September 4-17, 2002

Contact:  Margaret Ainscough, (360) 902-2408

Coho fishing heats up on westside,
early hunting seasons under way

Cooler days are signaling the close of summer but fishing- especially for hatchery coho- remains hot on the westside of the state, including the Sekiu area and the lower Columbia River. On the ocean, coho fishing is re-opening in the Ilwaco area from Sept. 6 through 15.

In the field, early archery hunting seasons are under way and the early Canada goose hunting season opens Saturday (Sept. 7) in most of the state. Check the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife's (WDFW) Migratory Waterfowl and Upland Game Seasons pamphlet for bag limits, closed areas and other details.

While cooler, damper weather has returned to portions of western Washington, much of the state remains dry, and hunters are reminded to use extreme caution with fire in the woods. For updated fire danger information on a county-by-county basis, check the Washington Department of Natural Resources website, http://www2.wadnr.gov/burn-risk/ on the Internet. Hunters who see reckless or suspicious fire use are encouraged to call a toll-free arson hotline, 1-800-55-ARSON. A reward may be given for information that leads to the arrest and conviction of forest arsonists.

Visitors to this year's Western Washington Fair in Puyallup (Sept. 6-22) can buy a recreational license and learn more about natural resource management at WDFW's display in the fair's Northwest Outdoors Building. There's also a free catch-and-release trout pond for kids 12 and under, sponsored and staffed by WDFW; hunting and target-shooting displays; freshwater and warmwater fish displays and plenty of information on WDFW's fish and wildlife management activities. Partnership volunteer assistance is being provided by Trout Unlimited, Puget Sound Anglers and the Washington Hunter Education Instructors Association.

In other areas of the state, current recreational opportunities include:

North Puget Sound:

• Fishing: Salmon fishing is open throughout northern Puget Sound, and while it's been far from fantastic lately, WDFW Fisheries Biologist Steve Foley said returning coho should start grabbing anglers' attention soon. "Everyday, it's getting a little better," he said. "Last year, the fish were early, big and plentiful, and that probably has people thinking that this year's run is late." In fact, Foley said, the 2002 coho season is shaping up to be a more typical year for coho timing, when the hard-fighting fish reach their peak numbers in northern Puget Sound sometime in mid- to late September. "Over the next two weeks, fishing should really start to pick up," Foley said. Marine Area 7, the San Juan Islands, is open with a daily two-fish limit, no more than one chinook. Chum and wild coho must be released. Marine Area 8-1, including Deception Pass, and Skagit Bay, has a two-fish daily limit, and all chinook must be released. The same rules apply for Marine Area 8-2, which encompasses the Port Susan-Port Gardner areas, except for the Tulalip Bay bubble fishery area. The bubble fishery chugs along on its 12:01 a.m. Friday to 11:59 a.m. Monday weekly schedule through Sept. 30 with a two-fish daily limit, both of which may be chinook. Marine Areas 9 and 10, which include Admiralty Inlet and the Edmonds to Vashon portion of Puget Sound, are also open with a two-fish daily limit, and all chinook and chum must be released. The Skagit, Snohomish, Snoqualmie, Skykomish and Nooksack rivers all opened for salmon fishing Sept. 1. The best bet might be the Skagit, where there is a two-fish daily limit, 12-inch minimum size, and all chinook must be released. The river is now open from the mouth to Gilligan Creek, and starting Sept. 16 the upstream portion from Gilligan Creek to the Cascade River opens with the same restrictions. The Snohomish, Snoqualmie and mainstem Skykomish also have a two-fish daily limit, 12-inch minimum size, and in addition to releasing chinook, anglers must release any pink salmon they encounter. On the Nooksack River, anglers can fish from the Lummi tribal reservation boundary upstream to the Mount Baker High School bus barn in Deming. All chinook and wild coho salmon must be released on the Nooksack. This is the prime time for cutthroat trout fishing in many rivers. Chinook fishing in Lake Sammamish has been slow. Perch fishers are finding lots of big fish in Lake Washington, and the plentiful fish are entering their annual feeding frenzy before fall arrives. Once the weather starts to cool down, there may also be some decent trout fishing again in the region's lakes. Trolling small flies at dawn or near sunset can be effective. Lake Washington opens Sept. 16 for coho fishing north of the State Route 520 Bridge and east of the Montlake Bridge. There is a two-fish daily limit, and coho must be at least 12 inches to retain. Recreational crab fishing is set to close at the end of the day Sept. 5 in Marine Areas 8-1, 8-2, and the portion of Marine Area 9 north of a line from Foulweather Bluff to Olele Point. WDFW Shellfish Biologist Don Velasquez said annual harvest quotas have been reached in those areas. It's possible there could be a short opener in Area 9 near the Thanksgiving holiday, Velasquez said. In the meantime, crabbers have been doing well in the Birch Bay and Boundary Bay portions of Marine Area 7.

• Wildlife viewing: Hundreds of shorebirds are working the tidelines on northern Puget Sound's bays and estuaries, including thick knots of western sandpipers and black-bellied plovers, ring-billed gulls, Bonaparte's gulls, western sandpipers and long-billed dowitchers. High country visitors should be on the lookout for black bears feeding on the first of the season's berry crops.

• Hunting: Ruffed grouse hunting opened statewide Sept. 1. Lora Leschner, WDFW regional wildlife manager, said the birds tend to hang out in several different habitats. "Ruffed grouse like vine maple areas, places where there are berry crops, and areas near water," she said. The birds also like to hang out near gravel roads, where they pick up a little grit for their gizzards to help break down and digest food. Hunters walking decommissioned logging roads can often find the birds nearby. The early archery season for deer runs Sept. 1-30 in western Washington, while the high buck season runs Sept. 15-25 in the Alpine Lakes, Glacier Peak, Pasayten and Olympic Peninsula wilderness areas, and the Henry Jackson Wilderness Area west of the Pacific Crest Trail. Archery season for elk runs through Sept. 14. Check the WDFW Big Game Hunting Seasons and Rules pamphlet for details. Early goose season runs from Sept. 7-12 in management areas one and three, with a five-goose daily limit and a 10-bird possession limit. Youth-only duck hunting is Sept. 21-22. Hunters are reminded that hunting for canvasback ducks is closed statewide this year for conservation measures.

Olympic Peninsula/South Sound:

• Fishing: Although anglers' focus is shifting to inside waters, ocean salmon fishing got a late-season boost from an announcement that the Ilwaco coho-only fishery will reopen seven days per week from Sept. 6 through Sept. 15. Salmon remaining under coastwide quotas adopted by the Pacific Fishery Management Council made it possible to provide additional fishing opportunities for marked coho in the Ilwaco area (Marine Area 1), said Phil Anderson, WDFW special assistant to the director. Anderson noted that other fisheries for marked coho will continue as scheduled through Sept. 8 at LaPush and Neah Bay. An additional season for both chinook and marked coho is scheduled to get under way Sept. 21, he said. "It's been a great year for salmon fishing on the Washington coast and we expect the good fishing will continue right up to the end," Anderson said. In all coastal areas remaining open to fishing, anglers must release any chinook salmon, unmarked coho or - in Marine Area 4 (Neah Bay) - chum salmon they catch. The same is true of Sekiu, where the number of anglers and landings of marked coho have continued to grow in recent days. In Sekiu on the last Saturday in August, 387 anglers were checked with 226 marked coho at Van Riper's Resort and another 352 anglers brought in 230 marked coho averaging five pounds each. Since then, the bite has been picking up day by day, said Gary Ryan at Van Riper's who noting that the period from Sept. 8-20 has traditionally provided the area's best coho fishing. "We've heard a lot of reports that Swiftsure Bank (off the mouth of the Strait of Juan de Fuca) is loaded with coho," Ryan said. "A little rain should suck them right in here." Coho catches were sparse in the eastern Strait of Juan de Fuca and Puget Sound through the end of August, but landings of chinook salmon have been on the rise from Willapa Bay to the Nisqually River. At Tokeland on Willapa Bay, WDFW checked 180 anglers with 42 chinook during the last week of August. On Gray's Harbor, which reopened for salmon fishing Sept. 1, WDFW counted seven chinook for 17 boats at John's River after a single day of fishing. "The fishing on Gray's Harbor generally appears to be better at the eastern end toward the Chehalis River than out west toward Buoy 13," WDFW Fisheries Biologist Wendy Beeghley said. "We saw some nice fish come out of there last weekend." In southern Puget Sound, WDFW's Patrick Kelly recommends the Puyallup, Nisqually and Skokomish rivers - in that order - in the weeks ahead. "There are a lot of chinook holding up outside those rivers, just waiting for some rainfall to move," Kelly said. "Watch the weather report for the next couple of weeks." For albacore tuna, anglers can choose between Westport and Ilwaco as a port of departure starting Sept. 7. Several Ilwaco boats will join the Westport charters in the hunt for albacore, which have moved further offshore in recent weeks requiring two- or three-day trips. The results can be worth it, though. Anglers making the trip out of Westport have been averaging around 15 fish, each weighing 25-35 pounds. Meanwhile, South Sound lake anglers are hitting lots of perch at American Lake; bass, trout and perch at Lake Tanwax; crappie at Harts Lake; and trout, bass and perch at Offut Lake.

• Hunting: The season for Canada geese got under way Sept. 1 in Goose Management Area 2B, giving hunters in Grays Harbor and Pacific counties a head start on the rest of the state, where the season runs from Sept. 7-12. The primary purpose of the early season in area 2B, which runs through Sept. 15, is to target a resident population of dark geese, said Don Kraege, WDFW waterfowl manager. Those dark geese have complicated WDFW efforts to bolster protected dusky goose populations, present later in the year he said. "Dark geese - which might otherwise be mistaken for duskys - have been marked with a white collar for easy identification," Kraege said. "Hunters can rest assured that a goose is not a dusky if it's wearing a white collar." Kraege noted that hunters can legally take five dark Canada geese per day (with or without a collar) during the September hunt in Area 2B. He asks that hunters who bag one of these collared dark geese call the number on the metal leg band (800-327-BAND) and report the time and location of the kill to help WDFW control the population of dark geese as part of its dusky goose management effort. He notes that goose hunters in management areas 2B and 2A (Clark, Cowlitz and Wahkiakum counties) do not need a special permit for the September hunt, but must have state and federal duck stamps. Of course, geese aren't the only birds and game in season in early September. The hunting season for forest grouse (blue, ruffed and spruce) opened statewide Sept. 1 and Grays Harbor County has the largest population of ruffed grouse in western Washington. Jack Smith, regional WDFW wildlife manager, said birds are visible throughout the region, but will be easier to hunt after autumn rains draw them out of the brush in search of food. "Hunting pressure is pretty light right now, but should pick up after the birds start moving out into open areas and gravel roads," Smith said. He added that a little rain could also benefit the archery deer and elk seasons, which got under way Sept. 1. "A lot of private landowners have closed their land to hunters because of fire danger," Smith said. "Some rain could really help provide some additional access." Most traditional areas of the Chehalis Valley are open, but Smith advises hunters to check with local landowners before hunting on their lands. While it's still too early to assess bow-hunter success, Smith noted he "did see a nice four-point bull taken in the Satsop area the other day."

• Wildlife viewing: Chinook salmon are returning to the Deschutes River just as they do every September, but people who want to watch them arrive may have to adopt a new perspective. A popular viewing spot on the north side of the old 4^th Avenue Bridge in downtown Olympia fell victim - like the bridge itself - to the wrecking ball after the big earthquake in 2001. Although there is no pedestrian access to the temporary bridge now standing in its place, the nearby 5^th Avenue Bridge does offer a viable alternative. On most days, dozens of spectators gather on the bridge to watch chinook salmon pass by below on their way to the Deschutes Hatchery. Seals can sometimes be seen preying on adult salmon while the occasional great blue heron stops by for a light lunch. While the 5^th Avenue Bridge is a viable alternative to the old bridge, the new 4^th Avenue Bridge now under construction will make an even better viewing platform, said Jay Burney, a management assistant for the construction project. Scheduled for completion in December 2003, the new bridge will feature four pedestrian lookout stations and sidewalks up to 12 feet wide, he said. Meanwhile, members of the Westport Seabirds group made some thrilling observations on a pelagic trip to Quinault and Grays canyon, according to a recent posting on the Tweeters website (http://www.scn.org/earth/tweeters/). Highlights include seeing a humpbacked whale and 450 Pacific white-sided dolphins with more than 2,000 shearwater trailing behind. In addition, the group spotted one greater shearwater - the second ever identified off the Washington coast. Brownish back feathers with fringes gave the bird a scaled appearance, a classic feature of greater shearwater.

Southwest Washington:

• Fishing: The focus of fishing activity in the Buoy 10 area at the mouth of the Columbia River is shifting from chinook to hatchery coho, reports Joe Hymer, WDFW regional fish biologist. Catches there last week averaged one coho for every four rods with fish tipping the scales in the 10- to 18-pound range. Fishing effort and catch has been strongest just above the Megler-Astoria Bridge. With the fall chinook run heading up the Columbia, Bonneville Pool area looks like the strongest chinook fishing spot on the river in coming weeks. Anglers are reminded that night closures and non-buoyant lure restrictions are in place at Bonneville Pool through mid-October. The lower Columbia below Bonneville Dam and the Klickitat River also offers good prospects for catching upriver bright fall chinook, although catch rates have decreased recently on the lower Columbia. Chinook catches have been light in the tributaries but anglers are finding some good hatchery coho catches in the lower Cowlitz Rivers system including the Toutle, North Fork Toutle, and Green rivers. Early coho should also be showing soon in the Grays, Elochoman, Kalama, and Lewis rivers and opportunities are expected to increase there over the next few weeks. Meanwhile, anglers shouldn't overlook hatchery sea-run cutthroat, which are being brought in good numbers on the lower Cowlitz River from the Interstate 5 bridge downstream. This aggressive fish can be taken on flies, lures, and standard bait such as nightcrawlers, Hymer notes. Meanwhile, kokanee fishers reportedly had been finding good success on Yale Reservoir.

• Hunting: WDFW enforcement officers patrolling the archery elk opener reported overall numbers of archers seem to be fewer than in past years. Closures due to fire danger put a crimp in hunting activity in many areas. Hunters reported observing lots of legal buck deer in the Peterman Hill Unit of the Cowlitz Wildlife Area, however, dry conditions kept archers from getting close enough for a take. The early Canada goose hunting season opens in most of the state on Sept. 7 and runs through the 12^th. Check the Migratory Waterfowl and Upland Game Seasons pamphlet for bag limits, closed areas, and other details.

• Wildlife viewing: With record numbers of fall chinook salmon passing Bonneville Dam, the fish viewing windows there offer some of the season's most impressive wildlife watching. August's count of 142,000 adult fall chinook was a record for the month, and a number of steelhead and coho can also be spotted crossing the dam. On land, the 410 road site at WDFW's Cowlitz Wildlife Area recently offered sights of Douglas squirrels, ruffed grouse, winter wrens and chestnut-backed chickadees. On the south side of Riffe Lake and at Swofford Pond Canada geese and great blue herons can be seen. Also at Riffe Lake violet-green swallows have been spotted foraging en masse across the lakeshore. Turkey vultures have been seen riding the thermals at Mossyrock as well as on the east end of the Cowlitz Wildlife Area at the Spears unit. Also, western toad toadlets were observed en masse at Goat Creek Flats.

Eastern Washington:

• Fishing: WDFW fish biologist Mark Schuck reports Snake River steelhead trout are coming up river quicker this year because water temperature is lower than expected due to releases of Dworshak Reservoir water. That could make more of them available to anglers earlier if the cooling stays in force, Schuck says. Watch the water temperature reports in local newspapers because as it fall to 60 degrees or below, the bite will definitely pick up. WDFW habitat biologist Jeff Lawlor reminds waterfront property owners who have procrastinated about projects that the work window has all but closed for fish habitat enhancement in many of the streams and lakes in northeast Washington. Some waters projects can extend into September and October, he notes, but WDFW must be contacted for specifics.

• Hunting: Cold snaps in some parts of the region may have chased mourning doves south and left hunting opportunities sparse. Forest grouse should be available in wooded riparian areas. Although no specific checks have been made, abundant deer should be providing ample opportunity for early archery hunters; remember that mule deer bucks must be at least three antler points, but whitetail can be any deer in game management units 101-124 and three-point minimum or antlerless in units 127-155 and 162-186. The early goose season should be productive up north on the Pend Oreille River, and along the Snake River in the southeast. Walla Walla County is the region's top goose harvesting area and much of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' 20,000 acres of land along the Snake River provide good hunting.

• Wildlife viewing: Shorebirds are migrating into the region from the north. Reardan Ponds in Lincoln County are always a good bet for seeing rare and common species, everything from killdeer to knots. Many of the migratory song birds are beginning to come through, too; the entire month of September will be good for seeing warblers, chickadees and others species. Good places to look are islands of habitat in the "wheat desert", local cemeteries in farming country, and streamside woodlands. Now is the time to hike into elk country (Blue Mountains or Selkirks) to hear the roaring of the bulls. Bull elk should be into pre-rut activities, which includes their unique bugling, creating wallows and gathering harems of cows. The peak of the rut is about the third week of September, but a lot of bugling and displaying occurs before then.

North Central Washington:

• Fishing: So many summer chinook salmon have returned to the upper Columbia River that a recreational fishery for chinook is now open through Sept. 15 on the Okanogan and Similkameen rivers in Okanogan County. The season expands fishing from the mainstem Columbia River into tributary streams, with both hatchery and naturally produced summer chinook available for harvest. WDFW fish biologist Heather Bartlett says the Okanogan River's warm water conditions in late summer usually preclude the temperature-sensitive chinook from moving farther upstream. However, this year's prolonged snowmelt and cool evenings in early August kept water temperatures within tolerable limits, and the chinook are moving upstream. Areas open are the Okanogan River, from the Highway 97 bridge crossing near Brewster to a quarter-mile downstream of the railroad trestle near Zosel Dam, and the Similkameen River, from the confluence with the Okanogan River upstream to the city bridge crossing at Oroville.The daily limit is six salmon, but no more than two adults can be retained. All sockeye, coho and steelhead must be released unharmed, and night fishing is not allowed. Bartlett reports that chinook fishing in the mouth of the Okanogan has improved markedly, with fish evidently stacking up now because the river is too warm. Fishing effort is light, but those out seem to be limiting. Chinook are running really deep in the mainstem Columbia around the confluence with the Okanogan. Bartlett also encourages anglers to get in some end of the season trout fishing at Okanogan County lakes like Chopaka, Wannacut, Sidley and Aeneas. Cooler nights bring cooler water temperatures which lead to better trout fishing, she explains. Fish move out of the thermocline and become more accessible to anglers. Also, their flesh quality improves with the cooler temperatures. Potholes Reservoir in the Columbia Basin has lower water levels now and trolling for trout has greatly improved. Bass, perch, and walleye fishing has also been good on the reservoir, and bluegill and crappie are improving.

• Hunting: Although no specific reports are available, dove hunting should be productive in those parts of the region where weather has remained mild. The greatest dove hunting success is usually by those who have discovered the magic combination - water and wheat stubble- and who have secured access to private lands. The season continues through Sept. 15. Forest grouse hunters should be taking limits in Okanogan County, but no game checks have been made. Early goose season should be productive in the Columbia Basin, the state's number-one waterfowl hunting area; more geese are harvested throughout all of the goose seasons in Grant County alone than any other part of Washington.

• Wildlife viewing: Up to 16 species of raptors or birds of prey can be seen now at Chelan Ridge, above Lake Chelan north of Manson. Because warm air lifts and creates easy soaring thermals there, the ridge is a natural migration corridor for eagles, hawks, and falcons migrating to winter habitat during September and October. The most commonly sighted raptors are the Northern harrier, Cooper's hawk, Sharp-shinned hawk, Red-tailed hawk, Prairie falcon, American kestrel, and Golden eagle. For more information on Chelan Ridge, check out http://www.fs.fed.us/r6/oka/birds/migration.html.

South Central Washington:

• Fishing: Although little effort and harvest has been seen for Hanford Reach fall chinook salmon so far, when the bumper crop of salmon arrive in a few weeks fishing could be red hot. Chinook counts are climbing at Columbia River dams, explains WDFW fish biologist Rick Watson, and once the counts exceed 40,000-45,000 at McNary Dam, fishing should pick up dramatically. The Sept. 2 count of 26,721 fish compares to a 10-year average at that time of 12,025 fish. Fish counts are climbing to over 3,000 per day at McNary now. The latest fish counts are available at http://www.cqs.washington.edu/dart/dart.html or http://www.fpc.org/CurrentDaily/7day-ytd_adults.htm. The Yakima River's fall chinook salmon season, in the stretch below Prosser, opens Sept. 16 and runs through Oct. 31. This now-permanent season is for six fish daily with no more than two adults, and a night closure and non-buoyant lure restriction is in effect. Steelhead fishing remains closed. WDFW Regional Fish Program Manager John Easterbrooks says the chinook run is predicted to be one of the best in decades. The coho salmon run to the Yakima River, however, is expected to be very poor, and there will not be a fall season this year targeting coho in the middle reach of the Yakima River. Easterbrooks reports that monitoring last year showed that coho account for less than 5 percent of the catch anyway, with the chinook apparently easier to catch. WDFW fish biologist Jim Cummins says September is the time to fish the upper Yakima River, one of the best trout fishing rivers in Washington. The annual reduction of flows in the upper Yakima, and increase of flows in the Tieton and Naches below the confluence with the Tieton, at this time is to accommodate spawning spring chinook salmon, Cummins explains. The increase in Tieton/lower Naches flows is used by the Bureau of Reclamation to maintain flows for Yakima Basin irrigation requirements. Fishing the Tieton and lower Naches is now difficult if not impossible. But the upper Yakima is wade-able, and the fall caddis hatches are expected to put the rainbow trout into a feeding frenzy. Anglers fishing grasshopper and caddis imitations should be successful at catching and releasing up to 20 trout per day. Fishing is for 8- to 16-inch rainbow, with a rare cutthroat. A few larger fish to 20 inches will be caught, but the average rainbow will be about 11 inches. The upper Naches and tributaries should also be good for trout, with most running in the 8-12 inch range. Trout anglers should avoid disturbing spawning salmon in the upper Yakima, Naches, Bumping and Little Naches. Fishers should not walk in the redds where the salmon deposit their eggs. Cummins says September is also a good time to head for the hundreds of high elevation lakes located in Kittitas and Yakima counties to catch pan-sized cutthroat, Eastern brook, or rainbow trout.

• Hunting: Although no specific reports are available, dove hunting should be productive in those parts of the region where weather has remained mild. The season continues through Sept.15. Early archery elk hunters should be doing well in the spike bull or antlerless season that continues through the 14^th, but no game check tallies are available yet. Early goose season should be excellent in the Tri-Cities area, with harvest in Benton and Franklin counties usually making up most of the region s totals.

• Wildlife viewing: A good area to view spawning salmon during the month of September is in the vicinity of Lake Easton State Park, below Lake Easton. Bull elk are bugling around Raven's Roost in the Little Naches River drainage in the far northwestern corner of Yakima County (follow Hwy. 410 northwest of Naches). For the best viewing opportunities, arrive just before daylight and walk the Cougar Valley trail. Elk are normally visible on the open hillsides until about 7 a.m., when they move down into timber. Before you go, check with the Wenatchee National Forest trail and road conditions during this intense wildfire season on the Internet or at (509) 662-4335.