THE BLACKMOUTH BAG limit in Marine Area 6 (East Strait of Juan de Fuca) will be reduced from two hatchery chinook to one beginning Friday, Feb. 5.
“That’s what the sport fishing advisory board members advised the department to do during the conference call [Wednesday],” state Department of Fish and Wildlife Puget Sound Recreational Salmon Fishery Manager Ryan Lothrop said Thursday.
Lothrop said that anglers are far ahead of schedule in total encounters with legal 22-inch and larger chinook and sub-legal blackmouth.
“We are at 71 percent of the total encounters for Area 6 for the season ending on April 10,” Lothrop said.
Total encounters refers to legal and sub-legal wild or hatchery chinook that are hooked and released or caught and kept.
The whole shebang, if you will.
Before the season started a total of 2,586 chinook encounters were agreed upon by Fish and Wildlife and state tribes.
Lothrop said Fish and Wildlife believes its fish checkers are counting about 20 percent of the fishing population for a given marine area, and the department extrapolates that data with other findings to reach its total encounter numbers.
“This is similar to how Area 7 (San Juan Islands) and Area 9 (Admiralty Inlet) and 10 (Seattle/Bremerton) are checked in the winter,” Lothrop said.
“This is similar to the summer, too, but a little different to save on department costs since the season is longer and the effort is more spread out throughout the areas.”
Lothrop spoke before the upcoming change was announced.
“Any change would be basically trying to slow the fishery down to achieve the maximum number of days in the season,” Lothrop said.
The blackmouth season is scheduled to run through April 10.
“With Area 9 reopening recently, that should help with added pressure,” Lothrop said.
“We hope that helps us go further in the season.”
Derby impact
Brian Menkal of Brian’s Sporting Goods and More (360-683-1950) in Sequim said he felt any impact to the Olympic Peninsula Salmon Derby, scheduled for Friday through Sunday, Feb. 19-21, would be minimal.
“As far as the derby, derby people are derby people and they are going to go out and have fun fishing,” Menkal said.
“People have cabin fever and will want to get out there and have some fun. This might be their first trip out on the water since the summer or fall.”
He believes any impact would be found in anglers sending back smaller, legal-sized chinook in a bid to catch and weigh a larger fish.
“Folks will end up releasing more fish,” Menkal said.
“I’m not too sure that helps the fishery any.”
Better off Port Angeles
Menkal said the blackmouth bite has been better off Port Angeles than near Sequim.
“Guys fishing near east Sequim Bay and near Protection Island are seeing some fish but not getting anything to hit,” Menkal said.
“I had one guy come in, a really solid fisherman, and he said he’s hooked into about 100 fish off Port Angeles.
“But most of those have been really small, 18 to 21 inches, and not keepable.
“He did say he got one 16-pound hatchery chinook.”
Menkal said the angler was in the store to buy Coho Killers, but this angler adapts to the situation presented.
“If he can jig he’ll jig. If the tides are going too fast or its too windy, he’ll troll,” Menkal said.
More high water
If Wednesday night’s downpour didn’t make West End rivers unfishable, the forecast calls for more rainfall through the weekend.
“The rivers are really high,” Menkal said.
“They are calling for even more, a few more inches, through Sunday,” Menkal said.
Winter steelhead opportunity has been few and far between this season.
Menkal did have one fish story to tell.
“About two weeks ago, one guy hooked into about 15 or 18 steelhead in the Sol Duc,” Menkal said.
“He was hitting one after another and he described it as just one of those magical days, a highlight of the year, maybe even a lifetime.”
And everybody tells me January is supposed to be dry.
River fishing class
Menkal will offer another of his two-part Introduction to River Salmon and Steelhead courses Tuesday, Feb. 9 and again Tuesday, Feb. 16.
For $25, anglers will receive a total of five hours of instruction on where to go, what to use and how to target salmon and steelhead in our area rivers.
The store is located at 542 W. Washington St., in Sequim and the class runs from 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. each night.
RSVP to Menkal at 360-683-1950, and bring along a chair, a pen and a notebook.
Menkal also offers firearms safety training courses with an emphasis on handguns.
These are offered once a month, but Menkal said February and March are booked.
Potential exists for a second March class if there’s enough interest, or gun owners can sign up for later dates.
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. 5152 or at mcarman@peninsuladailynews.com.