Fishers looking forward to last Saturday’s opening day of the 2013 recreational salmon fishing season were faced with some challenges.
While the weather onshore was pleasantly dry and offered sunshine, offshore winds and high waves at the change of tide created havoc on the Grays Harbor Bar.
The seas were running high enough that they forced an early morning bar closure. At about 4:45 a.m., the U.S. Coast Guard placed bar-crossing restrictions on all vessels 30 feet long or less.
With high hopes for a lift in the bar closure by the time they loaded passengers and cleared the Westport Marina, many charter and private boats headed out shortly after 6 a.m. only to find themselves forced to cool their props for nearly two hours in a loosely formed circular parade in Half Moon Bay.
Once the ebb subsided at about 8 a.m., the bar settled down and the Coast Guard opened the crossing for boats at least 30 feet in length while continuing to restrict craft 20 feet or less from traveling west beyond Buoy 11.
To make matters even more frustrating, once the boats got out on Saturday, catches for the day were less than stellar, with the average a bit less than one per angler
The bar closed again for 30 feet or less boats on the afternoon tide at approximately 5:15 p.m., long after charter boats and most private fishers were off the water.
That restriction remained in effect for approximately 3 hours.
Tuesday brought another early morning bar closure that restricted boats 22 feet or shorter from going beyond Buoy 11 between 5 a.m. and 8 a.m.
The weather remained good and the bar passable for all boats on Tuesday and yesterday, but fishing remained spotty with salmon elusive.
This Chinook selective fishery runs daily and will last through Saturday, June 22. During this fishery, you may hook and keep 2 hatchery Chinook. Hatchery fish are identified by a healed spot where the adipose fin was. If the fin is intact, they must be released.