BREAKING: Spot shrimp fishery opening on May 28 or June 11; three coastal ports open May 26 for most bottomfish; plus a plethora of other options to cure COVID-19 “cabin fever”

May 21, 2020

By Mark Yuasa The excitement of pulling in a pot loaded with giant spot shrimp is unlike any other on-water marine fishing activity, and anglers can finally pencil in May 28 and/or June 11 as the opening dates. “We felt the start dates (both on a Thursday) were safer to schedule than a weekend opener […]

Statewide fishing ban tied to the governor’s “Stay Home, Stay Healthy” order could be lifted by early May and allow for some sport fisheries to reopen before long

April 24, 2020

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 […]

COVID-19 has all fishing and shellfish gathering shutdown statewide but the beat on crafting future salmon seasons still goes on as are WDFW’s plans for upcoming spring fisheries

March 30, 2020

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 […]

UPDATED: “Uncharted territories” is the word about statewide fisheries from Larry Phillips, the WDFW Region 6 Director on the “Stay at Home” announcement made by Governor Jay Inslee

March 24, 2020

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 […]

Take Care of Your Catch

February 17, 2020

Proper Fish Care by Jason Brooks After years of fishing all over the Northwest, from local ponds to remote fly-in camps, I have learned that you must take care of your fish the proper way to be able to enjoy it for months afterwards.  Bleeding the fish by cutting the gills is just the first step […]

Halibut fisheries remain stable and proposed number of fishing days increase along with an earlier start in spring of 2020

November 25, 2019

The sport halibut seasons in Washington’s marine areas have seen a more stabilized fishery in recent years, and flattie fish chasers can now start making plans for the 2020 spring season. Preliminary sport-fishing dates were recently proposed by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) and Pacific Fishery Management Council (PFMC) at a Nov. […]