JUST BECAUSE HALIBUT season ends Sunday doesn’t mean your gear should be stored away in the corners of your garage.
There are still fish to catch, especially on the rivers.
Many open Saturday for summer-run steelhead and you can still give catching a spring chinook your best shot.
An unheralded season
Steelhead are ocean-run trout that run in both summer and winter seasons, returning after one to three years at sea.
Only hatchery steelhead can be retained.
Hatchery steelhead have a clipped adipose or ventral fin with a healed scar in place of the clipped fin.
The adipose fin is on top of the fish near the tail. The ventral fin is located near the mid-section of the bottom of the fish.
Steelhead fishing is significantly more popular in the winter, but the summer months still provide a nice harvest.
“It’s under-fished,” Brian Menkal of Brian’s Sporting Goods and More (360-683-1950) in Sequim said of the summer-run steelhead fishery.
“They’re great summer fish. Easier to catch than in the winter, in my opinion.”
The summer-run steelhead season gets overlooked on the Peninsula because anglers are distracted by halibut, ocean and river salmon and the various activities available only in the summer.
Steelhead are usually fairly good biters, so numerous bait combinations of jigs, floats and bobbers can be utilized.
Water is usually clearer in the summer, which makes fish wise to anglers’ intentions.
Bob Gooding of Olympic Sporting Goods (360-374-6330) in Forks said one way to combat the clear water is to put a line in a river before the sun comes out.
Ward Norden, a fishing tackle wholesaler and former fishery biologist, said reports of steelhead being reeled on the beaches of South Whidbey Island, such as Bush Point, foretell a nice summer steelhead harvest.
“Good fishing on these beaches usually indicates healthy runs hitting all the rivers with summer-run steelhead around Puget Sound about a week later,” Norden said.
“The fish are probably already in the Sol Duc if fishermen can drag themselves away from the spring chinook.”
Elusive, delicious
Distracting anglers from spring chinook, also called springers, is easier said than done, even though the season has been open for a few months.
After a slow start, the harvest has improved recently, but springers are a notoriously difficult fish to catch.
“They’re not the greatest biters,” Gooding said.
“A good day is when you hook one, a great day is when you catch one, and a super day is when you bring in your limit.”
Gooding adds that anglers who have one of these days might think they have springers figured out, but they are often humbled the next time they go out.
“I don’t think it’s the fishers as much as it is the fish,” Gooding said.
A big part of selecting bait depends on the water conditions, which are often low and clear during the summer.
Menkal said there are so many baits to choose from, but small jigs seem to work best.
“They spook easily,” Menkal said. “Anything too big or too bright will scare them.”
Gooding adds that anglers will try anything and sometimes everything.
“It seems like there is one boat full of people and another boat full of gear,” Gooding said.
Catching spring chinook is probably worth the effort, though.
“It’s super eating,” Gooding said. “It doesn’t get any better.”
Like steelhead, only the hatchery version of spring chinook can be retained.
Hatchery springers are marked with a clipped adipose fin and a healed scar at the location of the fin.
Here is are the details of some rivers in Clallam and Jefferson counties.
Bogachiel River
■ Steelhead season: Saturday, June 2 to April 30, 2013.
■ Daily limit: two.
■ Minimum size: 14 inches.
■ Salmon season: Sunday, July 1 to Nov. 30.
■ Daily limit: six; up to two adults.
■ Minimum size: 12 inches.
Quillayute River
■ Steelhead season: Saturday, June 2 to April 30, 2013.
■ Daily limit: two.
■ Minimum size: 14 inches.
■ Salmon season: Open through Nov. 30.
■ Daily limit: six; up to two adults.
■ Minimum size: 12 inches.
Sol Duc River
■ Steelhead season: Saturday, June 2 to April 30, 2013.
■ Daily limit: two.
■ Minimum size: 14 inches.
■ Salmon season: Open through Nov. 30.
■ Daily limit: six; up to two adults.
■ Minimum size: 12 inches.
Calawah River, North Fork
■ Steelhead season: Saturday, June 2 to Oct. 31.
■ Daily limit: two.
■ Minimum size: 14 inches.
Calawah River, South Fork
■ Steelhead season: Saturday, June 2 to Feb. 28, 2013.
■ Daily limit: two.
■ Minimum size: 14 inches.
Hoh River, Jefferson County
■ Steelhead season: Saturday, June 2 to April 15, 2013.
■ Daily limit: two.
■ Minimum size: 14 inches.
■ Salmon season: Open until Nov. 30 (Wednesdays through Sundays only through Aug. 31.)
■ Daily limit: six, up to two adults.
■ Minimum size: 12 inches.
Springer tale
Speaking of spring chinook, Gooding passed along a nice story involving Gordon and Kim Gracey.
Gordon was a respected guide and fisherman before a fall from a cliff near the west fork of the Dickey River five years ago put him in a wheelchair.
He and Kim aren’t able to fish much, but recently went out with guide Jimmy Mansfield.
Gordon hooked a springer, but lost it.
Kim, a respected angler in her own right, reeled in an 18-pound chinook.
“I have a great deal of respect for Gordie,” Gooding said.
“They don’t get to go much, so hearing about this made me very happy.”
Rivers class
If you want to learn more about fishing rivers or need a refresher, Menkal will be holding part two of his rivers fishing class on Tuesday.
The free training is open to all skill levels.
The second session includes a review of the first session, so even those who missed part one are welcome.
The class runs from 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at Brian’s Sporting Goods and More at 542 W. Washington St. in Sequim.
Bring a pen, chair and notepad.
For more details, call Menkal at 360-683-1950.
Learn to row
The Olympic Peninsula Rowing Association’s third annual Learn to Row Day is Saturday.
The event will be held at the association’s boathouse on Ediz Hook.
It starts at 8 a.m. and ends at 11 a.m.
Free fishing
The state department of Fish And Wildlife is letting everyone fish for free next weekend.
You can reel in halibut from the ocean, trout from lakes or salmon from rivers, even if you don’t have a fishing license.
Free Fishing Weekend takes place on Saturday, June 9, and Sunday, June 10.
“Free Fishing Weekend is a great time to revive an old hobby or to introduce friends and family to fishing,” said Craig Burley, state fish division manager.
“Adults can introduce kids to fishing on a wide variety of waters around the state.”
Though no license is required, all other rules remain in effect, including season closures and size limits.
The details of these rules are found in the state’s Fishing in Washington rules pamphlet, available free at most sporting goods stores and other license dealers throughout the state.
The rules pamphlet is also available online at http://wdfw.wa.gov/fishing/regulations/.
With Menkal’s rivers class and the Free Fishing Weekend, the time has never been better for a frugal person to learn to fish.
Send photos, stories
Have a photograph, a fishing or hunting report, an anecdote about an outdoors experience or a tip on gear or technique?
Send it to sports@peninsuladailynews.com or P.O. Box 1330, Port Angeles, WA 98362.
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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.