ONCE UPON A time I was curious about squidding on the North Olympic Peninsula.
The Big Boss Man (aka John Brewer) wanted me to look into the squirmy cephalopods (looked that one up on Wikipedia) after reading a story in The Seattle Times.
Since I couldn’t come up with much in the way of answers, I put up a query on a message board at piscatorialpursuits.com, a wonderful resource for anglers who are new to the area . . . and got bashed by a not-so-bashful poster.
To quote TBird: “Trying to scrounge up some information so you can do a write-up on it, and pretend like you know what you’re talking about, just like every other twice-weekly column you write in the PDN, Schubert?”
As if that wasn’t bad enough, later on in the thread my man TBird — I’m assuming it’s a dude – even called me “little Schubert.”
Ah yes, nothing like getting degraded on the Internet.
Some good did come out of the query, however.
Another poster provided information on a squidding Web site that was more than worth a gander (www.squidfish.net).
According to that site, squid often move through the Strait of Juan de Fuca in Puget Sound during the summer months.
Yet it goes on to explain that squid movements can be somewhat random, and that at one time or another any saltwater spot can churn out squid for whatever reason.
A couple of local spots — Port Angeles City Pier and Neah Bay — are featured squidding destinations on a map provided by the site.
While Neah Bay is said to start seeing squid in late May, City Pier gets increased populations in late June through August.
“I’ve seen them some at different times,” Bob Aunspach at Swain’s General Store (360-452-2357) in Port Angeles said. “I’ve seen more in July and August than June.
“People that ask me about it, I just tell them if it’s a calm night, go down to the pier and look under the lights. Get down on those docks, and you’ll see them.
“The lights bring them to the surface.”
It’s always best to fish for them at night, and you want to be at a well-lit area, like City Pier.
Anglers can use glow-in-the-dark jigs armed with multiple hooks to catch the squid.
Such jigs, when thrown into brighter water, will attract them from out of the dark. They then wrap their tentacles around the jig, bob up and down, and hook themselves.
The biggest trick is finding water where the squid are lurking.
“It’s not really something you can predict very well,” Brian Menkal of Swain’s Outdoor (360-385-1313) in Port Townsend said. “You just don’t know.
“It’s not like a salmon run that is going to appear every year. It’s not that consistent. What I used to do is go down there in the evening and talk to kids who are fishing off the piers. If squid are in, they are getting them pretty quick.”
So, what have we all learned?
A) Don’t mess with TBird on the World Wide Web.
B) Squid usually show up around the Strait in the summer . . . although we’re not entirely sure when.
C) If you want to find them and catch them, you should visit a well-lit public pier, or a dock with a bright light of some kind. But that is no guarantee.
D) I have no idea what I’m talking about.
Of course, there’s a good chance you already knew that last one.
Halibut happenings
Anglers are running out of time to collect flatfish fillets.
The lone halibut hole left on the Peninsula, Marine Area 5 (Sekiu), is open for only a couple more weeks.
Judging by the reports coming out of Sekiu, now is the time to make with the Butt Juice.
“We’ve been getting a lot of halibut,” Tasha Dawley at Olson’s Resort (360-963-2311) in Sekiu said. “The biggest one I’ve seen was 94 pounds. The average is between 20 and 40 [pounds].”
Added Aunspach, “There’s lots of small ones, but fishing has been good.”
State creel checks last week in Sekiu counted 420 anglers bringing in 213 halibut. For those with sub-par math skills, that’s a little more than one fish for every two anglers.
A total of 334 anglers entered last week’s Clallam Bay/Sekiu Chamber of Commerce Halibut Derby. And the winning margin was razor thin, as Sumner’s Doug Johnson claimed the top prize after beating out 72- and 71-pound fish with a 73-pounder of his own.
Not bad at all.
Area 5 will remain open to halibut fishing Thursdays through Mondays until July 3.
River news
Someone phone Alan Arkin’s agent.
We’ve got a catch-22 going on out west.
(Of course, nobody younger than 40 probably got that joke.)
I’ll let West End fishing stalwart Bob Gooding of Olympic Sporting Goods (360-374-6330) in Forks explain.
“Sol Duc, Calawah, Bogachiel . . . there’s fish but there ain’t no water,” he said. “The one that has water [the Hoh] doesn’t have much for fish.”
Translation: your chances of landing something on West End rivers are pretty slim.
But you could always throw out a line and hope some fish is dumb enough to strike it. After all, there is a nice grab bag of fish swimming around the Sol Duc, including sockeye, silvers and spring kings.
“They are picking up a fish here or there,” Gooding said, “but it’s tough.”
Salmon info
Anticipation continues to build for the upcoming salmon seasons throughout the Peninsula.
As is normally the case, the coast will be the first place to hit, with Marine Areas 3 (LaPush) and 4 (Neah Bay) each opening to salmon fishing next Saturday, June 27.
Expected strong runs of returning coho should make things interesting in the first couple of weeks. Throw in the hordes of pinks predicted to return to Puget Sound, and it should be difficult for anglers to come home empty handed.
The coastal fisheries will be open on Tuesdays through Saturday until July 18 (sorry, some doofus messed that one up last week), and then will open to seven-day-a-week fishing until Sept. 20 or the seasonal quota is reached.
Areas 5 (Sekiu) and 6 (Eastern Strait of Juan de Fuca), as well as a portion of Area 12 (Hood Canal), are set to open July 1. Area 9 (Admiralty Inlet) doesn’t open to salmon fishing until mid-July.
Tide of your life
A set of extreme low tides this week will leave clams and oysters exposed at a number of Peninsula beaches.
Among the spots harvesters can hit are Dabob Broad Spit, Toandos Peninsula State Park, Old Town, West Quilcene Bay (oysters) and Old Town.
Each beach will be easy pickings, with Dabob Broad Spit and Toandos Peninsula likely the best bets.
The latter is an excellent oyster beach in the summer, according to Fish and Wildlife, due to the colder water that is present. Geoducks can also be found in the sand below the rocky zone.
Here are the dates and times to go digging:
• Eastern Peninsula — Sunday: -3.43 feet at 10:16 a.m.; Monday: -4.13 feet at 11:03 a.m.; Tuesday: -4.38 feet at 11:51 a.m.; Wednesday: -4.15 feet at 12:39 p.m.
• Old Town (inside Dungeness Bay) — Sunday: -2.72 feet at 8:45 a.m.; Monday: -3.22 feet at 9:31 a.m.; Tuesday: -3.38 feet at 10:18 a.m.; Wednesday: -3.16 feet at 11:07 a.m.
For information on beach openings, visit http://www.doh.wa.gov/, and click on “Shellfish” under the heading “Beach closures.”
Also . . .
• Marine Areas 4 (Neah Bay) and 5 (Sekiu) are now open to recreational crabbing. Both areas are open seven days a week through Jan. 2.
Areas 6 (eastern Strait) and 9 (Admiralty Inlet) open to Dungeness crab harvest July 1. Those areas will be open Wednesdays through Saturdays only, plus the entire Labor Day weekend, through Sept. 7.
• Clallam County’s Streamkeepers will begin training new volunteers this Monday to collect stream health data, perform data entry and analysis, and conduct education and outreach. No previous experience is required.
For more information, contact Streamkeepers at 360-417-2281 or streamkeepers@co.clallam.wa.us.
• Olympic National Park will begin its summer program next week.
The weekly schedule, which remains the same through Sept. 6, includes numerous ranger-led walks through various parts of the park as well as several special presentations. To get a complete listing, stop by one of the park’s visitor centers and pick up a copy of the OlympicBugler.
• Admiralty Audubon’s David Gluckman will lead birders on a trip past all of the birding hot spots of Port Townsend on Sunday, June 28.
The trip will go from 8 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Those who are interested may do the trip by bicycle. Others will carpool from the meeting spot at he Larry Scott Trail bathroom area of Port Haven Marina. For more information, contact Gluckman at 360-379-0360 or cgluckman@aol.com.
• Surfing and Traditions will return to LaPush for the fifth straight year this Fourth of July weekend.
There will be a beach cleanup on the first day (July 5) followed by a surf and kayak camp for the youth of LaPush. A surf competition is scheduled for the next day (July 6) at 8 a.m., with anyone welcome to enter for a $20 fee.
For more information, visit surfingandtraditions.com.
• Dungeness River Audubon Center’s first Spring Fling fundraiser comes to a close at its awards frolic from 3-6 p.m. on Saturday.
The awards ceremony will be at the Audubon Center, 2151 West Hendrickson Road.
• Everything but the boards will be on sale at Mervin Manufacturing’s home base in Carlsborg, 169 Business Park Loop, this Saturday.
The community sale, open from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., will include shirts, sweatshirts, hats, beanies and bindings. Only cash will be accepted.
Call us, photos welcome!
Want your event listed in the outdoors column?
Have a fishing or hunting report, an anecdote about an outdoors experience or a tip on gear or technique, why not share it with our readers?
Send it to me, Matt Schubert, Sports Department, Peninsula Daily News, P.O. Box 1330, Port Angeles, WA 98362; phone, 360-417-3526, fax, 360-417-3521; e-mail matt.schubert@peninsuladailynews.com.
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Matt Schubert is the outdoors columnist for the Peninsula Daily News. His column appears on Thursdays and Fridays.
