Skip navigation

FishingMobile

Halibut fishing so good at Westport that state fisheries will close it down much sooner than expected

Post



The coastal halibut fishery at Westport on Tuesday was so good that state Fish and Wildlife has decided to shut the season down sooner than expected.
 
“They did really well in Westport, but the bad news is they have now caught all of the offshore quota,” said Heather Reed, a state Fish and Wildlife fish resource manager. “(At Westport) they didn’t get too far into the near-shore halibut fishery quota, and we will be able to keep it open and will a weekly check to see how it progresses.”
 
The Westport offshore halibut catch quota was 40,739 pounds, and the near-shore fishery quota is 2,000 pounds.
 
The bad weather and windy conditions along the northern coast during last Saturday’s opener at Neah Bay and La Push slowed down halibut fishing success, but looks better for Thursday’s (May 12) opener as well as Saturday (May 14) too.
 
“The weather forecast this weekend is looking really good at Neah Bay and La Push,” Reed said. “Last Saturday they caught 292 halibut, and it looks like the remaining quota will get them through this week. We will tally the catch next week to see if there is any left after that.”
 
The North Coast halibut catch quota is 108,030 pounds.
 
On the southern coast off Ilwaco, halibut fishing is allowed each week from Thursdays to Sundays only.
 
“We did have some halibut caught (636 pounds) on the May 1 opener, and they have 9,118 pounds remaining in the quota,” Reed said.
 
The halibut fishery in Puget Sound and Strait of Juan de Fuca was also hampered by gusty winds and extreme low tides this past Saturday, but look for improved action when it reopens Thursday through Saturday.
 
“It was a tough fishing show (during this past Saturday’s opener), and at places like the John Wayne Marina (in Sequim) we saw almost twice as many boats turn out than we normally have,” said Larry Bennett, the head state Fish and Wildlife checker in the Strait.
 
While success may have been down in general a good check was seen at Olson’s Resort in Sekiu where 64 boats with 191 anglers on Saturday kept 89 halibut, including one that weighed 109 pounds.
 
“I heard of some that weighed 60 pounds in the Port Angeles area, and one there was a 109 pound halibut landed at Sekiu,” Bennett said.
 
The final inner-waterway halibut opener is May 26-29.
 
Back to the top
There are too many online users to list.
Control functions:

Contract Quick reply