he North Dakota Game and Fish Department is funding a small project in Cavalier County to keep carp in the Pembina River drainage from entering the Devils Lake basin.

For the past few years the Game and Fish Department has been working with landowners and water boards in Cavalier and Ramsey counties in developing a plan that will keep carp out of Devils Lake. If carp were to enter Devils Lake, the carrying capacity of game fish populations would suffer dramatically and the nationally-renowned walleye and northern pike fishery would decline.

This fall, an existing road grade near Loma will be raised to serve as a permanent barrier. In addition, water flow through the area will be enhanced. All permits and approvals have been procured, and construction should be completed prior to next spring’s runoff.

News release courtesy North Dakota Game and Fish Department

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

PIERRE, S.D. – This year brought less-complex walleye and black bass regulations to South Dakota.  The Game, Fish and Parks Commission (GFP) hopes to continue making fishing rules simpler by modifying the panfish daily limits without adversely impacting panfish populations.

Geno Adams, Fisheries Program administrator, noted that GFP made great strides at reducing regulation complexity across South Dakota with changes in walleye and black bass rules. However, some fishing regulations could still be simplified.

There currently are three different panfish daily limits in South Dakota.  In northeast South Dakota, the daily limit is 10 for each panfish species (yellow perch, crappie, bluegill/sunfish), 25 is the limit for most of the remainder of the state, and Angostura Reservoir has a daily limit of 15 crappies.  A number of lakes within the eastern part of the state have panfish regulations that vary from the regional standard.
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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 – 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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MOKANE, Mo.–When it rains, it pours, according to the old saying, and July has produced a cloudburst of fishing records in Missouri. The Missouri Department of Conservation has certified three new fishing records so far this month. Two could be world records.

The first record catch came in early July, when John West, of Republic, caught a 58-pound, 10.4-ounce striped bass at Bull Shoals Lake in Taney County. The monster striper measured just a shade over 48 inches from nose to tail and had a girth of 34.25 inches. The fish inhaled a 6-inch swim bait that West, 37, was casting from the bank with a spinning rod and reel. A swim bait is a soft-bodied lure rigged with a weighted hook.

Friends introduced West to striper fishing three years ago. They were fishing together on the rainy evening of July 8. West was tired from casting the big, heavy lure and decided to make two or three more casts before starting the long trek back to his vehicle when the big striper struck. The fish felt bigger than any he had caught before. He assumed it was in the 30- to 40-pound range. His friends had caught several fish that size in recent weeks.
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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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Fishing for ocean-run spring and summer Chinook salmon in all Idaho waters, except the Boise River, will end for this year on August 4.

Non-tribal Chinook salmon fishing will close on all the waters of the Clearwater, Middle Fork Clearwater, South Fork Clearwater, Lochsa, Snake, Lower Salmon, Little Salmon, and Upper Salmon rivers at the end of legal fishing hours August 4.

Salmon fishing waters are closed when anglers are close to reaching the non-tribal share of the runs. Spring and summer Chinook salmon also begin to reach spawning condition this time of year. Fish in spawning condition are less desirable to anglers and they migrate into hatchery terminal areas not accessible to fisheries.
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