Hunting opportunity deadline approaching

Not all Columbia Basin hunters are interested in hunting in Okanogan County, but there are enough to warrant letting them know about the following opportunity. Actually, others may be interested after this. Read on.

Eighteen lucky hunters will have an opportunity to hunt for deer this fall on the 6,000-acre Charles and Mary Eder unit of the Scotch Creek Wildlife Area in northeastern Okanogan County.

Hunters can submit an application for the limited-entry deer hunt on the Fish and Wildlife website at http://wdfw.wa.gov/hunting/permits/scotchcreek/ or by contacting the WDFW Northcentral Region Office at (509) 754-4624 or headquarters at (360) 902-2515.

The deadline to apply is midnight Aug. 14.

Eighteen applicants will be chosen during a random drawing and will receive access permits to the Charles and Mary Eder Unit of the Scotch Creek Wildlife Area near Oroville.

This drawing is open to the general public without any additional fees beyond the cost of a hunting license and the standard tags. Of the 18 access permits available this year, six will be reserved for bow hunters, six for muzzleloaders and six for hunters using modern firearms.

Hunters are allowed to take only one deer, as authorized by their general hunting license.

Deer-hunting seasons for the area are Sept. 1-30 for bow hunters, Oct. 3-11 for muzzleloaders, and Oct. 17-27 for hunters using modern firearms.

The results of the drawing will be available on the Fish and Wildlife website the last week of August. Hunters who are drawn will receive an access permit and a boundary map in the mail.

Dry conditions cause fishing closures and restrictions

State fishery managers are closing or restricting fishing on more than 30 rivers throughout Washington to help protect fish in areas where drought conditions have reduced flows and increased water temperatures.

The closures and restrictions went into effect on Saturday, July 18. The changes will remain in effect until further notice.

Fishing will be closed in some waters and limited in others each day to the hours between midnight and 2 p.m. These restrictions will go into effect on rivers where fishery managers want to reduce stress on fish during the hottest time of day. Some of the closures and restrictions include:

Region 1 - Eastern Washington

Closed to fishing:

North Fork Touchet River above Spangler Creek; South Fork Touchet River from the mouth to Griffen Fork and above Griffen Fork; Wolf Fork Touchet River from the mouth to Coates Creek and Robinson Fork; Asotin Creek and tributaries (Asotin Co.) from the mouth to headwaters.

Also: Touchet River (Columbia/Walla Walla Co.) from the mouth to the confluence of the North and South forks; North Fork Touchet River from the mouth to Spangler Creek; Tucannon River (Columbia/Garfield Co.) From the Highway 12 Bridge to Cow Camp Bridge; Spokane River (Spokane/Lincoln Co.) from upstream boundary at Plese Flats Day Use Area to the Idaho State Boundary; Spokane River tributaries, including Little Spokane River and tributaries (Spokane/Pend Oreille/Stevens Counties) from the State Route 25 Bridge upstream to Monroe Street Dam.

Region 2 - North Central Washington

Closed to fishing: Wenatchee River (Chelan Co.) from the mouth to the Icicle River Road Bridge; Icicle River (Chelan Co.) from the mouth to 500 feet downstream of the Leavenworth National Fish Hatchery Barrier Dam; Lake Wenatchee (Chelan Co.); Okanogan River from the Hwy 97 bridge upstream to Zosel Dam, except open to game fish fishing; Similkameen River from the mouth upstream to Enloe Dam.

Elk area 3911 meeting in Ellensburg on July 31

Master Hunters and area landowners are invited to attend a meeting July 31 in Ellensburg to discuss a recent boundary change and other issues in Elk Area 3911, located near Ellensburg in Kittitas County.

Hosted by Fish and Wildlife and the Master Hunter Advisory Group, the meeting is scheduled from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Central Washington University Student Union Building, Room 210 (Theater).

The meeting will focus on the new northeastern boundary of Elk Area 3911 that was approved by the Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission in April. Other topics will include hunting opportunities in the elk area for certified state Master Hunters and how to hunt in the area, which is mostly made up of private lands.

Hunting in Elk Area 3911 is limited to Master Hunters, enlisted by WDFW to participate in controlled hunts to address property damage or public safety issues. The area is made up primarily of private lands, many of which are subject to property damage caused by elk.

Dry conditions closes sturgeon fishing

Fish and Wildlife has closed sturgeon fishing on portions of the Columbia and Snake rivers under temporary rules to reduce stress on the fish caused by low, warm water conditions.

The closure applies from Bonneville Dam upstream in the Columbia River, the lower Snake River, and adjacent tributaries. All sturgeon fishing, including catch-and-release, will be prohibited in those waters until further notice.

Fish and Wildlife staff has observed more than 80 dead and dying sturgeon on the riverbanks upriver from Bonneville Dam in the past two weeks. Most were large fish, over five feet long, he said.

The moratorium on sturgeon fishing is the latest emergency action aimed at reducing stress on the region's fish populations, which are experiencing unprecedented challenges due to high water temperatures and related factors.

In recent weeks, WDFW has curtailed fishing on a section of the Sol Duc River to protect returning chinook and closed fishing for spring chinook on the Grande Ronde River due to low river flows.

"The drought is causing real problems for fish throughout the state," said Craig Burley, WDFW fish program manager. "We expect to announce further restrictions on state fisheries within the next few days."

Columbia River salmon season extended; new catch limit

Fishery managers from Washington and Oregon have extended the summer salmon fishery on the lower Columbia River by three weeks and approved a new daily catch limit for waters above and below Bonneville Dam.

Anglers can continue to catch summer chinook and sockeye salmon through July 31 from the Astoria-Megler Bridge upriver to Bonneville Dam, where the season was previously scheduled to end July 7.

In addition, the daily catch limit has changed for salmon fisheries on the Columbia River upstream to the Oregon/Washington border, 17 miles upriver from McNary Dam.

The new catch limit holds anglers to one adult chinook salmon per day, whether or not it is marked as a hatchery fish, as part of their overall catch. Since mid-June, anglers have been allowed to catch two adult chinook a day, but were required to release those not marked as a hatchery fish by a missing adipose fin.

The new catch limit is designed to reduce the number of chinook salmon that are hooked and released during unusually warm water conditions.

Water temperatures in the Columbia River have risen above 70 degrees, which can affect survival rates for released fish. With the prospect of more hot days to come, Fish and Wildlife wants anglers to keep the first chinook they catch and move on to the other fishing opportunities available in the river.

Despite warm water conditions, returns of both summer chinook and sockeye salmon are currently the second-highest on record. Summer steelhead are also beginning to move into the lower river in large numbers.

In all, the new catch limit will allow anglers to take a total of six salmon or steelhead per day, including two adult salmon, two adult hatchery steelhead, or one of each, but only one adult chinook salmon. As before, anglers must release any unmarked steelhead they catch and sockeye will be counted as part of the adult daily limit. Chinook jacks also remain part of the overall daily bag limit, but anglers can retain both marked and unmarked fish.