One of the better public beaches for a tasty winter combo of steamer clams and oysters is Point Whitney on Hood Canal, but there isn’t a lot of time left to take advantage of it this year. The area is the site of the state Department of Fish and Wildlife’s Point Whitney Shellfish Lab, and both the “outside” tideland beaches and the “inside” lagoon beaches have been planted to enhance recreational opportunities.
The clam season recently was shortened so that the tidelands are open only through the end of March, at which point the inside lagoon comes on line, April 1-30. Oysters, however, are legal on the tidelands through June 30, and on the lagoon year around.
Manilla littlenecks are available to diggers on both the lagoon and outer beaches, but best on the outer beaches west of the pier, near the lagoon outlet. Native littlenecks and butter clams can be dug in the vicinity of the pier, while the best oyster picking (21/2-inch minimum size) is a longer walk — toward the south end of the outer tidelands. A kiosk at the parking area has maps and other information.
Take Highway 101 south from Quilcene about 8 miles, going up and around Mount Walker, then back down to Hood Canal. Turn left at Cove RV Park and Grocery onto Bee Mill Road, and continue 2 miles to the state shellfish lab. There is ample parking at the end of the road, along with public toilets.
If you’ve never done much on the canal, this piece of state land is worth learning because it offers access to a range of recreational opportunities: chinook and chum salmon fishing, excellent clam and oyster beaches available only by boat, Western Washington’s best spot shrimp fishing, and more. The boat launch is not great, but it’s OK for small boats. Remember that a Discovery Pass or WDFW vehicle access pass is required to park at Point Whitney.
For more information on this or other public shellfish beaches, visit wdfw.wa.gov, then fishing, then shellfishing, then public clam and oyster beaches.
Blackmans planted
Blackmans Lake in Snohomish has received the first of several plants for this spring, and anglers are taking trout — including an occasional triploid to 5 pounds or so — off the lake’s fishing piers.
Seminar and derby
Tackle shop owner and salmon guru John Martinis has a new — and reportedly top-drawer — winter salmon seminar scheduled for March 14, pointed toward the sixth annual Everett Blackmouth Derby on March 17. The free seminar will be held at Everett Bayside Marine (425-252-3088), starting at 7 p.m.
The derby, sponsored by the Everett Chapter of the Puget Sound Anglers, is a team event, $100 per boat of up to four anglers, in Marine Areas 8-1, 8-2 and 9, for a top prize of $3,000. Tickets are available at John’s Sporting Goods, Bayside Marine, Greg’s Custom Rods, Hook Line &Sinker, Ted’s Sport Center, Ed’s Surplus, Three Rivers Marine and Performance Marine.
Harbor Marine opens early on derby morning, according to a derby spokesman, for bait and other necessities.
For more information, visit www.everettblackmouthderby.com.
Early trout lakes
The March 1 early trout opener in the Columbia Basin went well, according to state biologist Chad Jackson in the agency’s Ephrata office. Martha and Upper Caliche lakes put out an average of about three trout per person, with fish generally in the 12- to 14-inch range, Jackson said, but limits were generally easy for those who were keeping instead of catch and releasing. The same held true on Burke and Quincy, except that anglers on those two waters also found about a 30-percent chance of nailing a carryover going 15 to 20 inches.
There wasn’t much fishing pressure on Dusty, but the few anglers checked had good catches of rainbows 12 to 20 inches. A persistent cold wind over the weekend kept most anglers off two quality waters, Lenice and Nunnally, Jackson said, and no anglers were checked on Lake Lenore.
Anacortes sellout
If you snoozed, you loozed. Coordinator Jay Field announced late last week that all 1,000 tickets for the Anacortes Salmon Derby, March 31-April 1, are gone. It took a little longer this time, Field said, but, hey, 29 days ain’t half bad.
For more information, visit www.anacortessalmonderby.com.
Spring razor clams
The first morning razor clam dig of the year is set for Saturday and Sunday, at Long Beach, Twin Harbors, Copalis and Mocrocks beaches, according to state clam manager Dan Ayres in Montesano.
If weather and surf conditions are good, expect a crowd, Ayres said, because “a lot of people wait all year to dig razor clams on morning tides.”
The tide on Saturday is a minus 0.3 feet at 7:39 a.m., and on Sunday, minus 0.4 feet at 9:28 a.m.
Remember that Daylight Savings Time kicks in Sunday morning and, related to that, the beaches close to digging at noon.
Tentative upcoming digs include March 24, plus 0.3 feet at 8:25 a.m., Long Beach, Twin Harbors, Copalis and Mocrocks; March 25, plus 0.3 feet at 8:59 a.m., Long Beach, Twin Harbors and Mocrocks; April 7, minus 1.2 feet at 7:36 a.m., Long Beach, Twin Harbors, Mocrocks, and Kalaloch; April 8, minus 1.5 feet at 8:23 a.m., Long Beach, Twin Harbors, Mocrocks, and Kalaloch; and April 9, minus 1.5 feet at 9:11 a.m., Long Beach, Twin Harbors and Kalaloch.
For more outdoors news, read Wayne Kruse’s blog at www.heraldnet.com/huntingandfishing.
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