Published: Thursday, September 9, 2010
OUTDOOR OUTLOOK | Steelhead expectations run high
Rosy forecast on parts of Columber River, some of its tributaries
Seldom in recent memory has a steelhead season opened anywhere in the state to such rosy forecasts as the one now in progress on the mid- to upper Columbia and several of its tributaries.
Driving the huge expectations is a near-record run of summer steelhead moving up the big river which was counted across Bonneville Dam earlier this summer at two and a half times the 10-year average, according to Jeff Korth, a state Fish and Wildlife Department regional fish biologist in Ephrata.
As of Aug. 31, 16,600 steelhead had been counted over Priest Rapids Dam (between the Tri-Cities and Wenatchee), double the 10-year average of 8,600 fish, Korth said.
Fishing opened Sept. 4 on the Hanford Reach portion of the Columbia, from the Tri-Cities to Priest Rapids Dam, for two fin-clipped steelhead daily.
Opening Wednesday for four fin-clipped steelhead daily were the mainstem Columbia, from Priest Rapids to Chief Joseph; the Wenatchee, from the mouth to the Icicle River Road bridge; the Entiat, from the Highway 97A bridge near the mouth up to the federal fish hatchery outfall; and the Methow, from the mouth to Winthrop. Night closure and selective gear (artificial lures, single barbless hook) rules apply on all these, with two exceptions: Bait is allowed on the mainstem Columbia above Priest Rapids Dam, and fishing from a floating device is prohibited on the lower end of the Methow, from the second powerline crossing to the first Highway 153 bridge above the mouth.
Because many Columbia Basin wild steelhead stocks are on the Endangered Species List, federal fish managers are insisting that the sport fishery be used to take as many hatchery steelhead off the spawning beds as possible. Thus the unique regulation on these rivers requiring anglers to keep all legal hatchery steelhead they catch until they reach the daily limit, and then stop fishing.
The Okanogan opens Oct. 1 and the Similkameen on Nov. 1 for hatchery steelhead, also under night closure and selective gear rules.
Johnny Stavenjord at Hooked On Toys in Wenatchee said anglers out early Wednesday morning hadn't reported much success as of about 10 a.m. He said there are definitely steelhead already in the Wenatchee, because they have been visible in low, clear water conditions for the past week to 10 days.
"I suspect this rain moved the fish around some, and the guys haven't found 'em yet," Stavenjord said. "But over the weekend, you could go out on the walking bridge here and see 40 or 50 fish below you in the hole."
He said fly fishermen after trout have been hooking steelhead incidentally in the Methow, also for a week and a half.
Eastside steelheaders like a float/jig setup, he said, or, if the fish are fresh and aggressive, various spoons and spinners.
This fishery is a very popular one, situated as it is during the fall of the year when the Columbia Basin is at its best. It makes a perfect combination trip with various hunting seasons and/or a family safari across the Cascades for a little shopping at the ubiquitous fruit stands.
Good stuff, particularly with the size of this year's steelhead run. Don't let this one go by.
Dove opener: The Sept. 1 dove opener was a good to very good one at most of the popular spots, based on reports from personnel in the field, said Matt Monda a state game biologist at the WDFW's Ephrata office.
"Wind over the weekend didn't help much in some areas," Monda said, "but there were a lot of limits taken."
Grouse hunting also opened around the state, but Monda said the state doesn't take a formal hunting check. One report from the Sinlehekin Wildlife Area, west of Tonasket, indicated reasonably strong hunting pressure and fair to good numbers of birds taken.
Coho: It might be a hair early for the peak of the local coho run, even though recent rains have brought silvers into area rivers. The fishery on the Strait of Juan de Fuca has been very spotty, with some good days at Sekiu, but poor fishing at other times and other places. Port Angeles/Port Townsend, for instance, have been pretty much a dry hole.
Mike Chamberlain at Ted's Sport Center in Lynnwood said at least fair fishing has been available locally, with a few fish here and a few there, He added there is some indication that coho are coming across Possession Bar and starting to stack at such places as Picnic Point, the shipwreck, Edmonds/Brown's Bay and Richmond Beach.
Nick Kester of All Star Charters put a 13-pounder in the box, among others, over the weekend on the west side of Possession Bar.
Chamberlain said it's been the usual flasher/hoochie show so far, using glow green or chartreuse squids, or UV Coho Killer spoons in green or chartreuse, or Ace Hi flies in the same colors.
A few coho also have been taken in the Snohomish (a dozen or so at Douglas Bar on Tuesday) and in the Skagit, he said, adding that recent rains should bring in more fish.
Jim Strege at Triangle Bait and Tackle in Snohomish said there was "a surprising number of coho caught over the weekend" in the upper Snohomish, mostly from below the Highway 522 bridge on up into the lower Skykomish. Most were running 7 to 12 pounds or so, but Strege said he heard of one fish in the 15-pound range. They were caught on the usual assortment of Dick Nite spoons, plugs, spinners, and plunking gear, he said.
Game dinner: Reader John Drobnick inquired about a game dinner he thought was held annually at a church somewhere in the area, where hunters donated game for a good cause.
Scott Murphy answered: "The game dinner is held at Bethany Christian Assembly in Everett in February each year. Guest speakers have included Charley Buck of the Buck Knife Co., and Ed Weatherby of Weatherby Arms. Contact the church for info on next year's dinner."
Samish kings: It's peak of the chinook season on the lower Samish River now, with kings to 35-plus pounds being landed. Drift eggs, yarn or marabou jigs and don't be afraid to case Blue Fox spinners on the high tide after the crowd clears out.
Remember that access has changed dramatically this year, with an entry fee of $20 per day required to use most of the private dike system on the east side of the lower river. For more information e-mail samishriverguy@aol.com, or call Holiday Sports in Burlington at 360-757-4361.
Crab cards due: Most of Puget Sound closed to crabbing at sunset on Labor Day, and summer catch reports are due by Oct. 10, whether or not you caught any crab. Submit catch record cards to the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife by mail at CRC Unit, 600 Capitol Way N., Olympia, WA 98501, or online at https://fishhunt.dfw.wa.gov/wdfw/puget_sound_crab_catch.html. Crabbers who fail to file their reports on time face a $10 fine when they purchase a 2011 Puget Sound crab endorsement. Those who meet the deadline will be entered in a drawing for one of 10 free 2011 combination fishing licenses.
Crab areas remaining open include 7S, 7E and 7N (San Juan Islands/Bellingham), Wednesdays through Saturdays, through Sept. 30, and marine areas 4 and 5 in the Strait of Juan de Fuca and 13 in south Puget Sound, which will remain open seven days a week through Jan. 2.
Sport crabbers who continue to crab in open areas should now record catches on their winter catch cards, which are free and available at any license distributor.
The folks at Holiday Sports in Burlington say crabbing in the San Juans has remained strong, with most crabbers taking reasonably easy limits.
Driving the huge expectations is a near-record run of summer steelhead moving up the big river which was counted across Bonneville Dam earlier this summer at two and a half times the 10-year average, according to Jeff Korth, a state Fish and Wildlife Department regional fish biologist in Ephrata.
As of Aug. 31, 16,600 steelhead had been counted over Priest Rapids Dam (between the Tri-Cities and Wenatchee), double the 10-year average of 8,600 fish, Korth said.
Fishing opened Sept. 4 on the Hanford Reach portion of the Columbia, from the Tri-Cities to Priest Rapids Dam, for two fin-clipped steelhead daily.
Opening Wednesday for four fin-clipped steelhead daily were the mainstem Columbia, from Priest Rapids to Chief Joseph; the Wenatchee, from the mouth to the Icicle River Road bridge; the Entiat, from the Highway 97A bridge near the mouth up to the federal fish hatchery outfall; and the Methow, from the mouth to Winthrop. Night closure and selective gear (artificial lures, single barbless hook) rules apply on all these, with two exceptions: Bait is allowed on the mainstem Columbia above Priest Rapids Dam, and fishing from a floating device is prohibited on the lower end of the Methow, from the second powerline crossing to the first Highway 153 bridge above the mouth.
Because many Columbia Basin wild steelhead stocks are on the Endangered Species List, federal fish managers are insisting that the sport fishery be used to take as many hatchery steelhead off the spawning beds as possible. Thus the unique regulation on these rivers requiring anglers to keep all legal hatchery steelhead they catch until they reach the daily limit, and then stop fishing.
The Okanogan opens Oct. 1 and the Similkameen on Nov. 1 for hatchery steelhead, also under night closure and selective gear rules.
Johnny Stavenjord at Hooked On Toys in Wenatchee said anglers out early Wednesday morning hadn't reported much success as of about 10 a.m. He said there are definitely steelhead already in the Wenatchee, because they have been visible in low, clear water conditions for the past week to 10 days.
"I suspect this rain moved the fish around some, and the guys haven't found 'em yet," Stavenjord said. "But over the weekend, you could go out on the walking bridge here and see 40 or 50 fish below you in the hole."
He said fly fishermen after trout have been hooking steelhead incidentally in the Methow, also for a week and a half.
Eastside steelheaders like a float/jig setup, he said, or, if the fish are fresh and aggressive, various spoons and spinners.
This fishery is a very popular one, situated as it is during the fall of the year when the Columbia Basin is at its best. It makes a perfect combination trip with various hunting seasons and/or a family safari across the Cascades for a little shopping at the ubiquitous fruit stands.
Good stuff, particularly with the size of this year's steelhead run. Don't let this one go by.
Dove opener: The Sept. 1 dove opener was a good to very good one at most of the popular spots, based on reports from personnel in the field, said Matt Monda a state game biologist at the WDFW's Ephrata office.
"Wind over the weekend didn't help much in some areas," Monda said, "but there were a lot of limits taken."
Grouse hunting also opened around the state, but Monda said the state doesn't take a formal hunting check. One report from the Sinlehekin Wildlife Area, west of Tonasket, indicated reasonably strong hunting pressure and fair to good numbers of birds taken.
Coho: It might be a hair early for the peak of the local coho run, even though recent rains have brought silvers into area rivers. The fishery on the Strait of Juan de Fuca has been very spotty, with some good days at Sekiu, but poor fishing at other times and other places. Port Angeles/Port Townsend, for instance, have been pretty much a dry hole.
Mike Chamberlain at Ted's Sport Center in Lynnwood said at least fair fishing has been available locally, with a few fish here and a few there, He added there is some indication that coho are coming across Possession Bar and starting to stack at such places as Picnic Point, the shipwreck, Edmonds/Brown's Bay and Richmond Beach.
Nick Kester of All Star Charters put a 13-pounder in the box, among others, over the weekend on the west side of Possession Bar.
Chamberlain said it's been the usual flasher/hoochie show so far, using glow green or chartreuse squids, or UV Coho Killer spoons in green or chartreuse, or Ace Hi flies in the same colors.
A few coho also have been taken in the Snohomish (a dozen or so at Douglas Bar on Tuesday) and in the Skagit, he said, adding that recent rains should bring in more fish.
Jim Strege at Triangle Bait and Tackle in Snohomish said there was "a surprising number of coho caught over the weekend" in the upper Snohomish, mostly from below the Highway 522 bridge on up into the lower Skykomish. Most were running 7 to 12 pounds or so, but Strege said he heard of one fish in the 15-pound range. They were caught on the usual assortment of Dick Nite spoons, plugs, spinners, and plunking gear, he said.
Game dinner: Reader John Drobnick inquired about a game dinner he thought was held annually at a church somewhere in the area, where hunters donated game for a good cause.
Scott Murphy answered: "The game dinner is held at Bethany Christian Assembly in Everett in February each year. Guest speakers have included Charley Buck of the Buck Knife Co., and Ed Weatherby of Weatherby Arms. Contact the church for info on next year's dinner."
Samish kings: It's peak of the chinook season on the lower Samish River now, with kings to 35-plus pounds being landed. Drift eggs, yarn or marabou jigs and don't be afraid to case Blue Fox spinners on the high tide after the crowd clears out.
Remember that access has changed dramatically this year, with an entry fee of $20 per day required to use most of the private dike system on the east side of the lower river. For more information e-mail samishriverguy@aol.com, or call Holiday Sports in Burlington at 360-757-4361.
Crab cards due: Most of Puget Sound closed to crabbing at sunset on Labor Day, and summer catch reports are due by Oct. 10, whether or not you caught any crab. Submit catch record cards to the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife by mail at CRC Unit, 600 Capitol Way N., Olympia, WA 98501, or online at https://fishhunt.dfw.wa.gov/wdfw/puget_sound_crab_catch.html. Crabbers who fail to file their reports on time face a $10 fine when they purchase a 2011 Puget Sound crab endorsement. Those who meet the deadline will be entered in a drawing for one of 10 free 2011 combination fishing licenses.
Crab areas remaining open include 7S, 7E and 7N (San Juan Islands/Bellingham), Wednesdays through Saturdays, through Sept. 30, and marine areas 4 and 5 in the Strait of Juan de Fuca and 13 in south Puget Sound, which will remain open seven days a week through Jan. 2.
Sport crabbers who continue to crab in open areas should now record catches on their winter catch cards, which are free and available at any license distributor.
The folks at Holiday Sports in Burlington say crabbing in the San Juans has remained strong, with most crabbers taking reasonably easy limits.
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