Fishing Report for Dec. 23: Holidays, Seahawks and fishing make for busy weekend

There’s no doubt this weekend will be busy. Saturday is a Christmas Eve, the first day of Hanukkah and an important Seahawks game. And Sunday is Christmas.

Or, as John Albertson of Ted’s Sports Center would describe the weekend: “Guaranteed fishing days.”

With considerably less competition on the water, fishing suddenly becomes a little better, Albertson said.

Here’s a look at some places where you might be able to land a fish for the holidays:

SALTWATER

Clams: The state Department of Fish and Wildlife is adjusting clamming seasons for five beaches. Here’s the new schedule: Fort Flagler, Jan. 1-April 15; Freeland County Park, Jan. 1-May 15; Point Whitney Tidelands, Jan. 1-March 31; Sequim Bay State Park, Jan. 1-June 30; and West Penn Cove, June 1-Dec.31.

North Sound: Anglers have been catching blackmouth near the San Juan Islands. Crabbing has been solid, but squidding is slowing down.

Oysters: The state is changing oyster season on four beaches. Here’s the new schedule: Fort Flagler, Jan. 1-April 15 and July 1-Dec.31; Freeland County Park, Jan. 1-May 15; Sequim Bay State Park, Jan. 1-June 30; and West Penn Cove, June 1-Dec.31.

South Sound: The Point Defiance Boathouse Marina staff says there’s only light pressure of late, but there are fish to be caught. Just not in Marina Area 11 (Tacoma-Vashon Island), which remains closed until Feb.1. Anglers have had luck trolling for chinook near Southworth, Blake Island, Fox Island and Wollochet Bay. Mooching and jigging is also working near Point Gibson. Squid fishing is winding down.

LAKES

American: It’s been slow here as of late.

Harts: Anglers have caught rainbows and crappie.

Lacamas: This Clark County lake was stocked last week with nearly 10,000 rainbow trout.

Spanaway: Earlier in the week, Bud Herlitzka of the Spanaway Lake Boathouse said some anglers are catching rainbow trout off the dock using marshmallows and a 4-foot leader. Gates to the park close at 3 p.m. during the holidays because of Fantasy Lights.

Washington: Anglers are catching cutthroat with perch fishing expected to improve in the coming weeks.

RIVERS

Columbia: Starting Jan. 1, anglers can keep two hatchery adult chinook on the mainstem downstream from the Interstate 5 bridge. The river will be closed upstream from the bridge.

Cowlitz: Last week, six boat anglers had no catches and 35 bank anglers released two fish according to state officials.

Humptulips: Actions has been slow.

Lewis: Starting Jan. 1, the daily limit for adult salmon with be one.

Wynoochee: Some people have caught steelhead while using eggs and shrimp.

LICENSING

The state’s new online hunting and fishing online license sale system debuted this week and officials say all is going well. The system handled more than 1,000 transactions in the first two days.

“This secure, next-generation system will improve service to our customers and to the approximately 600 retailers across the state who partner with us,” Peter Vernie, WDFW’s licensing manager, said in a prepared statement. Vernie says users will only have to log on once with the new system as opposed to multiple times with the previous system.

The previous system was breached earlier this year. The vendor and WDFW notified customers of the breach in September.

The new system can be accessed at fishhunt.dfw.wa.gov.

This story was originally published December 23, 2016 at 1:54 PM with the headline "Fishing Report for Dec. 23: Holidays, Seahawks and fishing make for busy weekend."