Planning a Fourth of July event could be a bit more complicated this year, with popular seasons for crab and summer salmon opening July 1. The San Juan Island and Strait of Juan de Fuca salmon seasons should draw a lot of attention, but the gorilla fishery will be the recreational crab opener in local waters.
Marine Areas 8-1 (Deception Pass to East Point), 8-2 (East Point to Possession Point), 9 (Admiralty Inlet), 10 and 11 open at 7 a.m. on July 1, Wednesdays through Saturdays only, plus the entire Labor Day weekend. The schedule calls for the fishery to close Sept. 6 for a catch assessment, with a possible autumn reopening if enough quota remains.
Sport crabbers in Puget Sound are required to record their Dungeness crab catch on two separate catch-record cards, one summer and one fall/winter, and failure to file the reports results in a $10 fine, imposed when buying next year’s fishing license.
“It always surprises me how well crab populations maintain themselves here, considering the enormous participation we have in the commercial and recreational fisheries,” said state crab manager Steve Burton at the agency’s Mill Creek office.
Burton said last year’s crab season locally was a good one, and he looks for a repeat this year.
“Populations are looking good again, particularly in 8-1 and 8-2,” he said. “Port Susan was down for a few years, but it’s come back pretty well and I don’t see any other trouble spots except for the low-oxygen problem in Hood Canal. Crabbers should do well locally this season.”
Remember that crabbing in the San Juan Islands does not open until July 14.
Mike Chamberlain, owner of Ted’s Sport Center in Lynnwood, said good local bets for the crab opener include the Picnic Point/Shipwreck area; the Howarth Park shoreline; the northwest corner of Camano Island (usually very productive, Chamberlain said); Port Susan, from Kayak Point south; the Clinton to Langley section of the east Whidbey shoreline; Cultus Bay on the south end of Whidbey; and the Kingston area on the Kitsap Peninsula.
Chamberlain said crab can be taken anywhere from 30 to 150 feet deep, but said the 100- to 120-foot depth is usually a good bet. His favorite bait is a fresh salmon carcass, but he said the more readily available chicken or turkey drumsticks are popular alternatives.
Strait salmon
State Department of Fish and Wildlife biologists have said this looks to be a very good chinook summer in most parts of the state, which could mean an even better fishery for marked hatchery kings along the Strait of Juan de Fuca than last year’s excellent season. The 2009 fishery out of Sekiu was so good, in fact, that the state closed it several days early, according to Chris Mohr at Van Riper’s Resort (360-963-2334). Mohr looks for plenty of fish to be available right from the July 1 opener.
The major attraction at Sekiu is the fact that it’s a top fishery for those with small boats, since it’s relatively protected from prevailing southerly winds, close to shore, and close to ramps and services.
“The Caves, one of our more popular fishing spots, is only 700 or 800 yards from the end of our dock,” Mohr said.
Hatchery kings coming down the Strait should run from 6 to about 20 pounds and average 12 or 14 pounds, Mohr said. Anything much over 20 pounds probably will be a wild fish, requiring release. He said the mark rate last year was a little difficult to judge, but he estimated it was about 50 to 60 percent of the fish hooked and played in the Sekiu area.
Most anglers troll with downriggers, Mohr said, and use a flasher setup with spoons, hoochies, or Ace Hi flies in green or green/black. A significant minority still go with the traditional plug-cut herring and 3 or 4 ounces of lead, motor mooching east-west with the tidal run.
San Juan Islands salmon
The July 1 salmon opener in the islands is another king fishery that has been productive from the get-go the past couple of years and indications from the ongoing Canadian fishery off Vancouver Island — which is above average so far this year — sound positive. Both Washington chinook and fish headed for the Fraser River are taken in the islands, including a few of the famous Fraser “white kings.”
Stuart Forst at Holiday Sports in Burlington said a few of the more popular areas for this fishery include Eagle Point; the whole southwest side of San Juan Island, from the lime kiln down to Cattle Point; Hein and Salmon (the west side) banks; the east side of Blakely; Tide Point and Eagle Bluff; and Point Lawrence.
“Actually the whole Rosario Strait is a good bet,” Forst said. “That’s the area Jay Fields had targeted for his now-defunct upscale derby.”
For an expanded version of Outdoor Outlook, visit www.heraldnet.com.
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