I MISSED THE boat a bit in last Friday’s outdoors column on the upcoming Olympic Peninsula Salmon Derby.
There were no factual errors or a need for correction, I just fumbled the opportunity to discuss the reopening of salmon fishing in Marine Area 6 (East Strait of Juan de Fuca) and the short-term closure for salmon fishing in Marine Area 9 (Admiralty Inlet).
After a month-long hiatus, the winter blackmouth season opened up in Area 6 on Dec. 1.
Fishing closed that day until a reopening on Friday, Jan. 16, in Area 9.
The rules allow for anglers to retain chinook of a minimum size of 22 inches, with no size limit for other salmon species and a daily limit of two total salmon.
Wild chinook, of course, must be sent back to the briny depths.
Excuse those last two words, I’ve been mastering a pirate-themed video game of late, and a bit of the salty tongue is intruding on my prose and speech patterns.
I swapped seats and took over the outdoors beat at the absolute tail end of last season’s blackmouth fishery so my knowledge base on these fish is next to nil.
My understanding was that these are kings (duh) and they are probably in a dead heat with sockeye for coolest species name.
Apparently, blackmouth is a term that for our purposes here on the North Olympic Peninsula describes the resident chinook inhabiting the waters of the Strait of Juan de Fuca, Puget Sound and Hood Canal.
These are mostly hatchery salmon raised by the state Department of Fish and Wildlife that were held past their normal juvenile release which caused them to stay in area waters full-time, rather than choose that normal salmon career option of heading off to food-filled climes before coming back to raise their brood in their natal stream.
So that makes these blackmouth a year-round resident, but apparently the prime time to boat these fish runs from November through March.
Fishing light tackle with cut-plug herring and a flasher is a good option, and try to set things up to make the bait spin and simulate the movements of a live bait fish.
Downrigging to the depths where fish are schooling also is popular, provided you have a boat equipped with either electronic or manual downriggers and a functional fish finder to ferret out where they are hiding.
The same three truisms hold for blackmouth as for summer kings: find the bait to find the fish, check the tidal action and fish one to two hours before the tide change or right when the water goes slack and look for structures like banks, ridges, humps and shelves where fish can congregate.
Do all three correctly and anglers should have a cold and wet, but likely productive day on the water.
I’m intrigued by these fish and what drives the decision to stay in area waters as opposed to migrate, but that’s a topic I will expand on at a later date.
Puget Sound Anglers
Bob Kratzer, of Angler’s Guide Service of Forks will speak about the Northwest Olympic Peninsula Sportfishing Coalition at the next meeting of the Puget Sound Anglers North Olympic Peninsula Chapter.
That meeting will be held at Trinity United Methodist Church, 100 S. Blake Ave. in Sequim, starting at 6:45 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 18.
The coalition works to promote sport fishing as a priority contributor to the North Olympic Peninsula and the state economy.
It serves as a platform for local businesses and sport fisherman to advocate for a more strategic approach, including conservation, to manage fishery resources for the long term economic benefit of this rural area.
Coalition membership is open to anyone who would like to promote sport fishing as a priority economic component of the rural communities on the North Olympic Peninsula while ensuring that our natural resources are managed for long-term sustainability.
For more information, visit www.nwopsfcoalition.org.
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Outdoors columnist Michael Carman appears here Thursdays and Fridays. He can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5152 or at mcarman@peninsuladailynews.com.