Just when you thought ocean fishing in Washington couldn’t get any better, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife goes and drops this awesome bomb on you.
That’s right, Washington anglers – as of July 23, you’ll be able to fish for salmon along the Washington coast SEVEN DAYS A WEEK. According to WDFW ocean salmon fisheries manager Doug Milward, the number of coastal anglers has been low this year, which prompted the change in regulation.
If you’re planning any Oregon ocean groundfishing this year, keep it close to shore. The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife announced earlier this month that effective July 23, the fishery beyond the 20-fathom line will be closed to sport fishing. This is an attempt by the ODFW to minimize the catch-and-release mortality rate of yelloweye rockfish, which are considered overfished by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
“Yelloweye catch has been up along the entire Oregon Coast,” ODFW sport groundfish program leader Lynn Mattes said in a press release. “After consulting with the Sportfish Advisory Committee we decided to pull the fishery into 20 fathoms to protect yelloweye while still offering a fishery for other species.”
July brought good news for Washington fishing enthusiasts: Due to significantly high numbers of returning sockeye, Baker Lake is now open for salmon fishing! This is an unprecedented move on the part of the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. According to a press release issued this month, Baker Lake has seen a return of more than 10,000 hatchery fish, well exceeding the goal of 6,300 set earlier in the year.
“People have been waiting a long time to be able to fish for sockeye salmon in Baker Lake,” said WDFW fish biologist Brett Barkdull. “This year’s run isn’t huge by historical standards, but we’ve exceeded our goals for both hatchery-reared sockeye and naturally spawning fish needed for production.”
August is pretty much your last chance to get outdoors and have an awesome summer adventure. Luckily for you, there are a number of great outdoor activities to get involved with during August. Can’t decide which to pick? No sweat. Here are Coast Portland’s picks for Top 3 Outdoor Activities for August. Enjoy!
1. Fall Chinook Seminar
Bittersweet news, Roseburg-area anglers! Rock Creek Hatchery, located east of I-5 between Roseburg and Sutherlin, is closing! According to a press release from the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, the Rock Creek Hatchery will be closed to the public through February 2011 due to the construction of a fish ladder.
Oregon coho migration in the fall of 2009 - Photo courtesy of the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife
There are a lot of animals you’ll probably keep an eye out for this summer – bears, wolves, mountain lions – but turtles? Unlikely. However, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife is asking that you keep both eyes open for these pokey little amphibians this summer, as the females are on the move.
ODFW Conservation Biologist Susan Barnes releases a native Oregon western painted turtle. -Photo by Rick Swart, ODFW
Fans of the Coast blog may notice we don’t stray from Oregon and Washington news too much. Well, this juicy outdoor news item takes us all the way to the beautiful state of Idaho for some great news for the state’s anglers.
According to a recent press release from the Idaho Fish and Game department, another section of the beautiful Salmon River has been opened to Chinook fishing. This section, known as Vinegar Creek and part of the lower Salmon River, starts at the posted boundary at the mouth of Shorts Creek and ends at the uppermost boat ramp on Vinegar Creek.
On May 1, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife implemented a liberalized trout bag limit for Thief Valley Reservoir. Well, they take it back.
The liberalized bag limit was put into place because wildlife officials expected low reservoir levels during the summer. Low water levels mean less room for trout to swim, and an overcrowded lake or reservoir can do serious damage to the trout’s ecosystem. Those reservoir level estimates came before the weeks and weeks of rain the Northwest experienced recently, so on June 11 the ODFW raised the bag limit back to the regular limit of five per day, with an 8-inch minimum length.
