The popular Hood Canal recreational spot shrimp fishery will open for a total of four days, May 18, 22, 25 and 29, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., on a Wednesday and Saturday schedule.
Possible additional openings on June 1 and/or June 5 will depend on catch rates in May, and will be announced after May 29.
Recreational shrimpers will be working toward a quota of 73,500 pounds this year, which is pretty much in line with the last few seasons. The quota in 1998 was 75,500 pounds; in ‘99, 72,000 pounds; in 2000, 77,000 pounds, and in ‘01, 74,000 pounds.
All waters of the canal will be open, south of the Hood Canal floating bridge. Read the regulation pamphlet carefully if you plan to participate, because gear and buoy requirements are specific and relatively complicated.
Sport fishers are limited to one pot per person, and no boat may carry or operate more than four pots. The daily limit is 80 shrimp, but excess may be passed to other licensed fishers in the boat until they reach their limit as well. Each limit must be kept in a separate container, and shrimpers may remove and discard the heads from their shrimp while on the water.
The phone number for the state’s shellfish laboratory at Brinnon, for more information, is 360-796-4601.
Shrimping locally has been at least fair recently. State checks at the Port of Everett ramp on Friday showed 12 shrimpers with 363 shrimp, about a third of a limit each. At the Edmonds sling on Sunday, it was 49 fishers with 2,589 shrimp, better than a half-limit each.
Unfortunately, state biologist Mark O’Toole in La Conner announced on Wednesday that the recreational spot shrimp quotas in Marine areas 8-1 and 8-2 are close to being reached, and the two areas will close on Sunday. Most of areas 8-1, 8-2 and 9 will reopen in a few weeks for non-spot shrimp only, with a 150-foot maximum fishing depth restriction.
That’s the dark side of the coin, to mix a metaphor, but the bright side is another rise in the predicted number of spring chinook running the Columbia this year. The latest run-size update has boosted it to 309,000 fish past Bonneville, which isn’t that far below last year’s record run. Biologists say the run is about two weeks later than last year’s, and that recent daily counts at the Bonneville ladder have been robust.
Because of the update, fishing will remain open in the mainstem Columbia below Bonneville through May 15. An even bigger benefit is an increase in daily chinook limits at the mouth of the Wind River and at Drano Lake (Little White Salmon) from two chinook, wild or hatchery, to four. The change is effective today through June 30.
“In-season monitoring has indicated large surpluses of hatchery-origin spring chinook returning to the Carson and Little White Salmon national fish hatcheries,” says Fish and Wildlife Department spokesman Craig Burley.
The most recent creel checks showed 876 boat fishermen last week at the Wind, with 329 kings, and 206 bank anglers with 28. Some 49 bank fishermen upriver from the mouth (the river is open the eight miles upstream to Carson National Hatchery and can be good fishing, particularly later in the season), with five fish. Checks at Drano Lake showed 619 boat fishermen with 297 kings and 167 bank anglers with 34. At the White Salmon, it was 37 with nine, and at the Klickitat, 39 with 11.
Marysville resident and fishing guide Tom Nelson said the reopening of the mainstem Columbia would take some of the pressure off the tributary river mouths, but that it would still be a good idea to fish there on a weekday, if possible. State officials counted 180 boats at the mouth of the Wind on Saturday, and 160 at Drano Lake.
Lingcod: Bottom fishing in Deception Pass and at various spots “outside” the pass has been very good recently. Checks over the weekend at Cornet Bay showed 102 anglers with 42 lingcod, averaging 17 or 18 pounds; 11 rockfish, going 3 pounds; 47 greenling; and two cabezon.
Razor clams: Enough razor clams remain to allow one final day of recreational digging, Saturday, on the morning tide only, at Twin Harbors and Copalis beaches. Twin Harbors beaches include Westport, Grayland and North Cove. The Copalis area includes Ocean Shores, Ocean City and Copalis. The dig is, of course, subject to last-minute state Health Department tests of marine toxin levels. Check the Fish and Wildlife Department’s Web site, www.wa.gov/wdfw, or call the Montesano office at 360-249-4628.
Diggers must have new 2002-03 recreational shellfish licenses or a two-day license to participate. The low tide Saturday morning is a minus 0.5 at 6:46 a.m.
Trout: A lower than normal turnout of opening-day trout fishermen on April 21 has meant, and will mean, better fishing for those who prefer to hit local lakes after the opener.
Any of the lakes – McMurray is a good example – that were good on the opener should still produce top fishing for the immediate future.
How to get ‘em? The pre-opening day feature that ran here strongly suggested that anglers try simply trolling a dark wet fly – black, dark brown, preferably with peacock – on very light leader, behind either a sink-tip fly line or an ultralight spinning rig with monofilament. Just troll it. Just pull it around the lake, very shallow, with maybe only one very small split shot to get it just under the surface.
We noted the system, advocated by Everett Steelhead and Salmon Club member Jim Brauch, should work very well for two weeks to a month, until hatchery rainbow fully acclimatize to the lake and go deeper in search of food.
But you didn’t do that, did you? You went ahead and soaked Power Bait, just like you’ve done for the past dozen openers.
So allow me to share with you the following, from Marysville resident and Herald reader Lew Savela:
“Wayne, had to send you a short note to say thanks for the article about trying a fly at Lake McMurray,” Savela writes. “My buddy and I went to McMurray on Sunday, May 5, avoiding the first couple of weeks because of the crowds. Lousy weather. We got there around 8 a.m. and fished the south end, using different colors of Power Bait. Tried many different spots but not a bite. Got soaked, and the wind started to come up, so thought we would go back to the truck to warm up and have some coffee.
“I remembered your article, and decided to grab my second rod, which was rigged with a fly, to troll back to the launch. Surprise – it wasn’t 5 minutes before we had one on and decided to bunch the truck idea. We continued to troll flies and had our limits by 11:30 a.m. Nice, big bows between 10 and 13 inches. We then went home and had to sit in the hot tub for 30 minutes to thaw out. Great day!”
Kids’ day a success: The kids’ fishing day at Tye Lake near Monroe, sponsored by the Sky Valley Chapter of TU, was as usual an outstanding success. The club again offered to have the largest rainbow caught mounted free of charge, and that particular prize was won by 2-year-old Alexandria Osborne of Monroe. “Alex” nailed a jumbo ‘bow of 8 pounds, 13 ounces, on tackle loaned by the club, and beached it with just a little help from her father, Robert, and a club member with a handy net.
Tackle shop moves: Hook, Line and Sinker, the popular tackle shop at Smokey Point, has moved to new digs. The new address is 5200 172nd St. NE, No. 104, Arlington, and the new phone number is 360-435-5052. Take Exit 206 off I-5, and go east on 172nd to the second stoplight, turn right and then left. The shop is behind the car wash.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
