Peninsula Daily News
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ARCHERS, IT’S TIME to break out those bows from storage and make like Robin Hood.
The Wapiti Bowmen Archery Club will be hosting its annual Spring 3-D Extravaganza archery tournament Saturday and Sunday.
The Extravaganza, which draws archery enthusiasts from throughout western Washington, will feature life-size, realistic 3-D animals throughout Wapiti’s wooded 20-acre walk-around course at 374 E. Arnett Road in Port Angeles.
The 30-target course is set in realistic hunting scenarios offering shooters a challenging but rewarding archery experience.
Shoots offered by the Wapiti Bowmen archery club are a great opportunity to learn about the very diverse sport of archery from area and state champion archers, while enjoying a fun, safe, family-oriented experience.
Prizes for each class of shooters will be presented Sunday.
Also scheduled for Sunday is an auction of 3-D targets from the Wapiti Club, with the proceeds going to future target purchases for upcoming shoots.
Raffle tickets will be sold for a compound bow donated by Swain’s General Store.
Additional raffle items include a Rinehart 18-to-1 portable target and a Rinehart Broadhead Buck 3-D target.
Breakfast and lunch will be served for a nominal price Saturday and Sunday, with the kitchen opening at 7 a.m. each day.
Come out to the range and enjoy the beautiful spring weather this weekend.
Shooter registration opens at 8 a.m., and closes at 2 p.m. on Saturday. Shotgun start Sunday at 9 a.m. if necessary.
Adult fees are $12 per day or $20 both days, while youth (10-16 years old) costs $8 a day or $12 both days, and peewee (under 10) shoot for free.
Call 360-683-7787 for more information.
Salmon fisheries
State and tribal co-managers agreed on a package of salmon fisheries that meets conservation goals for wild salmon populations, while providing fishing opportunities on healthy stocks.
Washington’s 2012 salmon fishing seasons, developed by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) and treaty tribal co-managers, were finalized recently.
The fishing package defines regulations for salmon fisheries in Puget Sound, Washington’s ocean and coastal areas and the Columbia River.
In developing salmon seasons and catch quotas, WDFW fishery managers worked closely with advisors and members of the public to design state-managed fisheries that meet conservation goals for wild salmon and result in the fair sharing of harvest opportunity, said Phil Anderson, WDFW Director.
“State and tribal co-managers worked hard to identify fisheries that were meaningful for both tribal and state fishers,” said Anderson, who represents WDFW on the management council.
“By using a variety of management tools, we were able to design those fisheries so that they are consistent with efforts to protect and rebuild weak wild salmon stocks.”
Key to those efforts is repairing and protecting quality spawning and rearing habitat for salmon, said Lorraine Loomis, fisheries manager for the Swinomish Tribe.
“While effective harvest and hatchery management can help provide limited fishing opportunities, wild salmon continue to decline because their habitat is being lost and damaged faster than it can be restored,” Loomis said.
“This puts our treaty rights at risk. Habitat is the key to salmon recovery.”
As in past years, recreational salmon fisheries in 2012 will vary by area:
■ Puget Sound: Most chinook and coho fisheries will be similar to last year’s seasons.
That includes a closure of the sport fishery for chinook in inner Elliott Bay and the Green River to protect naturally spawning chinook, which are expected to return in low numbers this year.
Additional restrictions approved this year include shortening the summer salmon fishery on the Skokomish River and requiring anglers to release wild chinook during the fall salmon fishery in Hood Canal to help meet conservation goals for mid-Hood Canal wild chinook.
On the bright side, a new sockeye fishery will open this summer in the Skagit River.
The river, from Highway 536 to the mouth of Gilligan Creek, will be open for sockeye fishing from June 16 to July 15 with a daily limit of three sockeye.
■ Washington’s ocean waters: There will be a recreational chinook catch quota of 51,500 fish, nearly 18,000 more than last year’s quota.
A quota of 69,720 coho also has been adopted for this year’s recreational ocean fishery, slightly higher than last year’s quota.
This year’s ocean fishery will begin with a mark-selective fishery for hatchery chinook opening June 9 in marine areas 1 and 2 and June 16 in marine areas 3 and 4.
The fishery will run through June 22 in Marine Area 1, June 23 in Marine Area 2 and June 30 in marine areas 3 and 4, or until a coastwide quota of 8,000 hatchery chinook are retained.
In all marine areas, the fishery will be open seven days a week with a daily limit of two salmon.
All coho must be released.
Recreational ocean salmon fisheries for chinook and hatchery coho will continue June 23 in Marine Area 1, June 24 in Marine Area 2, and July 1 in marine areas 3 and 4.
Anglers fishing marine areas 1 and 2 will be allowed to retain one chinook as part of a two-salmon daily limit.
Anglers fishing marine areas 3 and 4 will have a daily limit of two salmon.
Fishing will be open seven days a week, except in Marine Area 2 where fishing will be open Sunday through Thursday.
■ Coastal bays and rivers: Strong wild coho returns expected this year should provide good fishing in many of Washington’s coastal streams, including the Queets, Quillayute and Hoh rivers, as well as in Grays Harbor and Willapa Bay area rivers.
Anglers fishing Grays Harbor will also be allowed to retain chinook salmon for the first time since 2007.
The fishery will run from Sept. 16 through Oct. 7 with a bag limit of three salmon, only one of which can be a chinook.
In Willapa Bay (Marine Area 2-1), salmon anglers will be allowed to use two fishing poles, with the purchase of a two-pole endorsement, from Aug. 1 through Jan. 31.