March 3-16, 2004

Contact: Margaret Ainscough, (360) 902-2408

As winter winds down, anglers can choose among far-flung opportunities ranging from blackmouth fishing in the Strait of Juan de Fuca to newly opened rainbow trout lakes in eastern Washington.

Blackmouth fishing has been heating up in several marine areas of the Olympic Peninsula. Since late February, anglers fishing Winter Hole and Ediz Hook near Port Angeles have been averaging better than one fish for every two rods, drawing an influx of boats. Strong catch rates have also been reported at Point No Point and in Hood Canal.

The Hoh River has been serving up steelhead with creel checks on the last weekend in February showing anglers with more than half a fish per rod.

Hundreds of sandhill cranes are gathering in the Columbia Basin for an annual feeding and resting stopover on their journey from California wintering grounds to Alaska breeding sites. Their numbers will peak next month at close to 15,000 birds - more than half of all the Pacific Flyway's cranes. See the northcentral region wildlife viewing report and visit the Othello Sandhill Crane Festival's website for details on the seventh-annual event. Across the Cascades, wintering birds-including spectacular trumpeter swans, falcons and bald eagles-are still on view in northern Puget Sound lowlands.

Washington state spring turkey hunting enthusiasts are reminded that the March 7 deadline looms for purchasing raffle tickets. The raffle is for entry into a special drawing for the chance to hunt one month longer and take an additional three birds in 2004.

Raffle tickets are $5.43 each and are on sale at any hunting license vendor throughout the state, as well as by telephone (toll-free at 1-866-246-9453), and at http://fishhunt.dfw.wa.gov/ on the Internet. The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) will notify winners by March 15.

Young hunters under the age of 16 can participate in a new spring turkey-hunting season, April 10-11. The season will be open to youth hunters in approximately half of the state's game management units. Check WDFW's spring turkey regulation pamphlet, available in mid March, for more information.

Here is a roundup of current recreational opportunities around the state:

North Puget Sound:

• Fishing: The winter blackmouth fishery has been predictably unpredictable this year, with anglers finding fish one day, then little or no action for days afterward. There have been reports of big fish hitting the landing nets in places like Thatcher Pass, between Blakely and Decatur islands in the San Juans, and along the Kitsap shoreline of Puget Sound. "Fishing in the San Juan Islands and the northern portions of the region definitely seems better than points south," said WDFW blackmouth manager Chuck Johnson. "And those anglers who fish with spoons or other hardware behind a dodger off a downrigger seem to be consistently outperforming the moochers who are fishing either gear or bait off the bottom." Johnson said inexperienced anglers would be better off trolling than mooching. "It's harder to get the hang of mooching and you can spend a lot of time dealing with hook-ups on dogfish and other species. You usually don't have those problems when you're trolling, and you can cover much more water." Marine areas 7 and 8-1 remain open to blackmouth fishing through March 31. Marine areas 8-2 and 11 are open through April 10, and Marine Area 9 is open through April 15. Some anglers in the region are targeting bottomfish, including rockfish. There is a daily limit of one rockfish, no minimum size, no yelloweye or canary rockfish can be retained. Freshwater fishers are running out of places where they can cast a line, especially with the recent closure of several rivers to all fishing for the protection of weak steelhead stocks. The rivers that closed March 1 are the Skagit (from mouth to the Dalles Bridge at Concrete and including Fisher Slough) the Skykomish, the north fork Stillaguamish, the Puyallup and the Carbon. The Green River also remains closed to fishing because of low steelhead returns. Trout anglers should keep an eye on WDFW's catchable trout plant weekly report page, at http://wdfw.wa.gov/fish/plants/weekly/ on the Internet. Regional lakes that are open to year 'round fishing typically begin to receive catchable trout plants during the first few weeks of March. Look for perch and bass catches to start perking up on year-round waters, such as Lake Washington and Lake Sammamish. Fishing should continue to improve as the days get longer and water temperatures begin to climb. Flyfishers on Pass Lake, near Deception Pass, have been successful in fooling big trout by trolling small chironomid patterns, especially on calm days when insect hatches occur. Pass Lake is open year-round to catch-and-release flyfishing only. No motorized boats are allowed on the lake.

• Wildlife viewing: There are still plenty of choices for birding enthusiasts in search of a worthwhile outing. For starters, there are hundreds of trumpeter swans - North America's largest waterfowl - scattered throughout the region. One of the best places to see these magnificent birds is the Johnson-DeBay Swan Reserve, near Mount Vernon, where 300 to 400 swans were spotted recently feeding on corn. Despite its name, the swan reserve is also host to thousands of ducks, as well as bald eagles and other raptors. To reach the swan reserve, take the College Way exit off I-5 in Mt. Vernon, then head east and turn left on LaVenture Road. Follow LaVenture Road, which becomes Francis Road, for approximately four and a half miles and turn left on DeBay Isle Road. Don't forget that all vehicles entering the swan reserve - and other WDFW public access sites - must have a current vehicle use permit, available wherever fishing and hunting licenses are sold, including online. Next on the list of "superlative" birds the region offers is the gyrfalcon - the world's largest falcon. Gyrfalcons have a conspicuous gray, black and white checkered pattern and can often be spotted hunting amongst the shorebird flocks that gather in saltwater areas such as the Samish Flats, the Skagit Wildlife Area and other estuaries. Those same hunting grounds are shared by peregrine falcons, generally believed to be the world's fastest bird. Though somewhat smaller than gyrfalcons, peregrines can more than make up for their lack of physical size by the strength of their punch. Peregrines dive after airborne prey - some individual pursuits have been clocked in excess of 200 mph - and literally knock birds from the sky with the force of their attack. Peregrines nest along cliffs - both natural and manmade - and can be found in such varied habitats as the San Juan Islands and downtown Seattle. While brant geese aren't the biggest, smallest, fastest or strongest, they do have one of the most amazing annual migrations. The geese breed each summer in the high Canadian Arctic, then fly "around" the Alaska mainland, always sticking to the coastline, and mass on Izembek Lagoon in the Aleutian Islands. Brant then fly to their wintering grounds - nonstop. While some "only" fly to the bays and estuaries of lower British Columbia and northern Puget Sound, some others fly to the southern tip of Mexico's Baja Peninsula - a journey of several thousand miles without so much as a single stopover. To celebrate these unique birds, the Washington Brant Foundation has scheduled its second-annual Washington Brant Festival, April 16-18 in Blaine and Birch Bay. More information on the birds and the brant festival is available online on the Internet. Backyard birders should be on the lookout for the season's first hummingbirds. Some neighborhoods are fortunate enough to have year-round resident Anna's hummingbirds, but the majority of the Puget Sound's hummingbirds are only seasonal visitors - and they're on their way. Rufous hummingbirds have already been spotted in the extreme southwestern corner of the state, and the tiny birds will likely start showing up in the Puget Sound region shortly.

Olympic Peninsula/South Sound:

• Fishing: After a couple of spotty weeks, fishing for blackmouth has been heating up in several marine areas around the region. Since late February, anglers fishing Winter Hole and Ediz Hook near Port Angeles have been averaging better than one fish for every two rods, prompting a rapid infusion of boats and gear. Strong catch rates have also been reported at Point No Point and Hood Canal, with lots of eight-to-nine pounders. "The season's definitely starting to pick up steam," said Chuck Johnson, WDFW blackmouth manager. "We're seeing a lot of baitfish - herring and candlefish - in the water, and that's always a good sign." Point No Point can be tricky, said Johnson, who recommends fishing on the outgoing tide, starting about two hours before low slack until an hour after the tide changes and starts to come back in. Farther south in Puget Sound, blackmouth fishing is still fairly slow, although anglers continue to pick up a few 5-to-6 pound fish around Point Defiance. Anglers fishing in marine areas 1-3 will have a new option starting March 13: lingcod. Opening day for the popular bottom-dwellers was moved up several days to conform with new federal seasons. The daily limit for lingcod in marine areas 1-3 is two fish, measuring at least 24 inches in length. Anglers are reminded that canary rockfish retention is prohibited as of March 4. Meanwhile, north coast rivers - particularly the Hoh - have been producing good numbers of steelhead, according to creel checks conducted the last weekend in February. The Hoh River, which has been only marginally fishable for much of the season, yielded more than half a fish per rod that weekend (0.51 fish per rod below Highway 101 and 0.64 fish per rod above). That compares to 0.37 fish per rod on the Quillayute River system, which has been the steady producer this year. As of March 2, all north coast rivers were low and dropping, but anglers need to keep the weather in mind when planning a trip, as heavy rains are a signature of the north coast and water conditions can change quickly. Anglers are also reminded that all wild steelhead must be released beginning April 1 under a two-year moratorium on wild steelhead retention recently adopted by the Fish and Wildlife Commission. That's not an issue farther south, where releasing wild steelhead is already the rule on rivers like the Satsop, Wynoochee, Wishkah, Hoquiam and Humptulips. Steelhead anglers have enjoyed good fishing on all five of those rivers - including the portion of the Humptulips River below Highway 101, which closes to steelhead/trout fishing March 31 (not Feb. 29 as mistakenly stated in the Fishing in Washington rule pamphlet). One angler, by all accounts, certainly enjoyed taking home the 22-pound hatchery-reared steelhead he caught Feb. 28 in the Satsop River. "I saw (the fish) and the weight was verified," said Larry Phillips, a WDFW fish biologist who was also fishing that day. "That was one nice steelhead!" The Puyallup and Carbon rivers in Pierce County are closed to all fishing March 1-31, but South Sound anglers with boats might want to give Spanaway Lake or Offutt Lake a try: Both have been giving up good-size trout. Worms and marshmallows are the ticket at Spanaway Lake, where some anglers are finding fish up to four pounds. And there's no reason to wait any longer to dig clams at the Point Whitney tidelands. The sport clam season there, originally scheduled to open March 31, was moved up to open March 1 after surveys showed an increase in the clam population there. All clams at Point Whitney are fair game within the rules laid out in WDFW's Fishing in Washington pamphlet.

• Wildlife viewing: Frogs are croaking, herons are gathering sticks and drakes are chasing hens from lake to glen. While the calendar still shows a couple more weeks of winter, the rites of spring have already begun in earnest for Washington's wildlife. Oregon spotted frogs are already "laying eggs like crazy" along the Black River in Thurston County, said Kelly McAllister, WDFW wildlife biologist. That's encouraging, McAllister said, because spotted frogs can now be found in only a few areas of western Washington and are listed by the state for protection as an endangered species. Most of the chorusing people hear these days is from male Pacific tree frogs, a more common species, which are sending out a call for mates throughout the region. Bald eagles should also start laying eggs by mid-March, McAllister said, while the pageant of avian courtship goes on for hundreds of other species from golden-crowned kinglets to common sparrows. Downtown Olympia's own pair of peregrine falcons should start nesting soon, too, and that's a concern for McAllister and others interested in their success. Last year, the peregrines choose a Port of Olympia crane as a nesting site, with tragic results. Unaware that the birds were incubating three eggs on the crane, port officials literally lowered the boom, jostling the eggs and causing their parents to abandon the nest. This year, McAllister has erected two nesting boxes - one of his own design - at the port and hopes the birds will take the hint. "These are the first known pair of peregrines to try to nest in Olympia," McAllister said. "We hope they have better luck this year." Speaking of luck, a barred owl named Arlene returned home to Bainbridge Island the last weekend in February after three months of rehab at the Washington State University College of Veterinary Medicine in Pullman. Arlene, formerly named Arnold, had been away from the island since early December after she flew into a vehicle as it drove off the ferry. Fully recovered after her treatment, the 1-year-old bird was equipped with a radio transmitter and released in a vacant lot, where she made a beeline for the forest. Before taking flight, however, Arlene bit her handler in the arm, leaving a dime-size welt as a souvenir of her visit.

Southwest Washington:

• Fishing: Spring chinook angling has been slow but the mainstem Columbia River below the Interstate 5 Bridge and the Cowlitz, Kalama and Lewis rivers are all producing some scattered catches, says Joe Hymer, WDFW regional fish biologist. During the last weekend of February, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife found only one hatchery spring chinook kept and one unmarked fish released for 66 boats (incomplete trips) on the lower Columbia. Hymer predicts the action and effort will pick up rapidly as March progresses. Already, nearly 200 boats of salmon fishers were counted during the last two Saturdays in February. On March 16 the mainstem Columbia from I-5 upstream to Bonneville Dam and Bonneville Pool from the Tower Island power lines upstream to McNary Dam will open for hatchery spring chinook and hatchery steelhead. Wind River and Drano Lake are expected to open for spring chinook and hatchery steelhead in mid-March; check the Fishing Regulation Changes section of the WDFW website or the WDFW Fishing hotline (360) 902-2500, press 2, for the latest information. Anglers may also want to check the fish counts at the various mainstem dams. Drano Lake anglers are reminded the boat ramp there will be closed due to construction through March. Through Feb. 26, only 12 adult spring chinook had been counted at Bonneville Dam. The fish counts are available http://www.nwp.usace.army.mil/op/fishdata/welcome.htm. Also in the Fishing and Shellfishing section of the WDFW website, the Southwest Washington Fishing Reports creel sampling summaries offer a good indication of how the fishing is going. Late winter steelhead prospects are best in the Kalama and Cowlitz rivers, but decent catches for last year's summer-run steelhead can also be had in The Dalles Pool, where boat fishers averaged 1.5 steelhead per rod during the last week of February. Columbia River anglers from the Rocky Point-Tongue Point line upstream to McNary Dam may not completely remove from the water any salmon or steelhead they are required to release. Walleye fishing has been good in The Dalles and John Day pools where boat anglers averaged from ¾ to one fish per rod including fish released during the same period. Walleye fishing should remain good until the fish begin spawning. Mainstem river sturgeon fishing is still slow, with the plume of the Willamette River and Bonneville, The Dalles and John Day pools the best spots to try. Smelt have been "missing in action" recently, Hymer reports, and their absence has left the lower Columbia currently devoid of large numbers of seals and seagulls. The failure of the forage fish to show up in large numbers so far this year "is definitely not good news, though they may still reappear," Hymer noted. "On a more positive note, spring chinook and sturgeon may be a little hungrier as a result."

• Wildlife viewing: Bald eagles are out in the Vancouver lowlands, says Brian Calkins, manager of WDFW's Shillapoo and Mount Saint Helens wildlife areas. The eagles have been visible lately along the roadsides bordering the north and south units of the lowlands, which lie west of Vancouver along the Columbia River, and can be reached by driving State Route 501 (lower River Road). Ducks and geese also are plentiful now in the area. As the month of March unfolds, thousands of sandhill cranes are expected to pass through southwest Washington on their spring migration. Agricultural fields, including those on the Shillapoo Wildlife Area, are the prime spot to watch the spectacular birds, which can assemble in flocks of up to 100 birds or more. Meanwhile, in the Mount Saint Helens area, motorists on the Spirit Lake Highway (State Route 504) may be rewarded with the sight of an elk.

Eastern Washington:

• Fishing: Cold weather may have kept opening day crowds down somewhat, but the Tucannon River impoundments in Columbia County are all open water and full of hatchery-stocked rainbow trout. Even Big Four Lake finally received its share of trout just before the March 1 opener. Those who are out at Beaver, Big Four, Blue, Deer, Rainbow, Spring and Watson lakes are making nice catches of 8-to-10-inch rainbows and a few 1-1/4-pounders, as expected. Waters further north in the region are still iced up. "We need a mighty wind," says WDFW central district fish biologist Chris Donley. "Our warm but calm days and cool nights aren't doing the trick." Ice on the three lakes that officially opened to fishing on the first of March -- Coffepot in Lincoln County and Amber and North Silver lakes in Spokane County -- is too thin and spotty for ice-fishing but too thick at the shoreline for easy access. "There's open water in parts of Coffeepot Lake," Donley said, "but you can't reach it yet because the shoreline is still iced up." WDFW enforcement sergeant Dan Rahn reported that Fourth of July Lake on the Lincoln-Adams county line is just opening up near the boat launch, although recent checks of anglers showed that fishing is slow. Fourth of July, still full of trout, is a winter-season lake that remains open until March 31. Rahn also reported that year-round Sprague Lake still has a lot of soft ice and not much open water. Steelhead fishing on Snake River tributaries is hot. Anglers on the Tucannon River recently averaged less than two hours per steelhead caught, and those on the Touchet averaged less than three hours per steelhead caught. No recent creel data is available for the Grand Ronde River, but reports are that steelheaders are elbow-to-elbow in some spots. Steelheading remains open on these southeast waterways through April 15.

• Wildlife viewing: WDFW northeast district wildlife biologist Steve Zender says this is a good time to travel the back roads and see flocks of wild turkeys near farms in the Ferry, Stevens and Pend Oreille county area. "The Chewelah, Colville, and Cusick valleys are especially good areas to spend time cruising the back roads for concentrations of waterfowl and hawks, too," Zender said. "Migratory birds are also returning to our area so it's just great to get out and listen for meadowlarks, red-winged blackbirds, and robins." Zender also noted that the annual feeding and resting stopover of migratory tundra swans and other waterfowl in northeast Washington is just ahead so birdwatchers will want to plan mid-to late-March field trips to see them. WDFW biologist Todd Baarstad reports excellent opportunities for viewing waterfowl nesting activities wherever there is water in the central district of the region. "We've got a few thousand ducks and geese on the Swanson Lakes Wildlife Area and in the Coffeepot and Pacific lakes areas of Lincoln County now. Baarstad also says mule deer are very visible on open slopes feeding on new greens and turkeys are starting their courtship rituals with the coming of spring. Some backyard bird feeders report seeing flocks of Bohemian waxwings moving through. WDFW Spokane office manager Lois Blanchette is bracing for the onslaught of calls about squirrels, skunks and raccoons sniffing out nesting sites in and around porches, garages, sheds, chimneys and other crawl spaces where they become a nuisance. She advises sealing up all access to such enticing spots and keeping pet food inside to avoid problems with whole families of these small mammals this spring.

• Hunting: March 7 is the deadline for purchasing raffle tickets for the chance to hunt wild turkeys one month longer and take three additional birds this spring. Over 80 percent of the statewide spring harvest of wild turkeys occurs in this eastern region. Raffle tickets are $5.43 each and are on sale at any hunting license agent throughout the state, via a toll-free phone line at 1-866-246-9453, or via the Internet at http://fishhunt.dfw.wa.gov/. Winners will be notified by March 15. Young hunters under 16 years of age can participate in a new spring turkey-hunting season, April 10-11, in addition to the April 15-May 15 regular season. Blue Mountains spring black bear hunting permit applications are due March 14. A total of 105 permits are available across seven southeast units for the season that runs April 15 to May 31. After purchasing a permit application from a license vendor or online, hunters must submit applications by phone (toll-free 1-877-945-3492) or Internet (http://fishhunt.dfw.wa.gov).

North Central Washington:

• Fishing: The Columbia Basin came alive with anglers March 1 when dozens of hatchery rainbow trout-stocked lakes opened to fishing. WDFW district fish biologist Jeff Korth hasn 't been able to "crunch all the numbers" yet from opener creel checks, but he reported overall good results from angling efforts. "Martha, Upper Caliche, Quincy, and Burke lakes all produced many limits, often in a hour or less," Korth said. "Most of the catches were yearling trout, 10 to 12 inches, but a few 15-to-17-inch winter carryovers were also found." Korth says all of these lakes should be good fishing for at least the rest of the month. Lenice and Nunnally lakes, which are selective gear rule and one-fish catch-limit waters, were ice free but a little slow in terms of catches on the opener. "Fish were picky," Korth said, "and anglers there averaged only a couple of fish in the 14- to 20-inch range." Lenore Lake, which is a catch-and-release water until June, still had a considerable amount of ice on March 1. Meanwhile up north in the region, fishing of all kinds will close March 5 on the Methow, Chewuch and Wenatchee rivers to protect upper Columbia River steelhead, which are listed for protection under the Endangered Species Act. The closure includes the winter whitefish season, which was to run through March 31. WDFW angler checks have found that some people are targeting steelhead during the whitefish season. Whitefish anglers historically don't accidentally catch many steelhead, but with larger returns of steelhead to the upper Columbia, steelhead catches have become a problem.

• Wildlife viewing: If you want to get in on one of the viewing tours during the seventh-annual Othello Sandhill Crane Festival March 26-28, reserve your space now. That's the word from Randy Hill, Columbia Basin National Wildlife Refuge biologist. Some of the specialized tours are already full and the festival banquet featuring world-renowned wildlife artist Robert Bateman as keynote speaker, is likely to sell out well ahead of time. Hill reports there are already about 400 cranes in the area, mostly using cornfields for a feeding and resting stopover in their migratory journey from wintering grounds in California to breeding and summering sites in Alaska. Their numbers will build to a peak of nearly 15,000 by the first of April. That's about half of all the sandhill cranes in the Pacific flyway, Hill says. Alaska wildlife officials, who have radio-equipped some of the cranes in the last few years to monitor their movements, tell him that the Columbia Basin has become the most important migratory stopover area for these birds. The cranes aren't the most numerous birds in the Basin, but they are probably the most spectacular. At up to four feet tall, with up to a 7-1/2-foot wingspan, these silvery gray birds with red crown patches are definitely one of Washington's "charismatic megafauna." Cranes are the main event of the festival, but field trips include other species. Burrowing owl tours have become very popular, Hill says, with a colony of the birds nesting just east of Othello. Bus seats on WDFW's sage grouse lek tour may already be booked. Geese, ducks and shorebirds are also a big draw, including boat tours on Potholes Reservoir. One tour covers the local geologic story of the Missoula Floods and the channeled scablands. The festival also offers classroom presentations on bird-watching basics, WDFW's Backyard Wildlife Sanctuary program, agriculture's role in the birds of the Basin, and other related topics. For more information call 509-488-2802 ext. 100 or the registration line at 866-726-3445, or visit http://www.othellosandhillcranefestival.org/.

South Central Washington:

• Fishing: WDFW fish biologist Eric Anderson reports that hatchery personnel began the year's first rainbow trout stocking in regional lakes and ponds this week. "The timing could not be better," Anderson said. "Spring-like weather is driving people outdoors and to favorite fishing holes." Catchable-size trout, about one-third pound each or ten to12 inches, and some "jumbo" trout, about a pound each, are being stocked now in the following lakes in the Yakima area: Granger Pond, I-82 Ponds 4 & 6, Myron Lake, Rotary Lake, Sarge Hubbard Park Pond and Wenas Lake. In the Kittitas Valley, Denmark Pond, Fio Rito Lakes, Mattoon Lake, McCabe Pond and Woodhouse Ponds are receiving trout. "Many of these lakes were stocked last fall and will still have some carryovers," Anderson said. Additional lakes will be stocked at higher elevations as the weather continues to warm up and the snow and ice packs recede. "The next big wave of stocking effort in this region will occur in early April," Anderson said. Anglers can pick up a copy of the trout stocking schedule at the WDFW Southcentral Regional Office in Yakima at 1701 S. 24th Ave., 509-575-2740. They can also view a summary version on the WDFW website. Anderson reminds anglers that although most of the lakes in the Yakima and Kittitas valleys are open to fishing year-round, there are special regulations on some waters. Check the WDFW Sport Fishing Rules Pamphlet for gear and catch limits.

• Wildlife viewing: If you want to see elk or bighorn sheep at the winter feeding stations on the Oak Creek Wildlife Area and Clemans Mountain unit southwest of Yakima, time is running out. That's the word from WDFW regional wildlife program manager Lee Stream. "By mid-March these animals will be dispersing back to transitional winter range," Stream explained. "Snow is melting in the valleys although there's still some in the uplands throughout the Kittitas and Yakima areas. There are still wintering birds in the valleys but they, too, will begin to move out very soon." Shed- antler hunting is already underway, and Stream reminds treasure hunters that many parts of the Oak Creek Wildlfie Area are closed to access until May so that animals are undisturbed during this critical transition time in their foraging. Wherever shed antlers are sought, collectors should avoid spooking animals that are particularly weak at this time of the year. WDFW habitat biologist Ken Bevis says male red-winged blackbirds are setting up breeding territories in cattail marshes, willow thickets and other places near water throughout the region. "This species is one of the most common but colorful in North America," Bevis said. "The males spread their red epaulets or shoulder-patches and give their raspy call to intimidate other males, to show who is really the boss. Experiments have shown that when these birds have the red covered up, they are less likely to hold a territory. The female red-wings are a subtle mottled-brown, all the better to hide while sitting on a clutch of eggs. " Bevis suggests watching familiar areas where these birds set up territories to see where territorial "lines" are drawn.