THE FINAL WEEKEND of April offers up the final chance to hook a chinook in salt water for nearly two months in the waters of the North Olympic Peninsula.
Anglers will have to head west to Marine Area 5 (Sekiu) to drop their gear in the hunt for the last winter blackmouth of the season.
There won’t be another chance for a recreationally caught salmon until the summer season opens off La Push and Neah Bay on Saturday, June 24.
Those heading west this weekend can pull off a double: fish Marine Area 5 for your two hatchery chinook limit then head further west along the Strait and into the waters of Area 4B and 4A (Neah Bay) to catch a limit of rockfish and lingcod.
Heading west is the best bet this weekend, but there are still plenty of trout left over in lowland lakes around the North Olympic Peninsula — slightly better weather has even ticked the temperature gauge past 50 degrees earlier this week at Lake Leland.
Halibut anglers await big day
Some anglers may choose to sit this weekend out, with the big daddies, the large flatties, I’m talking halibut here, people, on the schedule starting Thursday.
The scheduled season dates are May 4, 6, 11, 21 and 25, and June 1 and 4, provided there is sufficient quota to accommodate all these fishing days.
These dates apply to halibut fishing in Puget Sound marine areas 5-10 and in ocean marine areas 2-4.
Heather Reed, state Department of Fish and Wildlife coastal policy coordinator, noted that this year’s quota for recreational halibut fisheries in Washington state is 243,667 pounds — an increase of about 23,652 pounds from 2016.
“We expect that the effort to align halibut season dates, together with a higher quota for the state’s recreational fisheries, will result in a longer season than what anglers have experienced in past years,” Reed said.
Halibut fishing has become an increasingly popular sport in Washington, making it difficult to predict how quickly anglers will reach the harvest limit for any given area, Reed said. The new season structure will help to ensure the state does not exceed federal quotas, with periodic catch assessments in each fishing area, she said.
In all marine areas open to halibut fishing, there is a one-fish daily catch limit and two-fish possession limit in the field, and no minimum size restriction. Anglers must record their catch on a catch record card.
In Marine areas 5 and 6, lingcod and Pacific cod can be retained in waters deeper than 120 feet on days when the recreational halibut fishery is open.
There’s a change for those fishing off La Push and Neah Bay west of the Bonilla-Tatoosh line: bottomfish fishing will be restricted to the area shoreward of 20 fathoms (120 feet) beginning May 1 through Labor Day.
Lingcod, sablefish (black cod) and Pacific cod can be retained seaward of 20 fathoms (120 feet) on days open to recreational halibut fishing.
Kid’s Fishing Day
The West End Sportsmen’s Club will hold its annual Kid’s Fishing Dayfrom 6 a.m. to noon at the Bogachiel Hatchery Rearing Pond.
The event is free for children 12 and younger. A special area for the younger anglers also will be available.
Kids can reel in a limit of five fish, and any fish landed must be kept and counted toward the limit. There is no catch and release.
Hot coffee will be provided for adults and cocoa for the kids, along with hot dogs and doughnuts.
Donation boxes to help offset the cost of the fun program can be found around Forks.
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Sports reporter Michael Carman can be contacted at 360-417-3525 or mcarman@peninsuladailynews.com.
