More hunting to thin out snow geese?

Published 9:00 pm Wednesday, June 14, 2006

If you’re a waterfowl hunter who has not bothered to keep your snow goose permit current the past few years, you might want to re-think the situation.

The hatch of Russian birds (which form the Pacific flyway snow goose population and the Fraser/Skagit delta overwintering flock) has been optimum for two or three years now and increased hunter opportunities is one factor being looked at to address northwest Washington’s problem of too many snow geese, said Don Kraege, waterfowl program manager for the state Department of Fish and Wildlife in Olympia.

Recent public meetings have been held soliciting ideas on how to deal with agricultural damage, lack of public access to private land, and (probably) too many untrained hunters shooting along and across roads and too close to residences.

“Once we address the problems associated with hunter trespass and behavior,” Kraege said, “we can think about increasing hunting opportunity.”

He said there might need to be “more closed areas along roads and around sensitive areas, along with hunter training, posting of signs, mailings to permit holders, and that kind of thing.”

Structuring of seasons, including a longer hunt running further into January, could help haze geese away from particularly fragile agriculture, Kraege said. A new hunter access program on Fir Island would help, he said, with perhaps a permit draw for access to private property or other setup designed to accommodate the public not associated with hunt clubs.

The snow goose permit is free and available to any waterfowler who applies by calling the state Department of Fish and Wildlife’s Mill Creek office, 425-775-1311, for an application form. The deadline is Sept. 25, and the permit must be either mailed in or reported on the agency’s Web site, postseason, to get another.

Icicle could reopen: The recreational chinook fishery below the Leavenworth Hatchery on the Icicle River closed Wednesday because of the theft of 200 of the 250 brood stock fish in the hatchery trap last week. The fishery could possibly reopen if enough salmon show up to replenish the hatchery supply. The federal hatchery needs about 1,000 chinook for its production schedule, and the pre-run prediction was for a total of about 1,250 fish returning, said state biologist Art Viola in Leavenworth.

The fishery will remain closed until an additional 950 kings are in the trap, Viola said, but he added that run counts over Rock Island and Rocky Reach dams on the Columbia indicate a possible surplus and a reopening of the fishery. This year’s Icicle run was later than expected, but fishing had recently picked up and was more consistent than past years, he said. Anglers had taken an estimated 150 fish between the season opener on May 26 and the time the theft occurred.

Shrimp closure: The last hot spot shrimp area open to recreational harvesters – the southern portion of the San Juan Islands and Biz Point – closed Wednesday when state biologists estimated the sport quota had been taken. The bulk of Marine Area 7 remains open to non-spot shrimping, with a maximum depth restriction of 200 feet and a half-inch minimum mesh size on pots.

Crab coming up: Most of Puget Sound opens to recreational crabbing on July 1 and the state is putting up metal signs at boat ramps and beaches throughout the area to help make sure anticipated crowds know the rules.

“With more people entering the fishery every year, we want to make sure everyone knows the regulations,” said Brad Sele, agency shellfish resource manager. “There’s more to it than just buying a crab pot and throwing it off the side of your boat.”

Key requirements noted on the signs include:

* A license for all crabbers 15 or older.

* A crab endorsement for all crabbers, regardless of age, $3 for those 15 and over, free to those under 15.

* A catch record card for everyone fishing crab.

Neah Bay, Sekiu and south Puget Sound open June 18, seven days a week, through Feb. 28.

Eight marine areas open July 1: Area 6 (eastern Strait of Juan de Fuca), Area 7 South (San Juans), Area 8-1 (Deception Pass and north Saratoga Passage), Area 8-2 (Camano State Park south to Possession Point), Area 9 (Admiralty Inlet), Area 10 (Seattle/Bremerton), Area 11 (Tacoma) and 12 (Hood Canal). Fishing in those areas will be open Wednesdays through Saturdays, with the following exceptions:

Marine areas 6, 7 South, 9, 10, 11 and 12 will be open every day July 1-8, then switch to the Wednesday through Saturday schedule.

Marine areas 8-1 and 8-2 will be open July 1-2, close July 3-4, then resume on a Wednesday through Saturday schedule.

And, all eight areas opening July 1 will be open the entire Labor Day weekend, Sept. 2-4, before closing for a catch assessment. Fishing will resume in areas where the quota has not been met, on dates to be announced.

Two other areas near the San Juan Islands, where the crab molt late, will open later in the summer. Marine Area 7 East will open July 15-Sept. 30, Wednesday through Saturday, and Marine Area 7 North will open Aug. 16-Sept. 30, on the same schedule. Both areas will be legal the entire Labor Day weekend.

Summer steelhead: The Cowlitz has come on strong and early for steelheaders, showing a summer-run catch of 17 fish for 27 bank anglers checked last week by the state. On the Kalama, it was 8 for 56 bankers and 4 for 6 boaters; and on the Lewis mainstem, 8 for 30 bankers and 9 for 13 boaters.

Local salmon: The Tulalip bubble started out slow and went downhill from there, which is perhaps typical of the early season off Tulalip Bay. State checks at the Port of Everett ramp Saturday and Sunday tallied 216 anglers with 2 chinook, 24 lings and 21 rockfish. A really excellent lingcod season in local and San Juan waters ends today, and there will be mourning in some places over that fact.

Nick Kester, fishing for All Star Charters of Everett, hooked four kings in the bubble on Monday, however, and landed two at 12 and 16 pounds. His party hooked two of the fish on a Coyote spoon, and two on a green squid.

Marine Area 10 opens July 1 for catch-and-keep coho and All Star owner/skipper Gary Krein said the silvers are running about a half-pound larger than usual this year and have been landed during the catch and release season to just under 5 pounds already. Jefferson Head has been good, Krein said, but he prefers the Kingston Area.

Columbia Basin: Walleye are in the spotlight on any number of Eastern Washington lakes and reservoirs right now, as the species continues to surge in both popularity and population. State biologist Jeff Korth said Moses Lake especially, but also Banks Lake and Potholes Reservoir, are offering excellent walleye fishing.

During spring, Korth said, slow trolling with a quarter-ounce lead-head curly-tail jig is a good way to go, and is still producing fish, but as water temperatures warm and weed growth increases, more anglers are going to bottom-walker rigs to stay out of the greenery. A very slow troll, at walking pace, with a Wedding ring/crawler, a worm harness of some type, or any of several popular diving plugs, will work, as long as you stay as close to bottom as the weeds will allow.

Walleye in Moses Lake will average 15 to 17 inches, and again 19 to 22 inches, in two age groups. The limit is eight fish, 12-inch minimum, and one over 22 inches.