CLALLAM COUNTY ANGLERS have an option for the traditional opener of lowland lake fishing this Saturday.
No, that Wentworth Lake property sale has yet to get final approval or funding, so getting back on that lake is a ways away.
Beaver Lake is an option, but it’s open to selective-gear fishing year-round.
The lowland lake opener is like Christmas to many anglers, a present waiting to be unwrapped. You don’t want a present you could enjoy every day of the year, right?
That makes the South Pond at the Bogachiel Hatchery in Forks the opening day option.
It will open to trout fishing at 6 a.m. Saturday.
The pond will be stocked with catchable rainbow trout prior to the opener to augment trout still in the pond from last season’s popular fishery.
The pond will be open seven days per week through Aug. 20 and the daily limit will be the statewide standard of five trout. Other statewide trout regulations apply.
A press release from the state Department of Fish and Wildlife said that because of the restrictions in accessing Wentworth Lake, the trout plant normally given to that lake will instead go to the hatchery pond.
Fish managers included this fishery in the traditional trout opener this year due to the popularity of the fishery in 2016.
San Juan chinook closing
Marine Area 7’s (San Juan Island) blackmouth chinook season will close at the end of the day Friday.
Preliminary estimates and fishery projections indicate that Marine Area 7 will exceed the allowable limit of total chinook encounters — including both retained and released fish — prior to the planned April 30 closure date.
The fishery is being closed to control impacts on stocks of concern and ensure compliance with conservation objectives.
Clam digs in jeopardy
State shellfish managers have canceled the first two days (April 24-25) of a tentatively planned eight-day razor clam dig due to rising marine toxin levels.
Fish and Wildlife will announce next week whether the rest of the dig, now scheduled to begin April 26, will go forward as planned on Twin Harbors, Long Beach, Mocrocks and Copalis beaches.
Recent tests have found toxin levels at all ocean beaches meet health standards, but the state Department of Health has asked for one more test to be sure, said Dan Ayres, coastal shellfish manager for Fish and Wildlife.
“In the last few days, we’ve seen increasing levels of the algae that can cause domoic acid in ocean water,” Ayres said.
“We just want to make sure razor clams are safe to eat before giving the green light on this dig.”
Domoic acid, a natural toxin produced by certain types of marine algae, can be harmful or even fatal if consumed in sufficient quantities. The toxin has disrupted razor clam digs along Washington’s coast over the past two years.
Hunting rules approved
The state Fish and Wildlife Commission adopted 2017-18 hunting season rules and approved land transactions during a public meeting last week in Spokane.
Some of the significant rule changes adopted will reduce hunter harvest of deer and elk in several areas of the state — especially in eastern Washington — where harsh winter conditions took a toll on those populations. Those changes include:
A reduction in modern firearm special permits for antlerless elk in the Yakima, Colockum, and Mount St. Helens herds.
A reduction in white-tailed deer hunts in northeast Washington for senior hunters.
Switching some northeast game management units late archery deer hunts from “any white-tailed deer” to “any white-tailed buck.”
A reduction in antlerless special permit opportunity for mule deer in Chelan and Okanogan counties.
Other hunting rule changes increase the daily limit for white-fronted geese and white geese in response to the growing abundance of those species, and restore points to hunters who draw permits for damage hunts administered by a hunt coordinator but are not called to participate.
The 2017-18 Big Game Hunting Seasons and Regulations pamphlet with all the rule details will be available online at wdfw.wa.gov/hunting/regulations and at Fish and Wildlife offices and hunting license vendors across the state later this month.
The Special big game hunting permit application deadline is May 24.
