IT’S NEVER TOO early to start scouting.
Considering the prizes at stake in next weekend’s Olympic Peninsula Salmon Derby (more than $22,000 total), one might even think of it as punching the clock.
Anglers are already doing so in waters across the North Olympic Peninsula . . . even the ones that aren’t open quite yet, according to Bob Aunspach of Swain’s General Store (360-452-2357) in Port Angeles.
“I just got done talking to a guy, and he said he’s marked a few fish here and there,” Aunspach said. “He went from [Port Angeles] all the way to Freshwater Bay and back.
“He said it doesn’t look like there was a lot of fish there, but that can be deceiving. If he’s out there at the wrong type of tides, those fish won’t show.”
Such is the excitement building for one of the largest fishing derbies to grace the Peninsula’s waters.
With 500 square miles of water inside the derby boundaries — basically, from Tongue Point all the way east to Whidbey Island — almost half the area is involved.
“That should just be a smokin’ derby,” Brian Menkal of Brian’s Sporting Goods and More (360-683-1950) in Sequim said.
“I think the way they opened it all up for everybody to get in the fishing mode is just awesome. They are going to have a great turnout.”
Marine Area 6 (eastern Strait of Juan de Fuca) doesn’t open to blackmouth fishing until Wednesday.
Thus, the Area 9 (Admiralty Inlet) set has had an entire month’s worth of fishing to get a jump on things.
So far, reports have been hit or miss from just about everyone.
As is almost always the case with winter blackmouth, you’ve got to put your time in.
“It’s been tough,” said Aunspach, who’s had a handful of anxious regulars head east to sample the Area 9 fishery. “There’s so many areas you can fish there to find some fish.
“One of the guys I talked to [Wednesday] ended up getting one. He said it was slow, but you can only cover so much water.
“There was fish around, and the bait was there, so it all looks good.”
Scouts or not, Area 6 remains a mystery, one that won’t be unlocked until Wednesday at the earliest.
One tip from Aunspach:
“Our best fishing is on a morning outgoing tide. That’s one of the better fisheries for the winter. It just seems to work well.”
More derby
The Olympic Peninsula Derby is set for Saturday through Monday during Presidents Day weekend.
A clipped-fish derby only, the top hatchery salmon submitted to the ladder will win $10,000.
Second prize is $5,000, and any submitted fish, of any weight, can win the $1,000 “mystery fish prize.”
Given the shear size of the derby, there will be five different weight stations between Freshwater Bay, Port Angeles, Sequim, Gardiner and Port Townsend.
“We cover so many launch ramps and fishing areas that everybody should have a good chance to catch some fish,” derby president Dan Tatum said in a news release.
“In addition to the huge area and big prizes, we won’t be cleaning and collecting fish, which will speed up submitting fish and simplify the awards ceremony.”
The awards ceremony is set for Feb. 21 at 2 p.m. at the Gardiner Boat Ramp.
Tickets for the event cost $40 for one day or all three days, and can be found at several Peninsula merchants.
Tickets will be available at the five launch ramps, but only on Feb. 19 as long as they last.
This fishing derby was formerly the Discovery Bay Salmon Derby.
It is now hosted by the Gardiner Salmon Derby Association, a Washington State Nonprofit Corporation that supports local emergency services and other community needs in the Gardiner and Diamond Point areas.
For more information and event rules, visit www.GardinerSalmonDerby.org.
Wild on
The keeper question is about to take over West End river banks.
With the state re-opening wild steelhead retention on eight Peninsula rivers next Wednesday, anglers are going to start making difficult decisions.
“I’ve seen a couple of pictures of some pretty good ones,” Bob Gooding of Olympic Sporting Goods (360-374-6330) in Forks said. “I’ve seen a couple that were 22- to 25-pound range, one from the Calawah, one from the Sol Duc.
“It’s been pretty decent.”
Anglers are allowed to keep only one native steelhead during a calendar year.
Among the rivers that will allow native retention beginning Wednesday are the Bogachiel, Calawah, Clearwater, Dickey, Hoh, Quillayute, Quinault and Sol Duc.
The latter has been producing loads of fish during most of the past month and a half, but appears to have slowed down of late, according to reports.
“They are starting to really spread out [on the Sol Duc] now because there’s fish here and there’s fish there, but most everybody now is in the Sol Duc and the Bogachiel,” Gooding said.
“The Hoh just got back in [Thursday]. It’s been up and down, in and out.”
Such is almost always the case with the Hoh.
There are few more mercurial rivers than the glacial-fed Hoh when it comes to winter steelhead season.
When it’s in, however, it tends to be one of the more popular steelhead fisheries in the state between February and March.
“The Hoh is starting to produce,” Menkal said. “A couple of locals from Forks came in and were talking about the Hoh, getting fish out there.
“When the Hoh gets into shape you’ve got to just hit it because it gets so volatile with the weather.”
Clams a go
The state gave a thumbs up to next week’s coastal razor clam digs.
Marine toxin testing showed clams were safe to eat at Kalaloch, Twin Harbors, Copalis, Mocrocks and Long Beach.
(Side note: They may be safe to eat, but you can never be protected well enough from those things squirting you in the eye. They are true terrors that way.)
Twin Harbors will open to afternoon digging Feb. 17-19 while Copalis, Mocrocks, Long Beach and Kalaloch open Feb. 18-19 only.
Olympic National Park officials expressed concern about Kalaloch’s razor populations after diggers averaged approximately one clam per digger during the last set of digs in January.
It was the second straight poor showing for diggers at the Peninsula beach, including a 4.2 clam-per-digger average around New Year’s.
Of course, it’s quite possible both could be attributed to the poor conditions that greeted harvesters during each set of digs.
Almost all of the openers prior to those two resulted in double-digit averages.
I guess what I’m trying to say is “Stay tuned.”
White out?
The wait continues atop Hurricane Ridge.
Without any significant snowfall during the past week, skiers and snowboarders will have to dream a bit longer of an operational Poma lift.
Until the north side of the mountain gets three feet of snow or more, that isn’t likely to change, according to mountain manager Craig Hofer.
The bunny and intermediate rope tows will continue to operate this weekend.
For information on lift rates and the ski school, visit hurricaneridge.com.
Skis are available for rental on the bottom level of the Hurricane Ridge Visitor Center.
Snowboards can be rented from North by Northwest Surf Co., 902 S. Lincoln St., in Port Angeles.
Road status and current conditions for Hurricane Ridge Road are available by phoning the park’s recorded information line at 360-565-3131 or by visiting www.nps.gov/olym.
Also . . .
• Hatchery reform will be discussed during the Coastal Conservation Association-North Olympic Peninsula chapter monthly meeting Feb. 17 in Sequim.
Jaques White of the Hatchery Scientific Review Group will examine reforms his group recommends.
The presentation, done in conjunction with the Sierra Club and Puget Sound Anglers, begins at 6:30 p.m. at the Trinity United Methodist Church, 100 S. Blake Ave.
• Birders are invited to count their feathered friends Presidents Day weekend (Feb. 18-21) as part of the national Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC).
Counters can tally birds in their backyard or other locations, then enter the date on-line at www.birdcount.org. Volunteers can also join Olympic Peninsula Audubon Society at Railroad Bridge Park, 2151 Hendrickson Road, in Sequim for a special birdwalk and GBBC orientation from 10 a.m. to noon on Saturday.
To register for the birdwalk, contact the Dungeness River Audubon Center at 360-681-4076.
• Dungeness River Audubon Center’s Bob Boekelheide will lead an owl prowl into the northeastern Olympic foothills Feb. 19 from 7 p.m. to midnight.
The owl prowl is one of two scheduled by the River Center, with another set for March 19 at the same times. The trips are limited to 10 participants.
All participants must register, and space is limited. To register, contact River Center at 360-681-4076.
• Hunter Education courses — required for any new hunter born after Jan. 1, 1972 — are scheduled at sites across the Peninsula in the coming months.
Students in the Port Angeles area must register for classes online at http://wdfw.wa.gov/hunting/huntered/classes/basic.php.
Those looking to register for the Port Townsend course — set for late February and early March — must contact Just Ask Rental (360-344-3443) in Port Hadlock.
• Washington Trails Association will gather an all-day work party at Mount Walker Trail in Jefferson County on Sunday.
Volunteers will work on improving the tread of the short, steep trail located just west of Hood Canal. Volunteers must pre-register 48 hours in advance.
To pre-register, contact Washington Trails at 206-625-1367 or visit www.wta.org.
Send photos, stories
Want your event listed in the outdoors column?
Have a fishing or hunting report, an anecdote about an outdoors experience or a tip on gear or technique, why not share it with our readers?
Send it to me, Matt Schubert, Sports Department, Peninsula Daily News, P.O. Box 1330, Port Angeles, WA 98362; phone, 360-417-3526; fax, 360-417-3521; e-mail matt.schubert @peninsuladailynews.com.
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Matt Schubert is the outdoors columnist for the Peninsula Daily News. His column appears on Thursdays and Fridays.