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| June 28 - July 11, 2000 |
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The opening of recreational salmon fishing off the Washington coast and a week of exceptionally low tides on Puget Sound will provide anglers and shellfishers extra reasons to celebrate the upcoming July Fourth holiday.
And continuing strong runs of sockeye salmon returning to Lake Washington are raising hopes that a sport sockeye fishery will be taking place there soon.
Ocean fishers are headed to Marine areas 2, 3 and 4 (from Leadbetter Point on Willapa Bay to the mouth of the Sekiu River on the Strait of Juan de Fuca), which will open to sport salmon fishing July 3. In addition, most part of Marine Area 7 (San Juan islands), Area 10 (Seattle/Bremerton) and a portion of Area 12 (Hood Canal south of Ayock Point) will open on July 1.
Improving ocean conditions combined with fewer interceptions by the Canadian commercial fleet should make for good fishing on Columbia-bound upriver-bright chinook and hatchery coho this year, said Doug Milward, coastal salmon fisheries manager for the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW). As in past years, the chinook harvest will be tightly regulated to protect wild stocks. Anglers can only keep hatchery coho, which are identified by a clipped adipose fin.
"Under the selective fishing rules we adopted last year, we can give anglers an opportunity to catch available hatchery salmon and still protect those native salmon runs that are in trouble," Milward said. "It's every angler's responsibility to know the rules and be able to tell a marked fish from an unmarked fish."
Anglers should check WDFW's 2000 Fishing in Washington rules pamphlet for closed days, catch limits and additional regulations, which vary by area.
Halibut fishing also opens in two areas off the Olympic Peninsula for July 1 and July 4.
Saltwater beaches will be a virtual smorgasbord for shellfish gatherers, thanks to extremely low tides. Check your tide book from June 30 through the first week of July (minus 3.7 in Seattle on July 2!). WDFW's website now features an easy-to-use guide to Puget Sound shellfish beaches, which includes up-to-date information on 420 beaches from Blaine to Olympia.
Wherever you fish or enjoy the outdoors this holiday, remember that fireworks and campfires are prohibited on all WDFW lands, including water access sites. Use of WDFW sites requires an Access Stewardship Decal, available at WDFW regional offices and fishing/hunting license dealers. Due to a printing problem, this year's access decals are prone to fading; however WDFW officers can still identify them, so leave them on your vehicle.
Here's a regional guide to top current recreational opportunities during the next two weeks:
- All eyes are on sockeye, with hopes building that returns may be strong enough to allow a fishery in Lake Washington in July. Tribal and WDFW biologists are counting the returning sockeye salmon as they pass the Ballard Locks, and the tally will determine if a sport fishery can take place. Prospects should be clear within a few days. At least 350,000 returning adult fish must be allowed to spawn in order for a healthy run to be maintained. Interested fishers who want to stay posted on sockeye prospects can find daily counts from the locks, along with other sockeye information posted on the department's webpage. In other activity, most of the San Juan Island areas (Marine Area 7) will open for salmon fishing July 1 but some southern and eastern portions of the area will remain closed to protect wild chinook. Fishers should check pages 28 and 29 of the 2000 Fishing in Washington pamphlet for details about closed areas. Crab pot fishing, meanwhile, is exceptionally strong in the Oak Harbor and Everett areas, with the highest numbers of Dungeness crab seen in the last couple of years. The San Juan area of Marine Area 7 recently opened to crab pot fishing. The sport shrimp fishery in Marine Area 7 has been very successful this season and will remain open until October 15. Fishers having difficulty keeping shrimp pots stationary in strong tidal currents should try adding 25 to 30 pounds of weight or small anchors to their pots.
Olympic Peninsula/South Sound:
- Charter-boat operators, motels and bait shops are bustling along the coast to prepare for the July 3 ocean salmon fishery and the two-day opening for halibut July 1 and July 4 in marine areas 3 and 4 (La Push and Neah Bay). Based on the previous halibut openings, WDFW biologists expect the last 7,000-pound allocation for those areas to be taken during those two days. Meanwhile, summer-run steelhead fishing is expected to pick up on several Peninsula rivers after a slow opening. Some of the best prospects for hatchery summer runs are the Wynoochee, Bogachiel, Sol Duc, Lyre and Elwha rivers. Salmon fishing in south Puget Sound has generally been slow, although some blackmouth weighing six- to-eight pounds have been taken off the north end of Ketron Island.
- Catches of hatchery summer-run steelhead averaging 6-8 pounds each, have improved recently for bank anglers plunking spin-glos from the Washington Columbia River sandbars from Longview downstream. Recent creel checks found one hatchery steelhead for every four rods. Steelhead angling has also been good on the Cowlitz, Kalama, and Lewis rivers. Nearly half a million summer-run steelhead smolts were released in Cowlitz two years ago, and adults from that release are keeping anglers busy. Meanwhile, most Ilwaco charter boat anglers are catching their daily limit of one sturgeon. Recent sampling at Ilwaco, Chinook, and Deep River showed a legal fish kept for every three private boat anglers. Trout anglers are also catching nice-sized (14-inch) landlocked coho on Riffe Lake near the upper end of the lake, while the Merwin and Yale reservoirs on the Lewis River are producing kokanee. Bank anglers fishing for shad averaged nearly three fish per person below Bonneville Dam (including Cascade Island). Anglers should keep an eye on the dam counts to gauge fishing prospects.
- Rainbow trout fishing continues at Williams and Newman Lakes. Big Meadow, Fishtrap, and Liberty lakes are producing 13-to 14-inch rainbows. Trolling slow on Liberty Lake with leaded line is picking up walleye to 16 inches. Rainbows 8- to 9 inches are coming out of Marshall Lake. North Skookum Lake is producing 13-to 14-inch rainbow and 8- to 9-inch brook trout. Cutthroat trout fishing is good at No Name, Yocum, and Half Moon Lakes. Ledbetter Lake is producing brook trout to three pounds. Trout are feeding on flies the color of damsel fly nymphs, olive or brown. The best bet has been sinking line fished very deep. Bear Lake recently received 1,300 catchable -ize rainbows to provide some additional fishing opportunity for juveniles (under 15 years old), licensed adults accompanied by a juvenile, and holders of disability fishing licenses. Those looking for a way to beat the heat should check out float tube fishing on restricted fisheries. For bird fanatics, now is a great time to visit the WDFW Swanson Lakes Wildlife Area in Lincoln County. As many as 90 white pelicans have been spotted on west Swanson Lake and are readily visible from the county road or the parking lot. Ducks, geese, American avocets, black-necked stilts, double-crested cormorants, gulls, and the occasional tern can also be found. Sprague Lake and Coffeepot Lake promise good bird watching as well. Pheasant broods and other upland birds are making an appearance now in the region.
- Fishing is good in upper Okanogan County, where higher elevation keeps some of the lowland lakes cooler despite the heat. Sidley Lake has some good-sized rainbows. Chopaka Lake is producing trophy rainbow trout. Bonaparte Lake has rainbow, brook, and lake trout and kokanee. The Conconullys, although not high in elevation are deep and provide good fishing opportunities for rainbow trout and largemouth bass. The last day for fishing Jameson Lake, which had its best opener in recent years, is July 4. Rufus Woods Reservoir is producing kokanee and triploid rainbows. Birders will want to check out the Big Valley Ranch portion of the Methow Wildlife Area, and around the beaver pond near Sun Mountain Lodge. Also, Bonaparte Lake has a visible loon chick in residence. Good deer watching is available in the irrigated fields of the Methow Valley in both the early morning and late evening. Wildflowers are in full bloom in the Hart's Pass area.
- Rimrock Lake on the east side of White Pass is red hot for boat anglers, producing limits of 8-inch kokanee. They're not big but the limit is 16 and they are tasty. Fishing is best at the west end of the lake, where anglers are both trolling and still fishing from anchored boats. A very small spinner, red beads, and a hook wrapped with red yarn and baited with maggots has been successful for fisherman. Kachess and Keechelus lakes are producing 11-12 inch kokanee. Clear and Dog lakes in Yakima County are good bets for trout. Yakima River flows are dropping and should improve chinook salmon fishing, which is open one more weekend, July 1- 2. The retention of sturgeon on a section of the Columbia River has been extended until further notice. Anglers will be allowed to retain one sturgeon per day caught from John Day Dam upstream to McNary Dam, including tributaries. Effective through July 31, anglers fishing for hatchery steelhead on the mainstem Columbia River from the Highway 395 bridge downstream to the Rocky Point/Tongue Point line, will be allowed to keep adult sockeye and chinook jacks. For hikers, the snow line continues to recede in the Cascades with warm weather, and many higher trails are becoming snow free. The newly designated Hanford National Monument provides opportunities for hiking in a desert shrub-steppe environment. The spring flowers are about gone but the birds are out in full force. Be prepared for 90-100 degree temperatures and bring lots of water and sunscreen.
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