FORECASTS APPEAR FAVORABLE for some sunny silver fishing on through Saturday, something that has been missing for much of the month.
A cloud cover of dull, primer gray comes close to matching the color of the fish anglers are chasing, but it will be nice to close out the saltwater season for much of the North Olympic Peninsula with some temperatures near 70 and some flat water conditions.
Marine areas 5 (Sekiu), 6 (Eastern Strait of Juan de Fuca) and 9 (Admiralty Inlet) all close to salmon retention at the end of Sunday.
Hood Canal (Marine Area 12) regulations shift Monday to one set of rules: anglers can keep a daily limit of four salmon, up to two of which may be hatchery chinook of a minimum 22 inches in length. Chum must be released from Monday through Monday, Oct. 15.
Deer season heats up
The early season archery deer season wraps Friday as archers decamp the woods and muzzleloader shooters take aim at a season running from Saturday through Sunday, Oct. 7.
After that, its a week to the beginning of general firearm deer season across most game management units on the North Olympic Peninsula on Saturday, Oct. 13.
Hunting Prospects for GMUs statewide can be found at wdfw.wa.gov/hunting/prospects/.
District 15 includes east Jefferson, Kitsap and Mason counties, while District 16 is made up of Clallam and west Jefferson counties.
Hunting regulations can be found in the state’s Big Game Hunting pamphlet or Migratory Waterfowl and Upland Game pamphlet, each available at wdfw.wa.gov/hunting/regulations/.
Coho webinar
Natural coho stocks along the Strait of Juan de Fuca and returning to the Queets River will be discussed by the Pacific Fishery Management Council’s Salmon Technical Team today.
Those two silver stocks were found to meet the criteria for being classified as overfished in the PFMC Review of 2017 ocean salmon fisheries. As a result, the Salmon Technical Team is required to develop a salmon rebuilding plan for each of these stocks and propose them to the PFMC within one year.
The Strait of Juan de Fuca coho webinar will run from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. today and the Queets River stock will follow from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
To listen in, visit tinyurl.com/PDN-CohoWebinar and follow the steps.
Halibut meeting
Halibut will be discussed at a public meeting Tuesday, Oct. 9.
The state Department of Fish and Wildlife will host the the meeting from 9 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. at Montesano City Hall, 112 N. Main St.
Management options and the selection of dates for the 2019 halibut season will be discussed.
Fish and Wildlife staff say they will review the tide calendars for May and June 2019 “and work to balance the needs across various fishing communities and charter and private fishing interests.”
During the discussion, factors considered will include maximizing opportunity, extending the season length, and accommodating traditions relative to opening dates and planned fishing derbies.
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Sports reporter/columnist Michael Carman can be contacted at 360-417-3525 or mcarman@peninsuladailynews.com.
