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THINK SALTWATER FOR this weekend.
We’ll let Bob Gooding out in Forks explain why.
“It’s gone to hell in a handbasket out here,” Gooding of Olympic Sporting Goods (360-374-6330) in Forks said about the West End rivers where the steelhead and springers (spring chinook) reside.
“We’ll be out of business for the next day or two, maybe three days,” Gooding continued.
It’s been raining off and on all week but Wednesday night’s-early Thursday morning’s storm with heavy rainfall just blew those rivers off the map.
“We have rain, wind and snow melt,” Gooding said. “The rivers are gunnysacked.”
The water’s a-flowing and so there won’t be any fishing on the Sol Duc, Hoh or Bogachiel rivers for at least a little while.
“We have lots of water,” Gooding said. “The rivers went up and out.”
Up until Wednesday night, there’s been plenty of decent-sized steelhead around.
“The fishing’s been pretty decent; we just have to wait for the rain to stop,” Gooding said.
“We have had decent fish caught, not giants, but some nice fish. It has been good.”
When the rivers get better, Brian Menkal of Brian’s Sporting Goods and More (360-683-1950) in Sequim recommends trying the Sol Duc and Hoh for steelies and springers.
“I heard that the Bogachiel was not so hot right now,” Menkal said. “But I did hear of a steelhead being caught on the Bogachiel [on Wednesday].”
Menkal said anglers need to check out realwater.net before heading out to the West End to get real-time readings on the water levels of the rivers.
Mike Deese of Swain’s General Store (360-452-2357) in Port Angeles said he heard of a 17.5-pound steelhead being caught in the Bogachiel this past week.
It’s the saltwater
For this weekend, Menkal recommends fishing the saltwater.
Blackmouth salmon continues to be caught in the area.
“The best areas are off Freshwater Bay right now,” Menkal said.
Reports from the Port Townsend area are that saltwater fishing has been slow, Menkal added.
Sekiu received a good plug for blackmouth fishing in a report in The Olympian newspaper this week.
According to The Olympian fishing report: “The blackmouth fishing remains very good, with anglers landing almost a fish per person in Sekiu, according to a state sampling.
“The fishing near Port Angeles is good — just not as hot as off Sekiu.”
Donalynn Olson of Olson’s Resort (360-963-2311) in Sekiu agrees with the report.
“They are getting their fish,” she said. “We have been lucky because the water’s been good.”
There has been off-and-on rain this week but very little wind to keep the saltwater smooth, Olson added.
There’s a limit of one blackmouth in Sekiu but anglers also have been catching sea bass and bottom fish, Olson said.
Off Port Angeles
Blackmouth fishing is strong outside of Port Angeles right now, Deese said.
“Saltwater fishing has been really good,” Deese said.
“The best blackmouth fishing right now is at Freshwater Bay and the Winter Hole.”
There’s been some movement in the monthly Port Angeles Salmon Derby, sponsored by Swain’s.
Carl Nyberg jumped into third place with a 15.15-pound fish he caught this past week.
There are only two more days to get into this month’s derby ladder with Bill Cargo still on top at 20.01 pounds, Ron Morgan in second at 17.2, Nyberg in third and Gary Kettel in fourth at 15.12.
Fly fishing class
Menkal of Brian’s Sporting Goods and More (360-683-1950) in Sequim is starting another one of his popular fishing classes this coming Tuesday.
The class is for rivers and lakes fly fishing.
It will give advice where and when to go for the best fishing, and also the right equipment to use, including rods, reels and lines, and what flies to use for specific rivers and lakes.
The two-session class is set for this Tuesday and also Tuesday, April 10, at the Sequim store from 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. each day.
Anglers meeting
It’s time to be thinking about the upcoming halibut season, which opens May 3 in Marine Area 6, the eastern Strait of Juan de Fuca.
How to fish for halibut in this area will be the topic of discussion at the Thursday, April 19, meeting of the North Olympic Peninsula Chapter of the Puget Sound Anglers Club.
Members will provide demonstrations of equipment, advice on fishing areas, and the club will provide a free information booklet on halibut fishing.
The meeting is set for 6:45 p.m. at the Trinity United Methodist Church, 100 S. Blake Ave., in Sequim. Call 360-582-0836 for more information.
Peninsula Fly Fishers
This Monday’s meeting of the Olympic Peninsula Fly Fishers (OPFF) will feature Jac Entringer from the North Olympic Salmon Coalition.
She will be talking about habitat restoration on the North Olympic Peninsula for salmon.
The North Olympic Salmon Coalition is a community-based, non-profit group that works with willing landowners and volunteers to perform salmon restoration on the North Olympic Peninsula.
In addition, veteran OPFF member Phil Huffman will be demonstrating the tying of one of his favorite flies.
Huffman is noted for tying with readily available materials he finds at the moment, and the flies have unique character to attract fish.
The meeting takes place in the Camp Fire USA Building on the corner of Fourth Street and S. Albert in Port Angeles, located right behind Swain’s General Store, starting at 7 p.m.
April openers
For many anglers, “opening day” is synonymous with the start of the lowland lakes trout-fishing season, which gets under way April 28 this year.
More than 300,000 Washingtonians are expected to descend on trout-stocked waters throughout the state that Saturday to kick off the new season.
But anglers —– and hunters, too — are also looking forward to a variety of other opening days this month, as seasons ranging from lingcod fishing on the north coast to a statewide turkey hunt get under way.
A morning razor clam dig has been tentatively scheduled on ocean beaches April 7-9, pending the results of marine toxin tests in the next couple of days.
“April really marks the start of the new year for fishing and hunting,” said Joe Stohr, deputy director of the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW).
“Some winter fisheries are still going strong, but the annual cycle is beginning again with a new year of outdoor activities.”
For most people, a valid 2012-13 fishing or hunting license will be required to get in on the action after Saturday, when all 2011-12 licenses expire.
The exception is young people under age 15, who may fish for free.
Licenses and permits are available online (https://fishhunt.dfw.wa.gov/), by phone (866-246-9453) and from sporting goods stores and other retail license dealers around the state.
Key dates for anglers and hunters to keep in mind in April include:
■ April 7-8 — A two-day spring turkey hunt for hunters age 15 and younger is scheduled statewide.
■ April 7-9 — A morning razor-clam dig has been tentatively scheduled at several ocean beaches, including Kalaloch, pending the results of marine toxin tests.
■ April 15 — The general spring turkey hunt opens for hunters of all ages and runs through May 31.
See WDFW’s Washington Wild Turkey Spring Season pamphlet for more information.
■ April 16 — Neah Bay (Marine Area 4) opens for lingcod.
■ April 28 — Several hundred lowland lakes open to trout fishing across the state for the biggest “opening day” of the year.
Halibut fishing
Halibut fishing hasn’t started.
According to Brian Menkal of Brian’s Sporting Goods and More in Sequim, some anglers were confused of when the halibut season starts after reading the outdoors column in Thursday’s editions.
Following are the seasons in the various Marine Areas around the Puget Sound.
The 2012 Puget Sound halibut seasons follow:
■■ Sekiu (Marine Area 5): From May 24-28, the fishery will be open Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday for Memorial Day weekend.
From May 31 through June 23, the fishery will be open Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
WDFW has also set Thursday, May 23 as the opening day of the 2013 season.
■■ Eastern Strait of Juan de Fuca, San Juan Islands, east side of Whidbey Island, northern Puget Sound and central Puget Sound (Marine Areas 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10): From May 3-19, the fishery will be open Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
From May 24-28, the fishery will be open each day (Thursday through Monday) for Memorial Day weekend.
From May 31-June 2, the fishery will be open Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
WDFW has also set Thursday, May 2 as the opening day of the 2013 season.
■■ Hood Canal, south central Puget Sound and southern Puget Sound (Marine Areas 11, 12, 13): These areas will remain closed to halibut fishing this year to protect threatened and endangered rockfish species.
Pacific Coast
The 2012 Pacific Coast halibut seasons follows:
■■ Neah Bay and LaPush (Marine Areas 3 and 4): Opens May 10, two days per week (Thursdays and Saturdays) through May 19.
If enough harvestable fish remain to be catch the fishery will re-open May 31 and/or June 2 and possibly on additional days (Thursdays and Saturdays) until the quota is reached or Sept. 28, whichever occurs first.
The combined quota for both areas is 108,030 pounds.
In Marine Areas 1-4, the seasons will continue until the subarea quotas are reached.
■■ Columbia River (Marine Area 1): Opens May 3, three days per week (Thursday-Saturday) until 80 percent of the quota is achieved, or until July 14, whichever is earlier.
The fishery will reopen Aug. 3 and continue three days per week (Friday-Sunday), until the remaining quota is taken, or until Sept. 30, whichever occurs first.
The early quota is 9,516 pounds; the late quota is 2,379 pounds.
■■ Westport (Marine Area 2): Opens May 6, two days per week (Sunday and Tuesday) for three consecutive weeks.
The area-wide fishery will be closed May 27 and May 29.
If sufficient quota remains, the fishery will open the following Sunday and/or Tuesday and continue until the quota is reached, or until Sept. 30, whichever occurs first.
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The outdoors column appears on Thursdays and Fridays each week.
