THE MONTH OF the monsters is nearly upon us.
Yes, March Madness is about to take over the West End, and it has nothing to do with basketball.
It’s an insanity all together more consuming and frantic, for there’s more than bragging rights at stake.
We’re talking about native steelhead larger than twinkle-eyed toddlers, the kind of wild fish that inspire the masses to muscle in on West End rivers in maddening multitudes.
Of course, more than a few of them show up a little early (the fish and the crowds).
Some might remember that last year’s most talked about steelie — a 29.5-pound native caught by Peter Harrison of Port Hadlock — came out of the Hoh River almost a year ago to the day (Feb. 20, 2009).
Biggins’ arriving
So perhaps the time is now to hook a hog?
While Bob Gooding of Olympic Sporting Goods (360-374-6330) in Forks wouldn’t give it his full endorsement, he didn’t do his dour routine either.
“I don’t know about a lot [of fish], but there was a decent movement of fish [after last weekend’s rain],” Gooding said.
“There’s some nice fish around, 14-18-[pounders], but I just haven’t seen or heard of many 20-plus characters. There’s some here and there.”
A lot of those appear to be in the Sol Duc, which is now starting to see a strong run of wild steelhead, according to several reports.
“[The Sol Duc]’s been fishing pretty decent,” Gooding said. “The water still has a little tinge of color to it, but it’s supposed to be nice all weekend.
“I don’t know how long that lasts. When one river gets hot, somebody opens their big mouths, and instead of 5 or 6 boats there’s 10 or 20 [the next day].”
I wouldn’t rule that out.
Favorable reports for the Sol Duc are making the rounds on the Peninsula.
Brian Menkal of Swain’s Outdoor (360-385-1313) even heard a few all the way out in Port Townsend.
One group of anglers he talked to hooked four wild steelhead in the teens.
“That would be my top pick is go hit the Sol Duc for natives,” he said.
Added Gooding, “By the end of the week those fish are going to be getting pretty wise.
“They’ve seen everything on earth twice, so they start getting a little testy after the 900th corky-and-shrimp floats by.”
By the time that happens, however, the Hoh should be more than fishable.
The glacial-fed river was still a bit on the high side as of Thursday. But with sunny skies expected out west for the foreseeable future, it should drop into shape by Saturday.
The Calawah — a river known for a respectable run of steelhead in its own right — could also be a second option.
“Fish seem to pass through it fairly quickly,” Gooding warned. “You hit it one day and you better not look in the same place the next, or you’re going to find out the 100 fish over night became 50. The next day it’s 10, and the next day it’s none.”
Blackmouth update
Finally, we’ve found a place where the blackmouth fishing isn’t dreadful.
Apparently all those juvenile chinook have been hiding in the Strait of Juan de Fuca.
Creel checks conducted at Ediz Hook during opening day of the blackmouth season in Marine Areas 5 (Sekiu) and 6 (eastern Strait) tallied 72 anglers with 30 fish.
As state salmon manager John Long said in a news release, “That’s pretty good fishing. I don’t think we’ve seen a stronger opening for blackmouth anywhere else this year.”
Sekiu was even better on the second day of fishing, with checkers counting 26 anglers with 14 chinook at Olson’s Resort (360-963-2311).
“We had a pretty good weekend,” Donalynn Olson said.
“We did do OK on that . . . 13 [pounds] was our biggest that I’ve seen. Most of them were [in the six-to-eight-pound range].
“I had one fisherman who was in 130 feet of water off Slip Point who did pretty well. Most of the others went past the Caves a ways [out west].”
Mike Deese of Swain’s General Store (360-452-2357) in Port Angeles added two fish into the Port Angeles Salmon Club’s monthly salmon derby on Thursday.
That included a 19-pound, two-ounce beauty caught by Ron Gustafson of Port Angeles.
“The opening weekend was hot,” Deese said. “It sounded like everybody was getting fish.”
The stories aren’t quite so glowing out east.
Unfortunately, the blackmouth fisheries in Areas 9 (Admiralty Inlet) and 12 (Hood Canal) continue to slog along.
“Everybody is telling me it’s deader than a doornail,” Menkal in Port Townsend said. “They are not getting anything, even down in the Canal.”
Stay classy salmon
Dungeness River Audubon Center has gotten its hands on hundreds of coho salmon eggs.
The state Department of Fish and Wildlife chose the educational center in Sequim to be a “Salmon in the Classroom” site. It is a project sponsored by Puget Sound Anglers.
Thus, the River Center received several hundred salmon eggs removed from adult coho returning to Dungeness Hatchery in October 2009.
The eggs and fish are kept in an aquarium at the River Center at 47 degrees Fahrenheit, similar to winter and spring temperatures in the river.
They are expected to hatch within the next few weeks, with the young smolts returning to the river in spring. The public in invited to check out the fish as they grow.
Sixth graders from Sequim Middle School will release some of the fish back into the Dungeness.
Others will be released during the late spring and summer, with the public also invited to take part in that.
For more information about the River Center, located at 2151 Hendrickson Road in Sequim, visit www.dungenessrivercenter.org, or call 360-681-4076.
Clams a go
The state has given the go-ahead for diggers to hit coastal beaches for next week’s evening razor clam harvests.
Marine toxin tests found that clams at all five ocean beaches are safe to eat, allowing the state to approve the digs on Feb. 26 through March 1.
Two evening digs were even added to the schedule at Long Beach, which had been closed last month due to elevated marine toxin levels.
So both Long Beach and Twin Harbors will be open to all four days from Feb. 26 to March 1.
“The good news is that toxin levels were well within the safe zone at all five razor-clam beaches,” state coastal shellfish manager Dan Ayres said.
“The bonus for Long Beach is that we were able to add two additional digging days because the clams that would have been taken last month are still available for harvest.”
Copalis and Mocrocks will be open for evening digging Feb. 26 through Feb. 28, and Kalaloch will open the evenings of Feb. 27 and Feb. 28.
For more information on coastal razor clams, visit http://tinyurl.com/oyekj.
Also . . .
■ Hunters have until midnight on March 12 to submit applications for the spring black bear hunts.
A drawing will be held in mid-March for 345 permits in western Washington and 185 permits for hunts east of the Cascades.
Hunting licenses, bear transport tags and bear permit applications can be purchased online (http://fishhunt.dfw.wa.gov), at license vendors or by calling 866-246-9453.
■ Dr. Peter Hodum will talk about the challenges of conserving migratory seabirds at Feiro Marine Life Center’s monthly presentation Feb. 27.
Hodum is the director of Juan Fernandez Islands Conservancy in Chile and the visiting assistant professor at the University of Puget Sound.
The presentation begins at 3:30 p.m. at the Marine Life Center, located at Port Angeles City Pier. A $5 donation is suggested.
To reserve a spot, or for more information, call 360-417-6254.
■ Videographer John F. Williams will present a series of underwater videos from his dives in Puget Sound during a free talk March 5.
The presentation will be held at the North Olympic Library System’s main library in Port Angeles, 2210 S. Peabody St., beginning at 7 p.m. in the Raymond Carver Room.
The videos will highlight the multitude of aquatic life under Puget Sound’s waters.
■ Dungeness River Audubon Center will hold an introductory birding class for six consecutive Monday mornings from March 1 to April 5.
The class will run from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. each Monday at the River Center. The cost is $40 for River Center partners and $60 for nonmembers.
To register for the classes, contact the River Center at 360-681-4076.
■ Admiralty Audubon’s Ken Wilson will lead a birding trip to Skagit Flats around the Skagit River Estuary and Padilla Bay on Feb. 27.
The meeting time will depend upon the ferry schedule. To register for the trip, contact Wilson at 360-821-1101 or ken@kenwilson.info.
■ Washington Trails Association will gather an all-day volunteer work party at Peabody Creek Trail in Olympic National Park next Tuesday.
Volunteers must pre-register 48 hours in advance. To pre-register, contact Washington Trails at 206-625-1367 or visit www.wta.org.
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.
