THAT VOID YOU feel?
That’s the emptiness left behind by the exclusion of the Discovery Bay Salmon Derby from this year’s Presidents Day weekend festivities.
Surely those great leaders of our proud nation would lament the litigation linked to the loss of one of the North Olympic Peninsula’s most popular fishing events.
Luckily, there is some new that should soften the blow a bit.
For it appears we won’t be losing the other big derby in these parts: the Port Angeles Salmon Club’s annual Halibut Derby.
Good news, bad news
Of course, that was the only piece of good news coming out of Wednesday’s public meeting in Olympia concerning the upcoming salmon seasons.
As was noted in this column space last week, state numbers for inside Strait of Juan de Fuca/Puget Sound had anglers reeling in an astonishing 114,050 pounds of halibut last year.
That’s nearly double the preseason quota (57,393 pounds) for the area, meaning the state was forced to severely cut this year’s seasons.
In the end, that will likely translate into a 60 percent reduction in fishing days, according to Bob Aunspach of Swain’s General Store (360-374-6330) in Port Angeles, who attended the meeting.
“That is an abbreviated season,” Aunspach said.
“Economically for Port Angeles, it will take a big hit. But we got what we got.”
What Area 6 (eastern Strait) and 9 (Admiralty Inlet) anglers will probably get is four three-day fishing openers between May 6 and May 30, he said.
Those areas will likely open Thursdays through Saturdays the first three weeks, with a special Friday through Sunday opener during Memorial Day Weekend (aka Halibut Derby time).
Area 5 (Sekiu) will likely get something along the same lines during late May and early June.
“We can catch plenty of fish in May,” said Aunspach, who added that the state also presented a second option for Areas 6 and 7 opening six days in April instead of May.
“If there’s any silver lining [to the reduced season], it’s at least we got to keep the derby. It will be a good way to end the season, on the derby.”
Aunspach said the Salmon Club should begin selling derby tickets today.
Those tickets also enter anglers into the club’s monthly salmon and halibut derbies for Area 6.
A couple of other halibut notes:
• There is a chance for a 13th day of fishing in Areas 6 and 7 (San Juan Islands).
That day is likely to be taken away from both fisheries, however, in order to accommodate Area 9.
(Yes, Quimper Peninsula folks have a slim chance of missing out on halibut season.)
• The state Department of Fish and Wildlife will likely hold public meetings in the near future to discuss how it gathers data for its harvest estimates.
Many anglers in these parts have little faith in the state’s estimate of 114,050 pounds for Areas 5, 6, 7 and 9.
To achieve such an estimate, anglers in those areas would have had to catch an average of 170 flatties a day.
• The proposed rule change that would prohibit fishing for bottomfish off the northwest tip of the Peninsula was not adopted by the state Fish and Wildlife Commission last week.
The Commission did approve most of the proposals included in the new two-year package of sportfishing rules changes that made the rounds the last few months.
After much uproar over the possible bottomfish restriction, however, the commission agreed to schedule additional public input during the next several months before making a decision.
Summaries of the 2010-12 rule changes, as adopted, will be available by mid-February on Fish and Wildlife’s Web site at http://tinyurl.com/yl4yawt.
• The official halibut dates are expected to be released by the end of today.
There will be an update in the Sunday editions of the PDN.
Blackmouth opener
So now the weather comes.
After the warmest January on record, it looks like we’re going to get a good smattering of Peninsula weather just in time for Saturday’s winter blackmouth opener in Area 6.
At least we still have some good tides to deal with.
“There should be fish out there,” Aunspach said. “Now we just have to hope the wind doesn’t blow.”
If things stay calm, anglers can pretty much stick to the same tactics they use during the summer.
Namely, stick around the bottom, and look for the bait.
“You’re going to want to concentrate on the bottom 10 feet of water wherever you are at,” Aunspach said.”
Those that remember last year’s lights out Freshwater Bay salmon fishery might want to head there.
Then again, there could just as likely be some salmon off Ediz Hook or out near Dungeness Spit.
One thing we do think we know: There isn’t loads of them in Marine Area 9 (Admiralty Inlet).
That fishery remains spotty at best.
Rivers running
The rains are arriving just in time for West End steelheaders.
With rivers inching toward severe low-and-clear territory, it appears they’re finally getting the dousing they need.
“[The Hoh River]’s the only one with much water in it,” Bob Gooding of Olympic Sporting Goods (360-374-6330) in Forks said. “Everything else is pretty skinny.
“It makes it tougher. They are still getting fish every day, but it’s much tougher. This rain will help. It will get things stirred up and get fish in the rivers.”
Expect that to be almost exclusively wild steelies.
The only hatchery on the entire Peninsula that received fish in the last week was the Bogachiel. And that was only 85 fish, putting the season total at 2,965.
Gooding heard of a 25-pounder caught on the Lower Hoh last Saturday, so there are definitely some big hosses swimming around.
This rain should get even more entering the rivers, including the Sol Duc.
That river, along with the Hoh, tends to see an impressive wild steelhead run as February begins to roll over into March.
Salmon meetings
This isn’t your normal Puget Sound Anglers-North Olympic Peninsula Chapter meeting.
The Anglers will host one of several North of Falcon salmon season-setting meetings at its next gathering beginning at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday at Trinity Methodist Church, 100 S. Blake Ave., in Sequim.
State biologists will focus on the Strait of Juan de Fuca salmon fishery during the meeting. So any anglers interested in the salmon seasons in Marine Areas 5 (Sekiu) and 6 (eastern Strait) might want to attend.
The state Department of Fish and Wildlife will preview the entire region’s salmon returns at a public meeting in Olympia on March 2.
The meeting is scheduled from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the General Administration Building Auditorium at 11th Ave. and Columbia St. on the Capitol Campus.
Those attending the meeting will have an opportunity to talk to fishery managers about the pre-season forecasts and participate in work sessions focusing on key salmon-management issues in the region.
“Public input is an important part of the season-setting process,” Pat Pattillo, salmon policy coordinator for Fish and Wildlife, said in a press release.
“We encourage anyone who has an interest in recreational and commercial salmon fisheries to get involved in these discussions and take part in the development of upcoming fishing seasons.”
For more information about the North of Falcon process, visit http://tinyurl.com/yempqr6.
Count me in
Don’t let Alfred Hitchcock scare you. The birds are our friends.
And the best way to keep tabs on them is to constantly monitor the populations and their movement.
Peninsula birders, novice and expert alike, can do so this weekend by participating in the Great Backyard Bird Count this weekend.
The annual survey will take place today through Monday across North America.
Participants record the number of birds they see, by species, during a 15-minute period each day on the count Web site (www.birdsource.org/gbbc).
Counters can tally birds wherever they choose: their own backyard, a nearby park or even during a stroll through the neighborhood.
Also . . .
• As was mentioned in Thursday’s PDN, Fish and Wildlife will hold a public meeting Saturday morning in Forks to discuss the future removal of 250,000 winter steelhead eggs from Bogachiel Hatchery
The eggs are being destroyed as a precaution after biologists discovered the virus infectious hematopoietic necrosis (IHN) in returning adult winter steelhead.
The meeting is scheduled for 10 a.m. to noon at the Forks Sportsmans Club, 243 Sportsmans Club Road.
• The Old Mill Archery Range, located at 100 LaPush Road in Forks, will hold a turkey shoot Feb. 20 beginning at 10 a.m.
There will be a youth archery shoot from 10-11 a.m., followed immediately by the adult competition.
Food will be available. For more information, call 360-374-4090.
• Washington Trails Association is gathering an all-day volunteer work party at Mount Walker Trail on Feb. 20.
Volunteers must pre-register 48 hours in advance. To pre-register, contact Washington Trails at 206-625-1367 or visit www.wta.org.
• Admiralty Audubon’s Ron Sikes will lead a birding trip along Larry Scott Trail in downtown Port Townsend on Saturday.
A group will meet at Port Townsend Boat Haven at 8 a.m. To register for the trip, contact Sikes at 360-385-0307.
• Bill and Karen Parker will talk about their recent birding trip to the Yukon during the Olympic Peninsula Audubon Society’s monthly meeting Wednesday.
The meeting is set to begin at 7 p.m. in the Dungeness River Audubon Center, 2151 Hendrickson Road, in Sequim.
I want 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.