Hot weather, fire danger top concerns

Hot weather

This may not need to be written, but...stay cool. Take care of your animals, your plants, your friends, families and yourself. Stay hydrated and make sure all others have plenty of water.

Fire danger

With hot weather comes increased fire danger. Be aware and don't do anything which will increase the chance of causing a fire.

From Fish and Wildlife:

Angler can catch hatchery-marked chinook salmon starting July 1 on the mainstem Columbia River from Highway 173 Bridge in Brewster to Chief Joseph Dam, as well as the Okanogan and Similkameen rivers.

Anglers are reminded new rules are in effect for this year requiring the use of barbless hooks when fishing for salmon. The daily limit includes six hatchery-marked, those missing the adipose fin and healed scar, chinook, of which only two may be adults measuring at least 24 inches. Minimum size for any chinook is 12 inches.

Also starting July 1 anglers can keep sockeye salmon on portions of the Columbia and Okanogan rivers, based on new an updated run estimates that allows limited harvest. The fishery is open from Priest Rapids to Wells dams, from Highway 173 Bridge in Brewster to Chief Joseph Dam and from the mouth of the Okanogan River upstream to the first Highway 97 bridge.

On July 16, the stretch from Wells Dam to the Highway 173 Bridge in Brewster will also be open for sockeye retention. Of the daily catch limit of six salmon, only two adult sockeye, minimum size 12 inches.

Warmwater fishing has been hot since late May or early June this year and should continue through the summer, according to Fish and Wildlife.

Smallmouth and largemouth bass have been good in Moses Lake, Banks Lake and Potholes Reservoir. Walleye has mostly been slow thus far, even though the fish are present in all three waters.

Fishing for yellow perch has been good at Potholes Reservoir and Moses Lake, with large schools of perch observed by Fish and Wildlife staff and reported by anglers.

All three lakes, open year-round, also have varying populations of bluegill and crappie, which can produce good catches through the summer.

Lower Goose Lake, one of the Seep lakes south of Potholes Reservoir, has a good crappie and bluegill fishery. The catch limit at Lower Goose is 10 crappie per day with a minimum size limit of nine inches. For bluegill, there is no daily limit and no minimum size, but anglers are limited to five bluegill over six inches long.

Hutchinson and Shiner lakes on the Columbia National Wildlife Refuge has been good for largemouth bass, bluegill, crappie and perch since May. Lots of 12- to 17-inch largemouth bass, many running to 20 inches on the two lakes, located seven miles north of Othello in Adams County, have been reported. However, as summer progresses both can be tough to fish because of excessive weed growth.

Master hunter open enrollment period

The next open enrollment period for the Master Hunter Permit Program will begin Jan. 1, 2014 and remain open through Feb. 15, 2014.

This is a chance to get a head start on some of the requirements. The first is to begin working on your volunteer hours by helping with specific projects listed on the master hunter webpage or by obtaining approval from appropriate Fish and Wildlife field staff for work meeting the criteria listed on the Conservation Projects section of the webpage. A minimum of 20 hours are required to be certified.

Written proof of volunteer work done during calendar year 2013 must be kept. On a one-time basis, your volunteer time, even though put in during 2013, will be accepted if you apply for certification during the 2014 open enrollment period.

Questions about this process can be directed toward me at 762-5158.

Wildlife viewing

Outdoor-minded people may come across newborn wildlife of many kinds, including mule and white-tailed deer fawns and elk calves.

Deer with young fawns may be observed in open pastures near brushy cover at dawn or dusk. However, sometimes the adults are not in the area. These newborns often appear to have been abandoned because a doe or cow is not readily seen.

Their mothers may be feeding and will return to the fawn or calf after a short time. Avoid the temptation to pick up the newborns and bring them with you. Your actions, no matter how good intentioned, may be putting the newborns at risk. There are very few facilities that rehabilitate fawns and calves, and in most all cases the newborns eventually die. It is better keep your distance, take a few pictures, and leave the newborn where you found it, so its mother can return to it.

There are reports of white pelicans, common egrets, and Forster's terns in the west cells of the Frenchmen Hills Wasteway Ponds, southwest of Potholes Reservoir. Finger also notes occasional Caspian terns and a few black terns in the area, along with an abundance of many duck species, all with broods in tow now.