Sports

<< Previous   of   Next >>   ADVERTISEMENT   CONTACT THE HERALD Report scores and results to 425-339-3470 or 1-866-6-SCORES (Call after 4:30 p.m.) E-mail information including items for Tuesday's Communities Sports Roundup and Thursday's Outdoor Calendar, to sports@heraldnet.com Kevin Brown, Sports Editor kbrown@heraldnet.com   Published: Thursday, May 22, 2008 Bottomfishermen fare well By Wayne Kruse, Herald Writer The fishing story in the western Washington spotlight this spring has been, arguably, an excellent bottomfish season for halibut and lingcod, almost across the board. Some knowledgeable anglers, in fact, are saying it's been one of the best, particularly for halibut on the inland waters, in recent memory. Saturday and Sunday proved a productive weekend for bottomfishermen, as the weather finally calmed down and tides improved. That was a huge relief to those focused on the state's premier bottom fishery, off the northwest coast, out of Neah Bay, even though conditions weren't ideal. The May 13 opener there struggled with 10-foot swells and nasty wind chop which resulted in distress calls to the Coast Guard out of LaPush, and at least one capsizing. The season in marine areas 3 and 4 (LaPush and Neah Bay) ran for a week on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, and closed Tuesday, May 20, as the halibut quota was reached. Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife regional director Michele Culver said anglers in the two areas boated an estimated 1,570 halibut averaging 22.8 pounds each. The quota for May was 79,194 pounds, Culver said. Despite terrible weather, charters mostly limited on both halibut and lings and private boats hit some very big fish west of Neah Bay in the vicinity of the Garbage Dump. Reports indicated a handful of halibut in the 100-pound range, with the largest at about 125 pounds. The Sekiu-area halibut season opened today, and Dan Spomer at Olson's Resort in Sekiu (360-963-2311) said he expects another top fishery. "We're pretty reliable here," he said. "Pretty productive, and you have the advantage of relatively sheltered water and a short run to the fish." You can put your halibut gear over the side five minutes after leaving the marina, he said, noting that a substantial percentage of the larger fish taken from the area each season come from relatively shallow water, not far offshore. "That means if you have a small boat and the weather turns sour, you can retreat in a hurry," he said. The area will host a halibut derby June 14-15 for an entry fee of $15. First place will pay $10 per pound of fish entered; second, $200; and third, $100. Details, along with good daily fishing reports, are available on the resort's Web site, www.olsonsresort.com. Closer to home, Anthon Steen at Holiday Sports in Burlington (360-757-4361) said customers continue to take halibut on several of the banks west of Anacortes. The best, he said, are probably Partridge and Hein banks, but other good spots include Eastern, Salmon and Middle banks; Smith Island; and Admiralty Bay. Steen said anglers did well around Burrows and Alan islands last week for both ling and cabezon, and Blakely Island also put out fish. WDFW checks over the weekend at the Cornet Bay ramp showed 56 anglers with 15 lings, and at the Washington Park ramp, 68 anglers with 16 lings and one halibut. Checks at Ediz Hook, near Port Angeles (see the accompanying Pick of the Week for the PA derby) tallied 76 fishermen on Friday with 28 halibut and one ling, and 152 on Saturday with 21 halibut and two lings. Trout: Still rainbow for the pan available in a lot of relatively local lakes, thanks to the cold spring and resulting lack of fishing pressure. Try Heart, Erie, McMurray, Ki, Goodwin for trout, Shannon for kokanee, and Big and Clear for bass. Bob Ferber at Holiday Sports said the latter two should be fished slowly, maybe with swimbaits or senkos. Arlington resident and avid angler Sam Ingram said Blackman's Lake continues to put out multi-pound planted triploid rainbow, and that fishermen at Flowing are having similar success at times. East of the hump, Park and Blue lakes in the Sun Lakes State Park group are producing nice 'bows to 14 or 15 inches, and Quincy and Burke lakes in the Quincy Wildlife Area are also good bets. Roses Lake, up by Chelan, is an excellent prospect for a family fishery, putting out nice trout, bluegills and perch. For "quality" trout, try the selective gear waters such as Dry Falls, Lenice and Nunnally, which are warming up and coming on. One water which isn't coming on is Jameson, which in the past has been arguably the best single "opening day-type" lake in the state, and fishermen who make an annual trek to Douglas County's sagebrush country for top rainbow fishing are wondering why. So is the WDFW, which so far hasn't a definitive answer. Degraded water quality from runoff, and algae blooms, are the most likely culprits, according to biologists, but they aren't sure whether or not the current poor fishing is the result of a recent die-off or just what is happening. A major algae-caused fish kill a couple of years ago was supposedly addressed by planting catchable rainbow and larger triploids, but apparently hasn't solved the problem. Other proposed solutions -- aeration or alum -- tend to be pretty expensive, one biologist said. Shrimp: Areas to the north are about the only opportunity left for recreational shrimpers. Iceberg Point and the Biz Point area are still good opportunities, according to Anthon Steen at Holiday, who did well last week out of Cornet Bay using a mix of fish oil, Ace pellets, and Friskies cat food. Clams: The final razor clam dig of the spring, May 24, was finally approved by the state Health Department this week, and diggers will be out at Twin Harbors, Copalis and Mocrocks beaches. The tide is a minus 0.5 feet at 9:58 a.m. No digging will be allowed after noon, and both Long Beach and Kalaloch remain closed. Diggers should also be aware that portions of the dry sand beach at Twin Harbors are closed to the public to protect endangered western snowy plovers during breeding season. The areas are signed. Nooksack elk: Non-tribal elk hunters took 14 bulls last fall in the Nooksack Game Management Unit (418), and tribal hunters harvested 13, according to WDFW data. The state and the Point Elliott Treaty tribes signed an agreement last year which allowed the harvest of up to 30 bulls, divided equally between the two entities, and continuing that hunt this fall could be part of a proposed new management agreement for 2008-09. Public meetings on the proposed agreement will be held in Mount Vernon on May 27, at the Skagit County Administration Building, 700 South 2nd Street, and May 28 in Edmonds at the Edmonds City Hall, 121 5th Avenue North. Both meetings will begin at 6:30 p.m. WDFW wildlife managers and enforcement officers will be available at each location to discuss the proposed one-year agreement, which would be designed to improve state and tribal wildlife management of game species in eastern Puget Sound and a portion of the Kitsap Peninsula. Since 2003, state and tribal wildlife managers have relocated about 80 elk from the Mount St. Helens area to the Nooksack River watershed. Efforts to rebuild the herd also included improvement of elk forage and a decade-long hunting moratorium. The herd has rebounded from a low of about 300 animals, according to WDFW wildlife policy coordinator Nate Pamplin, to between 600 and 700 today. The herd, one of 10 in the state, ranges in scattered groups near the South Fork Nooksack. Springers: Spring chinook fishing on Columbia River tributaries probably reached a high point at the mouth of the Wind River and Drano Lake, with catch averages last week (including jacks) of about one salmon for every 3 to 4 rods. The hot weather and resultant snow melt blew out most fishing opportunity, however. Pretty good spring chinook fishing was available on the Sol Duc, and probably on the Hoh as well, before the hot weather, said Bob Gooding at Olympic Sporting Goods in Forks. "The Duc was fishing pretty good before all the snow melt came down and it went up three feet," Gooding said. "The lower river was best for fish from 10 or 12 pounds up to a high of maybe 35, with most in the 16- to 25-pound range. After the high water, though, there should be more of them up around the hatchery." Shad: A few shad are being taken by bank and boat fishermen in the Camas/Washougal area, but the WDFW plans no shad creel checks at Bonneville this year. Through May 19, a total of 14,255 shad had been counted by the Corps of Engineers over the Bonneville ladders, compared to over 40,000 fish at this point last year.

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