Anglers – get ready for fall feeding frenzies in Arizona’s desert and mountain lakes.

Arizona Game and Fish Department experts explained that the days are getting shorter, the nights are getting longer, water temperatures are dropping, and predatory sport-fish will progressively feed more aggressively as the season progresses.

“Largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, striped bass, yellow bass, catfish and even sunfish will all be feeding more aggressively, quite often with dramatic results at the surface when these predators encounter large balls of shad,” said Game and Fish Fishing Report Editor Rory Aikens.

Aikens, who is currently collaborating with Arizona Highways magazine on producing an Arizona fishing guide book in conjunction with Game and Fish, added that a similar scenario is playing out in the high country lakes as well.
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Wade aside men - more women are likely to be hip deep in your favorite fly fishing river soon.

A fly fishing clinic specifically for women ages 12 and older will introduce beginner anglers to casting techniques, equipment use, clothing, fly selection, how to read water and, most importantly, how to catch fish.

The women will learn the basics of fly fishing and practice their casting skills during two evening sessions in Lewiston, September 1 and 8, from 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Also included is a weekend overnight campout and two days of personalized fishing instruction on a scenic Idaho river, planned September 11 and 12.

The cost is $50 for adults and $20 for young women 12 to 17 years old and includes a Saturday sack snack, evening dinner and Sunday breakfast with coffee both mornings.
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Golden shiners were recently discovered for a second time in Deer Creek Reservoir near Pierce.

Because of the potential negative effect golden shiners can have on the fishery resources of Idaho, Fish and Game officials will treat the reservoir next month using the chemical rotenone, which selectively kills fish.

Golden shiners pose a serious risk to our fishery resources because they eat the same small food items that trout and kokanee eat. If they escape downstream, they have the potential to compete with kokanee in Dworshak Reservoir. Any potential benefits they may provide as forage for predatory fish are far outweighed by fishery losses from competition with other fish that eat zooplankton.
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Division biologists recommend bass fishing change for 2011

Many of Utah’s anglers aren’t happy about the size of the bass they’re catching.

Division of Wildlife Resources biologists have an idea to fix the problem: get more anglers who are willing to keep fish involved in bass fishing.

All of the DWR’s proposed fishing changes for the state’s 2011 fishing season should be available on the RAC webpage starting Aug. 23, 2010.

Learn more, share your ideas

After you’ve reviewed the ideas, you can let your Regional Advisory Council members know your thoughts by attending your upcoming RAC meeting or by sending an e-mail to them.

RAC chairmen will share the input they receive with members of the Utah Wildlife Board. The board will meet in Salt Lake City on Sept. 23, 2010 to approve rules for Utah’s 2011 fishing season.
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OLYMPIA – With removal of Condit Dam set to begin next fall, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) will hold a public meeting Aug. 31 in Underwood to discuss the future of sport fisheries on the White Salmon River.

The informational meeting is scheduled from 6-8 p.m. at the Underwood Community Center in east Skamania County, off the Cook-Underwood Road.

John Weinheimer, a WDFW fish biologist, said anglers will see significant changes in fishing opportunities on the White Salmon River with the removal of the 97-year-old hydroelectric dam that now stands 3.3 miles from the mouth of the river.
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For a second year, the Colville Confederated Tribes (CCT) are funding fish production at the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife’s (WDFW) Colville Fish Hatchery, a state facility in northeast Washington that was slated for closure under last year’s budget cuts.

Under an agreement that runs through June 30, 2011, the tribes are providing $114,000 to produce 4,542 pounds of trout and kokanee salmon fry. The funding pays hatchery staff and fish-production expenses.

“We are very appreciative of the Colville Confederated Tribes’ support in maintaining fisheries in this part of the state for all anglers,” said John Whalen, WDFW’s eastern regional fish program manager. “We have a long history of cooperation and partnership with the Colville Confederated Tribes and we’re glad to see it continue.”

The Colville Hatchery annually provides about 409,000 trout and kokanee salmon fry to support recreational fishing in about 72 lakes in Ferry, Stevens and Pend Oreille counties.
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OLYMPIA — The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) has issued corrections to the 2010-2011 “Fishing in Washington” Sportfishing Rules Pamphlet.

Anglers are advised to update their copies of the fishing rules pamphlet, which became effective May 1, 2010. The pamphlet is available on WDFW’s website at http://wdfw.wa.gov/fish/regs/fishregs.htm.

WDFW will provide additional updates and corrections as needed. For more information regarding these changes, call Fish Program Customer Service at (360) 902-2700.

News release courtesy Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife

OLYMPIA – The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) will continue to operate the McKernan Hatchery in Shelton under a partnership with a commercial fishing organization that could become a model for future agreements.

Under a contract approved last week, the Seattle-based Purse Seine Vessel Owners Association (PSVOA) will pay WDFW $157,825 per year to continue operating the hatchery, which produces approximately half of all juvenile chum salmon released into Hood Canal.

In response to state budget reductions, WDFW was prepared to close the 31-year-old hatchery July 1, unless a qualified partner could be found to cover the cost of continuing operations. The purse seine organization was one of three applicants for that role, said Heather Bartlett, WDFW hatcheries manager.

“The department’s basic criteria were a long-term commitment and certainty of funding for current operations at the hatchery,” Bartlett said. “This is a new direction for WDFW in that this is the first partnership of this kind we’ve had with a private organization.”
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OLYMPIA – Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) enforcement officers will be increasing resource-protection patrols on the Skokomish River, where recreational salmon fishing opened Aug. 1 under several new regulations.

“Anglers should read the regulation pamphlet carefully before heading out to fish the Skokomish River, because there are several changes this year and our officers will be strictly enforcing all the rules,” said Mike Cenci, WDFW’s deputy chief of enforcement.

The daily bag limit has been increased this year from one to two salmon for anglers fishing from the mouth of the river to the Highway 101 Bridge through Sept. 30. However, a new rule in effect this year requires anglers to carefully release any wild chinook salmon they catch. As in previous years, anglers must release chum salmon through Oct. 15.
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By Joe Kozfkay - Idaho Department of Fish and Game

For southwest Idaho anglers targeting catfish in the Snake River, times couldn’t be better.

As spring gives way to summer, channel catfish line up in key feeding areas by the dozens, selecting spots where the river currents bring their dinner to them as if by conveyor belt. Knowing that times of plenty don’t last forever, channel catfish - most in the 3- to 10-pound range - put on the feed bag and gain weight quickly.

During this period, anglers’ offerings are often greedily accepted, whether it be night crawlers, cut bait, crickets or something odiferous (i.e., stinky).

Close by, in the deeper water near dead-fallen trees that line the banks, the channel’s cousin, the monstrous flathead catfish, lies in wait for an unsuspecting fish to swim by and pounces. Stout tackle and large chunks of freshly-dead fish cut into strips are a must for anglers targeting these trophies.

Were it located in another area of the country, the Snake River with its abundant catfish population would be heralded as a premier fishery. But in Idaho, Snake River cats barely garner attention. In this wide, shallow river, most catfish die of old age without ever seeing an angler’s baited hook.
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