Family opportunities tomorrow, next weekend

The annual Kids Fishing Day will take place tomorrow, June 1, at Cascade Park. At this point there are still openings for all sessions. This means it is possible for those parents who have not registered their children to still have their children participate. However, it may take more of an effort at this point.

The fishing times are 8 a.m., 9, 10 and 11. Show up well before the session and see if there is an opening and, if there is, wait until the session begins. Each flight lasts for 30 minutes.

The Moses Lake Park and Recreation Department is helping to organize the event.

The cost is $5 per child. Each angler will be able to catch and keep two trout, which will be cleaned by volunteers.

The big plus for the day is each angler will be able to catch the fish with their very own rod and reel.

Families with youngsters should not miss this opportunity.

Free fishing weekend June 8 and 9

This event is a close second to the Kids Fishing Day event and is another family-oriented opportunity. On those two days, fishing licenses are not required.

Although Catch Record Cards are required to fish for salmon, sturgeon, steelhead, Puget Sound Dungeness crab, and halibut.

Free fishing days are valid for everyone. All other rules still apply, including seasons, area and lure or bait restrictions and size and catch limits.

A Vehicle Access Pass, Discover Pass, Columbia River Salmon/Steelhead Endorsement and Two-Pole Endorsement are not required during this weekend.

This free fishing weekend will allow mom and dad to fish along with the children, who have their rod and reel from the Kids Fishing Day of the weekend before.

Brown new Region 2 director

Congratulations to Jim Brown as he takes over the Fish and Wildlife Region 2 Director position in Ephrata from Dennis Beich, who is retiring.

Brown worked as a fish and wildlife enforcement officer since 1992. He will be in the director's chair on June 3, overseeing all WDFW work in Adams, Chelan, Douglas, Grant and Okanogan counties.

In his current position, Brown has been a member of the Okanogan County Dangerous Wildlife Task Force, a multi-agency Homeland Security planning team and a cooperative fisheries enforcement effort with the Colville Tribe on Lake Rufus Woods. He has received a number of awards for his job performance during his career at WDFW.

Again, Congratulations Jim, we look forward to working with you in the future.

Goose banding to begin in 2 weeks, June 10

Volunteers needed to help with this year's goose banding. The dates and places are: Monday, June 10, Spokane; Tuesday, June 11, Sprague Lake; Thursday, June 13, Tri-cities; Friday, June 14, Yakima; Monday, June 17, Moses Lake/Coulee Corridor; Tuesday, June 18, Wenatchee.

Additional information on meeting locations and times will be provided in follow-up notices. Volunteers are needed for all dates. There is no specific gear or skill required, just a willingness to get dirty. All volunteers must register with WDFW and the paperwork will be provided.

Also there is a need for motor boats, kayaks and canoes for most of the locations.

Erin would like to get a general count on how many volunteers to expect at each of the bandings, so please respond if you can make it and how many people you are bringing. Meeting times are typically quite early for Spokane and Wenatchee (5a.m.) because we work on golf courses. The other locations will start at 7 or 8 a.m. The operations are typically complete by noon or early afternoon.

Contact Erin at Office: 754-4624, ext. 237, cell: 509-237-4860 or Erin.Wehland@dfw.wa.gov.

Bonneville Pool opening to sturgeon fishing for 4 days in June

Columbia River anglers will be allowed to catch and keep white sturgeon in the Bonneville Pool four days in June under an agreement reached recently by fishery managers from Washington and Oregon.

The fishery will open to legal-size sturgeon on June 14-15 and June 21-22 in the Columbia River and its tributaries from Bonneville Dam upstream to The Dalles Dam.

Only white sturgeon measuring 38 inches to 54 inches (fork length) may be retained.

The sturgeon fishery in the Bonneville Pool has been restricted to catch-and-release fishing only, because the catch guideline for the early season was met last winter. A balance of 700 fish are still available for harvest this summer under the annual harvest guideline of 1,100 for those waters.