CONTENTS Attention Anglers! Youth Fishing Creel Surveys Buoy 10 Daily Creel Fish Plants Private Fish Plants Northern Pikeminnow Sport-Reward Fishery Types of Lake Fish Fish Management in SW Washington Warmwater Fish Research Sturgeon and Steelhead Tag Recovery Lowland Lakes Map SW Washington Regional Office Buoy 10 Fishing Useful Links Columbia River Maritime Museum Web cams near the Astoria Bridge Astoria-Megler Bridge - South Astoria-Megler Bridge - North Road Conditions Water temps and salinity Astoria weather, marine forecasts, buoy data, and sea temps Weather Marine forecasts

Fish Management in Southwest Washington There are several methods that biologists use to manage fish in southwest Washington. Below is a brief description of some of those methods and what type of information that can be gained by using them. Stacie Kelsey displays a rainbow trout caught in Merwin Reservoir while sampling for bull trout.

Steve Campbell unloads a net full of kokanee into the live well as Bob Woodard scopes the water for more fish. Kokanee were sampled in Speelyai Bay for spawning purposes.

Creel Survey - If you fish in southwest Washington lakes and streams, chances are that you have been approached by WDFW personnel and ‘interviewed' about your fishing trip. Information such as how long you have spent on your trip and what kind of fish you are catching or releasing are used to help estimate how many fish are being harvested in each body of water.

In some instances, lengths and weights may be taken as well as scale samples which can be read to determine the age of the fish. Fin marks and tag numbers, if present, are also recorded. Recording tag numbers help biologists learn how fish are moving around within the water system.

Nets - A variety of different types of nets are used to capture fish for data collection. Nets are set for long or short periods of time depending on the fish species being sought. Fish can be measure and weighed, scale samples and stomach samples taken and with some fish such as bull trout, genetic samples will be taken.

Electroshocking - This sampling method involves a boat that is specifically designed for this type of field work. Two 10 ft. poles are attached to the front of the boat with cable prongs. When the prongs are lowered into the water they deliver an electrical current that stuns the fish making it easier to capture the fish to collect biological data.

Lengths, weights and scale samples will be taken depending on the type of fish. Some fish are tagged and marked, others will have stomach samples taken. The fish are then released in the same area of water that they were captured in.

Net Pens - If you have driven by Klineline Pond in Clark County you may have seen a large floating pen in the middle of the pond. This pen and others like it are being used to raise a variety of fish including juvenile steelhead and sea-run cutthroat and rainbow trout. Feeders are attached to the pens, similar to ones you would see at a fish hatchery. When the fish have grown to the appropriate size, they will be released into the lake or in the case of Klineline's net pens, into Salmon Creek.

Several thousand rainbow trout are being raised in net pens at Mineral Lake for the opening day of trout season, April 24, 1999. The pens are first assembled by Steve Campbell, Rich Pettit and John Weinheimer, then towed to their destination in the lake.