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 – Recreational salmon fishing in Elliott Bay will close Friday (Aug. 6) because of a low return of chinook to the Green River, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) announced today.

The closure takes effect at 12:01 a.m. Aug. 6. The fishery, which opened July 2 on a Friday-through-Sunday schedule, was slated to close at the end of the day Aug. 8.

To date, anglers have caught 144 chinook, the lowest sport catch in that fishery in nearly a decade, said Steve Thiesfeld, Puget Sound salmon manager for WDFW. A recent test fishery conducted by treaty tribes and WDFW also resulted in very low catches of chinook.

“Indications are the chinook return to the Green River watershed is going to be much lower than expected this year,” Thiesfeld said. “To allow more salmon to reach the spawning grounds, we are closing the final weekend of the sport fishery and the tribes have cancelled their chinook fishery.”

Marine Area 10 outside of Elliott Bay remains open for recreational fishing. Anglers fishing that area have a daily limit of two salmon, but must release wild chinook. Beginning Aug. 1, anglers in Marine Area 10 also must release chum.

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 – Effective July 8, sport anglers fishing for salmon off the coast of Washington will be able to take up to two chinook a day as part of their daily limit.

Patrick Pattillo, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife’s (WDFW) salmon policy coordinator, said the department initially set catch limits for the season to ensure that the fishery would not have to close early.

“With the predictions of chinook stocks nearly three times last year’s numbers, we were concerned that we could see very high chinook catch rates, and seasons could be closed early,” said Pattillo. “From what we’ve seen in the early part of the season, we no longer have that concern.”
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OLYMPIA — With 26,776 pounds of quota remaining, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) will reopen in marine areas 3 and 4 (La Push and Neah Bay) to halibut fishing on Saturday, June 19.

Though that is a lot of quota for this late in June, Heather Reed, WDFW’s coastal policy coordinator, said there is not enough pounds left for a two day opening.
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OLYMPIA — The recreational halibut fishery off the north coast of Washington will reopen June 3 and 5, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) announced today.

Marine areas 3 and 4 (La Push and Neah Bay) will be reopen for halibut fishing in all waters from 12:01 a.m. to 11:59 p.m. on Thursday, June 3 and again on Saturday, June 5.

The halibut fishery in those areas was open on Thursdays and Saturdays, May 13-22. Poor weather last weekend resulted in fewer fish being taken than was expected. Sufficient quota remains in these areas to offer anglers two days in early June, said Heather Reed, WDFW coastal policy coordinator.
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OLYMPIA - Each year, thousands of Washingtonians go fishing - legally - without a license. How? By taking advantage of Free Fishing Weekend, scheduled June 12-13.

During those two days, no license will be required to fish or gather shellfish in any waters open to fishing in Washington state. Also, no vehicle use permit will be required during Free Fishing Weekend to park at any of the 600 water-access sites maintained by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW).

In addition, anglers will not need a Two Pole Endorsement to fish with two poles on thousands of lakes statewide, nor will they need a Columbia River Salmon and Steelhead Endorsement, otherwise required to fish for salmon and steelhead in the Columbia River and its tributaries.
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The salmon season for ocean waters south of Horse Mountain in Humboldt County to the U.S.-Mexico border is scheduled to open on April 3. Season dates for ocean waters north of Horse Mountain and in Humboldt Bay will be decided in mid-April by the Pacific Fishery Management Council (PMFC) and the California Fish and Game Commission (FGC).

A map of each area along with general sport fishing regulations related to each area can be viewed at www.dfg.ca.gov/marine/pdfs/salmonsport10.pdf.

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OLYMPIA — The Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission today modified the boundaries of a recently adopted rockfish rule for waters off the northwestern tip of the Olympic Peninsula.

During a conference call, the commission voted to revise the new rule so that it will apply only to the eastern portion of Marine Area 4 (Neah Bay) – east of the Bonilla-Tatoosh line. The rule, as previously adopted, would have applied to all of Marine Area 4, which extends from Cape Alava on the coast to the Sekiu River in the Strait of Juan de Fuca.
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California anglers will no longer need to purchase a Bay-Delta Sport Fishing Enhancement Stamp as of Jan. 1, 2010.

On October 11, Gov. Schwarzenegger signed AB 1052, an amendment to the Fish and Game Code concerning the Bay-Delta Sport Fishing Enhancement Stamp. This legislation repealed the requirement for anglers to have the stamp on a license or as a validation, and the collection of related fees, beginning in 2010.

The Bay-Delta Sport Fishing Enhancement Stamp Program was established in 2004 to benefit Bay-Delta sport fisheries. The law currently in effect requires anglers to obtain a Bay-Delta Sport Fishing Enhancement Stamp before sport fishing in the tidal waters of the San Francisco Bay Delta and the mainstem of the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers, including major tributaries, below the most downstream dam. The stamp requirement is still in effect for the remainder of 2009.

The cost of the stamp changes annually (it cost $6.30 this year) and fees received by the Department of Fish and Game (DFG) are deposited into a separate account within the Fish and Game Preservation Fund. The funds currently in the account will still be spent on appropriate projects in the Bay Delta.

News release courtesy California Department of Fish and Game