ALL THE RECENT rain has been a boon on the Dungeness River, which opened to coho, trout and other game fish retention Thursday.
Cue the huge sigh of relief from anglers itching from anticipation.
If you’re itching from something else, consult a physician.
The week-long delay was caused by low stream flow in the river and the corresponding need to protect the year’s last spawning chinook populations from the river mouth up to the hatchery intake pipe at mile 11.3.
“It opened up [Thursday] at midnight and it’s getting back to relatively normal depths for this time of year,” state Department of Fish and Wildlife District 16 fish biologist Mike Gross said.
“And with some more rain in the forecast, it should start to bring some more fish up the river.”
Gross said that fish were moving in the lower reaches of the river Wednesday and more are expected as the season progresses.
“We had forecast a better run of coho than in the past couple of years, but it’s yet to materialize,” Gross said.
“I think that’s because the low water has held them back.
“We are seeing good numbers in the south coast river systems, the Chehalis and Willapa rivers in that area, and we have seen some strong catches by tribal fisheries in the northern coastal rivers, the Queets and Quillayute river systems.”
Dungeness River stream flows are still pretty low, with gage height recorded at 2.84 feet and a discharge rate of 202 cubic feet per second as of 11:15 a.m. Thursday.
The discharge rate is one foot off the 83-year mean for the river as recorded by the U.S. Geological Survey.
Anglers will likely find they aren’t the only folks walking the riverbanks.
Fish and Wildlife enforcement officers are sure to be patrolling the scene, so take care, especially with low water, to legally land your fish and avoid illegally snagging them on the head or other parts of the body.
Heed the four coho daily limit as well, and avoid the temptation of poaching extra silvers.
Much of the property along the banks of the Dungeness is privately owned, so anglers should enter private property only with the permission of the landowner.
West End rising
If rain fell in Sequim, it’s safe to assume the same for the West End.
The rivers have risen, according to Bob Gooding of Olympic Sporting Goods (360-374-6330) in Forks, and anglers are finding fish.
“They are doing pretty good with the salmon,” Gooding said.
“We finally got the rain coming and there are quite a few fish around.”
Gooding said success stories have come mainly from the Quilayute and Bogachiel rivers, which offer deeper waters than the Sol Duc or Calawah.
“I think people are just starting to get out on the Sol Duc today [Thursday],” Gooding said.
“It was so low, you couldn’t float it, then it was too high, then it dropped way down and now it’s back again.”
Gooding also said the Hoh River has provided its share of salmon in the past few days.
The lower stretch from Morgan’s Crossing boat launch to the river mouth remained open, but a 17-day closure from the crossing 7 miles upriver to the Olympic National Park boundary ended Wednesday.
“The Hoh is kicking out some fish,” Gooding said.
“It’s pretty dirty right now, but it’s glacier-fed and gets that glacial blue clay and all sorts of silt so it just takes a while to clean up.
“But they have been catching fish down there, too.”
Coho still productive
Coho creel reports near Port Angeles remained red-hot with 137 silvers landed by 85 anglers in 40 boats last Sunday at the Ediz Hook ramp and 148 coho taken in by 83 anglers in 32 boats at the Port Angeles West Ramp last Saturday.
Anytime the fish-per-rod average is above a 1.0 is grounds for celebration in my estimation, so averages of 1.61 and 1.78 fish per rod are certainly praiseworthy.
And after the rough chinook season in Area 6, solid silver numbers are a lift to an angler’s spirits.
Get out in Marine Area 6 (Eastern Strait of Juan de Fuca) while the getting is good. The salmon season will take a one-month hiatus from Nov. 1-30 before the start of the winter blackmouth fishery Dec. 1.
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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.
