June 14 - June 27, 2000

Contact: Sina Kirk, (509) 456-4073

OLYMPIA – This is a great time of year for birds, butterflies and just about every kind of fishing.

Right now, a lot of eyes are trained on the upper Yakima River in Kittitas County, where anglers have their first opportunity in more than 40 years to catch a spring chinook salmon. Faced with the biggest run of spring chinook to the river since the record books have been kept, managers for the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) decided to give anglers a crack at some of them.

Fishing was slow during the opener last weekend, but is expected to pick up as water levels drop. The season will continue for the next three weekends – June 17-18, June 24-25, and July 1-2 – during daylight hours only, with a daily catch limit of one salmon (either adult or jack). Salmon fishing ends for the day for each angler after one salmon is caught, whether the angler chooses to retain or release the fish.

During the opener, anglers were catching salmon on large spinners, but inexperienced salmon fishers should be careful to use salmon-sized gear to minimize chances of catching trout, which must be released.

Whether you're on a river or just out and about, keep an eye out for songbirds and butterflies – both of which are abundant in late June. Butterflies favor open, sunny areas where there is moisture and a variety of plant life, so don't be surprised if you find butterflies sharing your fishing hole. Canyons, parks, gardens, meadows, pastures, and other clearings also provide good habitat for butterflies. Many butterflies feed on nectar from flowers, so where there are wildflowers, butterflies are likely to be nearby.

There are about 200 species of butterflies in the Pacific Northwest, so a butterfly book may be helpful in identifying different species.

Whether it's salmon, butterflies or some other wildlife species that makes your heart flutter, here's a regional guide to top current recreational opportunities during the next two weeks:

Northern Puget Sound:

• Crab pot fishing remains open in Marine areas 8-1 (except Holmes Harbor), 8-2, 9 and 10. The San Juan County portion of Marine Area 7 is expected to open to crab pots shortly (mid-June). Waters from Anacortes to Bellingham probably will open in early July with the Birch Bay vicinity expected to open in early August, says Norm Lemberg, regional shellfish manager. Fishers should check the Shellfish Rule Change hotline at (360) 796-3215 for the latest information. Diggers should be on the lookout for beach closures due to paralytic shellfish poisoning; the state's PSP hotline number is (800) 562-5632. Inland, steelhead fishing is heating up in the Stillaguamish, Skykomish/Snohomish and Green river systems. Bass fishing is coming on in larger lowland lakes and shoreline areas are productive spots. Lake fishers are still heading home with trout catches in the lakes that have been strong producers, including Ki and Goodwin in Snohomish County, Meridian and Pine in King County; McMurray and Erie in Skagit County. Port Susan Bay (Snohomish County) is a great place to view gray whales, which can be seen in shallow bays where they feed at high tides. Look for orca whales off the west side of San Juan Island, where Limekiln Lighthouse provides a good vantage point. Boaters must remember to keep their distance from whales. Turkey vultures can be seen throughout open pasturelands of northern Washington. Look in wetlands or sloughs, rivers and lakes for baby ducks and mergansers. Shallow, forested pools provide nesting habitat for mallards; where wood duck nesting boxes have been added, wood ducks or hooded mergansers also may be in residence.

Olympic Peninsula/South Sound:

• With more than two weeks to go until the start of the ocean salmon season, what's a coastal angler to do? Plenty, as it turns out. Halibut charters have been limiting out from Ilwaco to the eastern end of the Strait of Juan de Fuca, the exception being the area around Westport (Marine Area 2) which closed earlier this month. Marine Area 4 around Neah Bay has been especially hot, but anglers should check the Fishing Hotline (360) 902-2500 before going because the catch is nearing the initial 92,774-pound limit. Charters out of Port Angeles are posting the best results on the Strait, where one in 10 anglers is hauling in a big flatfish weighing an average of 40 pounds. Meanwhile, summer steelhead fishing is picking up steam on the Wynoochee River and the Quillayute River system (including the Bogachiel, Calawha and Sol Duc rivers), and Dungeness crab fishers are reporting great success with rings and star traps on Hood Canal (pots are currently off limits in Area 12). Salmon fishers have also been landing some 20-pound chinook near Tacoma in Marine Area 11, which opened on the first of June, although the daily limit is one chinook per customer. In Thurston County, Offutt Lake is a standout for trout fishing and Long's Pond is scheduled to be planted this week for kids. But for those anglers with an eye to the future, coastal salmon fishing opens July 3 in Marine Areas 2, 3 and 4, from Leadbetter Point to the Canadian border. All areas have special rules, including a wild coho release and a daily limit of one chinook, so be sure to check the WDFW 2000 Fishing in Washington sport fishing rules pamphlet before you go.

Southwest Washington:

• Sometimes it seems that boat anglers have all the luck. But while a boat – and the advice of an experienced charter skipper – can be a real asset, plenty of shoreside anglers are making their own luck throughout southwest Washington. Bank fishers in the Columbia River estuary from Knappton to Chinook have been doing well on sturgeon. Last week's sampling of trips in progress showed one legal "keeper" for every seven rods. True, charters out of Ilwaco averaged three sturgeon for every four fishers last week, but that's a different experience entirely. Bank fishers are also pulling in sturgeon just downstream from Bonneville Dam, an area that has also been hot for shad. The average catch below the dam last week was two per rod, based on incomplete trips. Further upriver at The Dalles Pool, the average bank angler went home with several bass last week while others reeled in 14-inch landlocked coho from the fishing bridge at the upper end of Riffe Lake. On the upper Wind River, two in three bank anglers landed a spring chinook each last week, although the effort is beginning to wane as the fish begin to darken. Recent plants of catchable-size rainbows also make Klineline Pond, Canyon Creek and Battle Ground, Rowland, Spearfish, and Horsethief lakes a good bet for bank-bound anglers, so don't think that a boat is a prerequisite for good fishing.

Eastern Washington:

• Rainbow trout are prime for the catching at Badger and Fish Trap lakes. The upper reaches of the Spokane River are producing rainbow trout; special rules apply so be sure to check the fishing regulations. The emergence of damsel flies on 60-degrees-plus days is improving fly-fishing. Try a very thin green or brown imitation of a damsel fly nymph, or a water boatman or a dry Adams. Rainbow and walleye fishing in Lake Roosevelt is improving. The Governor's Cup walleye tournament on Lake Roosevelt at Kettle Falls is June 24-25. Walleye fishing will be good before and after the tournament from Gifford Ferry up to the Canadian border. Birdwatchers may want to head to the great blue heron rookery on U.S. Army Corps of Engineers land along the Snake River in Whitman County (north side of the Snake River between Clarkston and Steptoe Canyon Road); there are at least six nests with young adults in residence. Redtail hawks are fledging and leaving the nests soon. Swainson's hawks are incubating eggs and should not be disturbed at this time. Lots of bluebirds are hatching now and there are lots of insects for them to eat. Watch for baby ducks of the early hatching species: mallards, gadwalls, and widgeons. This is also the perfect time of year to spot baby moose; they've been seen in the Spokane River area and other parts of the region, so be on the lookout, especially for protective and potentially dangerous mother moose.

North Central Washington:

• Potholes Reservoir offers ample fishing opportunities. Perch, rainbows, smallmouth bass, and yellow bullhead are being caught off the Mar Don Fishing Dock, using night crawlers. Still fishing at the mouth of Frenchman's Wasteway with power bait is catching four-pound rainbows. Trolling double whammys with crawlers, or pop gear with crawlers, produces rainbow to three pounds. Trolling the sand dunes, with a wedding ring tipped with night crawler is producing walleye and rainbow. Walleye to five pounds are being caught trolling Rapalas in Crab Creek. Face of the Dam and Canal Lake are producing two-pound rainbows. The Moses Lake Bow Fishing Classic is June 17 and 18; for more information on this bow and arrow carp shoot, call (509) 765-7696.

South Central Washington:

• Rainbow trout fishing continues on Clear, Rotary, North and South FioRito, and Lavender lakes, and Easton Ponds. Goldendale Hatchery has a few extra rainbow that are being stocked into I-82 Ponds 4 and 6. Birdwatchers should look for eagles, hawks, and songbirds. A hike in the foothills and medium elevation mountains will be rewarded with abundant wild flowers in full bloom. There are lots of wild "newborns" out there to enjoy from a distance, and to leave alone; some "newborns," like bears, come with very protective moms.