With spring in full swing, new opportunities are popping up for crabbing in Puget Sound, shrimping in Hood Canal, angling for hatchery spring chinook on eastside rivers and wildlife viewing across the state.

The largest return of spring chinook to the Columbia River in two decades is making for unusually long fishing seasons on eastside tributaries, including the Icicle River near Leavenworth where fishing is scheduled to remain open through July 22 and the Ringold area north of the Tri-Cities where bank fishing continues through the end of July. The open tributaries are those populated by hatchery fish, reared for recreational purposes.

Meanwhile, two popular crabbing areas of central Puget Sound from the north end of Admiralty Inlet to the Southworth Ferry Dock have opened to pot fishing for Dungeness crab. Even in areas with pot restrictions, recent results have been excellent for crabbers who wade or harvest with ring nets.

Those who prefer to make their "Louie" with shrimp will have four days to set their pots in Hood Canal this month, as described in the South Sound section below.

And with Memorial Day weekend and the beginning of hiking and camping season just around the corner, wildlife watching can be an unplanned highlight of any trip outdoors. To enjoy it safely visitors need to remember that wildlife should be enjoyed from a distance. A chance encounter with young animals is a possibility at this time of year; resist the temptation to meddle with Mother Nature and remember wildlife that appears orphaned or stranded usually is not. Some animal mothers leave their off-spring for brief periods while they search for food or draw away predators. People who take baby animals out of the wild endanger both the creatures and themselves, and face a potential fine for violating a state law against holding wildlife in captivity.

For those who don't have the time to venture into the backcountry, a high-tech camera mounted in an eagle nest in a backyard near Kent offers visitors to the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) website live color images of nesting eagles and their offspring.

Here's a round-up of the top current recreational opportunities by region:

Northern Puget Sound:

• Dungeness crab pot fishing has opened in north-central Puget Sound (Marine area 10 and most of Marine Area 9 except for an area south of an imaginary line between Foulweather Bluff on the Kitsap Peninsula to Olele Point on the Olympic Peninsula). Port Susan and waters around Everett earlier opened to pots. But even areas where crabbing is restricted to ring nets, star traps and wading can yield unexpectedly good results, says WDFW's Tony Floor. "Traditionally, most people think the only way to catch crab is with pots, but those who try wading or using ring nets will find the competition is a lot less," says Floor. Lingcod fishing is open throughout Puget Sound through June 15, and artificial reef areas are the likely spots for success. The daily limit is one fish.

Olympic Peninsula/South Sound:

• Cat food is the bait of choice for the four-day recreational shrimp season that runs on a Saturday-and-Wednesday schedule May 20, 24, 27 and 31 on Hood Canal. Fishing hours are limited to 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. and several new rules will be in effect, so be sure to check your 2000 Fishing in Washington pamphlet. Fishing for hatchery chinook is underway in South Puget Sound; results are good on out-going tides at Gibson Point on the east end of Fox Island and on the south end of Anderson Island. Halibut fishing is even better on the Strait of Juan de Fuca, where small-boat anglers are hooking 90 pounders right in front of Neah Bay. For freshwater anglers, WDFW recently stocked a number of lakes in the area with catchable rainbow trout. Planted lakes include Bogachiel Pond, Lake Sutherland, Lincoln Park Pond, and Wentworth Lake in Clallam County; Gibbs Lake, Lake Anderson, Lake Leland, Lake Tarboo, Sandy Shores and Silent Lake in Jefferson County; Bainbridge Lake, Kitsap Lake, Deer Lake and Lake Cushman in Mason County; Deer Lake, Lake Cushman, Lake Nahwatzel, Lake Osborne, Penhandle Lake and Spencer Lake in Mason County; and St. Clair Lake in Thurston County. The Grays Harbor Shorebird Festival is over, but not all of the birds have gotten the word. There are still plenty of shorebirds to see at Bowerman Basin near Hoquiam.

Southwest Washington:

• The fourth annual Sturgeon Festival runs Saturday (May 20) from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. in Vancouver, celebrating the Columbia River and its ecosystems. Sponsored by WDFW and the City of Vancouver, the free family event features a "stump the scientists" contest for kids as well as live displays of raptors and reptiles. For those who actually want to catch a sturgeon, catch rates are running about one fish per boat in the lower Columbia. Further upstream, spring chinook fishing above the Bonneville Dam is also running hot. Anglers are doing well at the mouth of the Wind River, Drano Lake, the White Salmon River and the Klickitat River. The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service is planting Drano Lake with surplus hatchery spring chinook. Spring chinook fishing is also off to a good start on Cowlitz, Lewis and Kalama rivers, the latter also offering the chance to catch summer-run steelhead. Kokanee anglers are averaging about three fish per person at the Yale and Merwin reservoirs, where the fish are running 10 inches to 14 inches respectively. Bass are hitting on spinners and plastic worms at The Dalles and John Day pool, and smallmouth bass are giving anglers a workout on the eastern end of Riffe Lake.

Eastern Washington:

• Black-necked stilts and other shorebirds are visible at Saltese Flats just southeast of Spokane. Animal young, including goslings and ducklings, are present throughout the region, and deer fawns and elk calves will be coming along later this month. Bighorn sheep at Lincoln Cliffs in Lincoln County along Lake Roosevelt should be visible later in the month for those boating or fishing the reservoir. Roosevelt rainbow trout and walleye fishing is steady. April-opening trout lakes continue to produce limits; some that were slow on the opener are picking up now, like West Medical Lake in southwest Spokane County. This week Walla Walla County's Bennington Lake, unintentionally missed in earlier planting operations, will get nearly 800 1.5-pound triploid trout.

North Central Washington:

• Bird-watchers can "Catch the Wave" of bird migration happening now in and around the Columbia National Wildlife Refuge south of Moses Lake; call the refuge at (509) 488-2668 for details. Besides the strong spring chinook fishing prospects on the Icicle River, May is prime lake fishing time in Potholes Recreation Area waters: The Seep Lakes, like Shoofly and Deadman are great for bluegill. Bass fishing is a quiet get-away on no-gas-motorboats lakes Hutchinson and Shiner. Upper Hampton Lake is another no-gas motorboats water that's great for big trout. Walleye are hitting at Upper Goose Lake. Potholes Reservoir along the face of O'Sullivan Dam and Soda Lake are good at first light for smallmouth bass. Troll the mouth of Frenchman's Wasteway with pop gear and night crawlers for rainbows. The sand dunes are producing largemouth bass on spinner baits, tube skirts and Rapala Shad Raps. Afternoon trolling the deep water off Medicare Beach is producing trout and an occasional walleye. Evening trolling the mouth of Crab Creek or the Lind Coulee is good for walleye.

South Central Washington:

• Neotropical migrant birds are visible in many locations in the region, including streamside areas, woodlots and backyards with suitable habitat. Watch for tiny warblers, showy western tanagers, hovering kingbirds, acrobatic swallows and others. Spring chinook fishing is in swing in the Ringold Area on the east bank of the Columbia River adjacent to Ringold Hatchery where fishers are targeting an expected 1,600 returning hatchery chinook and several hundred steelhead. Fly fishing is good for 14- to16-inch wild rainbow trout on the upper Yakima River south of Ellensburg, and in the Cle Elum to Teanaway reach of the upper Yakima; this is a catch-and- release fishery with only single barbless hooks and no bait allowed. Smallmouth bass fishing is picking up in the lower Yakima River; bass up to six pounds and increasing numbers of channel catfish are reported as the weather warms. Anglers in the I-82 Ponds in Yakima County and Scootenay and Kahlotus lakes in Franklin County need to follow the new bass regulations: five bass daily catch limit, and only bass less than 12 inches or greater than 17 inches may be kept, with no more than one bass over 17 inches. New daily catch limit for trout in Mud and Myron Lakes in Yakima County: one trout daily catch limit and selective gear rules (single barbless hook and no bait).