A 31-POUND hatchery chinook was reeled in by Port Angeles’ Pat McMenamin and fishing partners Dave Gauthun of Sequim and Tom Amos of Port Angeles while fishing near Freshwater Bay Wednesday morning.
McMenamin and company hooked into the impressive king during an ebb tide around 7 a.m. while running their gear off of downriggers in 45 feet of water.
“I’ve never seen a hatchery fish that size before,” McMenamin said. “The fish checker said it was tagged so we will know where it came from.”
Data on which hatchery produced the fish and an estimate on how many years the salmon spent in the Pacific Ocean should be available in a month or so.
McMenamin said he caught the fish on a spoon, but wouldn’t go into specifics on color or size.
“Amos used to fish up in Sitka [Alaska] and we used his secret spoon,” McMenamin said.
It took a group effort to bring the fish in.
“Things were kind of hectic there on the boat,” McMenamin said. “It made a turn toward the boat and we got lucky and were able to bring it aboard.
“They did an amazing job to put it in the net.”
The big king capped a good morning bite for the trio.
“We did good that day, all of us ended up getting limits,” McMenamin said. “We had a 16-pounder as well.”
And how did the chinook serve as table fare?
“We’re having a family reunion this weekend and we barbecued last night and fed the whole family,” McMenamin said.
Anglers meet Thursday
A Boat Setup Show and Tell will be presented at Thursday’s meeting of the North Olympic Peninsula chapter of Puget Sound Anglers.
The meeting will be held at Trinity United Methodist Church, 100 S. Blake Ave. in Sequim, with raffle prizes and stories at 6:30 p.m. and the meeting beginning at 7 p.m.
A short presentation on educational outreach by the Clallam County Marine Resources Committee will open the meeting.
During the boat setup show and tell, chapter members will bring their boats and discuss how they have enhanced safety, increased their catches and organized their interiors.
Some of the topics and demonstrations will cover windlass, drop fins, high speed pot puller, electronic systems including radar, three types of sonar, AIS and overlays) Control King, EZ-Steer, portable battery jumpers, dock lines and fender setups, downrigger clip retrievel sticks and more.
After the demonstrations and a short break, a club business meeting featuring a financial report, upcoming event discussion and fishing reports from members.
Refreshments will be served, a raffle for fishing gear will be held and a membership drawing for those present also we be offered.
The meeting is open to the public.
For more information, visit www.psanopc.org or www.facebook.com/psanopc.
Elwha, tributaries closed
The tributaries to the Elwha River were unintentionally left open when recent regulation changes were implemented by the state Department of Fish and Wildlife.
The 2018-19 sportfishing rules pamphlet should state that the Elwha River and tributaries are closed to fishing.
These tributaries were intended to remain closed as part of the fishing moratorium that is currently in effect on the Elwha River mainstem and all tributaries to help facilitate the re-colonization of the Elwha River system following removal of two dams.
Canadian salmon rule
Fish and Wildlife has finalized its Canadian-origin salmon transportation rule.
Anglers seeking to possess and/or land Canadian-caught salmon in Washington waters or ports of call need a way to document the origin of the fish.
Canadian Customs and Border Security no longer provides clearance numbers to travelers entering Canadian waters by boat if the travelers do not anchor or go ashore.
Fish and Wildlife previously instructed anglers to fill out an online form before going fishing in Canada, that form is now required.
Anglers who intend on fishing for salmon in Canadian waters and returning to a Washington port without clearing customs can find the form at wdfw.wa.gov/licensing/canadian_catch.php.
The form requests basic trip and contact information from the leader of a fishing party and must be submitted prior to leaving Washington. The party leader will receive an email from Fish and Wildlife with a confirmation code.
A Washington fishing license is not required to fish in Canada or to fill out the trip notification form. A state-issued WILD ID number can be used to fill out the form but it is not required.
