LET THE LAST couple of days serve as a warning.
The gray days of North Olympic Peninsula fall are on our doorstep.
This is no time for the manic, or the water weary. No, this is a time when we must forge ahead with an unwavering will against all wetness.
Why, you ask? Because it’s about to get pretty damp and dark in the near future. And those who can’t handle it will find themselves missing out on some of the greatest treasures these misty mountains have to offer.
Sexed-up salmon will soon swarm into streams, driven by the scent of desire.
Fields of fungi will rise up from the forest floor, soaking up the soggy scenes of another Peninsula autumn.
A razor clam or two may even stick their necks out for a while before burrowing back into their sandy Shangri-La.
Oh yes, my dear Peninsulites, this is the time to gear up for the outdoors.
Lest you get left behind.
Sekiu silvers
If there is one early fall tradition few mind getting moist over, it’s the late silver salmon fishery in Marine Area 5 (Sekiu).
That particular bit of craziness begins in earnest this Monday, when the entire area opens up to coho retention of any kind through the end of the month.
Whether or not there will be enough salmon around to satisfy the masses is anyone’s guess.
Surely, the recent rains should help on that front.
“They’ve been catching more and more silvers the last couple of days,” Gary Ryan of Van Riper’s Resort (360-963-2334) in Sekiu said.
“It was pretty slow earlier in the week and last weekend, but overall they are catching quite a few more fish. I hear the guys telling me that they are having to release some pretty nice fish out there, wild fish.”
Just as Sekiu begins to heat up once again, the coastal salmon fisheries in Area 3 (LaPush) and 4 (Neah Bay) are about to come to a close.
Each area sees its summer salmon season end after Sunday, although Area 3 will reopen Sept. 24 through Oct. 9 for its annual late season bubble fishery in front of LaPush.
While that fishery is well known for its lock-jawed lunkers, anglers can always get a few salmon to open their mouths.
Randy Lato of All-Ways Fishing (360-374-2052) in Forks said those looking to get in on the last couple days of action this weekend should come home happy.
“[There’s] lots and lots of coho . . . if you’re willing to go 25 miles,” Lato said.
“We’re not very far from where we halibut fish [at the southwest corner of the Halibut and Bottomfish Closure Zone]. But once you get there, it’s lights out.”
One thing that is on the wane is the pink salmon run inside the Strait.
While a few are still getting hooked near Sekiu, Port Angeles and Port Townsend, the numbers aren’t near what they were a few weeks ago.
Area 6 (eastern Strait) continues to spit out the occasional silver — as do Quimper Peninsula beaches — but the action is far from hot and heavy.
Hunter’s delight?
No longer are the conditions conspiring against archery hunters on the Peninsula.
Thanks to a little splash of rain and a few darker days and nights, bulls and bucks could be more available to hunters in the final days of the early season.
That being said, Mike Deese of Swain’s General Store (360-452-2357) in Port Angeles said most hunters must venture into the deep backcountry to score their animals.
“Getting off the road and getting into the backcountry is the place to go,” Deese said. “That’s where I’ve had my best results anyway.
“They are starting to know the hunters are out there, and I know that they’ve been going into pretty thick cover and shady areas.”
Archers have until Sunday or Sept. 23, depending upon the Game Management Unit (GMU), to target deer on the Peninsula.
The early archery elk season ends after Sunday throughout the area.
Deese said the elk have been pretty talkative this fall. It’s just getting them at the tip of his arrow that’s the hard part.
“The elk were bugling, the first three days [of the season] anyway; usually early in the morning,” Deese said.
“I had a bull I was after for the first three days. He was bugling every morning, but I couldn’t get a shot at him.”
Black bear and grouse seasons have been pretty quiet thus far.
While grouse hunters seem doomed to a subpar year due to a poor spring hatch, conditions appear to be improving for those looking to take down Yogi.
“The berries are ripe out there, but I haven’t seen any bear. I’m surprised,” Deese said.
“It’s perfect right now to get a bear, but the thing is you got more people out in the woods now.
“The shotguns and all that . . . it don’t take long until those bear start to wise up.”
River roundup
The hysteria that is the Big Quilcene River coho run is all but finished.
Now it’s time to wait for the first big rain of the fall, which will surely bring loads of salmon with it to West End rivers.
There’s already a decent amount of summer steelhead and coho in the Quillayute and its tributaries. Anglers just need a little water to make the rivers fishable.
“Just because the fish are there doesn’t mean you’re going to catch them,” Bob Gooding of Olympic Sporting Goods (360-374-6330) in Forks said.
“You still have to have some color and some water to hide you a little bit.”
Those in absolute need of a river fishing fix can always head to the Hoh. It’s likely dropped into decent shape with the weather cooling the past few days.
One can always go after sea-run cutthroat as well.
Unlike their salmon counterpart, the cuts are in a feeding mood. The upcoming October Caddis hatch should make them even more peckish.
Also . . .
■ Recreational crabbers have until Oct. 1 to report their summer catch.
Those who fail to report on time will be subject to a $10 fine when they purchase their 2012 crab endorsement. Reports can be submitted online at http://bit.ly/WkXeA.
■ The Quilcene Antler Show returns for the third year in a row to the Quilcene High School gymnasium Saturday and Sunday.
Antlers, fish and fowl will all be on display at the show, with entries accepted today from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m., and Saturday from 8 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.
For more information, or for entry forms, visit quilceneantlershow.org.
■ State fisheries biologist Lorna Wargo will speak at the Coastal Conservation Association-North Olympic Chapter monthly meeting Thursday.
Wargo is involved in rockfish management studies and is recruiting sport anglers to aid her research. The meeting begins at 6:30 p.m. at the Moon Palace, 323 E Washington St., in Sequim.
■ The Last Chance Salmon Derby comes to LaPush on Oct. 1-2.
There is a $25 entry fee for the two days of fishing, with $500 going to the largest coho and chinook on the ladder, $250 for the second-largest and $100 for the third-largest.
For more information, contact the Forks Chamber of Commerce at 360-74-2531 or visit www.forkswa.com/salmonderby.
■ Olympic National Park will discuss the proposed expansion of the Spruce Railroad Trail on the northwest end of Lake Crescent at a public meeting Wednesday night.
The meeting is set for 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at Vern Burton Community Center, 308 E. Fourth St., in Port Angeles.
A presentation of the preferred alternative will be at 6:30 p.m., followed by a question and answer session.
For more information on the proposals, visit http://parkplanning.nps.gov/olym.
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; email 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.