OUTDOORS: Keep it bouncing on the bottom during Port Angeles Halibut Derby
Published 1:30 am Friday, May 22, 2026
AS HALIBUT DERBY weekend beckons in Port Angeles, it would be a good idea to remember to think like a halibut if you wish to catch the $5,000 first-place prize.
Anglers need to have a proper understanding of the fish and its habits.
The most important thing for any halibut angler to remember is that these fish are bottomfish. Keeping contact with the bottom continually with your sinker or jig is crucial in catching halibut consistently.
Bounce the bottom while fishing for ’buts.
A voracious eater, halibut were early adopters in the quest to boost protein intake.
Needing to feed, halibut frequent areas where smaller fish are concentrated.
Sometimes these halibut feeding spots are considered holes where bait is washed into a bottom depression or basin.
More often, though, halibut are found on “hillsides” that rise up out of deeper water. Underwater humps and plateaus, as well as breaklines where the bottom falls away more sharply than the nearby slopes, often draw herring, candlefish and other baitfish on which halibut feed and are good places to search for them. The bottom in these areas is usually gravel and cobble.
Halibut commonly feed by ambushing their prey, lurking on the downslope side of a dropoff and gulping smaller fish that swim or are washed into striking range by the current. Try to fish these slopes and breaklines by working “downhill,” drifting with the tide (or using your motor) to work toward deeper water.
Drifting with spreader bars, plastic jigs and whole herring is the most popular method, but anchoring and dropping chum bags during slack tides also will do the job.
Bounce them up and down with upward sweeps and quick drops of the rod tip, being sure to stay in regular contact with the bottom. Halibut will almost always strike your lure as it’s falling or at the bottom of your rod sweep.
Spots to fish
Green Point, 6 miles to the east, has provided the bulk of Port Angeles Halibut Derby winners.
Anglers bouncing bait or jigging from a boat following the 30-fathom line have had success.
The Rock Pile, north of Port Angeles, produces some big halibut.
It’s a difficult place to fish, except right at the high or the low slack tide. Farther out is Coyote Bank, which has a smoother bottom and is therefore easier to fish. Since it’s on the U.S./Canada border, be sure you know where you’re fishing or carry both a Washington and a British Columbia saltwater fishing license.
Shrimping Sunday
Blink and you’ll miss it, but the spot shrimp season opens Sunday.
• Marine Area 6 (Port Angeles Harbor, eastern Strait of Juan de Fuca, excluding the Discovery Bay Shrimp District): Open Sunday and on May 26, June 7-8 and June 21-22 for all shrimp species. Shrimping is allowed during daylight hours only. An announcement regarding additional dates may be made later in the season.
• Marine Area 6 (Discovery Bay Shrimp District): Open on Sunday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. only for all shrimp species. An announcement regarding additional dates may be made later in the season.
• Marine Area 9 (Admiralty Inlet): Will not open to spot shrimp, will open June 1 through Oct. 15 for all other shrimp species with a 150-foot depth restriction.
• Marine Area 12 (Hood Canal Shrimp District): Open on Sunday and on May 26, June 7 and June 21 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. only for all shrimp species. An announcement regarding additional dates may be made later in the season.
Goldfish races
Halibut and lingcod remain the prime directive for Sekiu anglers, but there will be another fish-related event occurring Saturday.
The fourth annual Clallam Bay/Sekiu Goldfish Races are set for Sekiu Community Hall, 41 Rice St., with registration at noon and races starting at 1 p.m.
A $5 entry donation gets you in the games.
Parks future survey
Clallam County officials are asking residents to weigh in on the future of county parks, trails and water access projects.
The county is continuing work on its updated Parks Comprehensive Plan, which will help guide priorities and improvements over the next decade.
Officials say residents who missed earlier in-person public forums can still provide feedback through an online survey open through Sunday.
To take the survey, visit https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/Clallamparks.
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Sports reporter/columnist Michael Carman can be contacted at sports@peninsuladaily news.com.
