July 20 - August 3, 2004

Contact: Margaret Ainscough, (360) 902-2408

It's unlikely to win the warm-weather record, but Seattle's Lake Washington is unquestionably the state's hottest spot for salmon-fishing-more than 13,700 anglers in 4,700 boats caught an estimated 13,700 sockeye in a one-day fishery there July 17, and a second day of fishing is scheduled Saturday (July 24).

Also opening at sunrise July 24, is the first Lake Wenatchee sockeye salmon season since 2001. That fishery will continue until further notice, depending on catch rates. Barbless hooks are required, non-buoyant lure restrictions and night closure are in effect and the daily catch limit is two sockeye. Sockeye marked with yellow tags (less than 1 percent of the overall run) must be released, and all bull trout must be released without removing them from the water. See the northcentral regional report, below, for more information.

The upper Columbia River summer chinook salmon fishery, which opened July 16 to a record number of anglers, is expected to offer good angling throughout the summer. Hanford Reach sockeye and chinook fishing is open through July 31, although catches have been slow.

In the lower Columbia River-including Buoy 10 at the river mouth-fall chinook and coho salmon fishing opens Aug. 1. See the southwest regional report, following, for more information.

On the ocean, salmon fishing is picking up steam, with seven-day-a-week fishing and a rising, two-chinook daily bag limit in place July 23 in Ilwaco and Westport (marine areas 1 and 2).

In the field, black bear hunting opens Aug. 1 across most of the state, except in northeast and Blue Mountains areas, which remain closed until Sept. 7. Cougar hunting also opens statewide Aug. 1.

The heat wave under way across much of the state may bring a brief hiatus in wildlife viewing while animals "lie low" to seek shade.

Here are more details on fishing, hunting and wildlife-viewing opportunities throughout the state:

North Puget Sound

• Fishing: Anglers will have a second day of sockeye salmon fishing on Lake Washington on Saturday, July 24, from 4:41 a.m. to 9:50 p.m. There is a two-fish limit, and sockeye must be at least 15 inches in length to retain. All other salmon must be immediately released. Anglers must have a freshwater fishing license and a salmon catch record card. Kept salmon must be recorded immediately on the catch record card. Under freshwater fishing rules, anglers can only fish with one rod and must stop fishing once their personal daily limit has been caught. The first fishery, on July 17, produced an estimated catch of about 13,700 fish, leaving roughly 13,000 fish available for harvest by recreational anglers. Many anglers fishing for sockeye on the 17th found success with the traditional rig, which is a bare red or pink hook on about 18 inches of leader material that's fished behind a white or chrome dodger. Anglers can find fish throughout the water column, but the general rule of thumb is to start fishing 40 to 50 feet deep and head deeper as the day continues. Troll as slowly as possible. Lake Washington sockeye notwithstanding, the best salmon-fishing opportunities in the region have probably been the "bubbles" in Elliott and Tulalip bays. One lucky angler who was fishing the first few days of this summer's Elliott Bay bubble fishery, which opened July 16, landed a 40-pound chinook - a big fish anywhere, but an especially large specimen for the terminal fishery in Seattle's back yard. Anglers took chinook by trolling their gear slow and deep. Favorite terminal gear include imitation squid, fresh herring or spoons. The Tulalip bubble, which is open from 12:01 a.m. Friday through 11:59 a.m. Monday of each week through Sept. 27, has been producing just a handful of chinook. Salmon fishing in other marine areas continues to be hit-and-miss. The San Juan Islands (Marine Area 7) are open with a two-fish daily limit, only one of which may be a chinook. New fish-handling rules go into effect for wild coho and chum beginning Aug. 1 in the San Juans. In marine areas 5-13, it is unlawful to bring wild salmon or a species of salmon aboard a vessel if it is unlawful to retain that salmon. Waters "inside" Whidbey Island (marine areas 8-1, 8-2) open to fishing Aug. 1 with a two-salmon daily limit. All chinook must be safely released. There should be more coho showing up in fish boxes in Marine Area 9 (Admiralty Inlet) as August approaches. A few coho are already hitting spoons, imitation squid and small herring in Marine Area 10. Time is running out to fish for halibut in Puget Sound. The season for the big flatfish ends July 24. Fishing is open Thursdays through Mondays and there is a one-fish daily limit with no minimum size. The catch-and-release selective fishery for trout on the Cedar River runs through the end of August, and there are still reports trickling in of flyfishers finding big cutthroat and rainbow trout up to 24 inches in pools throughout the river. Fishing is allowed from the mouth of the Cedar at Renton upstream to the Landsburg bridge. Sockeye fishing continues through the end of July on a short stretch of the Skagit and Baker rivers. Fishing is open on the Skagit from the Dalles Bridge at Concrete to a point 200 feet above the east bank of the Baker River. The Baker is open from the mouth to the Highway 20 Bridge at Concrete. The daily limit is two sockeye with a minimum length of 12 inches. There is a night closure and non-buoyant lure restriction on the Baker. Summer-run steelhead fishing has been consistently slow across the region. Lake anglers have a veritable smorgasbord of fish to go after, including trout, perch, bass, crappie and catfish. Trout fishing in hot weather is generally best in early morning or late evening hours. Try trolling a small fly at dawn or dusk. During the daytime, trout will be in deep water where they can be caught by stillfishing just off the bottom with eggs, worms or other bait.

• Wildlife viewing: There are still thousands of sockeye salmon pouring into the Lake Washington system via the Ballard Locks fish ladder. Look for an occasional chinook in the sea of sockeye. With its telltale dark spots and overall larger body size, chinook are easily distinguishable from sockeye, which have a uniform silver color and also a uniform size averaging four to seven pounds. The Ballard Locks fish ladder is open daily from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. More information is available at http://www.nws.usace.army.mil/ on the Internet, or by calling (206) 783-7059. Birders throughout the region are reporting interesting sightings to the Tweeters birdwatching network, at http://www.scn.org/earth/tweeters/ on the Internet. A rarely sighted rose-breasted grosbeak was seen in Stanwood near Camano Island, while black-headed grosbeaks - along with a colorful western tanager - were spotted along Des Moines Creek in southwestern King County. One birder identified a few juvenile green herons at Forbes Creek near Kirkland, while another birder spotted two immature peregrine falcons with leg bands. One bird was positively identified as a juvenile male that fledged earlier this summer from a peregrine scrape on the I-5 Ship Canal Bridge.

Olympic Peninsula/South Sound

• Fishing: After nearly a month of fishing, the ocean salmon season is still gaining momentum. During the week ending July 18, anglers made 9,623 trips and caught 12,218 salmon coastwide, the highest totals in both categories since fishing opened June 27. And those numbers are likely to rise even higher after July 23, when anglers can fish seven days per week and retain two chinook per day in marine areas 1 (Ilwaco) and 2 (Westport). "Like last year, we started the fisheries on the south coast at five days per week to make sure the quota would last through Labor Day," said Doug Milward, WDFW ocean salmon biologist. "As before, it now appears we can make that goal, so we're opening the fishery seven days per week." As in previous weeks, anglers fishing out of Ilwaco during the third week of July posted the highest overall catch rates, bringing in 1.6 salmon per pole. As in other areas, the majority of those fish were hatchery coho, although one in three anglers took home a chinook in marine areas 2-4 to the north. In all ocean fisheries, anglers must release chinook under 26 inches along with any wild, unmarked coho they catch. In Marine Area 2, the arrival of more hatchery coho helped to boost overall catch rates off Westport to about one salmon per angler. That compares to catch rates of 1.2 salmon off Neah Bay (Marine Area 4) and 1.45 salmon off LaPush (Marine Area 3), where bag limits will remain two salmon - but only one chinook - per day. Catch figures for LaPush would have been higher if not for fog and rough seas, which limited fishing opportunities for several days, said Scott Barbour, a WDFW fish biologist who monitors the coastal fishery. In both the LaPush and Neah Bay areas, anglers fishing close to shore appeared to enjoy about the same success rates as those fishing farther out to sea, Barbour said. "The fish appear to be pretty well distributed," Barbour said. "In Marine Area 4, anglers fishing around Waadah Island seemed to do just as well as those who motored out into the ocean." Overall success rates have been somewhat lower farther east on the Strait of Juan de Fuca, although chinook salmon make up a much larger percentage of the catch in marine areas 5 and 6. In both of those areas, only those chinook salmon with a clipped adipose fin and a healed scar may be retained. At one resort in Sekiu, 185 anglers were checked with 30 marked chinook and 49 coho on July 17 - a good day of fishing. Anglers did fairly well that day fishing off the Clay Banks near Tacoma in Marine Area 11, too, dividing 21 chinook and two coho among 99 rods. Meanwhile, salmon fishing generally remains slow in other areas of south Puget Sound, while Hood Canal remains closed to fishing to most other species besides salmon (such as bottomfish, smelt, herring, squid and octopus) due to low dissolved-oxygen conditions. Fishing in rivers and lakes has generally been slow throughout the region, although anglers have been catching (and releasing) some nice cutthroat on the Wynoochee River, said Rick Ereth, WDFW fish biologist. Low-water conditions are a problem on north coast rivers such as the Quillayute and Queets, while the Puyallup River remains low and muddy. Some lakes, including Offutt in Thurston County and Tanwax in Pierce County, are giving up some perch and bass.

• Wildlife viewing: From the slopes of the Cascade Mountains to the Pacific coast, birdwatchers are finding plenty to report around the region during the hot days of summer. On a recent trip to Mount Rainier, one contributor to the Tweeters birdwatching website (http://www.scn.org/earth/tweeters/) spotted eight gray-crowned rosy finches browsing for bugs along the edges of the snowfields. Mountain bluebirds and American pipits were also seen in the area going after winged ants. Another contributor is convinced he saw a laughing gull with breeding plumage near the mouth of Kalaloch Creek, while still another reported sighting 44 different species - including greater yellowlegs, killdeer and bald eagles - on a recent trip to Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge. Chuck Gibilisco, a WDFW watchable wildlife specialist, said many birds appear to have finished their nesting season earlier than usual this year, making them easier to spot now that they're moving around more. "Whether it's the weather or something else, a lot of birds have already fledged and are now on display throughout the region," said Gibilisco, who recently spotted more than 100 scoters in "pre-migration formation" at Ruby Beach near Kalaloch. That is consistent with a report by another Tweeters contributor, who recently saw two common nighthawks fly over his house in Bonney Lake - a full month earlier that his first sighting last year. With so many birds on the wing, another correspondent reported sighting more than two-dozen species of birds before finally finding the object of an outing in Lewis and Thurston counties: a pale snaketail dragonfly. That was just one of six species of dragonflies she spotted that day, along with nine species of butterflies. Birds sighted on that trip included five turkey vultures and a family of pied-billed grebes near the Centralia Steam Plant; three black-headed grosbeaks and two Bullock's orioles at Schaefer County Park; 14 mourning doves northeast of Elma and a green heron flying over Capitol Lake in Tumwater. So whether hiking on Mount Rainier or driving Highway 101, it's a good idea to pack a pair of binoculars at this time of year.

Southwest Washington:

• Fishing: It's transition time for salmon on the lower Columbia River, with hatchery summer chinook still turning up in scattered spots along the mainstem while anglers anticipate the opening of the fall chinook and hatchery coho season on Aug. 1. Once the Buoy 10 fishery gets under way that day, anglers are reminded to play it safe: Shipping traffic, wind, fog, boat wakes and rip tides make boat fishing at the mouth of the Columbia especially challenging, warns Regional Fish Biologist Joe Hymer. "When you have a high concentration of boats, changeable weather and strong water currents, all it takes is one lapse in concentration to put you in a precarious scenario," says Hymer. Meanwhile, decent catches of summer-run hatchery steelhead are keeping fishers occupied along the Columbia. As mainstem water temperatures-currently 70 degrees at Bonneville Dam-continue to warm, the steelhead seek out snow-fed tributaries to cool off. Above Bonneville Dam, likely spots to find steelhead are Drano Lake and the White Salmon, Wind and Klickitat rivers, Hymer advises. Below the dam, mainstem Columbia sandbars from Kalama downstream still offer good fishing prospects, although fish may increasingly be found around the mouths of the Cowlitz and Lewis rivers. Anglers are reminded that two of the tribs-the North Fork Lewis River from the I-5 Bridge upstream and the Cowlitz River from the Highway 4 Bridge at Kelso upstream-offer a three-fish daily bag limit while a two-fish limit is in place elsewhere, including on the Toutle, Kalama, and Washougal rivers. Time is running out for sturgeon anglers who want to keep their catch. Sturgeon retention is allowed Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays from the Wauna power lines upstream to Bonneville Dam through July 31. This section of river is scheduled to re-open for retention in October. By contrast, there's plenty of incentive to catch pikeminnow-a higher-than-usual bounty is being offered this year for anglers who turn in their catch of the non-native, juvenile salmon-devouring fish. See http://www.pikeminnow.org for details. Trout anglers are likely to find the best fishing in cooler water areas that get regular plants, such as the Tilton River, Skate Creek and Lake Scanewa, Hymer suggests. Some sizeable tiger musky are reportedly turning up in Merwin Reservoir on the Lewis River. Mayfield Lake on the Cowlitz River is also a great prospect.

• Wildlife viewing: A correspondent on the Tweeters website (http://www.scn.org/earth/tweeters/digests/) reports spotting some 500 brown pelicans sitting on the south jetty in the Columbia River estuary. According to the Ecological Society of America's website (http://www.esa.org/program/ft20.htm), East Sand Island, near the mouth of the Columbia River, is the largest roost in the Pacific Northwest for California brown pelicans. Nearly 11,000 of the endangered birds have been counted on East Sand Island at one time. The pelicans are just one species of piscivorous (fish-eating) waterbirds that have taken to colonizing the Columbia estuary in the last two decades. East Sand Island also supports the largest breeding colony in the world (over 8,000 breeding pairs); hosts the largest double-crested cormorant colony on the North American Pacific coast (more than 10,000 breeding pairs); and is the site of one of the largest glaucous-winged/western gull colonies on the Pacific coast (over 6,000 pairs). The California brown pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis californicus) is one of six recognized subspecies of brown pelican. Besides their distinguishing color, brown pelicans are distinguished by their large size-adults weigh approximately nine pounds, and have a wingspan of more than six feet. They have long, dark bills with big pouches for catching and holding fish. For a different spectacle farther up the Columbia, the underwater viewing windows at Bonneville Dam are offering wildlife watchers a good opportunity to practice their fish identification skills-species passing upriver include steelhead, summer-run chinook salmon , shad, pikeminnow, lamprey, a few sockeye and even some early fall chinook.

Eastern Washington:

• Fishing: The heat of the summer has slowed most trout fishing action throughout the region, says regional Fish Program Manager John Whalen, but angling opportunities on other species remain fairly good. The Snake River and its tributaries in the south end of the region are productive, especially at night, for channel catfish, smallmouth bass and pikeminnow. Whitman County's Rock Lake and Spokane County's Clear and Downs lakes should be yielding some largemouth bass. Sprague Lake, on the Lincoln-Adams county line, is a good bet for walleye at night. Lake Roosevelt walleye fishing also continues to be good. Kokanee fishing is also good in Lake Roosevelt with fish running four pounds or more; kokanee anglers are reminded that Roosevelt's daily catch limit is just two fish. Night kokanee fishing is decent at Loon Lake in southern Stevens County. Tiger muskies at Curlew Lake in Ferry County are visible near weed beds and partially submerged logs where they're preying on smaller fish that use underwater structure. Many are still below the legal minimum size of 36 inches, but some larger muskies have been taken on big lures that might typically be used for northern pike fishing.

• Wildlife Viewing: Spokane's peregrine falcon family is busy hunting swifts, pigeons, and other smaller birds around their nest on the bridge over Latah Creek in Highbridge Park, just west of downtown. The two chicks are learning quickly from their parents; in fact, they're now hard to distinguish from the older birds. At 13 years of age, the matriarch of this family is one of the west's oldest wild peregrine falcons still producing young. Local birders are also reporting many families of other species at backyard birdbaths and feeders, as well as along hiking trails in riparian or streamside areas. Sightings include and red-breasted nuthatches, black-capped and mountain chickadees and spotted towhees. Others have recently noted backyard visits by small flocks of berry and insect-eating , perhaps already starting migrations south.

North Central Washington:

• Fishing: The long-awaited Lake Wenatchee sockeye salmon season opens at sunrise Saturday, July 24, and WDFW district fish biologist Art Viola expects lots of action. "They'll catch these five-pounders quickly," he said, "even with all the rules of this special season." Barbless hooks are required and a night fishing closure and non-buoyant lure restriction are in effect. The daily catch limit is two sockeye. Less than 1 percent of the sockeye in the lake (260 out of at least 27,000) are part of a study, marked with obvious yellow tags behind the dorsal fin, meaning they must be released. Any bull trout that are caught must also be released immediately without removing the fish from the water. Viola noted that this is the first Lake Wenatchee sockeye season since 2001. "We need 23,000 sockeye returning here from the ocean to meet annual spawning goals," he explained, "and this year we have at least 27,000 in the lake." The sockeye spawn in the White and Little Wenatchee rivers, which are tributaries to Lake Wenatchee. The young fish stay in the lake for two years, then migrate to the ocean. They eventually return to Lake Wenatchee, although not all at once. Viola said the sockeye are not hard to catch. "Troll with a dodger and a bare hook at 40 to 80 feet," he said, "and you'll catch sockeye." He noted that many anglers use downriggers and some "decorate the hook with a pink hootchie." The special season will remain open until further notice, depending on catch rates, which will be monitored daily. The Upper Columbia River summer chinook salmon season, which opened on the 16th to a record number of anglers, will be a good bet throughout the summer. The daily retention limit is six fish with a minimum size of 12 inches, and only two adult Chinook (at least 24 inches) can be retained. In the northcentral region's portions of the Columbia, all coho and sockeye salmon must be released. WDFW's Sinlahekin Wildlife Area in northern Okanogan county has seven trout fishing waters that may be good spots to beat the heat in coming weeks, including Conner, Forde, Blue, Fish, and Doheny lakes. In the Columbia Basin, WDFW district fish biologist Jeff Korth reports nice catches of rainbows coming from Blue Lake in the Sun Lakes chain. "July and August are great months for bass fishing, " Korth said, "especially at Potholes Reservoir. And there's still lots of walleye to go around, especially at Moses Lake. They're harder to catch this time of year, but some of the bigger fish seem to show up in the catch during the summer."

• Wildlife viewing: Wildlife enthusiasts looking to escape the heat wave and see some critters might try a trip to WDFW's 14,000-acre Sinlahekin Wildlife Area, located about two hours from Wenatchee, south of Loomis and west of Tonasket in northern Okanogan County. "The scenery alone is worth the drive," says Wildlife Area Manager Dale Swedberg, "but with elevations ranging up to nearly 5,000 feet, there's lots of wildlife to see, too, even in the summer." The Sinlahekin's bird list alone includes 244 species, from common loons on the lakes to red crossbills in the woods. There are also 61 species of mammals, 20 species of reptiles and amphibians and approximately 100 species of butterflies. "Most visitors at this time of year are going to see white-tailed and mule deer and bighorn sheep," Swedberg said, "but during early morning and late evening, you might catch a glimpse of moose, black bear, cougar, bobcat and coyote." Also of note for botanists and wildflower enthusiasts, the Sinlahekin hosts more than 510 species of vascular plants. Swedberg says there's plenty of camping spaces in several designated campgrounds and more than seven miles of unimproved trails for hikers or horseback riders. Maps of the Sinlahekin Wildlife Area are available in limited numbers from the WDFW Wildlife Program in Olympia; call (360) 902-2515 for a copy while they last.

South Central Washington:

• Fishing: WDFW Fish Biologist Jim Cummins says there is an open salmon-fishing season in the Hanford Reach of the Columbia, but no fish are being caught. "Perhaps a rare summer chinook is being caught," some incidental to walleye fishing," said Cummins, "but there will be better salmon opportunities in the Reach for fall chinook in September." Cummins noted that for those who want to get out in spite of slow fishing, the season remains open for sockeye and chinook (both hatchery and wild) through July 31. The catch limit is six salmon, no more than two of which may be adults. Both Cummins and WDFW District Fish Biologist Eric Anderson say that a better bet, especially in the heat, is to head for small streams or high mountain lakes for rainbow and cutthroat trout. "It's especially good at this time of year because the water levels in the streams have dropped and water clarity is good," said Anderson. Some of the most popular streams in Yakima County are Rattlesnake Creek and the Little Naches River, including some of the forks and tributaries. In Kittitas County, try Naneum, Taneum, Swauk, Manastash and the Teanaway. A good hike-in fishing experience can be found on upper Indian Creek, a tributary of Rimrock Lake, for eastern brook trout. There is no catch limit for eastern brookies on the creek because they more down river and can hybridize with ESA-protected bull trout. Approximately four miles of lower Indian Creek is closed to all fishing. Another opportunity is the upper reaches of the Yakima River, where there are no catch limits on eastern brook trout. "One of the best techniques is fishing a dry fly," Cummins said. "A size 12 elk hair caddis dry fly will often take fish." Anderson noted that anglers need to know where they are on a stream because some sections have catch-and-release restrictions or other catch limit and gear regulations. "Anglers also need to remember to release any bull trout, steelhead or salmon that they may catch while fishing for the other trout species," he said. Many high mountain lakes in Kittitas and Yakima counties are now mostly accessible. Most named lakes have populations of cutthroat, rainbow or eastern brook trout. Those that are most difficult to reach often have the best fishing, but there are plenty of lakes with good fishing for those who want to go for day trips of 10 miles (round trip) or less. "An ultra-light spinner rod and reel and a few spinners is often all you need," Cummins said. Anderson notes that various fly patterns, including midge, mayfly, damselfly and stonefly can be effective, as well as small spinners. Cummins encourages people to catch and release, but if fish are harvested and carried out of the high country when the weather is warm, anglers will need to carry ice to keep the fish edible. Bug repellent is also a necessity in most areas now to discourage mosquitoes. Hike-in anglers should also be prepared for weather changes in the mountains, and be aware of backcountry travel safety in general. "Trout Fishing in Washington's High Lakes" is a publication useful to both beginners and veterans, and it's available at http://wdfw.wa.gov/outreach/fishing/highlake.htm. "Grab a rod and head for the mountains," Anderson said. "Even if you don't catch any fish, you'll find it to be quite therapeutic."

• Wildlife viewing: Local birders are reporting record numbers of white pelicans along the Yakima River near Parker Heights and west of Ellensburg near Thorp. Double-crested cormorants have also been noted in the river area. Tieton River area hikers reported seeing American pipits and gray-crowned rosy finches. With current heat waves, backyard wildlife enthusiasts are keeping birdbaths full of water and enjoying close-up views of everything from finches to deer. Away from the water, dawn and dusk are best bets for viewing, or hearing birds and other wildlife in the heat of the summer.