January 9-23, 2002

Contact: Doug Williams, (360) 902-2256 or Madonna Luers, (509) 456-4073

Torrential rains that led to widespread flooding may have temporarily dampened the red-hot hatchery steelhead fishing throughout much of western Washington, but there should still be plenty of fish for the catching once the rivers drop back into shape.

In fact, so many hatchery steelhead are returning to the rivers that feed the lower Columbia River, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) has increased the bag limit to three hatchery fish per day on a handful of southwest Washington streams, including the Cowlitz, and Kalama.

Decent steelheading was also reported on the north Olympic Peninsula, where the Queets, Quillayute and Hoh river systems were producing decent numbers of fish. In the northern Puget Sound area, most river systems were blown out of shape by recent heavy rainfall. Cooler weather expected by mid-month should put the rivers back in excellent fishing condition.

More great steelhead fishing can be found in Washington's southeastern corner, where anglers are reporting excellent success on the Tucannon and Walla Walla rivers.

One western Washington activity not rained out this month is birdwatching. Bald eagle viewing is in full flight on the Skagit River, which hosts the largest winter eagle watching gathering in the contiguous 48 states. The event culminates Feb. 2-3 in Concrete with the 15th annual Upper Skagit Bald Eagle Festival. Go to www.skagiteagle.org for a complete list of events and activities, and check out the northern Puget Sound regional Weekender report below for additional information.

Competing with eagles for a birder's attention in northern Puget Sound are hundreds of majestic trumpeter and tundra swans, which can be found in the lower Skagit River in farmlands and at the Fir Island Farm Reserve near Conway.

The coast's first razor clam opening of the new year has tentatively been scheduled for Jan. 29-Feb. 1, from noon until 11:59 p.m each day at Long Beach, Twin Harbors, Copalis and Kalaloch. Check the WDFW website for updated clam opening information.

Deer, elk, bear and turkey hunters, with their seasons behind them, are reminded to submit their new mandatory hunting reports this month, whether they bagged game or even hunted, via phone, 877-945-3492, or via Internet, www.fishhunt.dfw.wa.gov.

Here are the specifics for each region:

North Puget Sound:

• Wildlife viewing: This is the time of the year when birds – big birds – take the center stage. Bald eagle viewing on the Skagit River is in full flight, and culminates with the 15th annual Upper Skagit Bald Eagle Festival, Feb. 2-3 in Concrete. There are lots of activities and events – go to www.skagiteagle.org for a complete list. It looks like there are already plenty of eagles along the Skagit - one check from the first week of January tallied nearly 250 birds between Sedro Woolley and Newhalem. The main viewpoint along the river is at Mile Post 100 on State Route 20; others are Howard Miller Steelhead County Park in Rockport, or the Marblemount Fish Hatchery in Marblemount. Swans are filling the fields in the lower Skagit River valley, and WDFW staff will be conducting its annual midwinter swan count in mid-January. The birds can be seen at the Fir Island Farm Reserve near Conway, and at the reserve portion of DeBays Slough. For less-crowded swan viewing, take a drive along any number of back roads in Skagit and Whatcom counties and look for the big white birds in the stubble fields. Make sure to pull completely off the road and don't block traffic. Also, please don't approach swans or geese, as human disturbance can stress the birds. Recent aerial waterfowl surveys in northern Puget Sound pegged the total number of dabblers at more than 191,000 birds – that's an 18 percent increase from last year's count. Included in the survey this year were nearly 26,000 mallards and more than 16,000 northern pintail in Padilla Bay.

• Fishing: Good numbers of hatchery steelhead were being seen in a number of northern Puget Sound streams prior to the flooding that greeted the second week of January, said WDFW biologist Curt Kraemer. Once the rivers drop back into shape, they should continue to improve for steelheading through the month of January. Remember that wild fish caught in the Skagit, Snohomish, and Stillaguamish river systems must be released unharmed, Kraemer said. "It's best to play the fish hard, but not to exhaustion, and try to slide the fish into shallow water without netting it," he said. "Try to keep the steelhead in the water, and avoid handling the fish any more than absolutely necessary." If anglers are encountering more wild fish than hatchery fish, they might consider not using bait, particularly bait divers, fishing without any weight in low water, feeding the fish slack prior to setting the hook, or other techniques that result in deeply hooked fish. "If the fish to be released is deeply hooked it is often best for the fish to just cut the leader rather than try to remove the hook," Kraemer said.

• Hunting: Canada goose hunting continues through Jan. 20 in Goose Management Area 1, which is Snohomish, Skagit, and Island counties, and Goose Management Area 3, which is the remainder of western Washington, except for Grays Harbor, Pacific, Wahkiakum, Cowlitz, and Clark counties. The statewide duck season ends Jan. 20.

Olympic Peninsula/South Sound:

• Wildlife viewing:: Dedicated birders who braved early January's elements along the southwest Washington coast were rewarded with a few uncommon sightings recently, including a gathering of about 500 marbled godwits seen on the beach near Tokeland in Pacific County. Marbled godwits are considered uncommon in Washington state, particularly during the deep months of winter – this time of year they're more prevalent in California. Also spotted in Tokeland recently was a bar-tailed godwit, a large wading bird that uses its long bill to find crustaceans, mollusks, marine worms and other foods. Bar-tailed godwits breed in the Arctic north and winter throughout the southern hemisphere. More than two dozen tundra swans and more than 200 ring-necked ducks were also spotted recently in Vance Creek County Park.

• Fishing: The first two razor clam openings of the new year have tentatively been scheduled for Jan. 29-Feb. 1 from noon until 11:59 p.m each day at Long Beach, Twin Harbors, Copalis and Kalaloch. Additional clamming opportunities are set for Feb. 27-March 2 from noon until 11:59 p.m. each day at Long Beach, Copalis, and Mocrocks. WDFW shellfish biologist Dan Ayres said no weekend days were included in the first dig of the year because the tide schedule did not leave the Washington Department of Health enough time to review test results for marine biotoxins until Tuesday, Jan. 29. In addition, Mocrocks will not open for recreational digging from Jan. 29 through Feb. 1, due to a scheduled dig by members of the Quinault Indian Nation. At Kalaloch beach, however, where harvest opportunities were restricted throughout the fall season due to a high abundance of small clams, digging will be allowed because those clams have been growing to a desirable size. "Harvesters should be aware, however, that future digging opportunities at Kalaloch could be compromised if wastage of small clams becomes an issue," Ayres said. Before the big rain storms of early January hit, there were plenty of hatchery steelhead showing on the Queets, Quillayute and Hoh river systems, according to Bill Freymond, acting region 6 fish program manager. "It looks like most anglers were averaging about half a fish a rod for steelhead," Freymond said. "There are still some late-run coho salmon to be found in the Wynoochee, Satsop and Humptulips river systems, as well as lots of hatchery steelhead." Freymond noted that on Jan. 10 wild steelhead harvest restrictions go into effect on the Clearwater and Salmon rivers, both tributaries of the Queets River in Jefferson County, to protect what is forecast to be the weakest return of wild steelhead on record.

• Hunting: It's been a poor year for duck hunters, says WDFW regional wildlife manager Jack Smith. "There haven't been as many ducks around as in years past, and I'm not sure why," Smith said. "We had quite a few birds show up on Willapa Bay earlier in the season, but the late-season birds that typically come in after bad weather haven't shown up, and it looks like the early arrivals have already moved through the area." The feral pigs that roam the southern Olympic Peninsula woods have been spotted again. A hunter took one animal in the upper Wishkah River valley, while signs of the wild oinkers were found in the Deckerville Swamp area near the Mason-Grays Harbor County line. It's thought that the pigs are descendants of wild boars imported from eastern Europe to the Olympic Peninsula in the 1930s. No hunting license is required to harvest a feral pig, which are considered "feral domestics" and can top out at 300 pounds or more. They have tusks like their wild European cousins, and can be dangerous when confronted.

Southwest Washington:

• Wildlife viewing:: Heavy rains have flooded low-lying fields and caused many small stream systems to flood, providing plenty of ponded water for a variety of waterbirds. Look for a variety of ducks, geese, and even swans throughout agricultural areas near flooded fields. Check out the Mount St. Helens Wildlife Area to see large numbers of wintering elk.

• Fishing: Lower Columbia River tributaries are providing some of the hottest steelhead fishing opportunity in the state, thanks to exceptionally large returns of hatchery fish. "All of the streams in the southwest corner of the state are well ahead of last year, and in some cases we're having near record or record returns for hatchery fish below Bonneville Dam," said Joe Hymer, WDFW fish biologist in Vancouver. "Hatchery returns to several lower Columbia tributaries are running between 300 and 1,000 percent better than last year." As a result of the hatchery steelhead bonanza, bag limits on the fish missing the adipose fin were recently increased to three fish per day on the Grays, Elochoman, Cowlitz, Kalama, Coweeman, Lewis, Washougal, and White Salmon rivers, as well as Salmon, Blue and Mill creeks. Top producers right now include the Elochoman, Kalama, and Cowlitz rivers, the latter a perennial top performer for steelhead. "Counting fish released, anglers in the Blue Creek area on the Cowlitz averaged nearly two fish per rod on Jan. 8, which is a great average," Hymer said. Almost 800 surplus hatchery steelhead have been released over the past month into Horseshoe Lake near Woodland, and another 40 steelhead were recently released into Kress Lake near Kalama. Rainbow trout should still be available from mid-December releases into southwest Washington waters, including about 6,000 half-pounders into Lacamas Lake near Camas, and 2,800 half-pounders into Ice House Lake near Bridge of the Gods, Little Ash Lake near Stevenson, and Klineline Pond near Hazel Dell each. For the "Lunker of the Month" fishery, head to Spearfish Lake near Dallesport, which received a plant of 131 rainbows between 7-10 pounds each. Smelt lovers should be encouraged with reports of the fish already appearing in the lower Cowlitz River. At the Kelso Bridge area on Jan. 9, sport dippers were reporting just a few smelt per dip. Sturgeon fishing has been good between Woodland to Bonneville Dam, and the Bonneville and the Dalles pools have reopened to sturgeon retention. The key to sturgeon success on the lower river? "Fresh smelt," says Hymer. "The fresher the smelt, the better your chances will be."

• Hunting: There isn't much hunting opportunity in the region, aside from the tail-end of goose hunting, which ends Jan. 13 and requires an Area 2 permit. Goose hunting has been "pretty dismal," and duck hunting hasn't been much better, according to WDFW biologist Fred Dobler. "The birds just aren't there this year," he said. "We're down about 50 percent in geese harvested this year over last year, and last year wasn't a very good year either," Dobler said. "Both hunter effort and hunter success have dropped this year." Through the end of December, 566 hunters took 1,243 geese from Area 2; this compares to 1,095 hunters taking 2,330 geese in 2000.

Eastern Washington:

• Wildlife viewing: The Sullivan Lake bighorn sheep winter feeding station in Pend Oreille County has recently had very warm and rainy weather that has made for very poor road conditions and very few sheep coming into the site for viewing. Prior to the weather shift, and after a cougar was removed from the area over New Year's, there were about 20 sheep using the alfalfa pellet and hay feeders, including several full-curl rams. When winter conditions return, viewers can expect to see lots of sheep again. WDFW habitat biologist Sandy Lembcke reports good winter tracking conditions at higher elevations, such as Boulder Pass in Ferry County. While cross-country skiing, Sandy says she's seen moose, deer, bobcat, coyote, ermine, squirrel, and mouse tracks. There's good viewing of wintering bald eagles along the Kettle, Pend Oreille, Spokane, and other major river systems throughout the region. Areas with abundant deer and people – and thus many roadkill situations – are also attracting the scavenging eagles.

• Fishing: The three-steelhead per day catch limit continues in the Snake River system and fishing continues to be very productive. The latest catch rates, reported by WDFW fish biologist Joe Bumgarner, show that fishers on the Tucannon River are averaging three to four hours per steelhead caught, five to six hours per fish on the Walla Walla River, and six to seven hours on the Touchet River.On the mainstem Snake, fishers are averaging just under 10 hours per steelhead near Lower Monumental Dam, 12 to 13 hours near Little Goose Dam, and just over 15 hours per fish near Ice Harbor Dam. Lake Roosevelt rainbow trout fishing is excellent now with lots of catches by both shore and boat fishers of 14 to 24 inch fish. The big fish come from the many net pen rearing projects throughout the reservoir and recently-completed stocking of 12,000 two-pound triploid trout. The triploids are courtesy of the Colville Confederated Tribes via an emergency Bonneville Power Administration grant to help make up for fishery impacts from water level fluctuations caused by Grand Coulee Dam operations during last year's drought. "Triploids" are sterile fish that don't impact local stocks and grow quickly. All of them sport yellow Eastern Washington University tags that fishers can return with catch date and location information at tag return boxes located along Lake Roosevelt. Recent warm temperatures and rain have thawed the once-iced-over winter fishing lakes throughout the region, so it's open-water fishing for shore and boat fishers again.

• Hunting: These are the final days of waterfowl, quail and partridge hunting and recent spring-like conditions have not helped hunters. Deer, elk, bear, and turkey hunters, with their seasons behind them, are reminded to submit their new mandatory hunting reports this month, whether they bagged game or even hunted, via telephone, 877-945-3492, or Internet, www.fishhunt.dfw.wa.gov.

North Central Washington:

• Wildlife viewing: WDFW customer service specialist Bob Perleberg says now is the easiest time to watch bighorn sheep in Chelan County. These majestic animals can be viewed right off the west side of State Highway 97-A, between milepost 202 north to the Entiat River bridge. Bob says that many times the sheep are right on the road! Bob also notes that Lake Chelan attracts bighorn sheep and a multitude of other wildlife during the winter months easily viewed by boat. Mountain goats, mule deer, bald eagles and an occasional bobcat or cougar can be seen, with most of the viewing north of a line between Fields Point and Mitchell Creek. One large group of mountain goats was seen at Box Canyon on Jan. 7. Bob says many boaters travel up one shoreline and back down the other to watch for wildlife. Just remember to dress warmly, he says.

• Fishing: A new state record lake trout was caught on New Year's Eve in Lake Chelan, reports WDFW customer service specialist Bob Perleberg. The "laker" was 35 pounds and seven ounces, and is rumored to have brothers and sisters in Lake Chelan, which remains open through March 31. Roses Lake, near Manson, is ice-free and producing catches of rainbow trout, according to WDFW Wildlife Officer Graham Grant. Roses typically has ice on it, but this year, so far it's all open water.

• Hunting: These are the final days of waterfowl, quail and partridge hunting and recent spring-like conditions have not helped hunters. Deer, elk, bear, and turkey hunters, with their seasons behind them, are reminded to submit their new mandatory hunting reports this month, whether they bagged game or even hunted, via the telephone , 877-945-3492,or Internet, www.fishhunt.dfw.wa.gov.

South Central Washington:

• Wildlife viewing: Bald eagle viewing along rivers is excellent now, especially since WDFW and U.S. Forest Service fish biologists recently placed about nine tons of fall chinook salmon carcasses in the American, Bumping and Little Naches rivers. The carcasses provide marine-derived nutrients, which in turn will produce insects for fish feed. Another beneficiary is wildlife such as scavenging eagles. WDFW fish biologist Jim Cummins recommends viewing bald eagles on the Little Naches River, where he just saw eight mature and two immature bald eagles feeding on carcasses. Eagles are also visible right in Yakima along the Yakima River, in the Yakima Canyon between Yakima and Ellensburg, and along the Naches River. Jim warns that any wildlife viewers heading for the Little Naches, American, or Bumping rivers should be prepared for snow. Elk remain viewable at the winter feeding station on WDFW's Oak Creek Wildlife Area, west of Yakima, where fresh hay is put out every day at 1:30 p.m. Bighorn sheep are also fed every morning at nearby Clemen Mountain. For more information about these viewing opportunities, see Oak Creek Wildlife Area on WDFW's website.

• Fishing: Ringold area fishing for steelhead trout is fairly slow, reports WDFW fish biologist Rick Watson. His latest checks show no bank anglers at all, although the few boat anglers checked did fairly well (nine boat anglers spent a total of almost 28 hours to catch four steelhead). Rainbow trout surplus hatchery broodstock, running seven to 10 pounds apiece, were recently stocked in several southcentral waters: North Elton Pond and Myron Lake each received 51 fish, Rotary Lake received 112, and I-82 Pond No. 4 and Pond No. 6 each received 102. WDFW fish biologist Jim Cummins says there may be another release soon of 50 Ringold steelhead trout at Myron Lake and a 50-fish release into I-82 Pond No. 6. Mattoon and Lavendar lakes in Kittitas County should also receive a about 50 steelhead sometime this winter. Cummins notes recent problems with some anglers exceeding the catch limit at North Elton (it's two trout, with only one over 20 inches). Whitefish angling should be good in the Yakima and Naches rivers, although there are no specific creel checks. Whitefish anglers are reminded that there is a barbless hook requirement above Roza Dam. Fly fishing for trout on the Yakima River is reportedly good, with the best approach being to fish on the bottom with a combination of weighted stonefly nymph pattern and small (size 12-14) attractor nymphs.

• Hunting: These are the final days of waterfowl, quail and partridge hunting and recent spring-like conditions have not helped hunters. Deer, elk, bear, and turkey hunters, with their seasons behind them, are reminded to submit their new mandatory hunting reports this month, whether they bagged game or even hunted, via the telephone, 877-945-3492 or Internet, www.fishhunt.dfw.wa.gov.