WANNA HEAR A poorly kept secret?
The state Department of Fish and Wildlife posted a summary of the schedule changes coming to North Coast rivers late this summer and this fall online at tinyurl.com/PDN-FallFishing.
Anglers may wish to take up a different hobby in October because the pickings will be nearly nonexistent.
The state and coastal tribes both agreed to close salmon fishing in most coastal rivers during October and November, the peak months for returning wild coho.
The Quillayute River and Sol Duc River up to the concrete pump station at the Sol Duc Hatchery will remain open for fishing Sept. 1-30, and then will reopen Nov. 16 to allow anglers to harvest returning hatchery coho.
All other Quillayute tributaries, such as the Bogachiel and Calawah rivers, will be closed Sept. 1 through Nov. 30, with the following exceptions: The Bogachiel River below the mouth of Mill Creek will open Nov. 16, and the Calawah River below U.S. Highway 101 will open Nov. 16.
The Hoh River outside Olympic National Park will close to all fishing Oct. 11 and reopen Nov. 21.
The state-managed waters of the Queets System will be closed to all fishing Sept. 1 through Nov. 30, with one exception: the state-managed waters of the Salmon River will remain open to salmon fishing through Sept. 30.
Only one adult salmon will be allowed per day except in waters where hatchery fish are released (Quillayute, Sol Duc and Salmon rivers).
The daily bag limit will require anglers to release wild coho in all open waters.
More details will be available in the 2016-17 Washington Sport Fishing Rules pamphlet, which will be available online and at license dealers in June.
Fish and Wildlife Police
It may be a good idea to bring your fishing licenses to tonight’s meeting of the North Olympic Peninsula Chapter of the Puget Sound Anglers.
Sgt. Kit Rosenberger of the state Department of Fish and Wildlife Police will provide an overview of natural resource law enforcement capabilities and challenges.
He also will highlight trends, such as the illicit shellfish trade, and answer questions regarding fishing regulations.
The meeting will be held at Trinity United Methodist Church, 100 S. Blake Ave. in Sequim.
The evening begins at 6:30 p.m. with a viewing of the raffle prizes available at the meeting and fish stories. A short club business meeting begins at 7 p.m., and Rosenberger will follow soon after.
Rosenberger has worked the last 8 years patrolling the marine waters of North Puget Sound.
He had been stationed in Anacortes until January when he was promoted to supervise the Fish and Wildlife officers in Clallam and Jefferson counties.
Refreshments, a raffle and a $50 membership drawing also are planned.
For some background on illicit shellfish poaching on Puget Sound, check out the recent KCTS-9 special Wildlife Detectives: The Poaching of Puget Sound.
It can be viewed online at tinyurl.com/PDN-Poaching, and a companion article is available at tinyurl.com/PDN-PoachingArticle.
The video includes information on Rodney Allan Clark who operated G & R Quality Seafood in Quilcene.
When state residents reported getting sick after eating shellfish from G & R, Fish and Wildlife detectives conducted an 11-month long investigation.
They found that Clark and his employees were illegally harvesting shellfish from Jefferson and Kitsap county beaches and labeling them with certification tags from G & R shellfish beds.
At least $2 million of illicit shellfish was sold by the company.
Clark pleaded guilty to 17 counts of trafficking stolen property and one reckless endangerment charge for his actions. He was sentenced to more than 5 years in prison.
Razor clam digs
The last razor clam digs of the season were recently approved by state shellfish managers and will run Friday through Sunday.
Fish and Wildlife routinely closes the razor clam fishery by the end of May to give the clams a chance to spawn.
The next season will begin this fall, when the older clams have recovered from spawning and a new generation begins to grow beneath the sand.
“This summer, we’ll conduct our annual assessment of razor clam stocks and will hope to open beaches again sometime in October,” state shellfish manager Dan Ayres said.
Those assessments will include Kalaloch.
The possibility of a Kalaloch opening, the first since 2011-12, was covered in my column, available online at tinyurl.com/PDN-Kalaloch, on March 26.
The upcoming digs are scheduled on the following dates, low tides and beaches:
■ Friday: 6:37 a.m., -0.3 feet.; Mocrocks and Copalis.
■ Saturday: 7:12 a.m., -0.6 feet; Mocrocks and Copalis.
■ Sunday: 7:47 a.m., -0.8 feet; Mocrocks.
For more information on razor clamming, visit tinyurl.com/PDN-Razors16
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Outdoors columnist Michael Carman appears here Thursdays and Fridays. He can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 57050 or at mcarman@peninsuladailynews.com.
