April 3-16, 2002

Contact: Craig Bartlett, (360) 902-2259

The blackmouth are hitting hard in Puget Sound while the catch of spring chinook on the Columbia River is climbing toward what many expect will be a near record. On the coast, a six-day razor clam opening is scheduled to get under way April 12 as hunters prepare for the month-long wild turkey season that begins statewide on April 15. Meanwhile, dozens of lakes throughout the state are being stocked with trout – including more than 50,000 "triploids" averaging 1½ pounds apiece – for the lowland lakes season that opens April 27.

These are just a few of the many recreational opportunities awaiting Washingtonians this month – provided they have a 2002-03 fishing or hunting license. Since 1999, April 1 has marked the beginning of the annual licensing cycle to correspond with spring fishing seasons. Last year's licenses expired March 31.

License fees remain the same as last year: $21.90 for freshwater fishing for resident adults (16-69 years of age); $19.71 for saltwater; $7.67 for shellfish/seaweed, and $39.42 for a combination license for all three activities. Special rates for youth, senior and disabled fishing licenses – as well as hunting licenses – are printed in WDFW's fishing and hunting rule pamphlets, which can also be found on the agency's website at http://wdfw.wa.gov/

"Fishing and hunting licenses are really one of the greatest deals going in this state," said Frank Hawley, WDFW licensing manager. "For the cost of dinner and a movie, individuals and whole families can fish or hunt all year long."

Licenses can be purchased at any one of hundreds of dealers throughout the state, including most sporting goods stores. Licenses can also be purchased over the phone (1-866-246-9453) or through the Internet at http://fishhunt.dfw.wa.gov/.

For those still eager to catch blackmouth, there's no time to waste: Hood Canal closed March 31 and the general season in Puget Sound ends April 10. Razor clam enthusiasts will also want to have their licenses in hand for the six-day razor dig scheduled April 12-17, which may be the last opening of the spring season. (See the South Puget Sound/Olympic Peninsula report below).

Washington's month-long spring wild turkey hunting season opens April 15 with the primary distribution of birds concentrating hunters in the northeast, southeast and southcentral parts of the state. This season has grown in popularity and success along with turkey proliferation; last spring's harvest was near 2,500 birds, more than a five-fold increase in just six years. Hunters can take one gobbler per day and a total of three per year, with restrictions on where those birds can be harvested. For details, see the 2002 Wild Turkey Spring Season rules pamphlet, which is posted on WDFW's website at http://wdfw.wa.gov/wlm/game/water/turkey/

And if you're on the WDFW website, check out the agency's popular EagleCam, which has been activated for the spring nesting season. The website features real-time images of a pair of nesting eagles, now sitting on two new eggs in a Kent cottonwood tree.

Those eager to see some fish and wildlife first-hand may find some useful tips in the regional summaries below.

North Puget Sound:

• Fishing: The winter blackmouth fishery, which ends April 10, appears to be going out on a high note. The fishery began Feb. 16 with lousy weather and slow catch rates, but fishing success has improved significantly, with fish taken in the high ‘teens and above. "Possession Bar and Midchannel Bank have both been infested with blackmouth lately, and the San Juan Islands continue to be good, too," said WDFW Recreational Fishing Coordinator Tony Floor. Coyote Bank, Spring Pass, Fidalgo Head, Thatcher Pass, President Channel and Middle Bank all produced good-sized blackmouth, Floor said, as have areas closer to Seattle, such as West Point and Shilshole Bay. There is a one-fish daily limit with a 22-inch minimum size. Catch-and-release steelhead fishing continues on the middle portion of the Skagit River from the Dalles Bridge at Concrete to Bacon Creek, and on the Sauk River from the mouth to the Darrington Bridge. WDFW Fish Biologist Curt Kraemer said fishing has been spotty, but some bigger native fish have been hooked recently. The catch-and-release fishery ends April 30. Selective gear rules apply. For those trout fishers wishing to get in a little practice prior to opening day, check out some of the year ‘round waters. Some have received recent plants of catchable trout. Also Pass Lake, just north of Deception Pass, has produced nice fish for flyfishers using smaller chromid-patterned flies, as has Lone Lake on Whidbey Island. Springtime weather also means fishing should pick up for warmwater species such as yellow perch. The plentiful species is nearing the end of its spawning season and should start biting as water temperatures increase.

• Wildlife viewing: April is a good time to start watching for shorebirds. Thousands of various birds will pass through Skagit and Port Susan bays on their annual northward migration to summertime habitats. Find an estuary, like the Jensen access on the Skagit Wildlife Area, or the snow goose viewing site, and check it out for shorebird activity. Check a tide book and plan your trip for one hour before the high tide, which will give visitors the best opportunity to see the largest number of birds. Binoculars are a must on any trip to a wildlife area, and a spotting scope is extremely helpful in picking out individual birds on the flats. Be sure to scan the skies and log perches for peregrine falcons, which prey upon the area's abundant shorebirds. Daily e-mail digests from late March on the Tweeters website note that the rare and colorful falcated duck is still drawing flocks of serious birders from throughout the region to the Samish Flats south of Bellingham. There are also widespread reports of hummingbirds showing up in backyards throughout the Puget Sound region.

Olympic Peninsula/South Sound:

• Fishing: The outlook calls for fish, shellfish and more fish as spring unfolds in the region over the next two weeks. Blackmouth fishing closed in Hood Canal at the end of March, but is coming on strong in other marine areas from Sekiu to Gig Harbor. They won't all weigh in at 28 pounds like the one caught by an Edmonds man near Sekiu March 15, but there are plenty in the 7 to 9 pound range, said Tony Floor, WDFW Puget Sound recreational fishing coordinator. "Right now, you can find blackmouth in most of the usual places," said Floor, noting that Middlebank at the eastern end of the Strait of Juan de Fuca is particularly hot. The general season for Puget Sound closes April 10, but a catch-and-release fishery opens the next day in Marine Area 13 for those prepared to test their skill with one single hook. Or maybe you'd prefer a clam gun. In what may be the last opening of the season, WDFW has scheduled a six-day razor clam dig from April 12 through 17 at all five razor clam beaches. Pending the results of marine toxin tests conducted several days beforehand, digging will be allowed on morning tides each day until noon. Check WDFW's razor clam webpage or call the Shellfish Hotline message (866-880-5431) for final word on the season. While you consider that option, bear in mind that there is still time to catch a steelhead on several north coast rivers, all of which are in great shape for fishing right now. On the Bogachiel/Quillayute, 94 anglers reported catching a total of 59 fish (47 wild, 16 hatchery-bred) on the last weekend of March and releasing 29 of them. Seventy-four anglers reported catching 36 steelies – and three chinook – on the Sol Duc, while 12 anglers caught 23 wild fish on the Calawah. The Hoko and Upper Quinault Rivers closed March 31 and anglers are reminded that the Hoh is not open to the retention of spring chinook at this time. The Hoh will remain open through April 15 and the Quillayute system will be open through April 30. Crab fishers should note that recreational crab fishing, regarding of gear type, closes April 6 at 12:01 a.m. until further notice in Marine Area 10 and the Anacortes portion of Marine Area 7. (Check the WDFW website or call the Shellfish Rule Change hotline (360-796-3215) for details.

• Hunting: Wild turkey hunting season starts April 15 and the region could see a record number of hunters out this year. "The interest in turkey hunting just keeps building in this area," said regional WDFW wildlife manager Jack Smith. Popular spots – and the site of past turkey releases – include Johnson Creek, Kennedy Creek, the Willapa Valley (near Raymond), the Capitol Forest and the Wynoochee Valley.

• Wildlife viewing: In Puget Sound, an orphaned orca has been generating headlines as she frolics in the ferry routes, creating headaches for wildlife managers. But on the Washington coast, hundreds of massive gray whales pass by with far less notice. Many of these leviathans are clearly visible from shore, spouting and rolling in the surf. Nearly 26,000 migratory whales will pass by the coast through the end of April as they make their annual trek from the breeding grounds off Baja California to the Arctic feeding grounds in the Bering and Chukchi seas. So, if you're traveling along Highway 101, be sure to take a pair of binoculars. To help whale watchers time their trip, the Forks Chamber of Commerce is installing a web camera in LaPush to post pictures on the Internet every 30 seconds displaying weather and whale-watching conditions. The new web cam at http://www.forkswa.com is expected to be on line within the week.

Southwest Washington:

• Fishing: Anglers' attention is focused on spring chinook as the seasonal return approaches its traditional mid- to late-April peak in the Columbia River. "Effort and catch is beginning to explode," says Joe Hymer, WDFW regional fish biologist. Nearly 1,500 boats were counted last Saturday (March 30) between Bonneville Dam and the mouth of the river. Those numbers are expected to climb even higher with the recent upsurge in catch. Last week, boat anglers averaged one chinook kept or released for every 4.8 rods, based on completed trips. Bank anglers were also out in droves last Saturday with nearly 500 rods counted on the Washington shore. Fishing was a little slower from the bank with reports based primarily on incomplete trips indicating one chinook kept or released per every 22.3 rods. Some spring chinook were also sampled in The Dalles Pool last week and catches should continue to improve there and in John Day Pool. Anglers are reminded that only hatchery fish may be retained in the mainstem Columbia. There hasn't been a lot of effort at Wind River and Drano Lake (about a dozen boats at each spot last Saturday) but effort and catches are also expected to increase soon. Some spring chinook are being caught periodically at both locations. The lower Klickitat River opened Monday (April 1) for three-day-a-week fishing (Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays) with a one-fish daily limit for any chinook as well as hatchery steelhead. Chinook with or without adipose fins intact may be retained in the Bonneville Pool tributaries, although Bonneville Pool itself remains closed to fishing for steelhead and salmon. The Cowlitz River is open for hatchery spring chinook for the first time in several years, and hatchery chinook opportunity still exists on the Kalama and Lewis rivers as well. Cowlitz River anglers are still seeing some steelhead action with bank and boat fishers catching fish primarily from Blue Creek upstream to the barrier dam. Hatchery steelhead also continue to be caught in John Day Pool. Warmwater fishers are also doing well– an angler at Merwin Reservoir on the Lewis River last week brought in a 38-inch tiger muskie, evidence that fish above the 36-inch minimum are there for the catching, said Hymer. Walleye fishing is fairly good below John Day Dam with boat anglers recently averaging about one fish for every four rods last week. Bass are also beginning to appear in the creel at Bonneville and John Day pools. Sturgeon fishing is best downstream of Bonneville. Last week, the average was one legal fish per every two boats in the gorge area just below Bonneville Dam. Bank anglers are also finding some fish below Longview. Sturgeon retention is not allowed Sundays and Mondays below Bonneville Dam. Trout anglers can find recently planted catchable rainbows at Horseshoe Lake near Woodland (4,000 fish), Silver Lake near Castle Rock (3,300 fish), and South Lewis County Pond near Toledo (3,100 fish). Trout are still being caught at Klineline Pond near Hazel Dell and anglers at Kress Lake are reported to be doing well on adult hatchery steelhead. Twenty-seven more of the big fish went into that lake last week. Youngsters ages 5-12 can get in on the fishing action in special kids' fishing events Saturday (April 6) in Longview and April 20 in Vancouver. For a $5 registration fee young participants will receive a Zebco rod and reel and a T-shirt. Kids can choose one of six half- hour fishing sessions. The Longview fishing sessions begin hourly from 9 a.m. until 2 p.m., and youngsters may catch and keep two fish. The Vancouver fishing sessions begin at 8 a.m. and repeat hourly until 1 p.m.; youngsters may catch and keep four fish. Registration forms may be obtained and turned in until tomorrow (April 4) at the Longview Parks and Recreation Office. The registration deadline for the Vancouver event is April 14. Both events offer netted areas for fishing and an on-site fish cleaning station. For additional information contact Stacie Kelsey at (360) 906-6706. A complete schedule of 2002 kids' fishing events is posted on the WDFW website on the Internet.

• Wildlife viewing: As returning spring chinook salmon surge up the Columbia River, wildlife watchers can check their progress through viewing windows on the Washington side of Bonneville Dam. Many birds are returning to the area and this is a good time to watch for species such as hooded mergansers, buffleheads, mallards, wood ducks, tree swallows or pied-bill grebes. Foraging bald eagles may also be visible. A Tweeters website participant reports seeing a white-tailed kite, a Say's phoebe and several white-tailed deer on a recent outing to the July Butler Hansen National Wildlife Refuge. Another Tweeters correspondent recently spotted a Eurasian wigeon with about 35 American wigeon at Post Office Lake, and an osprey between Vancouver Lake and the Columbia River.

Eastern Washington:

• Fishing: WDFW fish hatchery crews have been busy stocking catchable-size (8-inch or more) trout in local waters – many in preparation for the April 27 season opener but also in several year-round or earlier-opening spots that anglers can hit now. Coffeepot Lake in Lincoln County recently received another 2,500 rainbow trout. Pacific Lake, also in Lincoln County, just got 3,000 rainbows. Sprague Lake on the Lincoln-Adams county line, where fishing has been picking up with warmer weather, just received 15,000 rainbows. Spokane County's Silver Lake was recently stocked with about 5,000 rainbows and 200 surplus rainbow broodstock (usually two-to-three-pounders). Rock Lake in Whitman County received a total of 12,000 rainbows in the past couple of weeks. The Spokane River, west of Spokane, got 2,000 brown trout. Newman Lake, east of Spokane, is scheduled to receive about 10,000 rainbows around April 10, and Horseshoe Lake west of Nine Mile Falls should get 5,000 rainbows about the same time. By April 12, three Lincoln County streams should have more rainbows: 1,500 at Crab Creek, 500 at Cottonwood Creek, and 2,000 at Hawk Creek. Fishing is picking up with more spring-like weather on the small lakes stocked with rainbow trout in the Tucannon River area in the southeast, which have been open since the first of March.

• Hunting: About 85 percent of the spring (April 15-May 15) wild turkey harvest comes from this region, mostly in the northeast counties of Ferry, Lincoln, Pend Oreille, Spokane, and Stevens. All but Lincoln County host the Merriam's subspecies. The Rio Grande subspecies can be found in northern part of Lincoln County, along the Spokane River and Lake Roosevelt, and in the southeast counties of Asotin, Columbia, Garfield, Walla Walla and Whitman. The breaks of the Columbia River in the northeast counties, where there is a lot of public land (U.S. Forest Service, DNR, and WDFW's Sherman Creek Wildlife Area), provide some of the best hunting. Areas west of Highway 395 in Stevens County are also good, as is the Mt. Spokane area, but hunters need to line up landowner permission. Most Lincoln County turkey hunting is on private land, too, so permission must be secured. In the southeast, the breaks of the Tucannon, Grand Ronde and Touchet rivers provide excellent hunting on public land, including WDFW's Wooten and Chief Joseph Wildlife Areas. Hunters can take two of the three turkeys allowed per year in eastern Washington.

• Wildlife viewing: It's the beginning of the ever-popular small mammal reproduction season when wildlife viewing opportunities may be closer than you want. Skunks and raccoons are common species that can quickly become more of a nuisance than a cute attraction at this time of year, especially in the urban areas. Both are now looking for cozy spaces to raise families, and are often seen, heard, or smelled under houses, garages, porches, or other structures. They also often choose to rear young near easy food sources – like pet food left outside, unsecured garbage, or unprotected gardens or goldfish ponds. So if you'd rather view these creatures from afar, seal up the potential den sites, keep pet food indoors, secure garbage, and fence gardens and backyard ponds. If you're continuing to feed backyard birds as they, too, start nesting activity, be sure to clean up spilled seed to avoid attracting nuisance wildlife.

North Central Washington:

• Fishing: Lots of 8- to 10-inch rainbow trout will be available for the catching from the MarDon Resort docks on Potholes Reservoir April 4 when one of the trout-rearing net pens will be opened. Dock fees are waived for the day for all who want to take advantage of the release. Shore fishing in the area has been slow to date, due to cold weather, but as water temperatures begin to rise, so should the catching. Many of the March-opening waters in the Columbia Basin are producing trout, including the Hamptons, Caliches, Martha, Burke, and Pillar-Widgeon lakes. At least one largemouth bass was also reported from Hutchinson Lake. Rainbow trout are coming out of Dry Falls Lake in Grant County now, but remember it's under selective gear rules and a one-trout daily catch limit. Spectacle Lake in Okanogan County is also producing nice catches of rainbows.

• Wildlife viewing: Sandhill cranes and other migratory waterfowl are still putting on quite a show throughout the Columbia Basin where they make feeding and resting stopovers in their journeys north. The wetlands and farmlands south and west of Othello and Scootney Reservoir provide good viewing of hundreds of thousands of cranes, Canada geese, and ducks. The Royal Lake public viewing area on the Columbia National Wildlife Refuge, and Crab Creek south of state highway 26 between Othello and Royal City are among the best places to watch crane concentrations. You can also drive the auto tour route of the refuge and area gravel roads to view feeding cranes and waterfowl.

South Central Washington:

• Fishing: Columbia Park Pond near Kennewick in Benton County is now open for fishing only to juveniles (under 15 years of age) and disabled fishing license holders, with a five-fish daily catch limit. The Fish and Wildlife Commission limited fishing in the pond to kids and disabled anglers in the permanent rules that go into effect May 1, but made the change effective April 1 to allow those anglers to take advantage of early rainbow trout stocking. Columbia Park Pond is a shallow waterway, so April and May are the prime months to stock it and fish for trout, before water temperatures get too warm. In the Yakima area, the following lakes and ponds will be stocked with catchable sized (10-12 inch) rainbow trout during the first two weeks in April: Mud Lake, Tims Pond, Yakima Sportsmen Park Pond and Sarge Hubbard Park Pond. In the Kittitas Valley, Denmark Pond, McCabe Pond and, if the water is deep enough, Naneum Pond will also be stocked. Some of the lakes – including Mud, Tims, Naneum and McCabe – will also get jumbo trout, weighing around 1 pound apiece. In addition, two lakes – Lavander (between Easton and Cle Elum) and Myron Lake in Yakima – each received approximately 50 adult steelhead in the last two weeks. These were excess hatchery steelhead from Ringold hatchery on the Columbia River. Anglers can only catch and keep one steelhead over 20 inches per day. Also anglers should check the fishing regulations for special catch limits and terminal gear restrictions.

• Hunting: Spring wild turkey hunting gets under way April 15 and the best in this region is in Kittitas and Yakima counties. Merriam subspecies turkeys are becoming more widespread in these areas, but hunters are advised to secure landowner permission ahead of time.

• Wildlife viewing: WDFW Habitat Biologist Ken Bevis says to watch for migratory waterfowl heading north. "The species composition of flocks of these birds will shift as they head to the north, or arrive back to their breeding grounds here," Bevis said. "Watch for the arrival of blue-winged and cinnamon teal, and wood ducks. Ruddy ducks will also make an appearance in many areas. Bevis also notes that a few pure white egrets are showing up here and there, sometimes in the company of great blue herons. One single white egret was recently seen hanging out near a heron rookery (communal nesting area) along the Yakima River, he reports. Bevis also reminds shed-antler hunters to take care to avoid spooking elk or deer when they are seen, and to be aware of seasonal closures in some areas. These closures were implemented to ensure these animals can use available range during this crucial time of the year when their fat is depleted and females are pregnant, Bevis explained.