North Puget Sound


Fishing: This time of year anglers have a decision to make: cast for steelhead in the local rivers or get out onto Puget Sound and fish for salmon.
“Weather conditions usually help anglers make that choice,” said Steve Thiesfeld, WDFW fish biologist. “If the rivers are in shape, steelheading is a good bet. But if the rivers are blown out, blackmouth fishing in the marine areas is probably the best option.”

Thiesfeld said he has heard reports of a few nice blackmouth – resident chinook – hooked in marine areas 8-2 (Port Susan and Port Gardner) and 10 (Seattle/Bremerton). Those areas, along with Marine Area 8-1 (Deception Pass, Hope Island and Skagit Bay), are currently open for hatchery blackmouth. Anglers fishing in each of those areas can keep two hatchery blackmouth as part of their two-salmon daily limit. They must, however, release wild chinook, which have an intact adipose fin, and are required to use single-point barbless hooks.

Marine Area 9 (Admiralty inlet) also will be an option for anglers beginning Jan. 16, when the area opens for salmon under the same regulations as 8-1, 8-2 and 10. “Before Marine Area 9 closed at the end of November, fishing was pretty good, especially at Possession Bar, Point No Point and Mid-Channel,” Thiesfeld said. “That decent fishing could carry over into this upcoming opening.”

Thiesfeld reminds anglers that the waters from Foulweather Bluff to Olele Point in Marine Area 9 remains closed to salmon fishing.

In the freshwater, hatchery steelhead fishing has been fair in a number of rivers, including the Green, Skykomish, upper Skagit and Cascade, said Brett Barkdull, another WDFW fish biologist.

Barkdull reminds anglers that a portion of the North Fork Nooksack River remains closed until the egg-take goal is met for hatchery steelhead at the Kendall Creek Hatchery. The North Fork Nooksack is closed from a yellow post at the upstream most corner of the Kendall Creek Hatchery, approximately 1,000 feet upstream of the mouth of Kendall Creek, downstream to the Mosquito Lake Road Bridge.

“Fish continue to move into the hatchery and we are getting closer to meeting our egg-take goal,” Barkdull said. “Once the hatchery gets what it needs, we’ll re-open the fishery. So anglers should keep checking our website for that announcement.”

Other rules and regulations for all freshwater and saltwater fisheries can be found at WDFW’s fishing regulation website at wdfw.wa.gov/fish/regs/fishregs.htm.

With Puget Sound now closed to recreational crab fishing, all crabbers licensed to fish in those waters are required to report their winter catch to WDFW by Jan. 15. Reports are due for the season running Sept. 4 to Jan. 2, whether or not crabbers actually fished or caught Dungeness crab. Sport crabbers who file their catch reports by the Jan. 15 deadline will be entered in a drawing for one of 10 free 2008 combination fishing licenses, which allow the holder to fish for a variety of freshwater and saltwater species.

To submit their catch reports, crabbers may either send their catch record card to WDFW by mail, or file their report on a special webpage on the department’s licensing website. Catch record cards may be mailed to WDFW CRC Unit, 600 Capitol Way N., Olympia, WA 98501-1091. The online reporting system will be available Jan. 2-15 at fishhunt.dfw.wa.gov/wd...atch.html.


South Sound/Olympic Peninsula

Fishing: January is typically the best month for catching hatchery steelhead, but high water, steady rain and even some snow put a damper on fishing the first week of the new year. Less weather-dependent, a four-day razor-clam dig is tentatively scheduled to get under way Jan. 18 if toxin tests show the clams are safe to eat.
Provided test results are favorable, Twin Harbors will open for late-afternoon digs Jan. 18-21, while Long Beach and Copalis are scheduled to open Jan. 19 and 20. Digging on those beaches will be restricted to the hours between noon and midnight. Low tides are at 2:56 p.m. Jan. 18, 3:58 p.m. Jan. 19, 4:53 p.m. Jan. 20 and 5:44 p.m. Jan. 21.

Mocrocks will remain closed to digging in January to make sure enough clams are available for harvest in April, when the tides allow for morning digs, said Dan Ayres, WDFW coastal shellfish manager. Kalaloch will remain closed for the 2008 season.

“The clams are out there and hopefully, the weather and surf will cooperate,” said Ayres. “The good news is that these digs are scheduled for mid-afternoon and people can start digging before dark.”

A license is required for anyone age 15 or older. Any 2007 annual shellfish/seaweed license or combination license is still valid. Another option is a razor-clam only license available in annual or three-day only versions. Descriptions of the various licensing options are available on the WDFW website at fishhunt.dfw.wa.gov/.

Ayres also reminds diggers who drive on the beach that state highway road rules apply to Washington’s beaches. Under the law:


Seatbelts must be worn at all times.

The speed limit on the beach is 25 MPH.

Pedestrians have the right of way and vehicles must yield at all times.
Visitors should not park on approaches to the beach in order to provide clear passage for vehicles that are entering or exiting.

High water hasn’t been the only factor affecting steelhead fishing on the Olympic Peninsula in recent days. In the Quillayute system – which includes the Bogachiel, Calawah, Dickey and Sol Duc rivers – anglers are also finding fewer hatchery fish, said David Low, a WDFW fish biologist. “Last year was pretty decent, but so far we’re seeing lower returns,” Low said. “That, together with harsh weather, has made fishing tough for the average angler.”

Anglers have had some success catching winter steelhead on the upper Wynoochee River and on the east fork of the Satsop River in Grays Harbor, said Scott Barbour, WDFW fish biologist. “Most rivers have been out of shape but – once they drop back in – there’s usually a bunch of fresh fish waiting to move upriver."

Barbour cautioned anglers that wild steelhead are making up a growing percentage of the fish moving into area rivers. "So it's important to take a close look at them if you plan to keep them," he said. As most anglers know, wild steelhead can be distinguished from hatchery fish by their intact adipose and ventral fins. Retention rules for wild steelhead are outlined on page 33 of the Fishing in Washington rule pamphlet (http://wdfw.wa.gov/fish/regs/fishregs.htm).

Anglers should also be aware that several area rivers – including the Humptulips, Copalis, Nisqually, lower Wynoochee and lower Chehalis (below Porter Bridge) – will close to salmon fishing Jan. 31. Salmon fishing in Marine Areas 11 (Tacoma-Vashon Island) and 12 (Hood Canal) is now closed but will reopen Feb 16. Marine Area 13 (South Puget Sound) remains open to salmon fishing.

With Puget Sound now closed to recreational crab fishing, all crabbers licensed to fish in those waters are required to report their winter catch to WDFW by Jan. 15. Reports are due for the season running Sept. 4 to Jan. 2, whether or not crabbers actually fished or caught Dungeness crab. Sport crabbers who file their catch reports by the Jan. 15 deadline will be entered in a drawing for one of 10 free 2008 combination fishing licenses, which allow the holder to fish for a variety of freshwater and saltwater species.

To submit their catch reports, crabbers may either send their catch record card to WDFW by mail, or file their report on a special webpage on the department’s licensing website. Catch record cards may be mailed to WDFW CRC Unit, 600 Capitol Way N., Olympia, WA 98501-1091. The online reporting system will be available Jan. 2-15 at fishhunt.dfw.wa.gov/wd...atch.html.



Southwest Washington:


Fishing: The early run of winter steelhead appears to have peaked, but anglers are still picking up some nice hatchery fish in rivers from the Grays to the Washougal in the lower Columbia River Basin. Anglers can also look forward to a return of late-run hatchery steelhead to the Cowlitz and Kalama rivers beginning in late January, not to mention the prospect of catching broodstock rainbows weighing up to 10 pounds in several area lakes.
“This is sort of a transition period between runs, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t fish to catch,” said Joe Hymer, WDFW fish biologist. “If steelhead fishing slows down or the rivers are out of shape, I’d recommend that anglers go after one of those 6- to 10-pound rainbows.”

Three lakes have been stocked with excess broodstock rainbows in recent weeks, and two more were planted with half-pound catchables:


Lake Sacajawea in Longview received 125 broodstock rainbows Jan. 2 averaging 6¼ pounds each and 40 ten-pounders.

Rowland Lake near Lyle received 83 broodstock rainbows Dec. 31 averaging 6¼ pounds each and 100 ten-pounders.

Spearfish Lake in Dallesport received 77 broodstock rainbows Dec. 31 averaging 6¼ pounds each and 40 ten-pounders.

Battle Ground Lake received 2,000 half-pound rainbows Jan. 7 and Klineline Pond 1,000 half-pounders the same day.
The hatchery tanker trucks and crews are scheduled to be busy in the weeks ahead, although release dates are dependent upon road conditions, Hymer said. For a weekly update, see the WDFW website at wdfw.wa.gov/fish/plants/weekly/.

Rather catch steelhead? At least through early February, Kress Lake near Kalama will be planted with 50 to 100 surplus hatchery steelhead per week from Kalama Falls Hatchery. Fish from hatcheries on the Cowlitz and Lewis rivers also may be released there, Hymer said. “This was a popular – and productive – fishery last year,” he said. “Anglers were catching good-sized steelhead on flies, lures, plugs and bait.”

Then again, fishing for hatchery steelhead was still good in a number of area rivers through the first week of January. On the Cowlitz River, anglers reportedly caught some fish topping 20 pounds, with the best fishing around Blue Creek and Barrier Dam. On the Kalama, where hatchery crews have recycled 600 hatchery fish downriver this year, the best fishing has been reported from the Beginners Hole at Hatchery Creek to the deadline up the canyon.

Anglers fishing the Cowlitz, Kalama, and Lewis rivers should be aware that the prohibition on retaining chinook salmon in those waters has been lifted. The rules now in effect are those shown in the Fishing in Washington regulation pamphlet. “There aren’t a lot of spring chinook around just yet, but reeling in a keeper hatchery fish could definitely brighten up someone’s day,” Hymer said. Per permanent rules, all wild chinook with an intact adipose fin must be released.

Preseason forecasts for the 2008 Columbia River spring chinook return – along with other salmon and steelhead runs – are available on the WDFW website at wdfw.wa.gov/fish/forec...bia08.htm.

Hoping for some smelt? WDFW is scheduled to begin a test fishery this week to check for evidence that the run has arrived in the Cowlitz River. So far, no smelt have been detected in the Cowlitz, although commercial boats on the Columbia River pulled up a small number of them near Skamokawa in late December and early January.

The sport fishery for smelt on the Cowlitz River is open from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. each Saturday through March 29. Like last year, the daily catch limit will be 10 pounds per person. All other tributaries to the Columbia River will remain closed to smelt fishing until further notice. The sport fishery on the lower mainstem Columbia River runs seven days per week through March 31 though finding the small fish in the big river is difficult.

Fishing for sturgeon has also been slow, although anglers have caught some legal-size fish in Bonneville and The Dalles pools. A few legal-size sturgeon were reported taken below Bonneville Dam. “The water’s still pretty cold for sturgeon,” Hymer said. “Once the water starts to warm up or the smelt run builds, the fish activity will too.”


Eastern Washington:


Fishing: Fishing for rainbow trout continues to be good at Hog Canyon Lake in southwest Spokane County and Fourth of July Lake on the Lincoln-Adams county line. But anglers should be extremely cautious about venturing out on what could be unsafe ice on these two winter-only fishing lakes. Several inches of snow covers ice that has thawed and re-frozen several times over the last few weeks.
WDFW does not make regular checks of ice conditions nor make any guarantees about safety. While ice safety can never be assured, no one should venture onto the ice unless it is at least four inches thick, clear and solid, according to U.S. Coast Guard guidelines. As much as nine inches may be needed to safely support snowmobiles or other vehicles. Such ice depths can form after at least a week of below freezing temperatures, day and night. Look for more “Ice Fishing Safety” information at wdfw.wa.gov/reg/region1.htm.

Lake Roosevelt rainbow trout are still available for boat anglers willing to brave winter conditions on the big water. Typically, trout fishing in January is good from Seven Bays up to near Grand Coulee Dam. Year-round Rock Lake in Whitman County, which usually remains open water with prevailing winds, has reportedly produced some good-size brown and rainbow trout.

Snake River steelheading also is an option for anglers. Check for postings of steelhead catch rates throughout the Snake system at wdfw.wa.gov/fish/creel...index.htm.

North Central Washington:


Fishing: Efforts to catch steelhead on the upper Columbia River above Wells Dam have slowed in recent weeks due to colder temperatures and snow, said Bob Jateff, WDFW fish biologist from Omak. “A few fish are being caught just above the dam on jigs tipped with shrimp set to drift with the current,” he said. “Also, the tributaries above Wells — the Okanogan, Similkameen and Methow rivers — have seen very little angler effort. But any slight warming trend could pick up the fishery considerably in those areas.”
Jateff also said ice fishing in Okanogan County could be very productive at this time of the year. “Rainbow trout is the main species available and there are a number of lakes that are open to fishing,” he said. “Rat Lake near Brewster, Davis Lake near Winthrop, Big and Little Green lakes near Omak, and Sidley Lake near Oroville all provide good wintertime trout fishing.”

Patterson Lake west of Winthrop also opened Jan. 1 to give anglers a crack at its abundant yellow perch population. Jateff said perch could usually be caught on small panfish lures tipped with a worm and/or maggot.

In regard to ice fishing, WDFW does not regularly check ice conditions or make any guarantees about safety. While ice safety can never be assured, no one should venture onto the ice unless it is at least four inches thick and clear and solid, according to U.S. Coast Guard guidelines. As much as nine inches may be needed to safely support snowmobiles or other vehicles. At least a week of below-freezing temperatures, day and night, is required to form these ice depths. Additional “Ice Fishing Safety” information is located at wdfw.wa.gov/reg/region2.htm.

Rufus Woods Lake continues to produce triploid rainbows, Jateff reported. “Both boat and shore anglers are catching two- to four-pound triploids there,” he said. “The daily catch limit on trout is two fish and when using bait, the first two trout caught constitute the daily limit, whether kept or released.”

Jeff Korth, WDFW fish biologist from Moses Lake said that although most lakes in the Columbia Basin are iced over—including Moses Lake’s 6,800 acres—he doesn’t recommend ice-fishing. Thawing, refreezing and snow cover have created unsafe ice conditions.

Korth recommends Potholes Reservoir and Banks Lake, which are open and boat accessible. “Walleye fishing is good off and on at Potholes and trout fishing is fairly good at Banks,” he said. “Perch fishing should be picking up on Banks at the Coulee City boat basin.”


South Central Washington:



Fishing: WDFW fish biologist Paul Hoffarth of Pasco reminds anglers the sturgeon fishery reopened Jan. 1 in the Columbia River’s John Day Pool (from John Day Dam to McNary Dam). “This is a quota fishery,” Hoffarth said, “so it’s open for retention until the quota is met. The fish are scattered throughout the pool in the winter with good fishing in the Boardman and Irrigon areas and in the usual locations below McNary Dam.” Hoffarth notes sturgeon fishing remains open year around above McNary Dam up to the wooden powerline towers at the old Hanford town site. It will open above the power line towers to Priest Rapids Dam Feb. 1.
Hoffarth also says walleye fishing in the Columbia River can be very good both above and below McNary Dam during the winter months. “The state record walleye, 19.3 pounds, was taken in early February last year above McNary Dam,” he said.

The Columbia River from John Day Dam up to the wooden powerline towers at the old Hanford town site is open for hatchery (adipose-fin-clipped) steelhead until March 31. Hoffarth says anglers continue to catch a few steelhead around the Ringold area, with boat anglers doing a bit better than bank anglers last month.

WDFW fish biologist Jim Cummins of Yakima recently reported seeing anglers out on marginal ice at the region’s winter-only rainbow trout fishery, North Elton Pond off I-82 near Selah. “Ice on our local lakes and ponds is rarely safe for anglers or other recreationists,” Cummins said. “With thawing and re-freezing lately, there are thin spots – even open water – on most of our lakes and ponds. I noticed one fishing party in a canoe sitting on top of the ice with a towrope tied off on the bank. That, and wearing personal flotation devices, might be a safer way to go.”

According to fly fisher reports, whitefish and trout are being caught on the Yakima River above Roza Dam. Cummins reminds anglers there are special whitefish rules on the catch-and-release reach of the Yakima now: whitefish gear – one single-point hook, maximum hook size 3/16-inch point to shank (hook size 14) with bait – is allowed only for whitefish.

This is a reproduction of a Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife document and is not the official document or regulations of the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. The accuracy of the reproduction cannot be guaranteed by WDFW."