Fishing Report 1/9/12
Fishing Report 1/9/12
The usual, mid-winter, broken-record reports of little to no fish being caught (on the few days anglers have had to hit the water with all the windy weather) are sadly going to continue for this issue. The past 3 weeks have seen 3 keepers weighed in for the Elger Bay running derby, but the good news is they’ve been decent size: a 10lb, a 7lb and an 8lb; all Blackmouth caught in the south-end holes of Greenbank, Elger Bay and in front of the State Park boat launch. The good news is that we usually see better fishing in the spring than in December; let’s hope that holds true this year.
Dungeness Crabbing is now closed until Summer so you’d better not be seen dropping any crab pots unless you want your gear confiscated and an $89 PER CRAB ticket.
Things to look forward to this spring include:
~ Blackmouth Salmon continues until April 30th; daily limit of 2
~ Spot shrimping will open for at least 1 day in May; details TBA
~ Halibut and Lingcod will be open sometime in May/June; details TBA
~ Sturgeon is open year-round but should start really heating up in February(assuming of course the WDFW doesn’t succeed with their sneaky, illogical, corrupt plan to close Sturgeon fishing to recreational anglers when we only account for a tiny fraction of the Sturgeon that are harvested each year)
Sporting Goods – Year-end Clearance!
In case you haven’t looked around lately, I wanted to point out some of the smokin’ deals Elger Bay Grocery has on sporting goods right now to clear out inventory:
All Kershaw & BUCK knives are 30% off
Lamiglas Rods for just $64
Ugly Stik Rods for just $56
Women’s Camano Island Hats Buy 1 get 1 FREE
All Buzz Bombs are half price
One pair left of Audio/Video Sunglasses for $129.99(reg $199) Complete Crab Pot Setups just $44.99(reg $59)
Save $30-$70 on various Airsoft Guns
And lots more but only while supplies last!
Fishing Report 12/5/11
For a nice change of pace, the fishing report last week was actually very good. While crabbers are still catching enough Dungies to fill their dinner plates, Blackmouth fishermen had decent success around Elger Bay, Sandy Beach and in front of the State Park boat launch. Several fish each day were brought in and weighed at the store, with many more shakers and natives thrown back those same days. Most of the success was had trolling with spoons and herring near the bottom.
Glen is still in the lead of the Elger Bay running derby with his 15 pounder, but the competition is hot on his tail! One new participant landed a 19lb keeper but had just signed up for the derby that morning so we couldn’t weigh his fish for the contest. He vowed to keep at it though!
Crabbing closes at the end of this month but Chinook Salmon will stay open until April 30th.
Biggest Gift SALE of the Season
Who wants to save money while NOT getting trampled by the crowds next weekend? Click the link below to see our flyer for next weekend… in a nutshell: we’re having our BIGGEST GIFT SALE of the season next weekend. So avoid the crowds and shop local!
Fishing Report 11/14/11
The first couple weeks of Winter Blackmouth fishing have not been bad at all(especially compared to last year’s opener). Tons of Salmon are being caught daily(weather permitting) on a variety of spoons or herring, especially in Elger Bay. However, I should point out that the “tons of Salmon” includes a lot of shakers(Salmon too small to keep), which are still fun to catch and at least provide something to do while you let your crab pots soak. And yes, most people are still catching their daily limit of Dungies. That being said, quite a few keepers have also been brought in and weighed these past 3 weeks, including a 15lb 8oz Blackmouth caught by Glen Helton that won the Bayside Marine derby and is the current leader in Elger Bay Grocery’s running derby, which goes from now until April 30th and is just $10 per angler to get in.
Popular gear choices include: red racer, white lightning, army truck, irish cream and cookies & cream Coho Killers or Kingfisher spoons and irish cream “tailwaggers”. Flasher choices include: red racer, green/glow, green haze, army truck and purple haze 11″ flashers. Most commonly your leader length should be between 42″-46″ and you should troll slower than you would for Coho or Pinks(approx 2.5 mph).”
Fishing Report 11/4/11
After 4 days of fishing, tons of Winter Blackmouth are being caught!!! Sadly, most of them are not legal, but they’re close. Almost everyone I’ve talked to says they are catching 10 or more shakers per trip, many of them measuring just under 22″. That being said, we have had a few fish weighed in for our running Winter Blackmouth Derby(which you can still join for just $10 per person and runs until April 30th):
Frank Hunt – 9lb 8oz
Dennis Hoggarth – 5lb 13oz
Dan Rommel – 4lb
Mike Navarre – 3lb 12oz
At least one of those fish was caught inside Elger Bay on a Coyote spoon behind a Hot Spot flasher. Other popular choices for Blackmouth include: White Lightning, Irish Cream, Army Truck and Purple Haze Coho Killers & Kingfisher spoons behind Purple Haze, Red Racer or Green Glow 11″ flashers. Your leader should be anywhere from 42″-48″ depending on your preference and make sure you troll slower than you would for Coho or Pinks.
DON’T FORGET: CRABBING IS OPEN! 7 days a week until December 31st with a 5 per person daily limit, minimum 6 1/4″ and males with hard shells only.
Elger Bay’s “Running” Winter Blackmouth Derby
What do we mean by “running”? That means that it isn’t just one or two days like most derbies; this derby starts on November 1st and doesn’t end until April 30th next year(the close of the season)! And you can weigh in a fish every day that you catch one(obviously it has to be a different fish each time) at any time we are open, which is 6am – 9pm, 7 days a week.
All WDFW rules apply and fish must be from the saltwater in marine areas 8-1, 8-2 or 9; no river fish will be accepted. The entry fee is just $10 per person regardless of age and everyone in the boat must be entered for the fish to be valid. And the best part? 100% of the entry fees collected will be given away as prize money!
Sign ups start now and don’t end until the derby is over, but if you sign up after October 31st, you have to wait 2 days before a fish can be weighed in to prevent cheating. So get in to the store and sign up today!
Dungeness Crabbing Reopens?
See the Fish & Wildlife memo below for details, but the short story is: Crabbing is reopening in our areas on Saturday, October 8th at 8am and it will stay open 7 days a week until December 31st! Come in today to get your Winter Crabbing Catch Record Card, bait, any gear you need, ice and of course:
our ethanol-free gasoline!
WDFW NEWS RELEASE
Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife
600 Capitol Way North, Olympia, WA 98501-1091
http://wdfw.wa.gov/
October 6, 2011
Contact: Steve Burton, (425) 775-1311 ext. 126Several areas of Puget Sound reopen Oct. 8
for late-season crab fishingOLYMPIA – Seven marine areas of Puget Sound will reopen for recreational crab fishing Oct. 8, while two others will reopen Nov. 21, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) announced today. The openings were approved by fishery managers after summer catch assessments by WDFW indicated more crab are available for harvest, said Rich Childers, shellfish policy coordinator for the department.
Waters reopening to sport crabbing Oct. 8 at 8 a.m. include marine areas 4 (Neah Bay), 5 (Sekiu), 6 (eastern Strait of Juan de Fuca), 7 (San Juan Islands), 8-1 (Deception Pass, Hope Island, and Skagit Bay), 8-2 (Port Susan and Port Gardner), and a portion of Marine Area 9 (Admiralty Inlet) north of a line that extends from Olele Point to Foulweather Bluff.
Marine areas 11 (Tacoma-Vashon Island) and 13 (South Puget Sound) will reopen for sport crabbing at 8 a.m. on Nov. 21.
In each area, crabbing will be allowed seven days a week through Dec. 31.
Sport crabbing will not reopen this year in marine areas 10 (Seattle/Bremerton Area), 12 (Hood Canal) and the portion of marine area 9 south of line that extends from Olele Point to Foulweather Bluff. The annual quotas in those areas were reached during the summer fishery, said Childers.
The daily catch limit in Puget Sound is five Dungeness crab, males only, in hard-shell condition with a minimum carapace width of 6¼ inches. In addition, fishers may catch six red rock crab of either sex per day, provided those crab measure at least 5 inches across. Additional information is available on the WDFW website at http://wdfw.wa.gov/fishing/shellfish/crab/.
All crab caught in the late-season fishery should be recorded on winter catch cards, which are valid until Dec. 31. Winter cards are available at license vendors across the state. Those catch reports are due to WDFW by Feb. 1, 2012. For more information on catch record cards, visit WDFW’s website at http://wdfw.wa.gov/fishing/shellfish/crab/crc.html .
SALE on fishing gear…
SALMON-SEASON SLOWDOWN SALE:
Slower Sales for us = $avings for You!
All: Rod/Reel combos, Buzz Bombs & bumpers, Dick Nites, Blue Fox spinners, “red” hooks and “pink” jigs, squids &
flasher/squid combos are 30% OFF!
But only while supplies last…
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