Outdoor outlook: Heavy surf could affect clam diggers

Surf’s up! Which is a good thing if your tool of choice is a board. If, on the other hand, it’s a clam shovel, you could have problems.

The razor clam dig starting this evening and running through Sunday on certain ocean beaches should be a good one, according to state Fish and Wildlife Department shellfish manager Dan Ayres in the agency’s Montesano office, but heavy surf could impact clam harvest.

“The forecast was for surf possibly as high as 19 feet (today), then dropping toward the weekend,” Ayes said. “Anything close to 19 feet is downright dangerous.”

Surf conditions make up one of the most critical factors in razor clam harvest, because a long run-up covers the more accessible portions of the beach.

If the surf does indeed drop to a reasonable level by the weekend, Ayres expects a pretty decent dig, although clams generally won’t be as large as people found during the spring seasons. There will be a mix of sizes, he said, but heavy on a younger age class.

“The larger clams will tend to be found on the beaches north of Grays Harbor,” he said, “and bad weather also tends to favor diggers to the north. The south beaches get hammered pretty hard by high surf.”

For surf forecasts, Ayres said, do a search for National Weather Service Seattle, then get the NOAA weather site which should bring up a map, then click on the ocean shoreline.

Four evening digs are scheduled for Copalis and Mocrocks (the northern beaches) Nov. 13-16, while Long Beach and Twin Harbors are scheduled for three evenings, Nov. 14-16. Kalaloch Beach in Olympic National park will remain closed at least until spring, to allow a new crop of small clams to mature.

Tides are as follows: Nov. 13, minus 1.6 feet at 6:27 p.m.; Nov. 14, minus 1.8 feet at 7:15 p.m.; Nov. 15, minus 1.6 feet at 8:04 p.m.; and Nov. 16, minus 1.2 feet at 8:54 p.m.

Another dig has tentatively been scheduled for Dec. 11-14 at Copalis and Mocrocks, and Dec. 12-14 at Long Beach and Twin harbors.

The state Web site offers tips on how to dig razor clams, recipes, and things to do and places to stay in Copalis Beach, Grayland/Westport, Long Beach, and Moclips. Go to www.wdfw.wa.gov, then click on fishing/shellfishing.

EARLY STEELHEAD

Reports indicate some early steelhead catches around Western Washington before the rains came, perhaps a little earlier than usual according to some. Bob Gooding at Olympic Sporting Goods in Forks said maybe a dozen fish or so were taken by anglers chasing coho in the lower Quillayute system last week and the week before. “Since Thanksgiving is usually considered the front end of the winter steelhead season, this might be a little early,” he said.

Mike Chamberlain at Ted’s Sport Center in Lynnwood said the Quinault River on the Quinault reservation has been producing enough fish already to warrant tribally-guided trips, and that the Sooes River, on the Makah Reservation, has also been a producer.

Anthon Steen at Holiday Sports in Burlington said eight to 10 hatchery winter steelhead were taken last week on the Skagit, mostly by plunkers on the lower river bars, and that a fly-fishing customer reported seeing a winter steelhead caught on the North Fork Stillaguamish a week ago. There are also unverified reports of three or four winter steelhead caught at Reiter Ponds on the upper Skykomish just before the rains.

State biologist Joe Hymer, at the Vancouver office, said some nice winter-runs into the teens are already being taken on the Cowlitz and that winter fish showed up at hatcheries on several southwest streams the first week of November, including the Elochoman and Lewis.

With the rivers out for a while, guide and Arlington resident Sam Ingram suggested giving the westside Whidbey beaches an early shot. Bush Point, Lagoon Point, and Fort Casey are the usual spots, and the usual “surf casting” setup is the old standby flame orange Spin N Glo above a double-hook rig with red or orange hoochie skirt.

“A lot of guys have tried other stuff, including Dick Nites and big streamer flies,” Ingram said, “but with limited success. That doesn’t mean, though, that you can’t improve on the standard rig. Try adding scent or one of the UV gels, or pack the head of the hoochie with Power Bait. Trim the skirt down to a more manageable length, and vary the color — red, orange, pink, chartreuse, pearl. And if your beach isn’t working, try another beach, although early in the season the northernmost areas would probably be the best bet.”

The top half of the incoming tide and high slack is usually considered the best time to fish the Whidbey beaches.

Perhaps the best steelheading in the state currently is taking place on the middle Columbia River at Ringold, upstream from the Tri-Cities on the east bank of the river. Bank fishermen below the rearing pond averaged one fish for every 8.6 hours on the water, while boat anglers averaged one for every 5.6 hours.

Farther upriver, the state opened a season for hatchery steelhead Nov. 6 between Rocky Reach Dam and Wells Dam, and guide Rod Hammons of Brewster (randr@swift-stream.com) said fishing just below Wells has been fair to good. He said most fishermen are either backtrolling diving plugs, or drifting float/jig setups in faster water 5 to 12 feet deep. “The steelhead are larger this year, so I’ll be doing more fishing for them,” Hammons said.

NO SHOW

The annual Monroe sportsmen’s show sank without a trace when Snohomish County and Evergreen State Fair officials apparently were not eager to go out of their way to resolve scheduling conflicts, and so the only O’Loughlin Trade Show event in Western Washington this year will be at the Puyallup fairgrounds Jan. 21-25. Bill O’Loughlin, in Portland, said the conflict involved his show and a locally-produced RV show and that, in his opinion, local officials favored the local, much smaller, event.

“They made it so difficult that we decided to just pull out,” O’Loughlin said. “That’s too bad, really. We brought in over 400 exhibitors from Alaska, three Canadian provinces and all the western states, and filled every hotel and motel in Monroe. That’s a lot of people and a lot of money.”

Evergreen Fair officials did not immediately answer requests for comment.

CHUMS

When the rivers drop back into shape, hot chum fishing should be the rule in the Snohomish system and to a lesser degree in the main Stilly. The Skagit, due to a run now deemed to be insufficient to meet the spawning goal, went to catch and release on chums as of Nov. 10.

While you’re waiting, try the beach fishery at the Hoodsport Hatchery on Hood Canal. State checks there tallied 91 anglers with 177 chums on Saturday. That’s hot fishing, folks, even though it’s not a particularly esthetic scenario.

DERBY FULL

The upscale Roche Harbor Salmon Classic Invitational sold out by Nov. 5, more than a month earlier than last year, according to organizer Debbie Sandwith at Roche Harbor. She encourages interested (albeit tardy) fishermen to put their names on the waiting list, because entrants have until Jan. 15 to cancel with full refund, and there are normally at least a few cancellations. Call her at 360-378-5562, or e-mail market@rocheharbor.com.

BITS AND PIECES

Slow blackmouth fishing in Marine Area 9 as weekend checks at the Port of Everett ramp showed 30 fishermen with two chinook, and at the Kingston ramp, 11 with one fish. Good smelt jigging continues on the incoming and high tide at Cornet Bay, off Deception Pass State Park pier. Dirty rivers and slow on the saltchuck? Try some late-season trout fishing at Lone or Pass lakes, where fly anglers are hitting rainbow to 20 inches and a few browns (at Pass); Lake Goodwin, stillfishing with bait, for ‘bows to 23 inches; trolling Lake Washington along the floating bridges for cutthroat from 14 or 15 inches to 5-plus pounds; or Rufus Woods reservoir on the Columbia above Chief Joseph Dam, where guides are touting 50-plus-fish days for triploid rainbow averaging 4 or 5 pounds.

Any negatives? Yep. Mike Chamberlain at Ted’s (above) said, “If you’re in the mood for a little calamari, you’re going to have to buy the makings. Squid jigging in most of the Sound has been pretty much nonexistent so far this fall.”