Second fishing opener begins today; Spring Turkeys in sight; 2011 Halibut forecast

Fish and Wildlife District Fish Biologist Chad Jackson predicts

a fair to good season for fishing on lakes opening today. Success

rate will always depend upon the weather, of course.

Most are within or adjacent to the Columbia National Wildlife

Refuge south of Potholes Reservoir and over half are planted with

either spring and/or fall rainbow trout fry.

Fish and Wildlife District Fish Biologist Chad Jackson predicts a fair to good season for fishing on lakes opening today. Success rate will always depend upon the weather, of course.

Most are within or adjacent to the Columbia National Wildlife Refuge south of Potholes Reservoir and over half are planted with either spring and/or fall rainbow trout fry.

North and South Teal lakes will not be fishable this year because those lakes were treated last fall to remove carp and other spiny rays to restore the trout fishery. These lakes will be stocked with fingerling rainbows later this spring so fishing should be good for next year's opener.

There are lots of other fishing spots to try now and the best may be Dry Falls Lake, the only one of the April 1-opening waters not in or near the refuge. This lake is located in Sun Lakes State Park, northeast of Park Lake. It provides a spectacular view for visitors to the Dry Falls Interpretive Center and overlook.

Anglers should expect to catch 13- to 14-inch yearling rainbows with carryovers to 18 inches or greater at Dry Falls Lake. A total of 10,150 rainbow, 756 tiger trout, and 1,026 brown trout fry were stocked there in 2010.

Dry Falls has a selective gear regulation and a one trout daily bag limit. As defined in the fishing pamphlet, selective gear means only unscented artificial flies or lures with one single-point, barbless hook is allowed, bait is prohibited and knotless nets are required if a net is used.

The Fish and Wildlife forecast for the other Columbia Basin lakes, all located on the refuge, opening today include:

Upper and Lower Hampton lakes

Located in Grant County north of Othello, stocked with 28,507 and 5,047 rainbow trout fry in the spring, respectively; Lower Hampton also received a trout fry plant of 4,500 in the fall. Lower Hampton should produce 12- to 14-inch yearling trout catches, probably an average of about three per angler.

Upper Hampton may have larger fish, but the catch rates will probably be slow.

Pillar-Widgeon chain

 These lakes were stocked with trout fry in the spring as follows: Pillar, 2,500; Gadwall, 750; Snipe, 600; Shoveler, 750; Cattail, 1,500; Poacher, 150; Lemna, 450; Hourglass, 300; Sago, 300; Widgeon, 1,650.

Access to this lake chain is just southeast of Soda Lake. Try either the entire chain or at least three or four of the lakes to catch some 12- to 13-inch yearlings and carryover trout in the 18-inch or better range.

Shore fishing is available at most, but consider packing in a float tube to increase chances for success. The best tend to be Widgeon, Sago, and Pillar, but all can produce well.

Hutchinson and Shiner lakes

These lakes should provide excellent largemouth bass and bluegill fishing. Only non-motorized boats are allowed.

Coyote, Bobcat, and Hayes creek ponds

These waters are located just south of Morgan and Halfmoon lakes, on the refuge in Adams County. These ponds are relatively small and shallow, warming up quickly for good largemouth bass fishing

Deadman Lake

This lake is located just off McManamon Road next to Halfmoon Lake, on the refuge in Adams County. It is known for bass and other warmwater species fishing.            

Birding

Cecelia and Delbert Ratliff enjoyed a unique bird sighting adventure. When traveling north from Nevada into Oregon, they spotted a golden eagle. The first one was in Nevada they spotted six more in Oregon, within 10 miles of the first one.

Wow, such a sighting is something to remember and pass along to others. So now we know golden eagles enjoy Oregon better than Nevada, correct?

We have only seen a few golden eagles around here. One was on the ice, beside Highway 17 near Steamboat Rock. Thanks for passing along the information.

Spring turkey in sights of youth

Spring turkey season begins two weeks from tomorrow for youth under 16 years of age and runs for two days, tomorrow and Sunday, April 2 and 3. The youth season is open in all game management units. Standard hunting methods, shotgun or bow and arrow only, and all other turkey hunting regulations apply to the youth season.

The general spring turkey season, the one for the rest of us, is scheduled from April 15 through May 31. Turkey hunters in both seasons should be prepared for limited access due to lingering low elevation snowpack.

Geocaching Spring Fling set for tomorrow

Experienced geocachers or those wanting to discover what geocaching is all about should go to: N 47° 23.462', W 119° 29.067'. Rumor has it the coordinates are for the Sun Dial sculpture on the Soap Lake beach.

Expect a potluck where everyone is to bring enough food for your family, plus a bit more to share. Paper plates and plastic utensils will be provided. Bring your own drinks, non-alcoholic only please.

Pack up your family and your geocaching gear and have a load of fun at Soap Lake.

Contact organizer Loren Chambers at 509-760-5326.

More halibut this year for sport anglers

This year's recreational halibut seasons will be similar to 2010 in Puget Sound, but may allow for more days of fishing off the coast under new catch quotas adopted by the International Pacific Halibut Commission.

This year's quota for Washington, Oregon and California is 910,000 pounds, up 12 percent from 2010. In Washington, sport anglers will be allowed to catch 216,489 pounds of the big flatfish compared to 192,699 pounds last year.

In Puget Sound, where the sport catch has exceeded area harvest guidelines for the past two years, this year's higher sub-quota also helped to avert further cutbacks in fishing opportunities.

This year's catch quota for Puget Sound and the Strait of Juan de Fuca is 58,155 pounds, up from 50,542 pounds in 2010. Like last year, most areas of the Sound will be open for halibut fishing three days a week, Thursday, Friday and Saturday, with exceptions. See the fishing regulations for specifics.

This year's coastal quotas are up by more than 17,000 pounds. Depending on catch rates during the course of the season, that could translate to extra time on the water in some areas.

All areas open to fishing have a one-fish daily catch limit, with no minimum size, a possession limit of one fish while on the vessel and a possession limit of two fish in any form once the angler is on the shore.