Mike finds hot fishing at Banks Lake, salmon slows
An unidentified mother helps her child bring in a trout during the Fishing Kids Day event at Cascade Park in June.
From Anton Jones of Darrel & Dad’s Family Guide Service:
Salmon fishing off the mouth of the Okanogan River has slowed down, but we expect the pace to pick up as those Chinook ripen preparing for their last upstream push to spawn.
From Anton Jones of Darrel & Dad's Family Guide Service:
Salmon fishing off the mouth of the Okanogan River has slowed down, but we expect the pace to pick up as those Chinook ripen preparing for their last upstream push to spawn.
Fish for those Chinook with Plug Cut Super Baits in Hot Tamale behind a big Hot Spot Flasher
Contact Anton at 866-360-1523.
From Mike of Mike's Bait & Tackle:
I fished Banks Lake recently with a buddy and we caught well over two limits. We threw all back but a couple. A worm harness worked well for us.
Contact Mike at 764-4416.
From Fish and Wildlife's Wenatchee District Office:
The sockeye fishing remains open on Lake Wenatchee. Biologists say some anglers are catching limits and there are still lots of fish.
The reason for the season is the 2010 return of sockeye is sufficient to provide for the Lake Wenatchee spawning escapement goal and provide additional sport fishing opportunities.
Fish and Wildlife reopened the season after Bad weather was the cause for a poor catch rate during the first three-day season. How long will it remain open? Until further notice, for sure, but also a date of the end of the month has been stated.
Be sure and call 360-902-2500 and press 2 on the voice message. If they decide to close the season again, the info will be on this telephone message.
The daily limit per angler is two sockeye 12 inches in length or greater.
Anglers are reminded that selective gear rules and night closure will be in effect. Additionally, anglers are required to possess a Columbia River Salmon/Steelhead Endorsement as part of their valid fishing license. Legal angling hours are one hour before sunrise to one hour after sunset. Bull trout, steelhead, chinook, and tagged sockeye must be released unharmed without removing the fish from the water.
Tagged sockeye will have one or more holes, round, approximately one-quarter inch diameter, punched in the tail of the fish. These fish are part of a study and have been anesthetized; the FDA requires a 21-day ban on consumption of these fish.
White-tailed deer hunt proposals to be reviewed in August meetings
For those who target white-tailed deer, pay attention. Fish and Wildlife will host three public meetings in August to review proposals to modify Washington white-tailed deer hunting regulations in northeastern Washington game management units 117 and 121.
The meetings, which will run 7 to 9 p.m., will take place: Aug. 24, Colville Campus of Community College of Spokane, 985 S. Elm St., in Colville; Aug. 25, Center Place Regional Event Center, Great Room, 2426 N. Discovery Place, in Spokane Valley; Aug. 26, Yakima Convention Center, Room A, 10 N. 8th St., in Yakima. Due to construction, visitors should access the convention center from the Yakima Avenue entrance or the North Parking Lot entrance.
The proposed changes include restricting harvest of bucks to white-tailed deer with four antler points or more. Under current rules, any buck can be harvested in GMUs 117 and 121.
The antler-point restriction was requested last spring by the Stevens County Fish and Wildlife Advisory Committee in a petition to the Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission. The nine-member citizen commission, which sets policy for Fish and Wildlife, requested that the department seek additional public input prior to consideration for the 2011-12 hunting season.
The commission is scheduled to hold a public hearing on the 2011-12 hunting season rules package during its March meeting. The commission is expected to take final action on the rules package during its April meeting.
Sept. 25 is National Public Lands Day
On Sept. 25 more than 170,000 Americans will grab shovels, pruning sheers and gloves to help improve the nation's public lands as part of National Public Lands Day, an annual event held at local, state and federal sites throughout the country.
In line with the special focus on recreation, National Public Lands Day is reaching out to the sportsmen community as an important source of volunteers for this year's event. Hunters and anglers spend much of their time outdoors, particularly on public lands. They are often the first to notice the effects of trash, invasive species, habitat loss and misuse of land on the local wildlife.
It is recognized that sportsmen and women have a long, distinguished record of volunteering for projects that restore and sustain fish and wildlife populations and their habitats on public lands. This is an opportunity to continue in that proud tradition."
This year, National Public Lands Day is anticipating volunteer projects on over 2,300 sites. Many of the projects are directed towards sportsmen and improving access to public lands.
The closest project for the Columbia Basin is in the Yakima River Canyon. The plan is to remove litter, plant trees, landscaping projects, trail work, remove weeds, install benches and campground maintenance.
The contact for the project is Steve Smith at 509-536-1219.
Individual sportsmen are also encouraged to develop their own National Public Lands Day volunteer project. By contacting the manager of their favorite recreational area, sportsmen can design a volunteer project that benefits the public land and the experiences of hunters and anglers. Ideas for projects include, building wood duck boxes, removing trash from recreational areas and planting native shrubs for bird habitat.
We understand there is a push to have Washington State Parks take part in some sort of Public Lands Day volunteer project. Potholes State Park is the closest and we will contact them to see if they are interested.
Also, we will be contacting Fish and Wildlife and the Columbia National Wildlife Refuge for possible projects.