OUTDOORS: Halibut derby returning to PA
Published 1:30 am Friday, March 13, 2026
MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND will see the reintroduction of what had become an annual outdoors tradition, the Port Angeles Salmon Club’s Halibut Derby.
The derby formerly ran from 2001-2016 before cuts to the halibut season trimmed season dates from the calendar in 2017.
While anglers lost the annual shot at the $5,000 top prize, they gained many more days on the water to hunt for halibut.
Halibut fishing dates were trimmed from a 70-day season in 2006 to a 12-day season in 2014, 11 in 2015, eight days in 2016 and three non-consecutive days in 2018.
Losing those calendar dates brought about a groundswell of angler support backed up by fishing data, with the Port of Port Angeles authorizing a Commissioner’s Resolution in 2017 in support of a longer fishing season, a six-fish annual limit and one fish per day.
The 2026 Port Angeles Salmon Club Halibut Derby will have a $5,000 first prize with fishing set May 23-24.
Tickets are $60 per person and available in advance at Swain’s General Store, 602 E. First St.
Tickets also are planned to be available the morning of the derby at the Port Angeles Yacht Club.
Beath talks halibut
To prep for halibut season, John Beath, a Sequim resident and Alaska fishing guide, tackle manufacturer and author will discuss halibut fishing in the Strait of Juan de Fuca at two upcoming events.
First, Beath will speak at the next Puget Sound Anglers-North Olympic Peninsula Chapter meeting, set for 6:30 p.m. Wednesday.
Beath’s comprehensive talk will include secrets and strategies to consistently catch halibut in Washington’s and British Columbia’s waters.
He will cover tides and currents, top baits, lures, anchoring, chumming, drifting and jigging, and he’ll share images, local charts and video of halibut fishing.
Beath also will cover the current requirements from Fish and Wildlife, US and Canadian Customs for fishing in Canadian waters and returning to a U.S. port.
Beath is the owner of SquidPro Tackle, www.Halibut.net and www.HalibutChronicles.com. The evening begins with a social half hour and the featured presentation starts at 7 p.m., followed by a business meeting and raffles for members only.
A visitor can join the group at the meeting for $25, $35 for a family, which includes a subscription to The Reel News.
Beath also will speak at Swain’s Halibut Seminar set for the store, 602 E. First St., at 5:30 p.m. March 27.
Beath will also have several halibut fishing maps and over 100 Power Point slides for his presentation.
Raffle prizes will be awarded.
To register, sign up at the Sporting Goods department at Swain’s.
Coastal bottomfish
The recreational coastal bottomfish fishery opens today with a daily possession sub-bag limit of five canary rockfish remaining the same in Marine Area 1 (Ilwaco), Marine Area 2 (Westport-Ocean Shores), Marine Area 3 (La Push) and Marine Area 4 (Neah Bay west of the Bonilla-Tatoosh boundary line). Regulations for vermilion, copper, quillback and yelloweye rockfish are also unchanged for the 2026 season.
Anglers are reminded that possession of copper rockfish, quillback rockfish and vermilion rockfish is prohibited in May, June and July, when peak effort for bottomfish occurs.
These restrictions are intended to reduce catch to stay within federal quotas. Recent scientific assessments for the four rockfish species indicate populations are healthy but smaller than previously understood. WDFW monitors the recreational fishery and may take additional in-season action to keep catch within annual limits.
Allowing some possession and retention of these rockfish species supports collection of crucial biological information such as length and age which are important for future scientific assessments.
Yelloweye rockfish retention is prohibited in all areas of Washington and must be released. Anglers are reminded that a descending device must be on board vessels and rigged for immediate use when fishing for or possessing bottomfish and halibut.
Serious poaching
The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife Police linked to a Northwest Sportsman story about a man with a deeply disturbing criminal record being sentenced to 43.5 months in prison after pleading guilty to seven felony counts involving unlawful firearms possession and illegal deer hunting.
Ronald Albert Livermore, 77, of Riverside received the “longest agreed recommendation for an illegal hunting sentencing in almost a decade,” according to a press release from the Washington Attorney General’s Office.
This latest case stems from 2023 and 2024 when WDFW officers caught Livermore hunting with a gun despite his firearms rights never being restored from a prior conviction. According to the AG’s Office, Livermore was found driving at night in the Sinlahekin Wildlife Area of Okanogan County, shining a spotlight and “shooting into the woods whenever he saw something he thought might be an animal.”
Livermore’s wildlife crimes go back nearly 20 years and include serving three years in jail in Oregon after pleading no contest in a 2016 case to aggravated abuse of an animal, felon in possession of a firearm and possession of a prohibited silencer.
For more on the case, visit https://tinyurl.com/PDN-Poacher26.
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Sports reporter/columnist Michael Carman can be contacted at sports@peninsuladailynews.com.
