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 29, 2008 180-pound halibut wins derby By Wayne Kruse, Herald Writer When you catch a fish so big it has to be weighed with a fork lift, you know you've done a day's work. And the record halibut which took first place in the big Port Angeles derby over the long weekend met that criterion with weight to spare. The $5,000 fish was taken by Jason Sanko of Port Orchard, and pulled the scales -- via fork lift -- to an awesome 180 pounds. "That's the heaviest halibut we've ever had entered in the derby," said Norm Metzler of Port Angeles, a board member of the sponsoring Port Angeles Salmon Club. "The previous record was 156 pounds, caught in 2005." The big fish was taken between Green Point and the end of Ediz Hook, from an anchored boat, reportedly in about 200 feet of water. "Some halibut," Metzler said. "Our scalemaster is six-feet-three, and the fish was taller than he was." The derby drew 782 entries, very close to the number which fished the event last year, and the 30-place cash prize list was about equally split between anglers from the Port Angeles area and those from out of town. Dave Coster of Snohomish entered a 75-pounder, good for sixth place and $1,000, while Brian McManus of Edmonds won $210 for his 22nd-place fish of 49 pounds. The smallest halibut on the list weighed 43 pounds. Most of the prize-list fish, including the big one and the second-place 113-pounder taken by John Clark of Port Angeles, were caught on Saturday. "The wind kicked up a little on Sunday," Metzler said, "and it got a little uncomfortable out there." Some of the more productive areas on the weekend included Freshwater Bay and water in front of Ediz Hook, Metzler said, although the fish were scattered and were found from 70 or 80 feet deep to 400 feet or more. He said he would echo reports saying this is perhaps the best halibut season in a long time in the Strait and Puget Sound. "There have been a lot of nice fish caught around here this spring," he said, "and our derby entries were representative. It's not often we have to bump halibut weighing 42 pounds off the bottom of the prize list." Local avid angler and halibut chaser Ron Garner's party would have placed second and third in the derby, prizes worth a total of $4,000, had they been entered. They caught impressive fish of 163 and 132 pounds on Saturday, at an unnamed bank on "the eastern Strait." Farther north, Bob Ferber at Holiday Sports in Burlington said halibut fishing continues productive on some of the local banks. One customer took a 50-pounder, using large herring, from MacArthur Bank on Saturday, then went back on Sunday and nailed a 20-pounder. MacArthur is just southwest of Iceberg Point and north of Smith Island, Ferber said. Dallas and Hein banks have also been productive. "An attractive combination trip up here would be shrimping at Iceberg Point, then a little lingcod fishing at any of several spots in that area, and then a shot at halibut on MacArthur Bank," Ferber said. Some 53 anglers were checked Saturday at the Washington Park launch, by Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife personnel, with 18 rockfish, 6 lings, 18 greenling, and 4 cabezon. And finally, there was enough May quota left to allow halibut anglers two more days -- today and Saturday -- in marine areas 3 and 4 (LaPush and Neah Bay). Rough water conditions kept earlier fishing pressure in the two areas lower than anticipated, according to WDFW biologist Heather Reed, leaving some 29,400 pounds on the table. The two areas are scheduled to reopen June 17 and 19 under a separate quota, but only in water no more than 30 fathoms deep (see the regulation pamphlet). Rivers open: June 1 marks the general river and stream fishing opener, but because of heavy runoff from snow melt, it promises to be a non-event. Guide and Arlington resident Sam Ingram said the Skykomish at mid-week was "ugly," and that it would probably be at least a couple of weeks before it would approach fishable shape. When it drops and clears, it should be holding both chinook and summer steelhead he said, but right now "it will eat you for lunch if you get out there in a boat without a lot of experience and without being very, very careful." The Icicle, outside Leavenworth, is open for spring chinook and Ingram said it might be fishable this weekend, depending on the weather. At mid-week it had enough visibility to make it a possible, he said. The Skagit above the mouth of the Sauk, and the Cascade, could be fishable on Sunday, again depending on weather and temperature conditions, according to Bob Ferber (above). Kings have already started showing up at the Marblemount Hatchery, he said, so if there's enough visibility there should be fish available. The early season last year was good, mostly at the mouth of the Cascade and in two or three major holes down to Rockport. Farther away but a good prospect is the Sol Duc, outside Forks on the Olympic Peninsula, for both chinook and summer-runs. It drops quickly and usually has enough visibility to be fishable, even if high. Bank fishing in the vicinity of the hatchery; don't try to boat it unless you're pretty good. Shrimp: Spot shrimp options are narrowing for the recreationist, as quotas are filled and seasons closed. Hood Canal gets today and Saturday, but the north and central portions of the San Juan Islands closed Tuesday. The southern portion of the islands remains open, including the Iceberg Point/Salmon Bank area, until further notice. Anthon Steen at Holiday Sports said Iceberg Point can still be very good, when tides are mild and slow, also a requirement for doing well on lingcod at Deception Pass. Springers: Anglers on the Columbia above Bonneville found some of the best spring chinook action of the year at a couple of popular spots last week, averaging a fish for every four rods at the Wind River, and one for every 3 rods at Drano Lake. Shad: Even though the first 10,000-plus daily shad count at the Bonneville Dam ladder occurred Sunday, it may not yet be time to head south. For one thing, it's tough fishing when the big river is running at a very high 400,000 cubic feet per second as it is now, and is expected to be for at least the next week. For another, the main shad run is late this spring, as evidence the fact that last year at this point, some 300,000 fish had already been counted over the dam. Most action so far has been at the Steamboat Landing docks in Washougal, and directly below the dam. Turkeys: Lyle Galloway is Washington State president of the National Wild Turkey Federation, overseeing 25 state chapters, and he will be the featured speaker at the June 12 meeting of the Northwest Chapter, Washington Waterfowl Association. The reason this may be particularly interesting is that Galloway will outline plans to stock turkeys on the Skagit/Whatcom county line, near the community of Acme, on Highway 9 in Whatcom County. The proposed cooperative effort between the NWTF and the WDFW would stock 50 to 75 birds each December for three years, starting this year. "Biologists would like to see 500 to 700 birds in the area before a hunting season is allowed," Galloway said, "and the best scenario would be a first hunt in 2011." These birds would be the Rio Grande subspecies, he said, not the Easterns which have previously been stocked at a number of locations in Western Washington. They are cheaper to obtain, he said, and biologists hope they will reproduce faster than the Easterns. The Eastern subspecies, supposedly acclimated to cooler, wetter climes, have been disappointingly slow to expand their wet, brushy westside territory. The meeting would also be a good opportunity to ask Galloway about the Turkey Federation and its activities, or turkey hunting in general. The meeting itself will start at 7 p.m., public invited, with trapshooting starting at 6 p.m. Place is the gun range at 26953 64th Ave. N.W., Stanwood. Take Highway 532 west from the freeway toward Stanwood, and turn right (north) on 64th a quarter-mile before reaching Stanwood High School and the Haggen's Grocery business district. Watch for the gun range sign. Ocean salmon: The coastal salmon season opens June 1 (or June 3 for those marine areas, LaPush and Neah Bay, on a Tuesday-through-Saturday schedule), with expected scarce numbers of wild Columbia River coho driving the fishery. The opening is a month early specifically to target hatchery chinook which tend to congregate earlier off the river than do the later-running silvers. Some 20,000 kings will be made available to sport fishermen on the coast, up from 16,500 last year, and anglers will be limited to one chinook per day (release coho) from June 1-28. Starting June 29, the daily limit will increase to two salmon, including one chinook, release unmarked coho. WDFW salmon managers say it's almost a certainty the coastal season will close early, so if you're interested in a coastal trip, get on it early.

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