Since the late 1980s, thousands of Washingtonians have gone fishing - legally - without a license. How? By taking advantage of Free Fishing Weekend, scheduled this year June 12-13.
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 Jim Byrd, WDFW fishing education coordinator. "Parents can introduce kids to fishing on a wide variety of waters around the state."
Trout is the most popular attraction for those who take advantage of the two-day license waiver, Byrd said. But those who participate this year will have a number of other options including:
- Bass, crappie, perch and other warmwater fish biting in lakes throughout eastern Washington
- Shad, sturgeon and hatchery steelhead on the Columbia River
- Chinook salmon in several Columbia River tributaries
- Halibut off south the coast (marine areas 1 and 2) and in Puget Sound
- Lingcod and rockfish off the Washington coast and the San Juan Islands
- Crab and other shellfish in a number of areas in Puget Sound
- Shrimp in Discovery Bay and Port Angeles Bay
While no licenses are required on Free Fishing Weekend, other rules such as size limits, bag limits and closures will remain in effect. Anglers will also be required to complete a catch record card for any salmon, steelhead, sturgeon, halibut and Dungeness crab they catch.
Catch record cards, along with copies WDFW's Fishing in Washington rules pamphlet, are available free at hundreds of license dealers throughout the state.
Of course, anglers licensed to fish beyond Free Fishing Weekend can look forward to a variety of other fisheries opening over the next month, including halibut fishing in Marine Areas 3 and 4, crabbing in Marine Area 6 and summer chinook fishing in the lower Columbia River. For details on those and other fishing, hunting and wildlife viewing opportunities, see the regional reports below.
North Puget Sound:
- Fishing: Anglers who have been searching for trout in the region's rivers since the June 1 opener have had to pack plenty of patience along with their lures, landing nets and lunches, reports Curt Kraemer, WDFW regional freshwater fish program manager. Heavy rainfall in some watersheds pushed rivers out of shape, while low flows plagued other streams. Perhaps the most eagerly anticipated river opening in the region (if not the state) was King County's Cedar River, which had been off-limits to trout fishing since the mid-'90s, and opened to catch-and-release fishing this month. "The opener on the Cedar was very well attended," Kraemer said, noting that limited access led to nearly shoulder-to-shoulder fishing conditions on many of the river's accessible holes. Low flows in the river also made the fish spook easily. Still, anglers averaged about one trout for every two hours of fishing time, with some trout topping the 20-inch mark. The river is open under selective gear rules. For rivers where trout retention is allowed, the general rule is a daily limit of two fish with a minimum length of 14 inches. For information on a specific river's rules, check the 2004/05 "Fishing in Washington" sport fishing pamphlet. The pamphlet is available at hundreds of retail outlets, or on the Internet. Trout fishing continues on area lakes, including the recently opened Pine Lake, a popular destination in eastern King County. A construction project that blocked access to Pine Lake's only public boat launch resulted in a delayed opening of trout-fishing season there. Kraemer said anglers averaged just more than three nice trout per rod during opening weekend. There have been fresh plants of rainbow trout in a few lakes. Shady and Kathleen lakes in King County recently received plants of 2,000 catchable-sized rainbows, while Snohomish County's Goodwin Lake received a plant of more than 2,500 trout. Anglers going after trout might do best to fish early in the morning or late in the day when the fish are actively feeding higher in the water column. Look for trout in deeper water during the heat of the day. Fishing for bass, perch and crappie should be picking up as spring transitions into summer. Summer steelhead season is off to a slow start throughout the region's rivers. It's nearly time for chinook salmon fishing to return to the region's marine and freshwater areas. Pending final approval from federal fisheries managers, a stretch of the Skykomish River is scheduled to open June 16 to hatchery chinook fishing. Anglers will be able to keep two hatchery chinook a day (12-inch minimum length) from the Lewis Street bridge in Monroe upstream to the Skykomish's confluence with the Wallace River. WDFW will announce the status of all Puget Sound-region salmon fisheries as soon as the federal fisheries managers' review is completed. The same holds true for the catch-and-release salmon fishery in Marine Area 10, which is also scheduled to open June 16. The popular Tulalip "bubble" fishery, located just outside Tulalip Bay and north of Everett, is scheduled to begin its annual summer run June 18. The bubble is expected to open to fishing from 12:01 a.m. Friday through 11:59 a.m. Monday each week and runs through Sept. 27. There is a 22-inch minimum length for chinook and no minimum-size requirement for other salmon. The daily limit is a total of two salmon. Saltwater anglers targeting lingcod have been finding a few nice fish north of Whidbey Island and in various San Juan Islands waters. Ling fishing ends June 15. Halibut fishing has been slow. Crab fishing has been steady in opened areas, including marine areas 9, 10 and 11. Sport crabbers can soon add more areas to the "open" list. Recent shell hardness testing shows the crab molt is ending in the southern portion of Marine Area 8-1, so fishing for Dungeness and red rock crab will open there June 11. The area will be on the same Friday-through-Monday schedule as the rest of marine areas 8-1 and 8-2, which opened June 4. The southern portion of Marine Area 7 is scheduled to open to crabbing June 16. Check WDFW's website or rule change hotlines for more information. The finfish hotline is (360) 902-2500; for shellfish rule changes, call 1-866-880-5431. Anglers won't have to purchase a fishing license to pursue any of these opportunities June 12-13, because that's Free Fishing Weekend throughout the state. During those two days, no license will be required to fish or gather shellfish in open waters. Nor will a vehicle use permit be required to park at any of WDFW's 500 water-access sites. While licenses are not required on Free Fishing Weekend, all other rules such as size limits, bag limits and closures will remain in effect. Anglers will also be required to complete a catch record card for any salmon, steelhead, sturgeon, halibut and Dungeness crab they catch.
- Wildlife viewing: For birders, the region's hotspot might be WDFW's Spencer Island Wildlife Area near Everett. One correspondent checking in to the Tweeters birding website reported seeing western wood peewees, willow flycatchers, cliff and barn swallows and a male bullock's oriole during one visit to Spencer Island. Bullock's orioles are one of the more colorful seasonal visitors to the Pacific Northwest. Adult males have orange bodies with black wings, black back and back tail tips and white wing patches. Females and juvenile males are yellow where the adult males are orange. Bullock's orioles are here from March to August, when they nest in riparian habitat on both sides of the Cascade Range. Adults weave a basket-like nest from grass, feathers and other material where four or more eggs are laid. Both parents participate in rearing the young. Virtually all of Washington's summertime visitors winter in western Mexico. Bald eagles are a fairly common site throughout the region, but a group of 75 concentrated in one area near the Swinomish Channel near the community of LaConner caught birders by surprise. Large gatherings of eagles are usually associated with wintertime along the Skagit and other major rivers. Although a possible fishery for is still a few weeks away, there are already scores of fish moving through the fish ladder at the locks in Ballard. A visit to the locks is one of the must-do activities for locals who are entertaining out-of-town guests, and it can be a fun outing for natives as well. Visiting hours at the locks, which link the Lake Washington-Lake Union system to Puget Sound, are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily. More information is available at http://www.nws.usace.army.mil on the Internet. Two of Puget Sound's three resident killer whale pods have been spotted searching for fish and squid in the San Juan Islands recently, so be sure to keep an eye out for the distinctive black-and-white marine mammals if a late spring or early summer trip to the islands is planned. You can impress your friends by noting that killer whales aren't really whales at all - they're actually the largest members of the dolphin family.
Olympic Peninsula/South Sound:
- Fishing: With the ocean salmon season set to begin June 27 in all four coastal areas, anglers may want to take a weekend off before then to pull their gear together. Ocean harvest ceilings of 44,500 chinook and 202,500 coho suggest another good season ahead. Then again, there's plenty to do in the next few weeks for anglers who already have their tackle boxes in order. For one thing, the second part of the recreational halibut fishery in marine areas 3 and 4 (La Push and Neah Bay) opens June 15-19, offering another opportunity to bring home a hefty flatfish. Anglers took some hundred-pounders there during the first opening in May, and the second opening also looks promising, said Michele Robinson, WDFW marine habitat policy coordinator. So is the ongoing halibut fishery in Marine Area 2 (Westport), where catch rates have picked up in recent days, Robinson said. Lingcod and rockfish are also available coastwide, although the lingcod fishery in marine areas 4 and 5 (Strait of Juan de Fuca) closes June 15. Meanwhile, crab fishers are taking limits in a variety of areas, including marine areas 4, 5, the southern portion of 8-1, and all of 8-2, 9, 10, 11, 12 and 13. Marine Area 6 (Port Angeles) opens for crabbing June 16 and the northern portion of Marine Area 8-1 opens June 11, providing even more opportunities to fill a pot. Fishers can also expect the Port Angeles Shrimp District to remain open for spot shrimp until 3 p.m. June 13 and the Discovery Bay Shrimp District to remain open (Saturdays only) for several weeks beyond that, said Rich Childers, WDFW shellfish biologist. "Shrimp fishing has been fair in those areas, although we're still seeing a lot of limits," Childers said. "Now that the big tide changes are behind us, we're expecting to see even higher catch rates." Low water conditions have stalled fisheries for spring/summer chinook and summer steelhead on the Quillayute River system (which includes the Sol Duc, Calawah and Bogachiel rivers), although "a couple hundred" springers have returned to the WDFW hatchery, said Mike Gross, WDFW fish biologist. The Hoh River is probably a better bet right now, because glacial waters help maintain its flow, he said. Anglers are reminded that there is a moratorium on retaining wild, unclipped steelhead anywhere in the state. Prospective fishers do not need a fishing license to sample all these fisheries - and others open through the state - during Free Fishing Weekend, June 12-13. Trout fishing is the most popular attraction for those just starting out, said Bob Gibbons, WDFW manager for inland/anadromous species. Popular choices include American Lake in Pierce County, Lake Aberdeen in Grays Harbor County, Offut Lake in Thurston County, Phillips Lake in Mason County, Mission Lake in Kitsap County, Leland Lake in Jefferson County and Lake Sutherland in Clallam County.
- Wildlife viewing: The eagles have landed along the Seabeck Highway, staging their annual show for observers at the Big Beef Creek estuary in Kitsap County. Arriving as usual around Memorial Day, bald eagles can be seen scuffling for eels and bullheads - and later, salmon - before dispersing in mid-summer. The competition is fierce right now, requiring the feeding eagles to repel constant dive-bombing raids by ever-present crows. One contributor to the Tweeters website counted 46 eagles at the site during the extreme low tides earlier this month, about half of them juveniles and sub-adults. She also counted 32 great blue herons, which line up in the shallows of the estuary for their share of the action. The Big Beef estuary is located off the Seabeck Highway, between Seabeck Marina and Lone Rock Store. Look for a wide-open area with an earthern causeway and a bridge across the tideflats. Chuck Gibilisco, with WDFW, recommends staying in your vehicle to watch, or at least avoid slamming, car doors, which can startle the eagles when they're trying to feed. Meanwhile, butterflies throughout the region are taking advantage of warm days to fly about in search of nectar sources and mates. Many species are on the wing right now including western tailed blues, tiger swallowtails, red admirals, mylitta crescentspots and margined whites. Look for butterflies almost anywhere that's sunny. Open meadows and clearcuts surrounded by forest make for especially good viewing opportunities.
Southwest Washington:
- Fishing: On the Columbia River "we've still got shad coming out of our ears," says Joe Hymer, regional WDFW fish biologist. Just how many shad would that be? Two million have been counted at both Bonneville and The Dalles dams through June 8. On June 3 the tally reached 250,000 fish at Bonneville Dam alone, the fifth-highest daily count on record there. In the Camas-Washougal area during the first week of June a check of boat anglers' completed trips showed average catches of nearly 16 shad per rod, while bank fishers in the Columbia Gorge to Washougal area - checked before their fishing trips were complete - were averaging five to six fish per rod. "We're probably just past the peak of the run but fishing should still be good for most of June," Hymer said. Good sturgeon fishing is expected to continue in the Columbia River estuary. Private boat anglers checked during the first week of June averaged one legal-size fish (45-60 inches) per boat while 90 percent of the charter-boat anglers sampled had landed a keeper. On the horizon, summer chinook fishing opens June 16 from the Rocky Point -Tongue Point line upstream for retention of adult fish. Up to the Highway 395 Bridge in Pasco, anglers are restricted to hatchery fish only (marked by a clipped adipose fin); from the bridge upstream to the Priest Rapids Dam any chinook may be retained. Some bright chinook remain in the Klickitat River, and spring chinook action is wrapping up in the Wind, Cowlitz, Kalama and Lewis rivers. Hatchery steelhead catches were good in the mainstem Columbia River in early June, with boat anglers from Longview downstream averaging one fish per 3.5 rods and bank fishers reeling in steelhead at the rate of one fish for every six rods, including released fish. Steelhead fishing was good on the Cowlitz River between the I-5 Bridge and Blue Creek as well, with anglers there averaging half a fish per rod during the first week of June. Some steelhead are also available in the Kalama, Lewis, and Washougal rivers, Hymer added. With Free Fishing Weekend coming up June 12-13, some area waters recently have been stocked with extra catchable-size rainbow trout, including Clark County's Klineline Pond (1,700 fish) and Battleground Lake (2,100 trout), and Klickitat County's Rowland Lake (2,200 fish), Spearfish Lake (2,300 fish) and Horsethief Lake (4,000 fish), says John Weinheimer, regional fish biologist. For young anglers, June 12 kids' events sponsored with the U.S. Forest Service offer extra opportunities to catch a fish at Trout Lake (Klickitat County) and Merwin Reservoir (on the Clark-Cowlitz county line); check the Forest Service website at http://www.fs.fed.us/gpnf/ for details or call Ross Bluestone at the Mount Adams Ranger District, (509) 395-3400 for the Trout Lake event or Daryl Hodges at Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument (360) 449-7833 regarding the Merwin Lake activities. Meanwhile, anglers don't have to wait for the weekend to find trout at Mayfield Lake and Lake Scanewa, and Riffe Lake is putting out landlocked coho and steelhead. Some bass and walleye fishing opportunity remains in the pools between Bonneville and McNary dams, although the walleye action has slowed some recently, Hymer reports. And anglers who'd like to get paid to go fishing should take note of a recent increase in the reward for harvesting northern pikeminnow. As of May 31 the Bonneville Power Administration is paying $5 per fish for the first 100 northern pikeminnow (up from $4 each); $6 each for 101 to 400 pikeminnow (up from $5 each); and $8 each for pikeminnow in excess of 400 fish (up from $6 each). Northern pikeminnow marked with "spaghetti" monitoring tags behind the dorsal fin will now be worth $500 (up from $100). For details on the Northern Pikeminnow Sport-Reward Fishery Program call 1-800-858-9015, or visit the program's web site on the Internet.
- Wildlife viewing: A Tweeters website correspondent got in some weather-watching along with his planned birding during a June 6 drive around the River S Unit at the Ridgefield National WIldlife Refuge, when a funnel cloud briefly reached toward the ground north of the refuge. Despite the whipping rain and wind, he sighted 45 bird species, including two American white pelicans feeding in ponds along the south end of the loop drive. On June 4, another Tweeters correspondent's evening outing on the River-S unit offered a cornucopia of bird life, spotted from both trail and road including: great egrets, blue herons, cinnamon teals; mallards, coots, red-winged blackbirds and a number of swallow species. Spring offers a wide variety of wildlife viewing opportunities on and near the Shillapoo Wildlife Area where bald eagles, osprey, kestrels and other birds of prey can be seen perched or diving for their catch throughout the area. Three great egrets - an unusual sight here at this time of year - have been seen recently on Dusky Lake at the northernmost end of Lower River Road within the Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge. A western painted turtle was also found basking near one of the wetlands on the south unit. Cowlitz Wildlife Area staff observed wood ducks on the Rainey Creek impoundment at the Kosmos Unit and recently spotted elk feeding in the unit's fields.
Eastern Washington:
- Fishing: : WDFW central district fish biologist Chris Donley says that with warmer weather comes fishing for the warmwater species that start spawning at this time in lakes throughout the region. Largemouth bass, crappie, bluegill, and yellow perch are hitting at Spokane County's Bonnie, Chapman, Clear, Downs, Eloika, Long, Newman and Silver lakes. Sprague Lake, on the Lincoln-Adams county line, is also a good bet for a mixed bag of warmwater species and rainbow trout. Whitman County's Gilchrist Pond has been stocked with extra catchable-size rainbow trout for a kids' fishing clinic on June 12. Contact Whitman County 4-H at 509-397-6290 for more information on that event. At Lake Roosevelt, the annual Washington Governors Cup Walleye Tournament based out of Kettle Falls is coming up June 26-27. Contact Marv Sandow at 509-935-4148 or msandow@theofficenet.comfor registration and other information.
- Wildlife Viewing: Songbird nesting and rearing of young is at a peak, says WDFW wildlife biologist Howard Ferguson. "Just listen for peeping nestlings when you walk in the woods or fields," he said. One of Ferguson's regular survey routes at north Spokane County's Bear Lake recently yielded nests of willow and yellow warblers, white-breasted nuthatches, hairy woodpeckers, and even brown creepers tucked between pieces of bark on a snag on the north end of the lake. Ferguson also noted that Spokane's peregrine falcon pair is again rearing a couple of chicks in a nest on the highest span of the bridge directly over Latah Creek. The pair can be seen flying after and snagging swifts and other birds from Highbridge Park, just west of downtown. Ferguson will soon be banding the chicks, which usually fledge sometime around the Fourth of July. Meanwhile, the annual "invasion of the baby snatchers" is under way throughout the region, with WDFW staff retrieving "adopted" deer fawns from well-meaning but uninformed outdoor recreationists. Lone baby wildlife of many kinds rarely need human help because usually they aren't orphaned or abandoned at all. Doe deer often leave their young for periods of time to forage on their own and to keep from drawing predators to the babies through their own body scent. Fawns are born without much body scent of their own - a built-in defense mechanism to help hide them from predators. WDFW staff remind everyone to enjoy these wildlife newcomers when they're discovered, but to leave them alone.
- Hunting: The application deadline for special fall hunting permits is June 20, and deer hunters who are familiar with the "wedge" area of Stevens County are encouraged to apply for new second antlerless whitetail tags to assist a research project. The idea is to reduce whitetail deer in two small parts of the "wedge" - the area between the Columbia and Kettle rivers north of Kettle Falls to the Canada border - in an effort to reduce cougar use of the area and disproportionate predation on declining mule deer. A total of 400 permits will be issued with the expectation of less than 50 percent success rate, since the area has excellent escape cover for deer. WDFW district wildlife biologist Steve Zender notes this is NOT a damage control hunt and private landowners may not be interested in allowing access. "We need local hunters who know the wedge well, can hunt the public land or have permission from private landowners and can remove some deer," he said. All details for this special hunt, and many others that must be applied for by June 20, are available in WDFW's 2004 Big Game Hunting Seasons and Rules pamphlet.
North Central Washington:
- Fishing: With recent rains and cool weather, water levels are high in the Columbia Basin, particularly at Potholes Reservoir. But as weather warms and summer advances, fishing will be hot for several warmwater species and trout. The MarDon resort dock on Potholes is seeing action on nice-size smallmouth bass, walleye and rainbow trout up to six pounds. One advantage of the high water levels is that any boat can easily navigate the sand dunes portion of the reservoir, where some big walleye are caught, most recently and notably a 5-pound, 11-ounce fish. The Lind Coulee area of the reservoir offers some wind protection and safety for smaller boats, plus some respectable walleye catches. Nearby Soda Lake recently produced a nine-pound walleye and Canal Lake has been yielding up to five-pound rainbows.
- Wildlife viewing: Official summer may be just ahead for the lowlands, but in the mountains it's still very much spring with many birds just starting to nest. This makes June a great month to birdwatch at higher elevations (if you don't get into snow). Some birds that wintered at backyard feeders in lower areas are now breeding in the high country. Examples include evening grosbeaks, pine siskins, mountain chickadees, juncos and Cassin's finches. Others just migrated into the mountains from the tropics, like western tanagers, ruby-crowned kinglets and calliope hummingbirds. And then there's the tough, year-round mountain birds now nesting, like blue and spruce grouse, rosy finches, gray jays, Clark's nutcrackers, and ravens. Deer fawns are making their debut now throughout the region. WDFW staff remind outdoor recreationists that a lone baby of this kind doesn't need help because chances are it isn't orphaned or abandoned. Doe deer often leave their young for periods of time to forage on their own and to keep from drawing predators to the babies through their own body scent. Fawns are born without much body scent of their own - a built-in defense mechanism to help hide them from predators. Enjoy these wildlife newcomers from a respectable distance.
South Central Washington:
- Fishing: Starting June 16, wild summer chinook salmon can be retained on the Columbia River's Hanford Reach (the stretch from the Hwy. 395 bridge at Pasco to Priest Rapids Dam). Recreational harvest will be allowed this year because these fish are not listed under the Endangered Species Act and because the return of wild summer chinook above Priest Rapids is expected to be strong this year. Minimum size is 12 inches and the daily catch limit is six salmon, which may include no more than two adults. All sockeye salmon and steelhead must be released unharmed.
- Wildlife viewing: Local birdwatchers' recent monitoring of the Vredenburgh Bluebird Nestbox Trail on North Wenas Road showed that 36 more bluebirds have fledged, bringing the year's total to 64. Tallies also showed 129 eggs and 245 nestlings, plus 15 females on nests, probably incubating more eggs. Second nests have appeared in a few of the boxes that had earlier success. A white-breasted nuthatch has reclaimed a nest box where an earlier nest failed, evidently hoping for better results this time around. Tree swallows are interested in two boxes while a pair of mountain chickadees may have started a new nest over an old fledged bluebird nest. Birders also saw a house sparrow (an introduced species that outcompetes native species) exiting a box near the trail's midpoint, noting that - with more people and livestock moving into the area - it may be a hint of problems to come. Other birders in the Wenas campground area recently reported common poorwills, common nighthawks and a western screech owl.
