Anglers are reeling in sturgeon and shad on the lower Columbia River, lingcod off the coast and trout from lakes throughout the state. And, starting June 1, rivers and streams on both sides of the Cascades will open to fishing for trout and - in some cases - spring chinook salmon.

Sound like fun? Washingtonians who are interested in fishing but haven't tried it have a perfect chance to do so during Free Fishing Weekend, scheduled June 9-10.

During those two days, no license will be required to fish or gather shellfish in any waters open to fishing in Washington state. Also, no vehicle use permit will be required during Free Fishing Weekend to park at any of the 500 water-access sites maintained by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW).

"Free Fishing Weekend is a great time to revive an old hobby or to introduce friends and family to fishing," said Joe Hymer, a WDFW fish biologist. "Adults can introduce kids to fishing on a wide variety of waters around the state."

While no licenses are required on Free Fishing Weekend, other rules such as size limits, bag limits and season closures will still be in effect. (For example, no crab fishing will be allowed in Puget Sound during Free Fishing Weekend, because the fishery will still be closed as of June 9-10.) Anglers will also be required to complete a catch record card for any salmon, steelhead, sturgeon or halibut they catch.

Catch record cards and WDFW's Fishing in Washington rules pamphlet are available free at hundreds of sporting goods stores and other license dealers throughout the state. The rules pamphlet is also posted at http://wdfw.wa.gov/fish/regs/fishregs.htm.

Of course, fishing opportunities don't begin or end with Free Fishing Weekend. Those with a fishing license might want to consider heading to the north coast for halibut openings May 31, June 19 and June 21. Others can look forward to the first round of crab openings, set for June 18 in marine areas 4 (Neah Bay), 5 (Sekiu) and 13 (south Puget Sound).

First, though, WDFW officials want to remind anglers and others who plan to spend time outdoors of a few precautions for avoiding conflicts with potentially dangerous wildlife.

• Store picnic and camp food out of reach of hungry bears or other animals.

• Camp and hike only in designated areas and preferably in groups that discourage close encounters.

• Leave wild babies alone to avoid problems with protective parent animals.

For more information about preventive measures and dealing with problem bears or cougars, see http://wdfw.wa.gov/wlm/game/blkbear/blkbear.htm and http://wdfw.wa.gov/wlm/game/cougar/cougar.htm.

For more information about fishing, wildlife viewing and other outdoor opportunities, see the regional reports below.

North Puget Sound

• Fishing: With only a few weeks left in spring, anglers have an assortment of fishing opportunities, ranging from trout and chinook to shrimp and lingcod.

  In the freshwater, trout fishing continues in the lakes and will expand into several of the region's rivers and streams June 1. Under the statewide rule for trout, there is a two-fish daily limit and a minimum size of eight inches in rivers and streams. However, some of the region's rivers and streams have a rule requiring trout to be at least 14 inches in length to keep. For more rules and details on trout fishing, anglers can check WDFW's 2007/2008 Fishing in Washington pamphlet (http://wdfw.wa.gov/fish/regs/fishregs.htm).

  Portions of the Skagit and Skykomish rivers also open for spring chinook salmon fishing June 1. The Skagit is open to hatchery springer retention from the Highway 530 bridge at Rockport to the Cascade River. The daily limit is two hatchery chinook at least 12 inches in length. On the Skykomish, hatchery spring chinook fishing is open from the Lewis Street Bridge in Monroe to the Wallace River. The Skykomish fishery also has a daily limit of two hatchery chinook at least 12 inches in length.

  Anglers are reminded that bull trout retention is prohibited along portions of the Skagit River beginning June 1. Anglers fishing the Skagit from Rockport to the Gorge Dam and the Cascade and Sauk rivers must release all bull trout.

  Out on the saltwater, the northern portion of Marine Area 10 (Seattle/Bremerton) opens June 1 to catch-and-release fishing for salmon. Fishing will be allowed north of a line from Point Monroe to Meadow Point. Handling rules are in effect for this fishery and single-point barbless hooks are required.

  Further north, the Tulalip Bay "bubble" fishery begins June 1 and runs through Sept. 24, except for a one-day closure on June 23. The fishery is open each week from Friday through noon Monday. There is a two-salmon daily limit and chinook must be 22 inches in length to retain.

  Meanwhile, anglers are still picking up lingcod, halibut, rockfish and cabezon in waters throughout north Puget Sound. During the hook-and-line season (May 1-June 15), there's a one-fish daily limit for lings, with a minimum size of 26 inches and a maximum size of 40 inches. The halibut season is open five days a week, Thursday through Monday, with a daily limit of one halibut and no minimum size limit. Anglers fishing for rockfish must keep the first legal rockfish caught, and those fishing for cabezon have a daily limit of two fish and there is no minimum size limit.

  The spot shrimp fishery is wrapping up in the region. Marine Area 7 (San Juan Islands) will be the last to close for spot shrimp at the end of the day Thursday (May 31).

  However, shrimpers can soon drop a pot for coonstripe and pink shrimp, as those seasons get under way June 1 in marine areas 8-1 (Deception Pass, Hope Island and Skagit Bay), 8-2 (Port Susan and Port Gardner) and 9 (Admiralty Inlet). In the northern and central portion of Marine Area 7, the fishery gets going a few days later on June 4. The daily limit in all of these fisheries is 10 pounds, including heads and tails, of all shrimp species combined, except spot shrimp. Shrimp heads can be removed, but the heads must be retained while in the field. Details, such as the required minimum mesh size and maximum fishing depths, are available on WDFW's website at http://wdfw.wa.gov/fish/shelfish/shrimpreg/shrimpindex.shtml.

  Before heading out, anglers should check the rules and regulations for freshwater and saltwater fisheries in WDFW's 2007/2008 Fishing in Washington pamphlet (http://wdfw.wa.gov/fish/regs/fishregs.htm).

• Wildlife viewing: While visiting Marymoor Park in Redmond, birders recently spotted numerous species including a red-eyed vireo. Red-eyes are small, olive-green birds with some yellow and white feathers. The adults have red eyes but the juveniles' eyes are brown. Because they forage high in the canopy, red-eyes can be difficult to find. Although this is the best time of year to catch a glimpse of the birds, which are often spotted along the Snoqualmie and Skagit rivers. The birders also saw several other interesting birds, including a black-headed grosbeak, a red-breasted sapsucker, a western tanager, a warbling vireo, and two flocks of evening grosbeaks.

  Elsewhere, a couple in the Leschi area saw a black-throated sparrow. The sparrow "hopped around on the ground and then worked the crevices of a rock wall," the birders reported on Tweeters birding website (http://www.scn.org/earth/tweeters/). The birds are small, gray sparrows with black throats. Black-throats have been known to breed in some areas of eastern Washington, but are rare visitors west of the Cascades.

  Meanwhile, whalewatchers continue to spot gray whales in several areas of Puget Sound. There have only been a few reports of the large marine mammals - mostly in the Saratoga Passage area. Most of the gray whales are headed to the Arctic Ocean, where they spend the summer feeding, before heading back south to the coast of Mexico. Some gray whales stop short of migrating all the way to the Arctic and instead linger in the waters of the Pacific Northwest during the summer months.

South Sound/Olympic Peninsula

• Fishing: With June nearly here, anglers can soon add trout and steelhead to their list of fishing choices, or continue to take advantage of the halibut and lingcod seasons, which end in a few more weeks. In addition, spring chinook are running in Olympic Peninsula rivers, anglers are getting an extra day to catch shrimp in Hood Canal and a new crab season is on the horizon.

  The recreational halibut fisheries in Marine Area 1 (Ilwaco) and Marine Area 2 (Westport) are now closed, but anglers trying for the big flat fish still have a few options. The North Coast (Neah Bay and LaPush) fishery will reopen for one day on Thursday, May 31 from 12:01 a.m. to 11:59 p.m., and will reopen June 19 and 21. Anglers fishing those days will be restricted to waters no more than 30 fathoms deep, as specified in the 2007-08 Fishing in Washington rules pamphlet.

  Sunny weather in Port Angeles brought out hundreds of halibut fishers during the last weekend in May, and fishing was good until the wind kicked up. Participants in the 7th annual Port Angeles Halibut Derby, caught a total of 40 fish with the winner bringing in a 78-pounder. This area, as well as Puget Sound, will close June 16. Marine Area 5 (Seiku) will remain open through Aug. 3, These fisheries are open five days a week, Thursday through Monday.

  Anglers fishing for lingcod and other bottomfish off Westport the last weekend of May had better luck with the weather, said Wendy Beeghley, WDFW fish biologist. "When the weather allows people to get out on the water, there are lots of lingcod and black rockfish," she said. Anglers should note the one-fish daily limit during the lingcod hook-and-line season in the Strait of Juan de Fuca and south Puget Sound (May 1-June 15).

  Returning spring chinook are keeping anglers busy on the Sol Duc, Quillayute and Hoh rivers on the northern Olympic Peninsula, said Mike Gross, WDFW fish biologist. "We're seeing good numbers with more than 250 back to the Sol Duc hatchery," he said. However, the warm weather is causing the Hoh to discolor due to late-spring glacial melt.

  With the opening of river fishing on June 1, Gross reminds people angling for sea-run and resident cutthroat to take their Fishing in Washington pamphlet with them or check online at http://wdfw.wa.gov/fish/regs/fishregs.htm before they go. Regulations can vary river by river. Anglers looking for hatchery summer steelhead should consider the Wynoochee and Chehalis rivers in Grays Harbor County, as well as the Quillayute, Bogachiel, Calawah, Sol Duc, Hoh, and Lyre, said Gross.

  June 1 also marks opening day for salmon fishing in Marine Area 11, which extends from the northern tip of Vashon Island to the Tacoma Narrows Bridge. Selective fishing rules will be in effect, requiring anglers to use single, barbless hooks and release any wild chinook they encounter. Anglers should also note that Commencement Bay is closed to salmon fishing until Aug. 1. Details on rules and limits are included in the Fishing in Washington pamphlet, or online at http://wdfw.wa.gov/fish/regs/fishregs.htm.

  Shrimp fishing will open for one more day in Hood Canal, on a date to be announced the week of May 29. Anglers will have an opportunity to harvest nearly 11,000 pounds of spot shrimp still available there. Meanwhile, in the Tacoma area, Marine Area 11 will reopen for non-spot shrimp June 1, with a 150-foot maximum fishing depth restriction. Marine Areas 4 (east of the Bonilla Line), 5, 6 (excluding the Discovery Bay Shrimp District) and 13 are open daily. For more information, anglers can check online at http://wdfw.wa.gov/fish/shelfish/shrimpreg/shrimpindex.shtml, or call the Shellfish Hotline at 1-866-880-5431.

  Looking forward to crab fishing? The popular recreational fishery opens June 18 seven days a week in the western Strait of Juan de Fuca (marine areas 4 and 5) and southern Puget Sound (Marine Area 13). Most other marine areas will open July 4 on a Wednesday-through-Saturday schedule, although some waters north of Anacortes will not open until later in summer.

  Crab fishers should be aware of several changes in this year's catch-reporting system including:

  • Two-card reporting system: All sport crabbers fishing in Puget Sound will be required to report their Dungeness crab catch on separate summer and fall/winter catch record cards during the course of the season.

  • On-line reporting: For the first time, sport crabbers will have the option of reporting their catch via the Internet in lieu of mailing in their catch cards. The website address will be printed on the catch cards along with the reporting deadlines.

  • No coastal reporting: Catch record cards are no longer required to fish for Dungeness crab on the Washington coast (marine areas 1-4).

  The new catch record cards are available from license dealers throughout the state. Fishers who have already purchased a 2007 Puget Sound crab endorsement will receive their cards by mail prior to the first opening on June 18. Those who have changed their address since purchasing their endorsement should contact WDFW at (360) 902-2464 to make sure they get their cards.

  Additional information is available on the WDFW website at
  http://wdfw.wa.gov/fish/regs/fishregs.htm, or
  http://wdfw.wa.gov/fish/shelfish/crabreg/crabindex.shtml.

  Free Fishing Weekend for all state residents is coming up June 9-10. During those two days, no license will be required to fish or gather shellfish in any waters open to fishing in Washington state. Also, no vehicle use permit will be required during Free Fishing Weekend to park at any of the 500 water-access sites maintained by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW).

  While no licenses are required on Free Fishing Weekend, other rules such as size limits, bag limits and season closures will still be in effect. (For example, no crab fishing in Puget Sound will be allowed during Free Fishing Weekend, because the fishery will still be closed as of June 9-10.) Anglers will also be required to complete a catch record card for any salmon, steelhead, sturgeon or halibut they catch.

  Catch record cards and WDFW's Fishing in Washington rules pamphlet are available free at hundreds of sporting goods stores and other license dealers throughout the state. The rules pamphlet is also available online at http://wdfw.wa.gov/fish/regs/fishregs.htm.

• Wildlife viewing: A juvenile gray whale swam into Henderson Bay over the May 26 weekend and was observed feeding for several hours in the Burley Lagoon near the Purdy Bridge. The bay is a few miles north of Gig Harbor, directly off State Route 16.

  The May-June bird migration from Mexico and South America has birders out in force from Clallam to Thurston counties. During the recent International Migratory Bird Count along the Strait of Juan de Fuca, 100 people counted 191 species and 24,000 individual birds. The birds counted ranged from the most abundant species - common murre (2,805) and glaucous-winged/Olympic/large-pink-legged gull (1,966) to the most unusual - trumpeter swan, wild turkey, northern fulmar, short-tailed shearwater, lesser yellowlegs, long-billed curlew, Sabine's gull, Eurasian collared-dove, western kingbird, red-eyed vireo and a yellow-headed blackbird.

  The Nisqually Wildlife Refuge in Thurston County is also hopping right now with birds and other wildlife. Birders on the Tweeters website (http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/TWET.html) reported seeing and hearing many of the returning neotropical migrants as well as other species.

  Among the 56 species recently reported were American bittern, blue-winged and cinnamon teal, Wilson's phalarope, osprey, wood duck, gadwall, pintail, shoveler, hooded merganser, Virginia rail, spotted sandpiper, willow flycatcher and western wood peewee. A warbling vireo was nesting on the boardwalk as well. Harbor seals and black-tailed deer were also sighted.

Southwest Washington:

• Fishing: The hatchery spring chinook season has been extended through June 15 on the lower Columbia River from the I-5 Bridge downstream to the Tongue Point/Rocky Point line, although the run is clearly winding down. Shad, on the other hand, have been abundant in some areas, and sturgeon fishing has been heating up from the Columbia River Gorge down to the estuary.

  Anglers should also be aware that a variety of rivers and streams open to trout fishing June 1 and that fishing licenses aren't required June 9-10 during Free Fishing Weekend.

  "There's definitely a lot going on right now as we move into the summer season," said Joe Hymer, WDFW fish biologist. "Part of the challenge is figuring out what kind of fishing you want to do."

  Those intent on landing a hatchery spring chinook - either on the mainstem Columbia or its tributaries - will probably have to work at it, Hymer said. Now that the bulk of the spring chinook run has passed Bonneville Dam, anglers fishing below the dam are just as likely to catch an early summer steelhead or summer chinook as a springer, he said.

  The good news is that returns of summer steelhead and chinook should start picking up soon, and the summer chinook season opens June 16 from Rocky Point/Tongue Point all the way up to Priest Rapids Dam. (For fishing regulations, check the Fishing in Washington rules pamphlet, posted on the WDFW website at http://wdfw.wa.gov/fish/regs/fishregs.htm.)

  "They call them `summer hogs' for a reason," Hymer said. "Some of those fish will run to 30 or 40 pounds."

  Shad, averaging three to five pounds, don't get that big, but make up for it in sheer numbers. Thirty-nine boat anglers fishing the Columbia mainstem from Bonneville to Longview reported keeping 127 shad - and releasing 442 others - during a weeklong creel survey ending May 28. Tens of thousands of fish are passing Bonneville Dam daily.

  "Shad are boney, no doubt about it, but they put up a good fight and there is no limit on how many you can catch in Washington," Hymer said. "And you don't need a lot of fancy gear - a lot of anglers do just fine fishing a bead and a hook." For shad recipes, see the WDFW website at http://wdfw.wa.gov/outreach/fishing/shad/shad.htm.

  Sturgeon anglers might also want to check out some new recipes, too. During a recent creel survey, 514 charter boat anglers fishing out of Ilwaco reported catching 206 legal-size sturgeon. Another 613 private boat anglers fishing from Ilwaco to Deep River reported 97 keepers - all of which Hymer sees as the start of even better fishing ahead.

  "Right now sturgeon seem to be spread from Marker 85 all the way down to the estuary," he said. "My sense is that some of those fish are moving downriver and will start concentrating in the estuary."

  Anglers who prefer to fish smaller waters can look forward to June 1, when a number of rivers and creeks throughout the region open for trout fishing. Those rivers fall into two main categories: stocked and wild. By the season opener, WDFW plans to finish planting thousands of 9-to-12-inch fish in waters such as Canyon Creek in Clark County, Spring Creek in Klickitat County and Little White Salmon River in Skamania County. The complete stocking scheduled for the region is available on the WDFW website at http://wdfw.wa.gov/fish/plants/regions/reg5/index.htm.

  Those seeking warm water species should try John Day Pool, Hymer said. Creel surveys conducted May 21-27 found that boat anglers averaged over two walleye and eight bass kept or released per rod.

  Washingtonians who are interested in fishing but haven't actually given it a try have a perfect chance to do so during Free Fishing Weekend, scheduled June 9-10.

  During those two days, no license will be required to fish or gather shellfish in any waters open to fishing in Washington state. Also, no vehicle use permit will be required during Free Fishing Weekend to park at any of the 500 water-access sites maintained by WDFW.

  "Free Fishing Weekend is a great time to revive an old hobby or to introduce friends and family to fishing," Hymer said. "Adults can introduce kids to fishing on a wide variety of waters around the state."

  While no licenses are required on Free Fishing Weekend, other rules such as size limits, bag limits and season closures will still be in effect. Anglers will also be required to complete a catch record card for any salmon, steelhead, sturgeon or halibut they catch. Catch record cards and WDFW's Fishing in Washington rules pamphlet are available free at hundreds of sporting goods stores and other license dealers throughout the state. The rules pamphlet is also available online at http://wdfw.wa.gov/fish/regs/fishregs.htm.

• Wildlife viewing: As noted above, shad are now running up the Columbia River in large numbers - lots of them. During the past week, between 30,000 and 71,000 shad have passed by the fish-viewing windows at Bonneville Dam each day. For those who want to make sure they see fish during a trip to the dam, now would be the time.

  While sometimes considered the Rodney Dangerfield of fish ("they don't get no respect"), shad actually have a very colorful history. Averaging three to five pounds, shad are credited with sustaining General George Washington's troops at Valley Forge during the War of Independence. In 1871, an entrepreneur named Seth Green loaded 12,000 young shad from the Atlantic coast into milk cans and transported them to Sacramento to start a new fishery. The fish thrived and began showing up in the Columbia River a decade later.

  Shad are the largest members of the herring family, which also includes Pacific sardines. Their backs are metallic blue to green in color, their bellies white with a saw-like serrated edge along the midline. Like salmon, shad are anadromous, entering freshwater rivers to spawn. Unlike salmon, they do not necessarily die after spawn and many return to spawn annually. Females bear more than 50,000 eggs, sometimes as many as several hundred thousand.

  Shad will be on display through June at the Bonneville fish-viewing window at the Washington Shore Visitor Complex. To get there, take Washington State Highway 14 east to Milepost 40 (about 5 miles from Stevenson) and turn into the Bonneville Dam visitor center. The visitor center is the glass building at the end of the powerhouse.

  Rather watch birds? Several white-faced ibis have been spotted recently in the River S Unit of the Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge. These medium-sized, gray-brown waders are a rare visitor to Washington, but in recent years have moving northward in increasing numbers from southern Oregon and California. Adults have red eyes and reddish legs. Other species recently spotted at the refuge include Eurasian wigeons, purple finches, white-breasted nuthatches and redheads.

Eastern Washington:

• Fishing: With warm weather in the forecast, anglers should expect a slowdown in the good fishing they've experienced in recent weeks. "Fish now, and get ready to start fishing earlier and later in the day," suggests Chris Donley, WDFW central district fish biologist of Spokane. Donley says virtually every open fishery has good action now, from rainbow trout at Coffeepot Lake in Lincoln County to largemouth bass at Rock Lake in Whitman County.

  WDFW northeast district fish biologist Curt Vail of Colville reports Waitts Lake has been very good for rainbows from 11 inches and up and brown trout from 16 inches and up. "Curlew Lake is great for rainbows again this year," Vail said. "A possible new state record tiger muskie - one that exceeded a 48-inch-long tape measure - was caught there recently but it was released by a bass fisherman." Vail also noted Bayley and McDowell lakes on the Little Pend Oreille Wildlife Refuge have been producing catches of rainbow up to 25 inches and lots of smaller fish have been hooked and released.

  WDFW enforcement sergeant Dan Rahn reported checking good catches during a boat patrol on Lake Roosevelt over the Memorial Day weekend. "We checked some nice walleye and bass in the Hawk Creek area and on the lake below Two Rivers, " he said. "Walleye fishing should also be good on the June first opener of the Spokane Arm as usual."

  Many rivers and streams throughout the region open to fishing June 1. After current high flows in some settle out, they should provide good action on trout and other species. WDFW fish biologists remind anglers to read the regulations carefully because there are restrictions on gear and portions of waterways to protect future fish populations.

  WDFW southeast district fish biologist Glen Mendel of Walla Walla reports the special Snake River hatchery chinook salmon season is continuing "fairly well" and is likely to remain open another couple weeks. But at the current rate of catch, Mendel doubted the special season would last until the end of June. The season is open from Texas Rapids boat launch upstream to the Corps of Engineers boat launch about a mile upstream of Little Goose Dam on the south bank of the Snake River. The daily limit is one hatchery (adipose-fin-clipped with healed scar) chinook at least 12 inches long. All chinook with the adipose fin intact - and all steelhead - must immediately be released unharmed. Anglers must use barbless hooks when fishing for all species in this area of the Snake River during the salmon fishery, and use hooks no larger than 5/8 inch (point of hook to shank).

  Family fishing events are planned in southeast Washington for the June 9-10 Free Fishing Weekend. A kids' fishing derby is scheduled on Saturday morning, June 9, at West Evans Pond near Clarkston, and on Sunday morning, June 10, at Rainbow Lake in the Tucannon River Valley. Special prizes are offered for tagged rainbow trout stocked in both waters from WDFW's Tucannon Fish Hatchery. For more information about the events, contact the Umatilla National Forest's Pomeroy Ranger District at 509-843-1891.

• Wildlife viewing: Bighorn sheep lambs are visible now from the Asotin County road along the Grande Ronde River near Heller Bar on the Chief Joseph Wildlife Area. "Lambs are also visible from the trail along the North Fork of Asotin Creek on the Asotin Creek Wildlife Area," said Bob Dice, a WDFW land manager of Clarkston. "A good way to access the North Fork trail is with a mountain bike." Dice also reported elk, deer, and black bear are becoming a common sight on the Schlee acquisition lands on Smoothing Iron Ridge. "Black bear are more likely to be seen in early morning and evening hours just before dark," he said. "Elk cows are having their calves now, so give them plenty of room to minimize disturbance. Elk with calves can also be seen along Joseph Creek Road on the Chief Joseph Wildlife Area."

  WDFW northeast district wildlife biologist Steve Zender of Chewelah says this is a good time for birders to look for male bobolink displaying in the wet hayfields throughout northeast Washington. "Bobolink are an uncommon sighting for most casual birdwatchers but a relatively easy bird to find if you look in the right spots," he said. "They have a distinctive display song as they fly along. Males are usually seen perching on fence posts or on natural perch sites such as a hawthorn bush. The backroads in the Cusick Valley of Pend Oreille County have the most birds, but Lower Cottonwood Creek southeast of Chewelah and the road from Valley to the Waitts Lake vicinity in Stevens County also has bobolinks. Sometimes they can be found in the valley southwest of Colville and even a few just south of Republic in Ferry County along the San Poil River."

  The eastern Lincoln County town of Reardan's annual Mule Days celebration June 2-3 includes bird-watching tours on the newly acquired Reardan's Audubon Lake wildlife area just north of town, courtesy of Spokane Audubon Society members. Until public access trails and other facilities are developed with newly appropriated state funds over the next couple years, this is a chance to see the 277-acre site's rich bird diversity, from ducks and sandpipers to shrikes and meadowlarks. For more information, call Audubon at 509-838-5828.

North Central Washington:

• Fishing: Chinook salmon fishing on the Icicle River in Chelan County continues with a daily catch limit of two salmon, minimum size 12 inches. The portion of the river that opened May 22 for the special season is from the closure signs 800 feet upstream of the mouth to 500 feet downstream of the Leavenworth National Fish Hatchery rack. WDFW Chelan district fish biologist Art Viola of Cashmere explains that fishery is possible because in-season run analyses predict about 2,500 salmon are coming to the Icicle that are not listed as endangered, and only about 1,000 fish are needed for hatchery broodstock.

  Viola reminds anglers that a night closure and non-buoyant lure restrictions are in effect. Depending on catch rates, the season could remain open through July.

  June 1 marks the opening of river and stream fishing throughout the region. WDFW Okanogan district fish biologist Bob Jateff of Omak reminds anglers that it's catch-and-release only with selective gear for trout on the Methow River and selected tributaries such as the Twisp and Chewuch. "The river is still a little high for fishing yet," Jateff said, "but it should be in pretty good shape by the middle of June. Anglers should check the fishing rules pamphlet closely because there are selected areas on the Methow, Twisp, and Chewuch rivers that are open to fishing during specific dates only."

  Jateff also reports that lake fishing has been good with the Conconullys, Wannacut and Spectacle all producing nice catches of rainbow trout. "Of the selective gear waters, Blue Lake in the Sinlahekin Wildlife Area has been good for rainbow and brown trout running 12 to 20 inches," he said. "Pearrygin Lake near Winthrop and Jameson Lake in Douglas County both continue to provide good catches of rainbow for both shore and boat anglers."

  WDFW Columbia Basin district fish biologist Jeff Korth of Moses Lake says walleye fishing has been slow recently at Potholes Reservoir and Moses Lake. "The fish are there," he said, "and when the bite has been on, everyone was getting fish. Be prepared to keep trying different means of enticing fish to grab the bait. Water temperatures are still in the mid to high 60's, so there's plenty of time to get out there before things warm up too much."

• Wildlife viewing: WDFW enforcement officers in the Okanogan district have been busy responding to problems with lots of black bears and a few cougars as more people are recreating outdoors and spending more time on their front porches and yards.

  Sgt. Jim Brown of Okanogan reminds rural and suburban homeowners to keep pets and pet and livestock food indoors, store garbage in secure, wildlife-resistant containers, remove bird feeders, clean barbecue grills immediately after use, enclose beehives and fruit trees with chain-link or electric fencing where practicable, and consider installing more outdoor lighting.

  To avoid encounters with black bears or cougars while camping or hiking, Brown recommends keeping a clean camp and using wildlife-resistant trash containers; storing food in the trunk of a motor vehicle, in wildlife-resistant food lockers, or in a pack suspended from a tree branch at least 10 feet above the ground and four feet out from the tree trunk; staying in groups, making your presence known by singing or talking, and keeping small children close and on trails.

  Birdwatchers have been enjoying the Okanogan's diversity of nesting species. Gray catbird, veery, Bullock's oriole, Lazuli bunting, red-naped sapsucker, Say's phoebe, and Barrow's goldeneye were recently noted in the Winthrop area. Evening grosbeaks, house wrens, eastern and western kingbirds, Williamson's sapsucker, western wood pewee, chipping sparrow, yellow-rumped warbler, western tanager, black headed grosbeak, warbling and Cassin's vireos, MacGillvray's warbler, and calliope and rufous hummingbirds were seen at and around Pearrygin State Park. Others saw and heard bobolinks, long-eared owls, spruce grouse, and pileated woodpeckers in and around the Conconully area.

  Birders in the Columbia Basin have been reporting views of burrowing owls along state highway 26 east of Othello in southern Adams County.

South Central Washington:

• Fishing: WDFW district fish biologist Paul Hoffarth of Pasco reports shad are moving up the Columbia and Snake Rivers now. "Shad migrate in large schools and pass relatively close to shore in many areas as they move upstream," Hoffarth said. "Shad darts and mylar jigs are very effective. Boat anglers should use divers to get their lures down, nine to 20 feet deep in most areas."

  Hoffarth also noted sturgeon fishing in the Hanford Reach of the Columbia River should start to be productive in early June. "Remember the sturgeon sanctuary remains in effect from the Interstate 82 bridge at Umatilla upstream to McNary Dam," he said. "This area will remain closed to angling for sturgeon through July 31." The sturgeon fishery in the John Day Pool, from John Day Dam upstream to the I-82 bridge, is nearing the quota for this year and is expected to close soon. For an updates on that fishery, check the WDFW fishing rule change website at http://wdfw.wa.gov/fish/regs/fishregs.htm.

  The Ringold bank fishery for spring chinook salmon has been extended through June 15. "The summer chinook season in the Hanford Reach will kick off on June 16, just as the Ringold bank fishery ends," Hoffarth said. "The summer fishery is open to boat anglers as well as bank anglers, but check the rules pamphlet for all restrictions."

  Rivers and streams open to fishing June 1, although WDFW fish biologist Jim Cummins says the southcentral region's waterways are generally are not a big draw early on. "Water temperatures are generally cold and flows are a little high, often resulting in slow fishing," he explained. "River flows have been moderate and most rivers and streams have been in fishable condition, but that is likely to change soon with a warming trend that will cause high elevation snow to melt."

  "The best bet for the June first opener might be the Naches River," Cummins said. "Some nice cutthroat and rainbow trout can be caught early in the season there. Bull trout, adult steelhead and salmon must be released if caught, and all fish must be released in the catch-and-release section of the river. Although fly fishing is good later in the season, the best early season success is with spinners and spoons. Anglers need to read the regulations carefully, and note that no bait is allowed and that single, barbless hooks are required."

  Cummins noted the Yakima River, which is open year-round above Roza Dam, is flowing higher now than desirable for fly anglers. Hoffarth agrees the Yakima is running high, but in the Tri-Cities area that's making for some excellent early summer fishing conditions for bass and channel catfish.

  Hoffarth also notes walleye fishing in the Columbia and Snake rivers usually picks up in June. Best bets in the Columbia are the areas near the Irrigon and Boardman marinas just across the border in Oregon.

  Kokanee fishing should begin to heat up in June in Yakima River reservoirs, Cummins said, but so far it's been slow. "All of the Yakima reservoirs are full," he said, "so boat launching should be good. Rimrock, Bumping, Kachess, Keechelus and Cle Elum reservoirs all hold kokanee. Rimrock Reservoir is muddy, which may delay the kokanee bite. Flood flows last November via the North and South forks of the Tieton River, evidently brought in tons of silt which remains suspended in the water column. The Tieton River itself is also muddy, and may remain muddy for several months."

  WDFW district fish biologist Eric Anderson of Yakima reports triploid rainbow trout will be stocked in three popular lakes June 4-6: Lost Lake in Kittitas County will receive over 3,500 triploids running three-quarters of a pound to a pound-and-a-half each; Dog Lake in Yakima County will receive 1,468 triploids at a pound-and-a-half each; and Leech Lake in Yakima County receives 1,105 triploids at a pound-and-a-half each.

  "Fishing action at Clear Lake in Yakima County remains hot with over 10,000 catchable-sized rainbow trout stocked in the last several weeks," Anderson said. "Clear Lake also received over 6,400 of the larger triploid rainbow trout since the first of May."

  Anderson said many other lakes and ponds in the Yakima and Kittitas valleys continue to provide good fishing. "Our hatchery crews are gearing up to re-stock many of them right before the state's designated Free Fishing Weekend on June 9 -10." See WDFW's website http://wdfw.wa.gov/fish/plants/weekly/ for details.

• Wildlife viewing: Birdwatchers in the Roslyn area recently spotted calliope hummingbirds, western tanagers, chipping sparrows, turkey vultures, and then something much larger than expected - a black bear ambling through the brush. WDFW wildlife biologists say most encounters with such potentially dangerous wildlife are as benign as that one was when people use common sense.

  "Give bears, and other wildlife for that matter, plenty of space and enjoy them from a distance," said WDFW regional wildlife program manager Ted Clausing of Yakima.

  When hiking, Clausing recommends staying in groups, making your presence known by singing or talking, and keeping small children close and on trails. When camping, use wildlife-resistant trash containers, and store food in the trunk of a motor vehicle, in wildlife-resistant food lockers, or in a pack suspended from a tree branch at least 10 feet above the ground and four feet out from the tree trunk. For more information on bears, cougars and other wildlife, see http://wdfw.wa.gov/wlm/living/index.htm.

  The sights and sounds of nesting waterfowl, raptors and other birds are never better than now at the Toppenish National Wildlife Refuge, six miles south of Toppenish on U.S. Highway 97. The refuge includes 1,763 acres of brushy creek bottoms, wet meadows, sagebrush uplands, and croplands along Toppenish Creek and has wildlife viewing trails and overlooks throughout.