Youth turkey season tomorrow and Sunday

The spring youth turkey season is open for a two-day run, tomorrow and Sunday, April 4 and 5. This is an opportunity which should not be missed.

This season is open statewide and all other turkey hunting regulations apply to the youth season, such as shotgun, 10 gauge or under capable of holding three or fewer shells, a muzzleloader with shot and bow-and-arrow hunting.

Also, each hunter must have a valid hunting license and an unaltered, unnotched turkey transport tag.

Pick up and study the 2015 wild turkey spring season pamphlet. Good luck.

The spring turkey season for the rest of us opens in just 12 days, April 15 and will continue through May 31.

Legal birds will be gobblers and turkeys with visible beards only. The Eastern Washington limit will be two turkeys with a few exceptions. Again, pick up and study the 2015 wild turkey spring season pamphlet and again, good luck.

Time to purchase a new fishing and hunting licenses

Check the valid dates on the hunting and fishing license in your wallet. The licenses expired on March 31, last Tuesday.

The easiest way to purchase a license is to go online, but you can still go to your favorite sporting goods store.

Halibut season scheduled

Not all of us fish for halibut, but everyone should try the sport at least once. It is great fun and the fish are good eating. Fish and Wildlife

Anglers can expect halibut fishing seasons this year to be similar to 2014 for the Puget Sound and coastal waters, with some additional fishing opportunities in the Columbia River area.

Fish and Wildlife sets halibut seasons using catch quotas adopted by the International Pacific Halibut Commission. The recreational catch quota for all of Washington's areas is 214,110 pounds, the same as last year.

Fish and Wildlife has revised the season structure for the Columbia River fishery to encourage anglers to fish for halibut there. The season for that area will run continuously instead of being divided between an early and late season.

Anglers will again be allowed to retain all bottomfish while having halibut onboard their boats in the nearshore section of the Columbia River fishery (Marine Area 1), which opens May 4 on a Monday-through-Wednesday schedule.

Additional changes will allow anglers to retain flatfish - in addition to sablefish and Pacific cod - with halibut on board during the all-depth fishery that opens May 1 on a Thursday- through-Sunday schedule.

For the first time since 2008, anglers will be allowed to fish for lingcod in the Westport area on Fridays and Saturdays, from July 1 through Aug. 31.