SEKIU HAD A nice halibut opener last week.
“It was a decent fishery,” Donalynn Olson of Olson’s Resort (360-963-2311) said.
“It was overcast and there was flat, calm water. It was like a lake out there.”
The conditions weren’t entirely perfect, though.
Gary Ryan of Van Riper’s Resort (360-963-2334) in Sekiu said minus tides created stronger currents that put a damper on two of the five days.
“It was better as the week progressed,” Ryan said.
“There were a lot of fish caught, especially [Sunday and Monday].”
Stronger currents make it difficult to keep the bait on the bottom where the halibut hang out.
And if there’s one thing this column has harped on, it is the need to keep bait down low.
According to Olson, both the weather and the water are expected to be prime for the Marine Area 5 halibut fishery’s second weekend.
Both Olson and Ryan report respectable quantities of halibut harvested, but the sizes weren’t too remarkable.
An 82-pounder was the largest Olson’s Resort saw.
Ryan saw some 60- to 70-pound flatties.
Most, however, were about 30 pounds.
But size is relative, according to Ryan.
“No such thing as a bad fish,” he said.
Ryan said the tides are expected to be good for the halibut derby put on by the Clallam Bay–Sekiu Chamber of Commerce on Saturday, June 16.
The entry fee is $15. The winner will receive $10 for each pound the largest halibut caught weighs.
The runner-up will pocket $400, and third place will get $100.
There also will be a $100 prize for the biggest sea bass harvested.
Neah Bay derby
Don’t forget the halibut reopening in marine areas 3 (La Push) and 4 (Neah Bay) today and Saturday.
Joey Lawrence of Big Salmon Resort (360-645-2374) in Neah Bay said the resort will be holding its halibut derby Saturday.
The buy-in is $20 per person.
The purse will be based on the number of anglers entered, so more participants means more prize money.
There will also be a $200 award for the biggest lingcod and $150 for the biggest bass.
This derby begins at daylight and the last weigh-in will be 6 p.m.
Last call for halibut
Outside of Sekiu, the halibut season concludes Sunday.
That’s right, the halibut season doesn’t end with the Port Angeles Salmon Club’s halibut derby.
And if you think the halibut derby might affect the harvest of the final days, think again.
Bob Aunspach of Swain’s General Store (360-452-2357) in Port Angeles said the number of anglers on the water for the derby are similar to the numbers for a typical halibut season weekend.
“It should be decent,” Aunspach said of the last weekend of the fishery.
Brian Menkal of Brian’s Sporting Goods and More (360-683-1950) in Sequim reports there was in fact halibut fishing outside of Port Angeles last week.
“The derby took all the thunder,” Menkal said. “But there were some nice fish caught [near Sequim].
“There were fewer caught, but nicer quality, and not too many small [halibut] caught.”
Menkal added that despite the lower numbers, many boats came back with more than one halibut aboard.
Derby fun facts
By now, you probably know the Port Angeles halibut derby was won by Jeff Reynolds of Port Angeles and the 112-pound fish he caught.
Reynolds was the only derby participant to reel in a fish that weighed in the triple digits.
Here are a few other random and not necessarily useful facts from the derby:
■ Eighteen of the 30 prize winners were Port Angeles residents.
■ Marysville and Tacoma tied for second with two prize winners each.
■ Nineteen of the 30 prize fish were caught on Sunday. Last year, only 13 were caught on the second day of the derby.
■ The prize fish ranged from 112 pounds to 45 pounds, a difference of 67 pounds.
Fly Fishers meeting
The next Olympic Peninsula Fly Fishers meeting is Monday, and will feature Preston Singletary.
Along with serving as the associate editor of Flyfishing and Tying Journal, and a native Washingtonian, Singletary is also a distinguished fly fisherman, author and lecturer.
At the meeting, he will talk about aquatic entomology and how it relates to the flies anglers commonly use.
Singletary will also share his fly tying expertise with a tying demonstration following his speech.
The meeting begins at 7 p.m. at the Campfire USA Clubhouse in Port Angeles (619 E 4th St.).
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Outdoors columnist Lee Horton appears here Thursdays and Fridays. He can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5152 or at lee.horton@peninsuladailynews.com.