Fish and Wildlife expects good elk harvest

OK, so the elk hunters are in the field trying to find the large critters. Fish and wildlife was predicting a great year for elk hunters, but as of this writing, no word has reached this desk about success rate.

Continued luck to the elk hunters as they finish up through the weekend and into next week for those who are hunting longer. Of course, this is because the seasons end on Nov. 3 in some areas and continue through Nov. 15 in others, plus there are late seasons in some Game Management Units.

From Fish and Wildlife:

A couple of weeks ago, Oct. 16, fishing opened for hatchery steelhead on the mainstem upper Columbia, Wenatchee, Icicle, Methow and Okanogan rivers. The season will continue until further notice. The Similkameen River will also open to retention of hatchery steelhead today, Nov. 1.

On all of those rivers, anglers will have a daily limit of two hatchery steelhead, marked with clipped adipose fins and measuring at least 20 inches in length. Anglers are required to release any steelhead with an intact adipose fin without removing the fish from the water. All steelhead fitted with a floy (anchor) tag and those with one or more round quarter-inch holes punched in their caudal (tail) fin must also be released.

Check Fish and Wildlife's emergency rule website for boundaries and additional rules in effect.

Jeff Korth, Fish and wildlife regional fish manager, said approximately 14,000 adult steelhead are expected to return to the upper Columbia River this year, enough to allow the department to open area steelhead fisheries. He noted, however, that fishing will be more tightly regulated than last year because fewer hatchery steelhead are projected to return this year and wild steelhead are expected to make up a higher proportion of the run.

Under this year's rules, anglers fishing tributaries to the upper Columbia River are also required to retain any legal-size hatchery steelhead they catch until the daily limit of two fish is reached. Once they have retained two fish, anglers must stop fishing for steelhead.

Selective gear rules apply to all areas where steelhead seasons are open, although bait may be used on the mainstem Columbia River. All anglers are required to follow selective gear rules and restrictions.

Rufus Woods Lake, the Columbia River reservoir off Chief Joseph Dam on the Okanogan-Douglas county line, provides good fishing in October for triploid rainbow trout in the 1- to 3-pound range. There is an excellent boat launching facility at the Army Corps of Engineers site just above Chief Joseph Dam.

Fish and Wildlife reports walleye fishing is picking up on Moses Lake and Potholes Reservoir. Yellow perch fishing also continues to be great as it was all summer for both lakes, according to Fish and Wildlife.