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 […]
Coastal razor clam fans are witnessing another spectacular season and ample digging time is still planned for the months ahead. The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) set 29 tentative digging days in March and April with opportunities switching over to daylight low tides starting in early April. “It has been a typical winter […]
Predicting salmon returns is a lot like betting your life savings in the lottery, and while the Columbia River coho forecast doesn’t look very rosy on paper it is probable that we’ll still come out in April when fisheries are finalized with some type of summer ocean fisheries package. The Oregon Production Index, which provides […]
For the first time since 2017, smelt dip-netters will get a chance to try their luck in the Cowlitz River on Friday (Feb. 14) from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. from the Highway 432 Bridge to the Al Helenberg Memorial boat launch located approximately 1,300 feet upstream from the Highway 411/A Street Bridge in Castle […]
If you can’t smell the flowers or in this case the eulachon – better known to many as smelt – then it’s likely that sniffing them out in the Columbia River mainstem or two lower-river tributaries will depend on in-season factors, according to a recently released joint Washington and Oregon fishery managers stock assessment report. […]
Break out of the winter doldrums by digging into a fun night-time affair happening right now on many local saltwater beaches. The first thought in the lightbulb glowing above your head are coastal razor clams, but did you know there’s a bounty of other shellfish within a short drive from the greater Seattle area. Finding […]
By Mark Yuasa While the New Year’s Eve celebrations took center stage, many salmon anglers were saving their fun times for hitting up three marine areas that opened to salmon fishing on Jan. 1. Success was mainly slow to fair at times in central Puget Sound (Marine Catch Area 10) – from Apple Tree Cove-Point […]
We’re still months away from getting our first glance at 2020 salmon forecasts but the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) fishery managers have already dished out some early signals of what lies ahead. “It is so early yet in the process but I’m guessing we will be looking at conservative measures especially from […]
