BREAK OUT THE Tyrannosaurus rex, or at least a reasonable facsimile.
Yes, it’s time again for the Wapiti Bowmen’s annual 3-D Fun Shoot, set for this Saturday and Sunday at the archery club’s facility at 374 Arnette Road in Port Angeles.
The event, which is open to archers from novice level to highly skilled, will provide access to 35 3-D targets, including the aforementioned dinosaur, a cobra, and many other North American animals.
Registrations opens each day at 7 a.m.
Shoot fees are $12 for a one-day adult pass, $20 for both days, $8 or $10 for youth ages 12 to 17 and $4 or $5 for “cubs” ages 6-11. Archers age 5 and younger shoot free.
Breakfast and lunch will be served for a small fee.
The event is sponsored by Swain’s and Rinehart Targets.
Intriguing proposal
A proposal to reopen recreational fishing for flounder, sole and other flatfish — except halibut— in Quilcene Bay and the northern portion of Dabob Bay in Hood Canal has been floated by the state Department of Fish and Wildlife.
A public meeting to solicit comments on this plan is set for the Marina Room at the Point Hudson Marina, 130 Hudson Street, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday.
Public comments on the proposal also are accepted through April 1 at tinyurl.com/PDN-Flatfish.
Under the proposal, fishing for numerous species of flatfish would be allowed in waters shallower than 120 feet in Quilcene and Dabob bays, north of a line stretching east from Point Whitney to the Toandos Peninsula.
Fishing for a variety of species, including flatfish, has been closed in Hood Canal since 2004 to provide additional protection for fish populations that are susceptible to low-dissolved oxygen events, according to Craig Burley, manager of Fish and Wildlife’s fish management division.
“Recent studies show that populations of flatfish have significantly increased in these bays over the last decade,” Burley said.
“So we’re proposing a fishery in those areas that would allow for limited recreational opportunity while still ensuring we meet conservation objectives for those species.”
The harvest of Pacific halibut, lingcod and other bottomfish, as well as forage fish, would be prohibited because of continuing conservation concerns for those species, Burley said.
Ward Norden, a fishing tackle wholesaler and former fishery biologist who lives in Quilcene thinks it’s about time the northern portion of the Hood Canal was reopened to flatfish fishing.
“I spoke with the guys running the Fish and Wildlife research trawler 5 or 6 years ago, and they said there were harvestable numbers and healthy populations of all flatfish and perch in this end of the Canal,” Norden said.
“I would like them to add squid jigging as well.
“You can’t keep the English and rock sole off your line, and the starry flounder are huge.”
For more than a decade, low dissolved-oxygen events throughout Hood Canal have caused significant die-offs of marine life, including multiple species of fish, shellfish and invertebrates.
Scientists long have understood the basic causes of Hood Canal fish deaths.
Parts of the canal are deep, but its entrance is shallow enough that water circulates poorly in and out. Water also circulates poorly from surface to bottom.
Nitrogen entering the water from human sources stimulates blooms of algae, which absorbs oxygen from the water as it decomposes.
Under certain weather and wind conditions, the level of life-sustaining dissolved oxygen in the water drops so low that fish and other underwater species suffocate.
That said, the majority of these oxygen events have occurred in the southern sections of the Canal, along Mason County shores.
North of Falcon
Puget Sound Anglers North Olympic Chapter hosts a North of Falcon recreational fishing overview and discussion with state Department of Fish and Wildlife personnel.
The meeting is set for Trinity United Methodist Church, 100 S. Blake Ave. in Sequim, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday.
Fish and Wildlife personnel will discuss salmon season dates, catch limits and some new proposals to expand salmon fishing opportunities in 2015.
Public input will be taken.
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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.