MARK YOUR CALENDAR for March 19, when the 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, March 19.
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.
Forecasts for the upcoming salmon season developed by Fish and Wildlife and treaty tribes were released at a public meeting in Olympia earlier this week.
The best news comes from an expected run of 6.5 million pink salmon to Puget Sound, which the state says is comparable to the 2013 run.
Most pink salmon return to Washington’s waters only in odd-numbered years.
“A large return of pink salmon provides another reason for anglers to get out on the water and, perhaps, bring someone new to the sport along with them,” Puget Sound recreational fishery manager Ryan Lothrop said.
Puget Sound Anglers members Dave Croonquist and Walt Blendermann attended the Olympia meeting and were privy to some interesting pink salmon news.
“We were also advised that the Dungeness River might see upwards of 1.2 million pinks this year,” Croonquist wrote in an email to Puget Sound Anglers members.
“We had over 600,000 in 2013. We, along with Chris Mohr from Sekiu, suggested that the bonus limit on pinks could be expanded to four fish instead of the two fish bonus.”
News for the biggest species on the block, kings, wasn’t quite as uplifting.
The forecast for summer/fall chinook is down somewhat from last year, with about 208,000 chinook returning, Lothrop said.
Hatchery chinook make up the bulk of returning fish.
“Walt and I made our regular request for the extension of the chinook fishery to cover all of Marine Area 6 [eastern Strait of Juan de Fuca],” Croonquist wrote.
An expected, 20,000-fish rise in the number of coho returning to Puget Sound rivers is promising, but Lathrop thinks the best coho bite will occur in central and south Puget Sound.
Sockeye numbers again are small, with 165,000 expected back in Lake Washington, well short of the 350,000 required to open those waters to recreational fishing.
There may be a short sockeye season in Baker Lake in Whatcom County and on the Skagit River.
This should be a better king catch in the Pacific Ocean this year, particularly near the mouth of the Columbia River.
About 255,000 hatchery chinook are expected to return this year to the lower Columbia River.
Those salmon, which are known as tules, are the backbone of the recreational ocean chinook fishery.
About 900,000 fall chinook are expected to return to the Columbia River in 2015.
“That would be the third largest run on record since 1938,” said Ron Roler, Columbia River policy coordinator for Fish and Wildlife.
About 770,000 coho, or 20 percent less than expected to return in the fall to the Columbia.
For more information on the North of Falcon process, visit tinyurl.com/PDN-NorthofFalcon.
For more on Puget Sound Anglers, visit www.psanopc.org.
Geoduck derby
The Geoduck Restaurant and Lounge, aka the Geoduck Tavern in Brinnon, will host its annual salmon derby, A Hood Canal-centered fishing experience Saturday and Sunday.
“Looks like great weather for the derby in Brinnon,” said Ward Norden, a fishing tackle wholesaler and former fishery biologist who lives in Quilcene.
“Coho Killer spoons in colors such as cookies ‘n cream, white lightning, and purple haze, should produce well along with plastic squid in purple haze color behind green hot spot flashers.”
Norden believes anglers who rise early and fish the drop off in front of Pleasant Harbor should get some fish on the ladder.
“But most will come from the points across Hood Canal over by Seabeck, as well as near Hazel Point near the mouth of Dabob Bay.”
Entry fee is $15, payable at the Geoduck at 307103 U.S. Highway 101 or by phone at 360-796-4430.
Anglers can fish the Hood Canal south of the Hood Canal Bridge, and must have their catch weighed and registered at the Geoduck by 4 p.m. Saturday and noon Sunday.
The biggest salmon will net a $400 first prize, second place gets $300 and the third-place fish will bring home $200.
Saturday’s biggest salmon will earn a $100 bonus prize.
An awards ceremony begins back at the Geoduck at 2 p.m. Sunday.
Anglers must be present at the ceremony to win, so no cutting out early.
Prizes donated by area merchants will be given away at the ceremony.
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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.
