TIP FOR ANGLERS on the North Olympic Peninsula: Work through the coming weekend.
Just do whatever you need to ensure you won’t be stuck sitting at a desk wearing a monkey suit on Monday.
The chinook and crab seasons both open up Monday.
“It’s going to be a crazy day,” Brian Menkal of Brian’s Sporting Goods and More (360-683-1950) in Sequim said.
It’s not the most convenient day of the week for two big-time openers, but the first day of the month is a clean and simple way to begin something.
Except for the northern coast of the Pacific Ocean, where the hatchery king fishery began last weekend, and the wild fishery begins Saturday.
Sorting through the saltwater salmon opening dates has twisted my mind and wrung the knowledge juice from my brain.
Then, there is the fact that the crab harvest begins Monday morning, and then goes on hiatus until Thursday, July 4, to keep with its Thursday-through-Monday schedule.
So, drop your pots early Monday, but pull them back out by the end of the day.
The crab season will be open through Sept. 2 (once again: Thursdays through Mondays) on the Peninsula’s areas of the Strait of Juan de Fuca and Hood Canal.
The Dungeness crab regulations are a daily limit of five, with a 6.25-inch size minimum. Only males in hardshell condition may be harvested.
For the less popular red rock crabs, either sex may be harvested. The daily limit is five, with a 5-inch size minimum.
OK, now let’s sort out the saltwater salmon seasons.
■ Marine Areas 5 (Sekiu) and 6 (Port Angeles):
A hatchery chinook fishery opens Monday and lasts through Aug. 15, after which coho and pinks become the salmon of note.
It is important to point out that the portion of Marine Area 6 from the No. 2 buoy near the tip of Ediz Hook to the east is what the state Department of Fish and Wildlife calls the Chinook Release Area.
This means that chinook cannot be harvested during the summer opening. (The entire area is open in the month of October.)
In this Release Area, coho can be caught, but, “There aren’t any in there to catch yet,” Menkal said.
In the area that opens to hatchery chinook fishing Monday, harvesting silvers is not legal until Aug. 16 — just in case some coho show up early.
The daily limit in areas 5 and 6 is two salmon, with a minimum chinook size of 22 inches.
■ Marine Area 9 (Admiralty Inlet):
Opens to chinook fishing on Tuesday, July 16 through Aug. 31.
As with Marine Areas 5 and 6, the daily limit is two salmon, and the minimum chinook size is 22 inches.
■ Marine Area 12 (Hood Canal):
South of Ayock Point, Hood Canal’s chinook season runs Monday through Oct. 15.
Unlike the Peninsula’s other marine areas, Hood Canal has a daily salmon catch limit of four, but only two can be kings.
The chinook size minimum is 22 inches.
■ Marine Areas 3 (LaPush) and 4 (Neah Bay):
These coastal marine areas opened to hatchery kings last weekend.
Joey Lawrence of Big Salmon Resort (360-645-2374) in Neah Bay said the pressure was light, but, “There are a lot of fish around.”
Most of the anglers who fished through some less than ideal weather reeled in their limits.
The Pacific Ocean offered more success than the Strait portion of Neah Bay, particularly around Swiftsure Bank.
Anglers also encountered a lot of wild kings while they fished for their hatchery counterparts.
But what was a frustration last week bodes well for this weekend, when the coastal wild chinook season — along with the hatchery coho fishery — begins, and runs through Sept. 22.
The hatchery coho season also is open Saturday through Sept. 22.
The weather forecast also looks like it will clear up and provide good fishing conditions.
The daily limit is two salmon, and the chinook size minimum is 24 inches.
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Outdoors columnist Lee Horton appears here Thursdays and Fridays. He can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5152 or at lhorton@peninsuladailynews.com.
