Not much can compete with the satisfaction of landing, cleaning, preparing and, most importantly, eating a king that you caught yourself or a Dungeness crab out of a full limit that you hauled aboard.
And right now, before we are likely to be shrouded in wildfire smoke again at some point, or suffer through another absurd heat wave, is the time to hit the water and reel in.
Anglers already have taken an estimated 11 percent of the chinook-area guideline off Neah Bay through the first two weekends of the ocean salmon season.
A total of 1,829 anglers participated in the salmon fishery off Neah Bay from June 21 through last Sunday with 531 chinook and four coho landed, according to data compiled by the state Department of Fish and Wildlife.
All told, 654 chinook out of Neah Bay’s 5,825 chinook guideline have been accounted for.
Marine Area 3 (La Push) hasn’t seen any angler effort or catch totals to date, but that should change for the better beginning at 7 a.m. July 12.
The Quileute Reservation will re-open to the public at that time, including the Quileute Marina. A number of charter operators are expected to move operations from Sekiu to La Push at that time, making for a much shorter journey out to traditional deep-water ocean fishing spots than the haul through the Strait of Juan de Fuca from Sekiu.
That’s still not likely to do much at all to alleviate the large number of anglers camping and fishing in Sekiu, however.
Crabbing open
A reminder that crabbing opened Thursday and will continue on a Thursday-through-Monday schedule through July 6.
This includes Areas 4 (Neah Bay east of the Bonilla-Tatoosh line), 5 (Sekiu), 6 (Eastern Strait of Juan de Fuca), 9 (Admiralty Inlet) and 12 Marine Area 12 (Hood Canal) north of a line projected true east from Ayock Point.
The waters of Hood Canal south of Ayock Point will remain closed this season as weak crab populations are left to recover.
The daily limit throughout Puget Sound is five Dungeness crab, males only, in hard-shell condition with a minimum carapace width of 6¼ inches. Fishers may also keep six red rock crab of either sex per day in open areas, provided the crab are in hard-shell condition and measure at least 5 inches carapace wide.
And remember to record your crab on your catch record card and return it by Oct. 1.
Be prepared
Clallam County Sheriff’s deputies patrols this summer have observed that 25 percent of paddlers are compliant with life-jacket requirements and almost no paddlers have met the requirement to have a sound-producing device on board.
State law requires all vessels, including canoes, kayaks and stand-up paddleboards, to have at least one properly fitted Coast Guard-approved life jacket for each person on board. And all children 12 and younger must wear life jackets at all times.
The law also requires a sound producing device, aka a whistle or air horn, even on a stand-up paddleboard.
Experienced paddlers recommend carrying a cell phone (in a waterproof bag) and on coastal waters a VHF marine radio.
Steelhead town hall
Save the date for the first coastal steelhead virtual town hall, an effort by Fish and Wildlife to hear from the public before preparing for next season, which will be held at 6 p.m. July 28.
Attendees will hear initial indications for 2020-2021 fishery returns, get more information about upcoming opportunities to stay engaged in preseason planning and provide feedback on the 2021-22 season.
Later this year, WDFW will be soliciting applicants for an ad-hoc coastal steelhead advisory group.
For more information, visit https://wdfw.wa.gov/fishing/management/steelhead/coastal.
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Sports reporter Michael Carman can be contacted at 360-406-0674 or mcarman@peninsuladailynews.com.
