Washington Fishing News

The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) will hold public meetings in July on proposals to improve fishing by treating more than two dozen lakes and one stream in eastern Washington with rotenone.

Action: Anglers will be able to retain sockeye salmon in the Hanford Reach during the summer chinook fishery.
Effective Date: July 1 - Aug. 15, 2009
Location: Columbia River from the Hwy. 395 Bridge at Pasco to Priest Rapids Dam.

Action: Open chinook and sockeye fishing in the Okanogan River and the lower Similkameen River.

Effective dates: July 1 through Oct. 15, 2009.

Species affected: Chinook and sockeye salmon.

Location:

Action: It is unlawful to fish for, retain or possess lingcod south of 46º 58 N. Latitude and seaward of 30 fathoms on Fridays and Saturdays, July 3 through August 31 in Marine Area 2, Westport.

Effective date: July 3, 2009.

OLYMPIA - The recreational halibut fishery off the south coast of Washington will open for one more day, allowing anglers to fish for both salmon and halibut Sunday, June 28.

Enough quota remains to allow Marine Area 2 (Westport) to open for halibut fishing at all depths from 12:01 a.m. to 11:59 p.m. on June 28, which is also the first day of ocean salmon fishing out of Westport.

OLYMPIA - Women can learn the basics of fishing, hunting, and other outdoor skills in a September weekend workshop that includes several sessions led by Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) experts and other certified instructors.

OLYMPIA - After a delay of nearly a month, the sport fishery for hatchery-reared steelhead on the lower Columbia River will open Friday, June 12 under an agreement reached Wednesday by fishery managers in Washington and Oregon.

Actions: Opens salmon fishing on the Entiat River (Chelan County).

Species affected: Spring chinook.

Location: Angling will be allowed from the Alternate Highway 97 Bridge near the mouth of the Entiat River, upstream approximately 6 miles to 800 feet downstream of the Entiat National Fish Hatchery fish ladder entrance.

OLYMPIA - The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) has issued corrections to the recently published 2009-2010 Fishing In Washington Sportfishing Rules Pamphlet.

Anglers are advised to update their copies of the fishing rules pamphlet, which became effective May 1, 2009. The pamphlet is available on WDFW's website at http://wdfw.wa.gov/fish/regs/fishregs.htm .

OLYMPIA - State fishery managers will hold a second public workshop June 12 in Seattle to discuss efforts to update the federally approved fisheries plan that guides conservation of Puget Sound chinook salmon throughout their range.