The season for halibut opened on February 01st and it is already clear that the halibut are here. We were out fishing yesterday and limited out (4 fish) in a few hours. The warm weather, good tides and excellent fishing are making the the beginning of this fishing season a special treat. This is the best start to the halibut fishing season that I have seen in my 20 years of fishing this area.

I recently learned that the Halibut fishing season for our area opens on February 01st. That may change, but at this time that is what’s happening. The limit for Halibut will be one fish per day per person with a two day limit. Rumors suggest that this limit may remain in effect for the entire season as a result of a halibut quota reduction for both the Canadian commercial fishery and sport fishery this year.
The weather over the past while has been unpredictable, but when we have been able to get on the water, the fishing for winter Chinooks has been excellent. Reasonable size, 7 to 20 lbs with lots of action.

Halibut fishing continues to be exceptional. On recent trips we have had one hali but over 100 lbs, one 70 and numerous in the 20 to 60 lb range. It doesn’t get much better.

Chinook Salmon fishing catches are now more consistent, with fish up to 40 lbs. While the economic turn down is having a slow down effect on travelers, it would appear, at least in the early stages, that this year could be one of our best seasons for both Halibut and Salmon fishing in recent years.

Halibut fishing continues to be excellent, fifteen Halibut in the last three trips. The average size of the fish are a bit smaller than past years, but there are more fish.

Salmon fishing has really started to pick up in the last ten days with a number of Chinooks being caught  weighing up to 30 pounds. With it being a year for Pink Salmon and rumors that a decent Sockeye run will be returning through the Strait of Juan De Fuca this year, the season is begining to look very promising.

Another awesome week of halibut fishing with some of the best weather of the season. Good catches through the week and then the “Just for the Halibut Derby” on the weekend. We ended up in 7th place out of 475 entrants with an 84 pounder. There were 150 fish weighed in over the two days, the winning fish weighed in at just over 122 lbs.

Fished for Halibut on Wednesday of last week and picked up two on a tide change that just didn’t happen. Was back out for Halibut on Sunday and picked up four in a couple of hours…….one in the 30’s, two in the mid 40’s and one in the low 70’s…..that is amazing fishing for mid March. It looks like we are in for another great halibut fishing year.

 Meanwhile, Salmon fishing has been steady when the tides have been good. Catches have been consistent, with fish ranging from 7 lbs to 18 lbs.

The season for Halibut fishing officially opened on March 01. The limit for Halibut is one per person per day, with a two day limit. The herring are migrating up the Gorge to spawn, which means the Halibut are also moving into the Strait of Juan De Fuca to feed for the summer.

Winter Chinook fishing has been good for those of us who don’t mind cold weather and wind. We anticipate a stronger run of Chinook salmon this summer and of course, this is a year for Pink salmon. All an all, 2009 should afford excellent opportunities for both salmon and halibut fishers.

The halibut fishing has been incredible so far this season. Catches have been consistent with fish ranging in size up to 100 lbs. This past week I was out on two halibut charters, limiting out on each trip, the last trip we had  Halibut weighing 90, 75, 45 and three in the 20’s, for a total of 270 lbs. On Sept 08th two local fishermen  were out and bagged a halibut weighing 323 lbs……that is a huge fish.

Salmon fishing for Chinook have been spotty with catches varying from day to day, of course the Orcas have not helped with their appearance on a frequent, almost daily basis.

The northern Coho are just starting to arrive in numbers and should peak towards mid October. Early rains could move that date up by a week or so.