HORDES OF ENTHUSIASTIC halibut anglers descended on the waters abutting the North Olympic Peninsula yesterday for the opener of halibut season.
And they weren’t disappointed in the slightest.
Mother Nature shined Thursday, offering up the best weather conditions anybody on the Peninsula has seen since last fall.
“The water is just slack and its beautiful out there,” said Ben Maxson of Neah Bay’s Windsong Charters (360-640-8728). “It’s a gorgeous day to be fishing in the Pacific Northwest.”
Maxson said Windsong has added a third boat to its roster for bottomfish and halibut fishing this year and he was out testing it on the inside of the Strait of Juan de Fuca while the two other boats ventured out into the Pacific Ocean.
“One boat that fished all the way down to the C Closure did really well on halibut, then ran further north and picked up their ling[cod] limits,” Maxson said.
“The second boat did the exact opposite. It picked up lings then went for halibut, doing well after moving around a bit and resetting a few times.
“Fish are fluid, so that’s part of the game of being a fisherman.”
Stay fishing
Maxson said his boats fish using the skirt and bait method.
“We use a double leader hook, one hooks with a skirt one with bait, so you are constantly fishing. If something nibbles the bait, you still have the skirt, and when you are fishing that deep, 400 to 500 feet down, it’s a lot of work to have to haul the line back up, even if it is only 2 pounds, so you want to maximize your opportunities and not tire out.”
Maxson said he still has a few halibut fishing spots left for next Thursday and will book the other tentative days of the season if quota remains.
Wind Song also will do runs to fish Canadian waters, a simple process, and one that doesn’t add much time to a fishing trip.
“The run to the shelf is two and a half hours now, and it’s three hours to make a trip to Canada.”
Windsong will do those runs before salmon fishing begins June 24 off Neah Bay.
Sekiu slack
Brandon Mason, owner of Mason’s Olson Resort (360-963-2311) in Sekiu, was looking out over a mostly empty marina early Thursday afternoon.
Many anglers were still out fishing or enjoying the excellent weather.
“It’s a little slow compared to last year,” Mason said. “Usually guys have gotten their fish and the marina is about 1/2 full by noon and it’s about a quarter full so far.
“But it’s pretty slack [tidal conditions], so it’s a good five-hour window to fish.”
It was a picture-postcard day in Sekiu as well.
“It’s pretty flat and been pretty nice all day long,” Mason said. “I’m thinking guys are not used to 65 degrees and sunny. It needs to be spitting rain and windy out there and everybody would have a fish.
Halibut are being landed and brought ashore.
“We’ve had a 30 and a 43-pounder come in and a 52 is the biggest we’ve seen,” Mason said.
A few 15- to 20- pounders. But it’s early and everybody’s still fishing. [Today] they’ll go do their bottom fishing and those with Canadian fishing license they can go seven miles across the line and go halibut fishing.”
Mason’s Resort makes that process easy for anglers.
“We have a computer and printer kiosk set up where they can enter their info and get their Canadian fishing licenses and it takes about three to five minutes,” he said. “And we have a little paper that explains how to sign in with Canadian Customs and let them know who is fishing and then how to sign out at the end of the day.”
Port Angeles report
Calm waters and winds told the tale off Port Angeles and nearby spots like the Garbage Dump and Freshwater Bay.
“You couldn’t ask for anything better weather-wise,” said Bob Aunspach of Swain’s General Store (360-452-2357) in Port Angeles.
Morning fog stayed in the middle of the Strait of Juan de Fuca and burned off quickly, allowing anglers unfettered access to good halibut holes.
Aunspach said some of the larger fish landed Thursday were in the 4o to 5o-pound range.
“Those bigger ones, most were caught using anchored fishing,” he said. “So that means they were probably fishing shallower, not going too deep.”
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Sports reporter/columnist Michael Carman can be contacted at 360-417-3525 or mcarman@peninsuladailynews.com.
