Fishing
Fishing report: Unique resort for sale

By Mark Yuasa
Seattle Times staff reporter

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Anyone with some spare change — about $3.8 million, to be precise — can purchase a world-class 20-acre fishing resort at Sekiu in the Strait of Juan de Fuca.

Olson's Resort, a family-owned business since 1936, is up for sale on eBay.com. The beautiful, unique property comes with all the bells and whistles for fishing in some of the most pristine parts of the Olympic Peninsula.

"We've been talking about selling the resort for a long time, and we just decided to see if there was any interest," said Donnalynn Olson. "It was a hard decision for us, but we thought it would be a good opportunity for somebody else to take over, and it may or may not happen. We'll see."

The resort has a 14-unit motel, dozens of RV spaces and acres of campsites, a handful of cabins and houses, a huge marina with transient moorage, and a well-equipped main store and office.

In addition, this resort has perhaps the most unique feature of any Northwestern commercial property — its own breakwater, constructed over many years by the Olson family, which would cost millions of dollars to build these days. The breakwater is over 1,000 feet in length and shelters the entire marina.

Details: www.olsonsresort.com or 360-963-2311.

Top spots of the week

Elliott Bay for chinook: The inner-bay king fishery opens tomorrow, and fishing should be fairly good at places like Todd Shipyards, off Salty's Restaurant, off Pier 91, near the west and east waterways and off Duwamish Head marker.

Fishing is allowed Fridays to Sundays only through Aug. 22. Anglers can fish east of a line from Duwamish Head north to Pier 91. Daily limit is two fish.

Neah Bay, La Push, Westport and Ilwaco for chinook and coho: "The big story this week is there are a bunch of kings out on the ocean prairie about 28 miles from Tatoosh (Island) at a place called Blue Dot," said Tony Floor, director of fishing affairs for Northwest Marine Trade Association. "Some said the king fishing rivaled that of Sitka (Alaska), and people were releasing chinook under 25 pounds, and keeping others up to 38 pounds."
 
At Neah Bay, the average was 1.3 fish per person, and the bulk was coho averaging 5 pounds. The coho mark rate (fish with a missing adipose fin) was about 25 percent. At La Push, anglers averaged 0.66 fish per person, and it was an even mix of coho and chinook.

In the southcentral coast, Westport finally came to life for kings. Those who stayed close to port scored well.

"I heard of anglers doing well at end of last week along North Beach off Ocean Shores in 30 feet of water," Floor said. "I know of a person who hooked and released 17 chinook on Sunday."

At Westport the average was 0.81 fish per rod and most were coho in the 6- to 7-pound range, and chinook averaged 12 pounds. The mark rate for coho was a little under 50 percent.

"Ilwaco had a pretty good week and effort increased with an average of 1.48 fish per person, and almost all were coho," said Wendy Beeghly, a state Fish and Wildlife biologist. "I was there last weekend and saw some huge coho in the 8- to 9-pound range with an average weight of 6 to 7 pounds."

Puget Sound, San Juan Islands and Hood Canal for salmon: "A little bit slower over the weekend, but still not bad and we saw about 10 to 15 each day caught mostly off Clay Banks and slag pile," said Tim Hartman, manager of the Point Defiance Park Boathouse in Tacoma.

Other areas fair for chinook are south of Southworth ferry landing, Dolphin Point off Vashon Island, Point Dalco off Vashon Island, Point Robinson, Des Moines-Redondo area, and Condo Drift south of Brace Point.

In Central Puget Sound (Area 10), catch-and-release king fishing remains fairly good off Point Monroe, Jefferson Head and Kingston. Anglers in Area 10 may retain coho in their catch.

Northern Puget Sound and Admiralty Inlet (Area 9) opens for coho fishing tomorrow. Try off Possession Bar, Point No Point, Bush Point, Double Bluff, Midchannel Bank and the southeast corner of Whidbey Island.

The San Juan Islands have been fair from Lime-Kiln Point to Cattle Point, westside of Hein Bank, and the northern part of Orcas Island off Point Lawrence. In Hood Canal fishing remains spotty at places south of Ayock Point.

Sekiu and Port Angeles for hatchery-marked chinook: "Fishing has been pretty good this week: Nothing hot, but our largest (hatchery-marked) king was a 48-pounder, and a lot of other kings are being released along with some nice silvers for this time of the year," Olson said. "We're also seeing some big halibut, and fishing for them is open through Aug. 14."

At Port Angeles and Freshwater Bay, anglers continue to catch a fair number of hatchery-marked kings and coho.

Lower Columbia, Cowlitz and North Fork Lewis rivers for steelhead and chinook: "Still very good for steelhead in the Cowlitz, and (three-fish daily) limits are no problem," Floor said.

"Including fish released, anglers averaged a summer steelhead per about every six rods," said Joe Hymer, a state Fish and Wildlife biologist. "Best catches were from Longview downstream."

Other fishing spots

Local rivers for chinook and steelhead: "The Sky (Skykomish River) got a nice shot of steelhead and a whole bunch of kings returned to the hatchery after that last shot of rain," said Bryan Nelson at Three Rivers Marine and Tackle in Woodinville.

Slow for sockeye in the Baker River. The North Fork Stillaguamish is slow to fair for steelhead catch-and-release fly fishermen. The Green River remains slow for steelhead. The Wynoochee is a fair bet for steelhead.

Tulalip Bay: The terminal chinook fishery is spotty, and just a few kings are being landed each day. Open Fridays to Mondays.

Cedar River for trout: Fair to good catch-and-release fly fishing. Fishing is open from the mouth to a few hundred yards below Landsburg Dam.

Coastal rivers: Low water levels in all rivers continues to create havoc on steelhead fishing in Soleduck, Hoh, Calawah and Bogachiel.

Kalama River: Fair to good for steelhead.

Lake Washington: "A lot of big perch showing in Lake Washington at Leschi, Mount Baker, Madison Park, Madrona and Coulon Park," said Jerry Beppu, owner of Linc's Tackle Shop in Seattle. "Cutthroat fishing is very good, and some of our customers are limiting fairly fast."

Mark Yuasa: 206-464-8780 or myuasa@seattletimes.com