Times Spent Outdoors: Priceless!
Times Spent Outdoors: Priceless!
Sorted by date Results 126 - 150 of 263
Action: Change size restrictions and daily bag limits on rainbow trout; add increased limit on brook trout. Effective dates: July 18, 2015, until further notice. Species affected: Rainbow trout and brook trout. Location: Ross Lake (Whatcom County) Size and daily limits: Rainbow trout, one fish per day, minimum size 16 inches. Brook trout, five fish per day, no minimum size. Reasons for action: Recruitment of rainbow trout has been poor in recent years. Rainbows are growing faster than in the... Full story
OLYMPIA – The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) will close sturgeon fishing on portions of the Columbia and Snake rivers under temporary rules to reduce stress on the fish caused by low, warm water conditions. The closure takes effect Saturday, July 18, and applies from Bonneville Dam upstream in the Columbia River, the lower Snake River, and adjacent tributaries. All sturgeon fishing, including catch-and-release, will be prohibited in those waters until further notice. In a meet... Full story
OLYMPIA – State fishery managers are closing or restricting fishing on more than 30 rivers throughout Washington to help protect fish in areas where drought conditions have reduced flows and increased water temperatures. The closures and restrictions take effect Saturday (July 18) at 12:01 a.m. The changes will remain in effect until further notice. Fishing will be closed in some waters, and limited in others each day to the hours between midnight and 2 p.m. These “hoot-owl” restrictions will... Full story
Action: Close the northern nearshore recreational halibut fishery in Marine Area 2 (Westport-Ocean Shores) at the end of the day, Sunday, July 19. The nearshore area extends from the Queets River (47º31.70’N. latitude) south to (46º58.00’N. latitude) and east of a line approximating the 30 fathom depth contour as defined by the following coordinates. 47 º 31.70 N. lat, 124 º 37.03 W. long 47 º 25.67 N. lat, 124 º 34.79 W. long 47 º 12.82 N. lat, 124 º 29.12 W. long 46 º 58.00 N. lat, 124 º 2... Full story
VANCOUVER, Wash. – The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) will host a public meeting July 30 to discuss salmon-management policies on the Kalama and Washougal rivers. The meeting is scheduled 6-8 p.m. at WDFW’s Region 5 Office, 2108 Grand Blvd., in Vancouver. Cindy LeFleur, WDFW regional fish manager, said fishery managers want to talk with anglers and others who attend the meeting about ways to implement hatchery reform actions designed to support the recovery of wild salmon and... Full story
OLYMPIA – Beginning Friday, July 24, anglers fishing ocean waters off La Push and Neah Bay will be restricted to one chinook per day as part of their daily limit of two salmon to increase the likelihood of providing a season-long fishery. Anglers fishing those waters have been allowed to retain two chinook per day since June 13. High catch rates for chinook off the northern coast have prompted this change, said Doug Milward, ocean salmon manager for the Washington Department of Fish and W... Full story
OLYMPIA – The early arrival of coho salmon in the lower Columbia River has prompted state fishery managers to clarify a fishing regulation issued earlier this month. A new rule issued today specifically states that anglers must release any coho caught in waters currently open to salmon fishing from the Astoria-Megler Bridge to a point nearly 300 miles upstream on the Columbia River. The new rule takes effect immediately and will expire Aug. 1, when the fall fishing season gets under way, said R... Full story
Action: White Salmon River anglers will be allowed to fish for hatchery spring chinook from the county bridge below the former power house upstream to the Northwestern Road Bridge beginning May 23. Species affected: Chinook Effective dates: May 23 through July 31, 2015 Location: (Big) White Salmon River (Skamania/Klickitat Co.) from the county road bridge located below the former power house upstream to the Northwestern Road Bridge. Daily limits: Through June 30, the daily limit is two hatchery... Full story
Action: Closes Kress Lake to fishing by the public for two days. Effective Dates: May 22 - 12:01 a.m.: Entire lake closed to public fishing May 23: Lake closed to public fishing until 6 p.m., but open for juvenile anglers participating in the Safety Day Event from 10 a.m. through 3 p.m. Location: Kress Lake is located near Kalama, Washington in Cowlitz County. Kress Lake is owned by The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. Reason for action: Closing the lake to public fishing is... Full story
OLYMPIA-Dedicated volunteers carried 35 pound backpacks with gallons of water and thousands of delicate trout fry miles up steep trails to stock mountain lakes year after year. Another group traversed Washington's marine areas and coastlines to provide scientific data and analysis on species ranging from porpoises to puffins. The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) recognized the contributions of these organizations and other top volunteers and landowners during its 2015 citizen... Full story
Washington, D.C. - June 2, 2015 – A coalition of organizations representing the saltwater recreational fishing and boating community congratulated the U.S. House of Representatives on its passage of H.R. 1335, a bill to reauthorize the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, the primary statute governing the nation’s marine fisheries. “The House action recognizes the increasing popularity of saltwater recreational fishing, which contributes $70 billion annually to the natio... Full story
WASHINGTON, D.C. – June 5, 2015 – Today, the National Park Service announced its final General Management Plan (GMP) for Biscayne National Park. Despite commitments made by Biscayne National Park officials to work with stakeholders and the state of Florida to explore less restrictive options, the GMP includes a marine reserve, eliminating fishing and severely restricting boating in over 10,000 acres of the park’s most popular and productive marine waters. “America’s recreational fishing communit... Full story
OLYMPIA - Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) fish managers will release "early winter" hatchery steelhead into inland lakes again this year, now that federal fisheries officials have decided to conduct a full-scale environmental impact analysis of all Puget Sound hatchery steelhead programs. WDFW leaders announced the action after learning that the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) has decided to develop an environmental impact statement (EIS) to evaluate the effects of... Full story
Some of Washington’s most popular fishing opportunities are available for anglers in the coming weeks, including trout in hundreds of rivers, crab in south Puget Sound, and chinook salmon in the Columbia River and in ocean waters along the coast. Sound like fun? Prospective anglers who are interested in fishing but don’t have a fishing license can get in on the action during Free Fishing Weekend, scheduled June 6-7. During those two days, no license will be required to fish or gather shellfish i... Full story
Actions: Implements a new salmon fishery management area in the Columbia River near the mouth of the Yakima River in the Tri-cities. Implements protective salmon daily limits in the new management area, while providing more liberal daily limits in the remainder of the Hanford Reach upstream. Effective date: June 16 through Aug. 15, 2015 Species affected: Chinook and sockeye salmon Area 1: Columbia River from Hwy. 395 Bridge at Pasco to the Interstate 182 Bridge at Richland near Columbia Point... Full story
VANCOUVER - Children with disabilities will have a chance to reel in some big trout during a special fishing event July 11 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Merwin Fish Hatchery, east of Woodland. More than 100 young people and their families are expected to turn out for the 17th annual Merwin Special Kids Day, sponsored by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW), Pacific Power and GoPAW. Sponsors ask that participants be pre-registered by June 30, by calling 1-800-899-4421. Prior to... Full story
OLYMPIA – Starting Wednesday (June 3), the catch limit for spring chinook salmon will increase to two adult fish per day for Columbia River anglers fishing from the estuary to a point 300 miles upstream. With two weeks remaining in the popular fishery, resource managers from Washington and Oregon today agreed to increase the daily catch limit for hatchery adult spring chinook from one to two. The new rule will allow anglers to catch and keep up to two hatchery chinook salmon, or two hatchery s... Full story
Locations: A) Below Ice Harbor: Snake River from the South Bound Highway 12 Bridge near Pasco upstream about 7 miles to the fishing restriction boundary below Ice Harbor Dam; B) Below Little Goose: Snake River from Texas Rapids boat launch (south side of the river upstream of the mouth of Tucannon River) to the fishing restriction boundary below Little Goose Dam. This zone includes the rock and concrete area between the juvenile bypass return pipe and Little Goose Dam along the south shoreline... Full story
Effective dates: One hour before official sunrise June 6 to one hour after official sunset on Sept. 30, 2015. Species affected: Trout Location: Rattlesnake Lake (King County) Reason for action: Catchable fish planted in the fall of 2014 remain abundant enough to provide additional sport harvest opportunity. Other information: Selective gear rules are still in effect at Rattlesnake Lake. The fishery will revert to catch-and-release only beginning on Oct. 1, 2015. Information Contact: Jennifer... Full story
Effective dates: Immediately through July 31, 2015. Species affected: Sturgeon. Locations: Skagit River (Skagit Co.) from the mouth to Hwy. 536 at Mt. Vernon (Memorial Hwy. Bridge); From Hwy. 536 at Mt. Vernon (Memorial Hwy. Bridge) to the mouth of Gilligan Creek. Daily limits: Catch and release only. Reasons for action: This action will implement changes adopted during the 2015/16 North of Falcon regulation process. Other information: Sturgeon gear rules apply (see page 16 of the regulations... Full story
Locations: Grande Ronde River from mouth of Buford Creek (approximately ½ mile downstream of the Highway 129 Bridge at Boggan's Oasis) upstream to the Washington/Oregon state line. Dates: June 13, 2015, until further notice. Daily Limits: Seven hatchery chinook (adipose fin clipped), of which no more than two may be adult chinook salmon. Anglers must cease fishing when the hatchery adult limit has been retained for the day. Reason for action: The are sufficient numbers of returning spring chinoo... Full story
OLYMPIA – Effective immediately, the recreational and commercial Dungeness crab fisheries on the southern coast of Washington will close until further notice because of elevated marine toxin levels, state shellfish managers announced today. The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) closed crab fishing today (June 5) in coastal waters stretching from the Washington/Oregon border north to Point Chehalis. This area includes Marine Area 1 (Columbia River) and the portion of Marine A... Full story
OLYMPIA – The recreational crab fishing season in Marine Area 12 (Hood Canal) will open June 15, more than two weeks earlier than originally scheduled. Recent test fisheries indicate that crab in the Canal are in hard-shell condition, allowing for an early start to the season, said Rich Childers, shellfish policy lead for the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW). Crabbing in Hood Canal will be allowed Thursdays through Mondays each week, and will be closed on Tuesdays and W... Full story
OLYMPIA - The Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission is expected to take action on a new management policy for Willapa Bay salmon fisheries and a proposal to reopen fisheries for some flatfish in two bays in Hood Canal at a public meeting June 12-13 in Olympia. The commission, a citizen panel appointed by the Governor to set policy for the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW), will also invite public comments on new rules addressing conflicts between people and wildlife. The... Full story
OLYMPIA - Fish hatchery crews with the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) will be stocking 10,000 large rainbow trout in 20 lakes just before Father's Day weekend, June 20 and 21. This is the fourth straight year the department has stocked these one-and-a-half pound trout before Father's Day weekend, said Chris Donley, WDFW inland fish program manager. "These fish will provide anglers with some great opportunities to spend time with friends and family," said Donley. "A fishing... Full story
