PAT NEAL HAS a problem with Kids Fishing Day this Saturday in Sequim.
Mainly, that he’s not included.
Approximately 1,500 trout have been dumped into the Sequim reclamation pond for the annual event, and Neal won’t get his hands on a single one of them.
Just like all of the other events of its ilk held on the North Olympic Peninsula each spring, Sequim Kids Fishing Day is all about the kids. Only anglers ages 14 and younger need apply.
And that really sticks in Neal’s craw.
“They will not allow me to launch my boat in the ponds,” said Neal, a longtime Peninsula provocateur, fishing guide, area historian and PDN columnist.
“It’s age discrimination, and we’re going to get every lawyer in the county on it!”
Short of some last-minute maneuvering from the Neal legal team, the event will go on as planned this Saturday from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.
The free children’s fishing event is presented by the North Olympic Peninsula Chapter of Puget Sound Anglers.
Participants can bring their own poles and bait or borrow from the club stock. Bait is also supplied by the club.
Children can also learn hot to clean the fish by watching club members clean and ice their catch.
With 4,000 pounds of trout to fish for in the main pond, including some weighing up to 10 pounds, there should be plenty of rod bending action to go around.
Even the tiny tots can try their hand at things, with a small pool open to toddlers.
Just like in past years, the reclamation pond will be re-stocked with another 1,000 fish in the weeks following Saturday’s event.
Of course, Neal and company will be shut out of those proceedings as well.
The pond is closed to fishing for anyone over 14 years old.
Flat broke
If seasons were judged solely upon the number of fish pictures in my inbox, we’d be set.
Unfortunately, such tales of fortuitous flatty fortune have been few and far between during the opening weeks of halibut season, despite all the fish photos flying my way.
From LaPush all the way to Mid Channel Bank — Marine Area 5 (Sekiu) excluded — many anglers have returned to the docks with empty coolers.
And that’s not just because they’ve been riding the Silver Bullet all the way to happy town.
Nowhere has that been more evident than the waters of Area 6 (eastern Strait of Juan de Fuca) near Port Angeles.
“There’s some fish, but it’s nothing like it was last year,” Bob Aunspach of Swain’s General Store (360-452-2357) in Port Angeles said.
“I know guys who fish this thing daily. They will spend 12 hours out there on the water and they are not catching fish.
“We’re still sitting out here with no bait to hold the fish or gather the fish. We just don’t have it here.”
One common refrain among anglers is that the halibut that have been caught have stomachs filled with shrimp and little else.
Randy Jones of Venture Charters (360-895-5424) in Sequim has come across more than a few of those specimens the past two weeks.
“What they’ve had has been shrimp, almost nothing but shrimp,” he said. “But they’ve been starving little bellies.”
There is a bonus to that, however, according to Jones.
“They will take [your gear] really hard. Let them take it and then you’ll get them hooked good,” he said.
Port Angeles resident Jeremy Meyer has been one of the few big winners thus far.
He and his son, Jeremy Meyer Jr., brought a 144-pound behemoth out of the eastern edge of the Strait last Friday using rubber tails.
It was the pair’s eighth fish of the season, including some other flatties that measured out to 66 and 58 inches.
Jones, who has also run into several fish this spring, said that without any obvious honey holes paying off, anglers are best suited to stay on the move.
“You can’t get hung up on one spot,” he said. “You’ve got to move around. You’ve got to do a little experimenting.”
Coastal halibut
Too much movement was the biggest problem for coastal anglers Thursday.
As was the case inside the Strait and around Admiralty Inlet, turbulent tides made things difficult on anglers in Area 3 (LaPush) and 4 (Neah Bay) for the third opening date.
“We didn’t see much fish today. We didn’t see a number of anglers either,” Joey Lawrence of Big Salmon Resort (360-645-2374) in Neah Bay said.
“It must have been a long day for them. From what I could see it was a little slower than normal.”
Things weren’t much different last weekend either.
Despite favorable tidal conditions on Saturday, angler success could best be described as “fair,” according to Lawrence.
“It’s kind of a slow takeoff,” Lawrence said. “I’m trying to think of some reasons why, but you never know, I guess. I know on [Thursday] they battled a lot of current.”
Randy Lato of All-Ways Fishing (360-374-2052) out of LaPush classified the halibut fishery as “fair to middling” thus far.
“It’s OK,” said Lato, who’s primarily fished the southwest corner of the bottomfish closure zone this season.
“We’re getting 35- to 45-[pounders[ on a regular basis.
“It took a little bit on the legs [Thursday], but the halibut were pretty plentiful.”
Saturday is the final day of halibut fishing on the coast before things close down for a couple of weeks.
Another fishery is tentatively planned for June 2 and 4 in Area 3 and 4, when Big Salmon will host its annual halibut derby.
If sufficient quota remains after that, the coastal flatty fishery will reopen again starting June 16.
That seems likely to be the case given the small turnout that has made it out west thus far, according to Lato.
“We haven’t had much pressure,” Lato said.
Shrimp update
A couple of sought-after spot shrimp fisheries are likely to get additional openers very soon.
State shellfish biologist Mark O’Toole said Discovery Bay Shrimp District and Hood Canal will likely both reopen for an extra day of fishing due to excess quota.
Discovery Bay is likely to reopen next Wednesday, while Hood Canal may get an additional date June 8.
Hood Canal still has one scheduled opener left — next Wednesday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. — on its four-day season.
Thus far, shrimpers have averaged 4.3 pounds per pot, with a total of 54,774 pounds harvested by 12,357 fishers.
This past Saturday was especially productive with 4,457 fishers pulling up 21,772 pounds while averaging 4.8 pounds per pot.
Discover Pass
Governor Chris Gregoire signed legislation last week requiring citizens to purchase a vehicle access pass known as the Discover Pass in order to gain entry into certain state lands.
The Discover Pass will be required as of July 1 for vehicle access to recreation lands and water-access sites managed by the state Parks and Recreation Commission, Fish and Wildlife and state Department of Natural Resources.
The pass — which will be available for sale in mid-June — will cost $30 a year per vehicle or $10 for a day-use pass.
Holders of certain types of fishing and hunting licenses, registered campers in state parks and other users are exempt from some Discover Pass requirements.
For details, visit www.discoverpass.wa.gov.
Oak Bay
The dozen or so people who actually read my entire geoduck story in Thursday’s PDN might have noticed a small slip-up around the 24-inch mark.
The park that I visited Wednesday morning was actually Oak Bay County Park, not Oak Harbor County Park as I first stated in the column.
As many of you know, Oak Harbor is a forgettable town on the northern end of Whidbey Island. Oak Bay is a small, picturesque bay southeast of Port Hadlock.
Why I confused the two on my first reference in the story — the second and third were both “Oak Bay” — is anyone’s guess.
I’m guessing it had something to do with the heartbreak I felt after coming up empty on the geoduck front.
Also . . .
■ The trout plants are winding down for North Olympic Peninsula lakes.
The last of the lakes to receive fish were Wentworth (1,440 rainbows) in Clallam County, and Sandy Shore (534), Teal (230) and Gibbs (555) in Jefferson County. All were planted May 4.
■ Razor clam diggers have only a few more days to collect the savory shellfish before the season comes to an end.
Twin Harbors and Mocrocks open to morning digging today through Saturday, while the final harvest dates at Long Beach are Saturday and Sunday.
For more information on coastal razor clams, visit wdfw.wa.gov/fishing/shellfish/razorclams.
■ Admiralty Audubon’s Dan Waggoner will lead a spring birding trip through Fort Worden State Park on Wednesday at 6:30 p.m.
The trip is the final installment in a weekly bird walk series led each week during the month of May by Waggoner.
To register for the walk, contact Waggoner at 360-301-1788 or danwags57@gmail.com.
■ Olympic National Park is recruiting trail stewards to adopt trails throughout the park.
An Adopt-a-Trail orientation will be held Saturday at 9 a.m. at the Trails Shop in the maintenance compound at park headquarters in Port Angeles.
For questions on the program or to sign up, contact volunteer program coordinator David Merritt at david_merritt@nps.gov.
■ Coastal Conservation Association-North Olympic Peninsula chapter will hold an open forum on saltwater salmon fishing at its monthly meeting next Thursday.
Members will discuss various fishing styles and strategies at the meeting. It is set for 6:30 p.m. at Wine on the Waterfront, 115 E. Railroad Ave., in Port Angeles.
■ Washington Trails Association will gather an all-day work party at Peabody Creek Trail inside Olympic National Park next Thursday.
Volunteers must pre-register 48 hours in advance. To pre-register, contact Washington Trails at 206-625-1367 or visit www.wta.org.
Send photos, stories
Want your event listed in the outdoors column?
Have a fishing or hunting report, an anecdote about an outdoors experience or a tip on gear or technique, why not share it with our readers?
Send it to me, Matt Schubert, Sports Department, Peninsula Daily News, P.O. Box 1330, Port Angeles, WA 98362; phone, 360-417-3526; fax, 360-417-3521; email matt.schubert
@peninsuladailynews.com.
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Matt Schubert is the outdoors columnist for the Peninsula Daily News. His column appears on Thursdays and Fridays.