When life was normal thousands of anglers would be making plans to hit hundreds of lakes this weekend for one of the biggest fishing events of the spring, better known as “opening day” of the statewide trout season. However, due to the COVID-19 “Stay Home, Stay Healthy” order all fishing is closed until May 4 […]
Dear winter blackmouth: It was a great relationship we had for so many decades but it’s time to move on. It wasn’t an easy choice nor an easy pill to swallow for the majority of anglers who enjoyed spending time with you on the water. To say the least this decision to cut you out […]
The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) decided to extend the statewide sport fishing ban through at least May 4. The current closure announced on March 25 in response to Governor Jay Inslee’s order to ‘Stay Home, Stay Healthy’ was likely to be extended but many anglers and outdoor enthusiasts were hoping it would […]
We are living in a tumultuous moment related to COVID-19 with a “Stay Home, Stay Healthy” order in place. This has led to an unprecedented temporary closure of all statewide fishing opportunities and created challenges in the ongoing salmon fishing season setting process. In the chronicles of Washington sport fishing history nothing of this magnitude […]
We are living life in a moment where change seems to happen by the minute and this newly implemented ruling will turn the statewide sport fishing world upside down for the time being. It was just a few weeks ago when many anglers were making spring fishing plans for a last chance winter chinook or […]
After Governor Inslee’s announcement this afternoon about a “Stay at Home” order that will take effect in 48 hours the phone has been ringing off the hook and emails are flooding in with questions on what this all means to our Washington sport fisheries. “We are working with the Governor’s office on at least 20 […]
One way to break away from the March Madness that has many on edge is wetting a line for spring trout fishing opportunities. The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) will begin planting millions of trout now through late spring although there will be some changes for those looking to get a jump start. […]
The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife unveiled their 2020 salmon forecasts at a public meeting in Olympia this past Friday, and there could be some potential roadblocks in carving out fishing seasons. “For Puget Sound chinook forecasts we are a little lower but general numbers of hatchery returns are about where they have been,” […]
While the Columbia River coho struggle it appears the preliminary chinook returns will be much improved over the 2019 forecast and actual return. In all, 431,000 fall chinook are expected to return to the Big-C compared to a forecast in 2019 of 340,400 and an actual return of 375,700. The lower river hatchery is about […]
The Cowlitz River smelt dip-net fishery Part II will return on Wednesday (Feb. 26)! “We’re still seeing a pretty strong run of smelt,” said Laura Heironimus, the lead Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) Columbia River smelt manager. “The commercial catch on Monday averaged about 250 pounds per delivery so that’s considered good. There […]
