Opening day of the 2015 recreational halibut season found every charterboat in the Westport Marina on the high seas, along with hundreds of private craft that launched from Saturday afternoon through the wee hours of Sunday morning to allow plenty of time to get to the fishing grounds and back in a day.
The weather was good, the waves were manageable and the halibut were biting. Nearly every boat limited with a halibut-around for all aboard, along with some great other catches, as well, including some sizeable lingcod.
Derby winner
The opening day winner in the Westport Charterboat Association Halibut Derby was Justin Leritz of Edgewood. His catch weighed an even 50 pounds. He took home the $500 daily halibut derby prize. Leritz caught his winner aboard the Charterboat Sea Angel with Captain Brian Mirante.
Short season
This very popular fishery is also a very limited one, hence the big push on opening day every year to get out there and score. The South Coast (Marine Area 2 out of Westport) halibut quota this year is 42,739 pounds. Typically, an average halibut in our area weighs 15-18 pounds headed and gutted. If those figures are converted to numbers of fish, managers are expecting around 2,400 to 2,900 halibut this season.
Because the pressure on the resource is always so strong, fishing is limited to Sundays and Tuesdays until the quota is caught, with the exception of closures on May 24 and 26 – if the quota hasn’t been met before then.
Four-day check
With four fishing days completed, weather permitting, on Wednesday, May 13, there will likely be a conference call with halibut managers to determine if there are sufficient numbers of fish remaining in the quota for additional days. Contact any local booking services late that Wednesday to get updated season info, particularly regarding Sunday, May 17.
