Spring fishing in and around Emdonds, WA is here!
You can now get your fill of halibut, lingcod, trout, spot shrimp and razor clams. Lingcod fishing opened on Tuesday and should provide healthy catches this season. In addition to areas just off the Edmonds Marina, you can try the green buoys off of Alki Point and Shilshole Marina and Elliott Bay in Seattle. Scatchet Head and Possession Bar off the south side of Whidbey Island are also known to be catch areas.
I had hoped to do some halibut fishing myself this weekend but was not able to get away. The Strait of Juan de Fuca off Port Angeles should be good. Folks caught nearly 46,000 pounds last season and this season should be similiar (last year's quota was 58,000 pounds). Halibut season is open now through June 2. Coastal fisheries are also open in certain areas (think Ilwaca, Westport, Neah Bay, Seiku, etc).
The final razor clam dig of the season will be Saturday, May 5 through Monday, May 7. It is only open at Twin Harbors and closes at noon each day. The fall season schedule will be determined.... in the fall (usually late Sept, early Oct).
If you dont' have the gear or time to do some open water fishing, consider trout. Plenty of stocked lakes in western part of the state. Trout season opened on April 28. Anglers heading out this spring can expect to reel in larger-than-usual trout in regional lakes with more than three million hatchery-reared trout averaging 11-13 inches — two to three inches longer than last year’s average!!
There’ll be an uptick in regional fishing opportunity on Memorial Day weekend, because a number of lakes in King and Snohomish counties will be stocked with more catchable trout prior to the holiday. In and around Edmonds, the following lakes are stocked (month and number of fish are in parentheses):
- Lake Ballinger (1,275 fish on May 1 & 800 fish stocked on May 2)
- Echo Lake off Hwy 99 (May: 100 fish)
- Silver Lake in Everett (409 in April, 180 in May)
Key dates for fisheries opening in May include:
- May 1 – Lingcod fishing opens in Puget Sound. Also spring chinook fishing opens on the Chehalis River.
- May 3 – Halibut fishing opens in Marine Areas 6-10 in Puget Sound. Halibut fishing also opens in Marine Area 1 off the south coast (Ilwaco).
- May 5-7 – Last razor-clam dig of the season, at Twin Harbors only.
- May 5 – Shrimp fishing opens in areas of Puget Sound.
- May 6 – Halibut fishing opens in Marine Area 2 off the south coast (Westport and Ocean Shores)
- May 10 – Halibut fishing opens in marine areas 3 and 4 off the north coast (La Push/Neah Bay).
- May 24 – Halibut fishing opens in Marine Area 5 (Sekiu/Pillar Point)
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