PORT ANGELES SALMON Club members might have another struggle on their hands during the next 12 months.
With the 10th edition of its annual halibut derby in the books, one has to wonder if there will be an 11th next Memorial Day weekend.
As has been referenced in this column space before, the state’s Puget Sound Rockfish Conservation Plan looms large over the immediate future of saltwater fisheries across the Strait of Juan de Fuca.
The possibility that the 120-foot depth restriction, already imposed on Strait lingcod fisheries, might be also be placed on Strait halibut is very real.
State fish biologist Greg Bargmann hinted that might just be the case during a telephone interview in April.
“Perhaps by 2011 [that could happen],” Bargmann said. “My crystal ball tells me that.
“I don’t know exactly how that is going to play out, whether it will be certain areas and/or certain depth restrictions.”
Salmon Club members intimated this weekend that they will do whatever they can to keep the derby alive in the future.
The idea of working out a special arrangement for Memorial Day weekend was floated around. Whether the state would go for that, however, is anyone’s guess.
Of course, the Salmon Club has seen this happen before.
Its salmon derby used to be the biggest event in Port Angeles each summer.
There was a parade, a royal derby court and, of course, lots of chinook.
Sadly, those days passed after Puget Sound salmon fisheries went downhill in the latter part of the 20th Century.
The money generated from those events helped fund the club’s halibut derbies to this day.
It would certainly be a pity to see the halibut derby go as well.
Out with a bang
The derby might not have produced the triple-digit flatty some expected.
But the last few days of halibut fishing in the eastern Strait were not without monster fish.
Sequim’s Chuck Pomeroy and Bryan Clemons brought in a 170-pound beast just one day before the derby on Friday.
And it came near a familiar place, at least for big-time halibut: Protection Island.
“It felt like I snagged a log,” said Pomeroy, who initially hooked the fish in 240 feet of water. “It was insane, the adrenaline rush. [The fish] was dueling with me.”
Pomeroy and Clemons estimated they battled the fish for an hour, passing off the rod more than once to keep their arms from falling off.
It was a race against time, since Pomeroy had to get to his job with Peninsula Heating by noon.
“It was like you got him up about 50 feet and then he took 40,” Clemons said. “I’ve never caught a fish that big.
“You could just tell this fish was huge. If he turned left or right he just peeled the line off the reel.”
The waters near Protection Island have produced several triple-digit flatties since 2009.
That includes a trio of fish tipping the scales at more than 200 pounds, the last of which was caught by Ryley Fee of Woodinville on May 8.
For Pomeroy, it was the second 170-plus pound halibut he had run into by Protection.
Seven years ago, he scored a 176-pounder fishing the west wide of the island. On Friday, he and Clemons were on the east side.
“I don’t know what it is about right there,” Clemons said.
After finally subduing the fish, Pomeroy and Clemons eventually had to tow it in to John Wayne Marina.
Without a gun on board, they weren’t going to get the beast on Clemons’ boat without some serious drama.
“It was one of the best experiences I’ve had since I don’t know . . maybe when my son was born,” Pomeroy said.
The two weren’t the only ones to experience a monster flatty outside of the derby last weekend.
Marine Area 9 (Admiralty Inlet) also produced a once-in-a-lifetime catch.
Kathy and husband Nelson Goodsell hooked into a 171-pounder fishing in 210 feet of water off Marrowstone Island, according to the Seattle Times.
Unfortunately, last weekend was the last set of dates halibut anglers had to fish in Areas 6 (eastern Strait) and 9.
Marine Area 5 (Sekiu) is open to halibut fishing through June 19, Thursdays through Saturdays only.
Area 3 (LaPush) and 4 (Neah Bay) are open for halibut today and Saturday.
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Matt Schubert is the outdoors and sports columnist for the Peninsula Daily News. His column regularly appears on Thursdays and Fridays. He can be reached at matt.schubert@peninsuladailynews.com.