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HOLIDAY SPORTS 895 NEVITT ROAD BURLINGTON, WA 98233 360-757-4361
holiday_sports@yahoo.com
STORE HOURS SUNDAY 7:00-5:00 MONDAY- FRIDAY 7:00-7:00 SATURDAY 6:00-7:00
March 26, 2014
Unbelievably it’s almost April and things are really heating up here in the PNW. Too many openers and opportunities to count are just around the corner! Take this weekend’s Anacortes Salmon Derby for example, or maybe turkey, shrimp, lingcod, halibut and trout openers in just the next few weeks. I love spring!
Regulation Updates Salmon in the Salt-
Marine Areas 8-1 & 8-2 are open for salmon through April 30th with a daily limit of 2 hatchery Chinook with a minimum size of 22 inches. Area 6 remains open but only through April 10th.
Marine Area 7 is open through April but has dropped to 1 hatchery fish of at least 22 inches in length as of Monday February 24th.
Marine Area 9 (Admiralty Inlet) reopened on January 16th and runs through April 15th with the same 22 inch minimum length however the limit has been reduced to 1 fish.
Lowland Lakes-
Most of the lakes across the state closed to fishing back in October but many of our local lakes remain open on a year-round basis. Among those are Lake Cavanaugh, Big Lake, Clear Lake, Lake Campbell, Lake Samish and Pass Lake. These fisheries remain relatively slow as the cold weather has kept waters cold and fish lethargic. This year’s Lowland Lake Opener is April 26th.
Lingcod-
The general Lingcod opener will again be May 1st and run through June 15th with a 26”-36” slot limit, lingcod may only be harvested/targeted in waters less than 120ft in depth.
Halibut-
While the dates have yet to be officially released Halibut season in our local waters will open in early May, unofficially the rumor is that the first opener will be May 9th.
Shrimp-
The 2014 Recreational Shrimp Fishery is set begin at 7:00AM on Saturday May 3rd in most of local waters. Seasons will be very similar to last year, for specific dates in your area take a look at the WDFW website at http://wdfw.wa.gov/fishing/shellfish/shrimp/
Stanwood Eagles Derby-
The 27th Annual Blackmouth Derby will be held April 12th and 13th at the Stanwood Eagles. A $50 entry will get you in with 45% of the total entry going to the winner and a total pay-out of 95% of ticket sales. Tickets are available here at Holiday Sports as well as the Stanwood Eagles, Ted’s Sports Center, John’s Sporting Goods, Camano Marine and the Elger Bay Store.
Closures/Regulation Changes Skagit River -
The Skagit is only open on the lower river from the mouth upstream to the Memorial Hwy Bridge under selective gear regulations. This means you will be restricted to one single-point barbless hook and no bait or scent. The whole of the system will reopen on the general opener in early June.
Marine Area 9-
The daily limit has dropped from 2 hatchery Chinook to 1 as wild fish encounters rapidly approach their limit. Check out the WDFW website at https://fortress.wa.gov/dfw/erules/efishrules/
Marine Area 7-
The daily limit for Chinook in the San Juans has been reduced from 2 hatchery fish to 1 as of Monday Feb 24th. Again, good fishing has shown wild fish encounters to reaching their maximum allowable level. Be sure to check out the WDFW website (https://fortress.wa.gov/dfw/erules/efishrules/) for updates and regulation changes.
CHECK THIS OUT Anacortes Salmon Derby is SOLD OUT!
The Eigth Annual Anacortes Salmon Derby will be held this weekend, March 29th & 30th. In addition to $25,000 in guaranteed purse money there are special prize categories for Women, Youth, and Active Military. Also included with your ticket are: Free launching at Cap Sante Marina (bunk trailers are OK); three night’s moorage; GAFFF (a free, Friday night fishing film festival); a Saturday night no-host social (with snacks); and a Sunday BBQ lunch.
Hosted by volunteer members of the Fidalgo-San Juan Islands Chapter of the Puget Sound Anglers, this event raises needed funds for scholarships that benefit students pursuing careers in fishery management and related science. Nearly $200,000 in scholarships and grants have been awarded to date. For more information, please go to: www.anacortessalmonderby.com
FRESHWATER FISHING REPORTS
Lake Samish-
Still quite cold up at Samish, surface temperatures are in the mid-forties but look for things to improve drastically as temperatures slide upward of the 50 degree mark. A few more weeks of moderate weather should get us over the hump in time to hit Samish prior to the lowland lake opener.
SKAGIT-
The Skagit River system is open only from the mouth to the Memorial Highway Bridge under selective gear rules. This means no bait, no scent, and single-point barbless hooks only. The regulations seem a bit tough but fishing has actually been pretty good on the lower river in the past week or so despite heavy rains. You will always see the ol’ boys fishing spinners but the hot ticket of late has been crazy eggs, they’re soft rubber single eggs with tails. These guys can be fished behind a Spin ‘n’ Glo or drifted by themselves and are deadly on cuts and dollies as well. Speaking of dollies, it’s prime time! One of my favorite things to do in early spring is fish the Northfork from forks down towards Conway. Small weighted spoons like Krocodiles and Little Cleos work very well in whites and metallic finishes alike.
SALTWATER FISHING REPORTS
Marine Area 7-
Blackmouth reports have quite literally disappeared this week….. almost like there is derby on the horizon. However a few guys have reluctantly given up some information and it does sound like there are a few decent fish in Rosario, not surprising since the top three fish last year came from Pt. Lawrence, Obstruction Pass and Tide Point
Smelt-
Reports have been pretty “So So” in the last few weeks until Friday when good numbers showed at Oak Harbor. Friday saw lots of herring, Saturday was about 50-50 herring to smelt and Sunday was almost entirely smelt. By the sounds of it a #5 Gamakatsu Jig and heavy chumming are the way to go.
EMAIL SIGN-UP
Send an email to holidaysportshop-subscribe@yahoogroups.com to get yourself added to our weekly email newsletter. (This is the best way!)
holiday_sports@yahoo.com
STORE HOURS SUNDAY 7:00-5:00 MONDAY- FRIDAY 7:00-7:00 SATURDAY 6:00-7:00
March 26, 2014
Unbelievably it’s almost April and things are really heating up here in the PNW. Too many openers and opportunities to count are just around the corner! Take this weekend’s Anacortes Salmon Derby for example, or maybe turkey, shrimp, lingcod, halibut and trout openers in just the next few weeks. I love spring!
Regulation Updates Salmon in the Salt-
Marine Areas 8-1 & 8-2 are open for salmon through April 30th with a daily limit of 2 hatchery Chinook with a minimum size of 22 inches. Area 6 remains open but only through April 10th.
Marine Area 7 is open through April but has dropped to 1 hatchery fish of at least 22 inches in length as of Monday February 24th.
Marine Area 9 (Admiralty Inlet) reopened on January 16th and runs through April 15th with the same 22 inch minimum length however the limit has been reduced to 1 fish.
Lowland Lakes-
Most of the lakes across the state closed to fishing back in October but many of our local lakes remain open on a year-round basis. Among those are Lake Cavanaugh, Big Lake, Clear Lake, Lake Campbell, Lake Samish and Pass Lake. These fisheries remain relatively slow as the cold weather has kept waters cold and fish lethargic. This year’s Lowland Lake Opener is April 26th.
Lingcod-
The general Lingcod opener will again be May 1st and run through June 15th with a 26”-36” slot limit, lingcod may only be harvested/targeted in waters less than 120ft in depth.
Halibut-
While the dates have yet to be officially released Halibut season in our local waters will open in early May, unofficially the rumor is that the first opener will be May 9th.
Shrimp-
The 2014 Recreational Shrimp Fishery is set begin at 7:00AM on Saturday May 3rd in most of local waters. Seasons will be very similar to last year, for specific dates in your area take a look at the WDFW website at http://wdfw.wa.gov/fishing/shellfish/shrimp/
Stanwood Eagles Derby-
The 27th Annual Blackmouth Derby will be held April 12th and 13th at the Stanwood Eagles. A $50 entry will get you in with 45% of the total entry going to the winner and a total pay-out of 95% of ticket sales. Tickets are available here at Holiday Sports as well as the Stanwood Eagles, Ted’s Sports Center, John’s Sporting Goods, Camano Marine and the Elger Bay Store.
Closures/Regulation Changes Skagit River -
The Skagit is only open on the lower river from the mouth upstream to the Memorial Hwy Bridge under selective gear regulations. This means you will be restricted to one single-point barbless hook and no bait or scent. The whole of the system will reopen on the general opener in early June.
Marine Area 9-
The daily limit has dropped from 2 hatchery Chinook to 1 as wild fish encounters rapidly approach their limit. Check out the WDFW website at https://fortress.wa.gov/dfw/erules/efishrules/
Marine Area 7-
The daily limit for Chinook in the San Juans has been reduced from 2 hatchery fish to 1 as of Monday Feb 24th. Again, good fishing has shown wild fish encounters to reaching their maximum allowable level. Be sure to check out the WDFW website (https://fortress.wa.gov/dfw/erules/efishrules/) for updates and regulation changes.
CHECK THIS OUT Anacortes Salmon Derby is SOLD OUT!
The Eigth Annual Anacortes Salmon Derby will be held this weekend, March 29th & 30th. In addition to $25,000 in guaranteed purse money there are special prize categories for Women, Youth, and Active Military. Also included with your ticket are: Free launching at Cap Sante Marina (bunk trailers are OK); three night’s moorage; GAFFF (a free, Friday night fishing film festival); a Saturday night no-host social (with snacks); and a Sunday BBQ lunch.
Hosted by volunteer members of the Fidalgo-San Juan Islands Chapter of the Puget Sound Anglers, this event raises needed funds for scholarships that benefit students pursuing careers in fishery management and related science. Nearly $200,000 in scholarships and grants have been awarded to date. For more information, please go to: www.anacortessalmonderby.com
FRESHWATER FISHING REPORTS
Lake Samish-
Still quite cold up at Samish, surface temperatures are in the mid-forties but look for things to improve drastically as temperatures slide upward of the 50 degree mark. A few more weeks of moderate weather should get us over the hump in time to hit Samish prior to the lowland lake opener.
SKAGIT-
The Skagit River system is open only from the mouth to the Memorial Highway Bridge under selective gear rules. This means no bait, no scent, and single-point barbless hooks only. The regulations seem a bit tough but fishing has actually been pretty good on the lower river in the past week or so despite heavy rains. You will always see the ol’ boys fishing spinners but the hot ticket of late has been crazy eggs, they’re soft rubber single eggs with tails. These guys can be fished behind a Spin ‘n’ Glo or drifted by themselves and are deadly on cuts and dollies as well. Speaking of dollies, it’s prime time! One of my favorite things to do in early spring is fish the Northfork from forks down towards Conway. Small weighted spoons like Krocodiles and Little Cleos work very well in whites and metallic finishes alike.
SALTWATER FISHING REPORTS
Marine Area 7-
Blackmouth reports have quite literally disappeared this week….. almost like there is derby on the horizon. However a few guys have reluctantly given up some information and it does sound like there are a few decent fish in Rosario, not surprising since the top three fish last year came from Pt. Lawrence, Obstruction Pass and Tide Point
Smelt-
Reports have been pretty “So So” in the last few weeks until Friday when good numbers showed at Oak Harbor. Friday saw lots of herring, Saturday was about 50-50 herring to smelt and Sunday was almost entirely smelt. By the sounds of it a #5 Gamakatsu Jig and heavy chumming are the way to go.
EMAIL SIGN-UP
Send an email to holidaysportshop-subscribe@yahoogroups.com to get yourself added to our weekly email newsletter. (This is the best way!)