellfish Hotline at 866-880-5431.
Salmon quotas
Anglers fishing along the Washington coast will likely see a higher catch quota for chinook salmon this year, while the quota for coho is expected to be similar to last season, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) announced today.
Three ocean salmon-fishing options approved Wednesday by the Pacific Fishery Management Council (PFMC) anticipate an abundance of chinook in the ocean, but a down year for Columbia River hatchery coho salmon.
The PFMC establishes fishing seasons in ocean waters three to 200 miles off the Pacific coast.
The three options establish a framework for developing fishing opportunities on healthy wild and hatchery stocks while meeting conservation goals for weak salmon populations, said Phil Anderson, WDFW director.
“Chinook salmon abundance in the ocean is expected to look much like it did last season, when we had a strong return to the Columbia River,” said Anderson.
“The challenge this year will be to ensure we meet our conservation goals for coho while still providing a full season of meaningful fishing opportunities in the ocean.”
Anderson, who represents WDFW on the management council, said two of the options include recreational mark-selective fisheries for hatchery chinook that would begin in mid-June.
If implemented, mark-selective fisheries for hatchery chinook would open ahead of the traditional recreational fishing season for the third straight year.
Mark-selective fisheries allow anglers to catch and keep abundant hatchery salmon, which are marked with a missing adipose fin, but require that they release wild salmon.
About 651,000 fall chinook are expected to return to the Columbia River this season, a run size similar to the last couple year’s returns.
A significant portion of that run – nearly 191,000 – is expected to be lower river hatchery chinook, which traditionally have been the backbone of the recreational ocean chinook fishery.
An estimated 317,000 coho also are expected to return to the Columbia River this year, about 45,000 fish below last year’s projection.
Columbia River coho also account for a significant portion of the ocean catch.
The PFMC is expected to approve final harvest guidelines for this year’s recreational ocean fishery in early April.
The three options announced Wednesday establish parameters for state and tribal fishery managers in designing this year’s fishing seasons.
The recreational fishing options are:
■ Option 1 — 51,500 chinook and 71,400 coho;
■ Option 2 — 45,500 chinook and 63,000 coho; and
■ Option 3 — 35,500 chinook and 54,600 coho.
The PFMC last year adopted recreational ocean fishing quotas of 33,700 chinook and 67,200 coho salmon.