January WDFW Weekender Report

Those trout were raised at state hatcheries in Goldendale and Aberdeen with the specific intent of providing winter fishing opportunities in the southwest region, said John Weinheimer, a fish biologist for the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW).

“We want to give area anglers a chance to get outdoors in the wintertime and catch some fish,” Weinheimer said. “All of these waters can be fished from shore, so you don’t need a boat and a lot of gear to get in on the action.”

Waters scheduled to receive fish in January include Fort Borst Park Pond (3,000) in Lewis County; Silver Lake (5,000), Sacajawea Lake (3,000), Horseshoe Lake (3,000) and Kress Lake (3,000) in Cowlitz County; Battleground Lake (8,000) and Klineline Pond (6,000) in Clark County; Icehouse Lake (1,000) and Little Ash Lake (1,000) in Skamania County; plus Rowland Lake (3,000), Spearfish Lake (1,800) and Maryhill Pond (500) in Klickitat County.

For steelhead, the Cowlitz River is still the best bet, although the Lewis, Kalama, Grays, Washougal, Elochoman rivers – and Salmon Creek in Clark County – are also producing fish, said Joe Hymer, another WDFW fish biologist based in Vancouver.

“As usual, river conditions basically determine success at this time of year,” Hymer said. “Most anglers do best when water levels are rising or dropping. It’s a lot harder to catch steelhead in the peaks and troughs.”

Hymer also reminds anglers that the White Salmon River is closed to all fishing until further notice and that fishing on the lower Klickitat River is limited to the period from one hour before official sunrise to one hour after official sunset.

As with all steelhead fisheries in southwest Washington, only hatchery fish with a clipped adipose fin and healed scar may be retained. All wild steelhead must be released. The daily limit on all area rivers is two marked, hatchery-reared steelhead.

Starting Jan. 1, anglers may also retain up to two adult hatchery chinook salmon per day on the mainstem Columbia from the I-5 Bridge downstream and in the Cowlitz and Deep rivers. On the Lewis and Kalama rivers, the daily limit is one chinook per day.

While the bulk of the spring chinook run isn’t expect to arrive until March, Hymer said anglers will likely start catching early-arriving fish by late January or early February.

“It’s good to keep the chinook regulations in mind, even if you’re fishing for steelhead,” he said. “Somebody has to catch the first springer of the year, and it could be you.”

WDFW recently released preliminary forecasts of Columbia River salmon and steelhead returns for 2012, predicting an upriver run of 314,200 adult spring chinook compared to a return of 221,200 last spring. In addition, 462,000 sockeye and 91,200 summer chinook are expected to return during the coming season, which would set records for both species. The outlook for fall chinook is similar to last year’s robust return of 600,000 adults.

The preliminary forecasts, along with anticipated fishing seasons, are posted on WDFW’s website. Current fishing rules are described in 2011-12 Fishing in Washington pamphlet and river conditions are available from the Northwest River Forecast.

Ready to catch some sturgeon? All fishing areas will open to anglers Jan. 1 from the mouth of the Columbia River to McNary Dam. From the Wauna powerlines upstream to Bonneville Dam (including all adjacent Washington tributaries), white sturgeon may be retained Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays only.

“The main concern right now is the cold water temperatures,” Hymer said. “A warming trend would likely improve the bite when the season gets under way.” He noted that fishery managers from Washington and Oregon are scheduled to meet Jan. 26 to consider changes to current catch quotas and mainstem fisheries.

But when it comes to eulachon smelt, Hymer said there will be no fishing of any kind this year. Once abundant in the Columbia River Basin, eulachon were listed for protection under the federal Endangered Species Act in May 2010. Since then, Washington and Oregon have closed all sport and commercial dipping in the Columbia River system. All marine and freshwater areas in Washington are also closed to fishing for eulachon smelt.

Anglers can, however, still use any frozen smelt they have in their freezer as bait, said Capt. Murray Schlenker, WDFW enforcement chief for southwest Washington. “There’s no law restricting possession,” he said. “You just can’t fish for them.”

Hunting: Most big-game hunts in the region are closed for the season, but waterfowl hunters still have time to bag ducks and geese throughout the region. With the exception of New Year’s Day when goose hunting is closed, hunters will have through Jan. 29 to hunt for both types of waterfowl.

Goose Management Area 2A (Cowlitz, Wahkiakum and part of Clark County) is open to hunting for ducks and geese Saturdays, Sundays and Wednesdays. Waterfowl hunting in Management Area 3 (Lewis and Skamania counties) and Area 5 (Klickitat County) is open seven days a week.

Permit hunters can look forward to hunts scheduled Jan. 1-16 in the Winston and Coweeman Game Management Units. For more information about all these hunts, see the Waterfowl and Upland Game regulation pamphlet.

Hunters who purchased tags for black bear, deer, elk or turkey are reminded that reports on their hunting activities are due by Jan. 31 for each 2011 license, permit or tag purchased. Hunters can file their reports by calling (877) 945-3492, or via the Internet. Whether reporting online or over the phone, hunters should follow the prompts until they receive a confirmation number for each report.

Hunters who submit their reports by Jan. 10 will be entered into a drawing for five deer permits and four elk permits in various areas of the state. Those who miss the Jan. 31 deadline must pay a $10 penalty before they can purchase a 2012 hunting license.

Watchable wildlife: An invasion of snowy owls from the Far North has now reached as far south as the floodplain of the Columbia River. A WDFW technician recently reported seeing one while working at the Shillapoo Wildlife Area, adding to previous sightings in Seattle, Yakima, Ocean Shores and the Olympic National Park. As one park visitor from Port Angeles put it, “it's getting so you can't go anywhere without seeing a snowy owl.”

Usually the owls don’t winter much farther south than northwest Washington, but appear to be moving further south in search of prey. According to a report in eBird, an online publication of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and National Audubon Society, this migration is due to a natural fluctuation in the lemming population, their primary source of food.

Other birds recently seen at Shillapoo include a merlin, egrets, blue herons, pintails, mallards, bald eagles, and short-eared owls.

Meanwhile, a birder reporting on the Tweeters website marveled at musicianship of a different conglomeration of birds at Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge, a few miles up the road: “Watched and listened at sunset … to the “Wild Bird concerto in Bird-major” by hundreds of tundra swans, some sandhill cranes and later many gaggles of Canada geese settling in. As I left the area at about 5:30 p.m., more geese and swans were arriving and settling on the lake – adding even more talented musicians to the orchestra.”