CHAMPAGNE WISHES AND caviar dreams are flights of fancy for a good chunk of the North Olympic Peninsula population, yours truly included.
If your aim is coho, the premier methodology is dropping the boat off at the ramp and heading out where the fish are.
Not everyone, however, owns a sea-worthy vessel with downriggers and the latest GPS and fish-finder navigation systems.
What to do if you can’t pull together the next best option: cadging a ride on a Strait of Juan de Fuca-bound boat?
You can try your luck from shore.
It’s a tougher task, but can still yield an entertaining outing, and just maybe a coho fillet for dinner.
After an email from a reader asking about shore-fishing locations near Port Angeles, I thought I’d put the to question an expert for his opinions.
The reader wished to know of some spots he could hit up after work.
I took a look at the Port Angeles-area shoreline, going as far west as Salt Creek and as far east as Morse Creek.
Ediz Hook
Ediz Hook is the obvious standout, it pokes outwardly into the Strait and offers the best chance at a coho.
“Folks will shore fish right around the big silver cans there near the [Nippon] mill,” Bob Aunspach of Swain’s General Store (360-452-2357) said.
“Right off those cans, coho will periodically come in close to shore.”
“The high tide is the best. That’s when you can catch salmon.”
And a tip: fish towards Vancouver Island, not toward Hurricane Ridge.
You might come away with nothing more than piling perch if you try inside the harbor.
“You don’t need anything special,” Aunspach said.
“You can fish 3 or 4 ounce tackle and just kind of motor it along, or put down a cut-plug herring or pull a spoon.”
That herring, if you choose to accept it as your method, should be a bit smaller than a normal summer chinook cut-plug as the coho aren’t necessarily looking to enjoy a bait buffet.
Anglers also can take the easy way out and do some jigging with Buzz Bombs.
Tongue Point
I thought Tongue Point at Salt Creek County Park could provide another shore option.
It’s an easy walk out on the beach from the small parking lot near the private Crescent Beach and it does get you out further into the Strait, but the kelp beds can really slow the casting action.
“The kelp beds in there are a great habitat and provide a lot of baitfish, but I think there’s just too much of it for it to be worth it,” Aunspach said.
He did advise that he had never tried shore fishing from Tongue Point.
Observatory Point
Also called Batchelor Rock, this protrusion of shoreline, at the western edge of Freshwater Bay is another potential location.
So long as one goes just a little further west to legal waters.
The waters of Freshwater Bay south of a line from Angeles Point westerly about 4 miles to Observatory Point are closed to fishing for all species through Oct. 31.
This one takes a little bit of a hike, but it can be well worth it.
“If you can get out there, the fish hang around right off the rock,” Aunspach said.
You’d have to get out at a low tide, though, which kind of defeats the purpose.
The gear needed is Buzz Bombs, spoons and jigs.
Mouth of creeks
The coho are coming in to spawn in their native waters, so why not try the marine areas near the mouths of streams.
The riprap near Morse Creek’s mouth looks like an inviting prospect, as the geography of the area bumps out a bit into the strait.
Park at the Olympic Discovery Trail’s Morse Creek trailhead and head over to the bend in the trail near the mouth.
Watch for private property signs and heed them as the Four Seasons Ranch properties are adjacent to the trail to the east.
So stay on the riprap and cast or follow the trail further west to stretches of open beach.
Free parks Saturday
Entrance fees for Olympic National Park and state parks will be waived Saturday.
The free day recognizes the 21st anniversary of National Public Lands Day — the nation’s largest single-day volunteer effort for public lands.
State park visitors will not be required to display a Discover Pass a $30 annual permit or to pay a one-day fee of $10.
However, a Discover Pass will still be required to access state Department of Fish and Wildlife and state Department of Natural Resources lands.
State parks on the North Olympic Peninsula are Bogachiel near Forks, Dosewallips near Brinnon, Fort Flagler on Marrowstone Island, Fort Townsend and Fort Worden in Port Townsend, Anderson Lake State Park near Chimacum and Sequim Bay near Sequim.
National park visitors will not be required to pay the $15 single-visit fee.
In addition to Olympic, national parks in Washington are Mount Rainier and North Cascades.
Free days apply only to day use, not overnight stays or rented facilities.
State and national parks will have one more free day this year: Nov. 11, in honor of Veterans Day.
For more information, visit www.parks.wa.gov or tinyurl.com/PDN-Parks.
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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.
