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Barbless hook rule adopted for lower, mid-Columbia River

By Al Thomas, Columbian Outdoors Reporter
Published: February 6, 2010, 12:00am

OLYMPIA — Washington salmon and steelhead anglers will be required to use barbless hooks in the lower and mid-Columbia River beginning in January 2011.

The state Fish and Wildlife Commission adopted the 2010-12 sport-fishing rules package on Friday, including the proviso that barbless hooks be used from the mouth of the Columbia upstream to McNary Dam.

The rules are effective on May 1, but the barbless-hook regulation will not go into effect until January 2011 to give the Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission time to decide if it wants to adopt a similar rule.

Craig Burley of the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife said it is possible the Washington commission may reconsider implementation of the barbless-hook rule if Oregon rejects the idea.

Initially, the department proposed single, barbless hooks, but then modified the proposal to continue to allow treble hooks.

None of Washington’s nine commission members made any comment regarding the hook rule on Friday.

Wild steelhead, wild coho and most wild chinook salmon must be released in the Columbia. Barbless hooks make release of wild fish easier.

The idea, though, was panned at a public meeting held by the Department of Fish and Wildlife in Vancouver last fall. Other sport-fishing regulations for 2010-12 adopted Friday include:

Shad as bait — The commission did not adopt a proposal to outlaw the use of shad as bait for sturgeon fishing. Anglers use whole shad as a bait to catch oversize sturgeon, which must be released.

Swift Reservoir — The closing date for fishing at Swift Reservoir on the upper North Fork of the Lewis River will be Nov. 30, adding a month on to the end of the season.

Extending the season through November was tried as an experiment in 2008 as compensation for the April opener being delayed until Memorial Day weekend due to low water.

Anglers found November provides good trout fishing.

Merrill Lake — Trout fishing will shift to catch-and-release in the fly-fishing-only lake in Cowlitz County north of Cougar.

The limit has been two trout with a 12-inch maximum-size. Most anglers at the lake already practice catch-and-release.

Drano Lake — The boat-fishing closure at the west end of Drano Lake in Skamania County is being made permanent from April 16 to June 30.

Known as the “toilet bowl,’’ the west end long has been a conflict area between trollers and bank fishermen. In 2009, the bank-only regulation was tried on an experimental basis. Drano Lake is a large backwater at the mouth of the Little White Salmon River and a popular spring chinook salmon fishing spot.

Yale Reservoir — Landlocked salmon rules will apply to the reservoir on the North Fork of the Lewis River.

This means anglers who catch a landlocked chinook in Yale can retain the fish as part of the five-trout daily limit. The five-fish limit is separate from the 16-kokanee limit.

Spirit Lake — The commission did not adopt a proposal to open by limited-entry drawing a catch-and-release trout fishery on Spirit Lake on Saturdays between June 15 and Oct. 31.

The lake near Mount St. Helens has a population of large rainbow trout, but the U.S. Forest Service opposes a fishing season and allows very limited access to the shore.

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Columbian Outdoors Reporter