MATT SCHUBERT’S OUTDOORS COLUMN: There’s free fishing for all this weekend

THE STATE DEPARTMENT of Fish and Wildlife will allow anglers to fish without a license Saturday and Sunday throughout the Evergreen State.

They call it Free Fishing Weekend. But we all know what it really is — government enabling.

“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, in a news release.

“Adults can introduce kids to fishing on a wide variety of waters around the state.”

Of course, we all know how this story goes.

Give them a tiny taste, and soon enough they’re hooked.

Not long after that, they’ll come crawling back, money in hand.

Another addict is born.

Sekiu Derby

There is one way to get that money back . . . some of it at least.

Win an event like the Sekiu Halibut Derby, set for Saturday, and you might break even on a few years worth of fishing.

No doubt, there will be all sorts of competitors at the day-long event given that Marine Area 5 (Sekiu) is the only open halibut fishery in town.

Chris Mohr of Van Riper’s Resort (360-963-2334) in Sekiu expects the fishery to be well worth the attention.

Not only will there be very little current for anglers to deal with, but there should also be some decent weather as well.

“If they don’t catch halibut this weekend, I would suspect that it’s because there aren’t a lot of halibut around,” Mohr said.

“Judging by today, I think it’s going to be pretty similar to what we did Memorial Day weekend, and I thought the first three days of that were pretty good.”

The derby will run from daylight to 7 p.m. on Saturday. Tickets cost $15.

The top halibut on the ladder will pay out $10 per pound, while second place gets $400 and third $100.

There is also a $100 prize for the largest sea bass caught.

While there haven’t been many monster flatties around, anglers have picked off plenty of chicken halibut when the conditions have cooperated, Mohr said.

“It’s kind of the typical as-good-as-it-gets Sekiu halibut fishing,” he said. “There was nothing really big [Thursday], I think the biggest I’ve seen today was 58 pounds.

“Fifteen to 25 seems to be the range that most of them are in.”

More halibut

As was reported in Thursday’s outdoors column, coastal anglers will get another day of fishing June 16 in Area 3 (LaPush) and 4 (Neah Bay).

While the turnout wasn’t quite as crazy as a normal coastal opener, anglers still managed to have the most productive two-day fishery of the spring, hauling in 31,191 pounds last Thursday and Saturday.

“It seemed to be a lot of fish around,” Joey Lawrence of Big Salmon Resort (360-645-2374) in Neah Bay said.

“We didn’t have the numbers we’d like to see as far as anglers, but there were a few.”

John Nettekoven of Maple Valley won Big Salmon’s annual halibut derby with a 126-pound fish.

It was one of two 100-plus-pound fish to come through Neah Bay on the weekend, including another 140-pounder hooked by Port Angeles anglers Kanyon Anderson and Rob Walton.

Both came outside of the Strait of Juan de Fuca, with Nettekoven’s getting hooked just one mile south of Tatoosh Island in 88 feet of water.

“We got kicked out of where we were going to fish normally,” said Nettekoven. “We just anchored up to give it a try and we did pretty good.”

Salmon season will come to the coast June 18 with the beginning of a selective chinook fishery.

Lawrence said he’s already received some promising stories from commercial anglers.

“There’s been some really good reports from the local fishermen here right out front here off Waddah Island, and Swiftsure has been pretty hot for the commercial guys for kings,” he said

“That’s always a pretty good indicator as far as what’s going to be around.”

River rewind

The rivers are dropping. The fish are getting testy. It’s June on the Peninsula.

Several rivers opened to fishing last Saturday, with summer steelhead and spring chinook the objects of anglers’ desires.

From what Brian Menkal of Brian’s Sporting Goods and More (360-683-1950) in Sequim heard, things couldn’t have started off much better.

Of course, that came with some consequences when he visited the next morning.

“A ton of fish were taken on Saturday [on the Calawah],” he said. “It was a zoo out there.

“The few that were left [Sunday] were so battle hardened. They had been through everything the day before [that] not a fish was caught, hooked or anything else. It was a gauntlet out there for the fish.”

Things aren’t likely to get much easier anytime soon.

Summer is known for many things on the Peninsula. One of those is low flows.

That often means the fish can see you. And they are generally smart enough to know you’re up to no good.

Crescent correction

For some reason, my sense of direction is always thrown off at Lake Crescent.

Even though it’s obvious which way is east (toward Port Angeles), and which way is west (toward Forks), I always find myself calling north south and south north.

I’ll blame the mountains.

Anywho, those who read Thursday’s outdoors column may have noticed a directional mistake in the piece on fishing Crescent.

The side of the lake where all of the creeks drain — and, subsequently is a popular area for many anglers — is actually the south side.

I’ve had good luck fishing the other side in late afternoons, but I seem to be one of the few that has had that experience.

I also seem to be one of the few dopes who doesn’t know north from south.

Trout talk

We finally got us some lake weather.

Sunny skies, warm weather . . . a guy could get used to this.

Lake anglers may want to revel since warmer weather typically leads to more active fish.

One place that might be worth a gander is Silent Lake on the Toandos Peninsula, which just received 200 more catchable rainbow trout plants.

Youth fishers should consider swinging by the reclamation pond at Carrie Blake Park in Sequim.

It was the site of the Sequim Kids Fishing Day a few weeks back, and is slated to receive more trout plants in the coming months.

Worms, spinners and power bait all work real well.

Just keep in mind, this is a kids only fishery. The lake is only open to ages 14 and younger.

Also . . .

■ Spot shrimp season returns for one more day in Marine Area 9 (Admiralty Inlet) on June 22.

Shrimpers can soak their pots between 7 a.m. and 3 p.m.

■ State shellfish specialist Rich Childers will speak at the Puget Sound Anglers-East Jefferson Chapter monthly meeting Tuesday in Port Townsend.

Childers will discuss summer crabbing at the meeting, which starts at 6:30 p.m. in the Marina Room at Hudson Point Marina.

■ Coastal Conservation Association-North Olympic Peninsula Chapter will hold its annual fundraising banquet next Friday, June 17, at 5 p.m. in John Wayne Marina.

There will be live and silent auctions, raffles for fishing and outdoor gear and an appearance from CCA Northwest founder and well-known fishing rod producer Gary Loomis.

Tickets are $65 for one or $120 a couple and include one-year membership in CCA.

For tickets, call John Albiso at 360-928-1073 or email nop@ccapnw.org.

■ Teams and individuals can raise money for Jefferson County trails by participating in the The Longest Day of Trails event Sunday, June 19.

Walkers, runners, skateboarders, cyclists, horseback riders and others are invited to traverse the Larry Scott Memorial Trail in Port Townsend from sunrise (5:11 a.m.) to sunset (9:10 p.m.)

Participants log as many miles as possible during the daylight hours. Registration is a suggested donation of $10.

For more information, visit www.longestdayoftrailspt.wordpress.com.

■ Fish and Wildlife will be accepting public comments on the Snider Creek steelhead broodstock program through June 30.

The 25-year contract for the program, jointly run by the state and Olympic Peninsula Guides’ Association, expires at the end of the month.

The management options and the analysis of the Snider Creek steelhead program are available on Fish and Wildlife’s website at http://wdfw.wa.gov/conservation/fisheries/snider_creek/.

Comments can be submitted by email to snidercreek@dfw.wa.gov or by U.S. Mail to: Snider Creek, 48 Devonshire Road, Montesano, WA, 98563.

■ Olympic Peninsula Surfrider Foundation will host a fundraiser celebrating International Surfing Day at BarN9ne, 229 W. First St., in Port Angeles from 5 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. on June 20.

A narrated video of Washington state and Peninsula surf history from 1963 to present day will be shown at 7 p.m. There will also be a surf swap where used gear can be bought or sold.

Club T-shirts and sweatshirts will be sold at the event, and there will also be auctions and raffles. Admission is free.

For more information, phone Darrell Wood at 360-460-0453.

■ Dr. Jerry Freilich will discus the removal of the two dams on the Elwha River at a special Port Ludlow Fly Fishers program June 21.

Freilich is the research director for Olympic National Park. He will relate the history of the dams and give an overview of plans for their removal.

The program starts at 7 p.m. at the Port Ludlow Bay Club, 120 Spinnaker Place.

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.

__________

Matt Schubert is the outdoors columnist for the Peninsula Daily News. His column appears on Thursdays and Fridays.

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