OUTDOORS: Fish, access state park land on Free Fishing Weekend Saturday & Sunday

Published 1:30 am Thursday, June 4, 2026

NO LICENSE IS required to fish for a number of species without a license Saturday and Sunday as part of the state Department of Fish and Wildlife’s Free Fishing Weekend.

“Free Fishing Weekend gives people an easy entry point into fishing,” said Kirt Hughes, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) fish management division manager. “You don’t need to be an expert or own a boat to get started. There are lakes, shorelines, and fishing piers across the state where people can get out and give it a try.”

Licenses are still required to fish for or harvest salmon, steelhead, sturgeon, halibut and all shellfish. All other fishing rules and regulations still apply.

Some of the best statewide opportunities for Free Fishing Weekend include rainbow trout, largemouth and smallmouth bass, yellow perch and other game fish in lakes.

Fish Lake Leland or Tarboo Lake in Jefferson County to participate in the state’s Trout Derby with tagged derby trout.

Lake Leland was stocked May 21 with a plant of 2,707 small rainbows, so there’s plenty of opportunity.

Other Free Fishing Weekend opportunities include:

Rockfish and surfperch on coastal jetties and shorelines – no boat required.

Lingcod, cabezon, flounder, sole and other bottomfish species in Puget Sound marine areas.

No Discover Pass

Free Fishing Weekend is an annual event that coincides with Discover Pass free days, when the Discover Pass is not required to park on land managed by the state Department of Natural Resources, State Parks, or Fish and Wildlife.

Other requirements waived during Free Fishing Weekend include the Vehicle Access Pass.

Flounder Pounder

The 2026 North Olympic Flounder Pounder, a flounder fishing derby, will be held off Port Angeles on Saturday.

Entries are $50 per person with a $10 50/50 sculpin side pot also available.

Any legally caught flounder, sole, sanddab, turbot or other flatfish (besides Pacific halibut) will qualify for weigh-in for the main prizes along with any legally caught sculpin (except cabezon).

Cash prizes will be awarded to the five heaviest fish.

All fishing must be done from a watercraft — a boat, canoe, kayak, paddleboard, float tube — all count, with no fishing from shore allowed.

Fishing will begin at 5:15 a.m. both days, and anglers may launch from anywhere but must fish in Marine Area 6 and travel by water to the weigh station.

The weigh station will run from noon to 3 p.m. at the commercial loading dock at the Port Angeles Boat Haven.

An award ceremony will be held at 5 p.m. on the main stage of the Maritime Festival in the Boat Haven parking lot.

To purchase a ticket, visit https://northolympicflounder pounder.com.

Spot shrimp date added

Good news for shrimpers in the Discovery Bay Shrimp District.

An additional day has been addes for all shrimp species, including spot shrimp, in the Discovery Bay Shrimp District on June 21.

• Marine Area 4 east of the Bonilla-Tatoosh line, and Marine Area 5: are open through Oct. 15 for all shrimp species. Daylight hours only.

• Marine Area 6 (excluding the Discovery Bay Shrimp District):

Open Sunday and Monday,and June 21-22 for all shrimp species. Daylight hours only.

• Discovery Bay Shrimp District:

Open June 21 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. for all shrimp species.

• Marine Area 9: Open through Oct. 15 for shrimp species other than spot shrimp. It is unlawful to set or pull shrimp gear in waters greater than 150 feet deep. All spot shrimp caught must be immediately returned to the water unharmed.

Halibut quota updates

Fish and Wildlife provided halibut catch estimates through May 31 for Puget Sound (Marine Areas 5-10) and the North Coast (Marine Areas 3-4).

Puget Sound anglers were estimated to have caught 27,083 of Puget Sound’s quota of 80,512 pounds, or 33.6 percent.

Ocean anglers were estimated to have caught 16,721 of the North Coast’s 131,149-pound quota, or 12.7 percent.

Sequim Bay State Park

Sequim Bay State Park is closed until fall for major renovations to its entrance and parking area.

This capital construction project will reconfigure the park entrance, install a roundabout and new signage, improve access to the existing welcome center, ease traffic flow in the day-use parking area

Park staff will also use this time to make repairs to park restrooms.

The new entrance will alleviate congestion and backups onto U.S. Highway 101 as visitors are turning into the park, and it will provide a more pleasant experience driving within the park.

The segment of the long-distance Olympic Discovery Trail that passes through Sequim Bay will remain open for through travel. Boaters can access the park’s offshore mooring buoys from the water, but onshore restrooms, camping and boat launch will be closed.

The Ramblewood Retreat Center, which has its own entrance, will remain open for guests with reservations only.

The park will be an active construction site for the summer.

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Sports reporter/columnist Michael Carman can be contacted at sports@peninsuladaily news.com.