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Out and About: States close Columbia salmon, steelhead seasons

By Columbian news services
Published: September 26, 2019, 6:01am

The Columbia River will close to all salmon and steelhead fishing effective today at 12.01 am from the Tongue Point/Rocky Point line to the Highway 395 Bridge in Pasco.

Recreational fisheries have exceeded their allocation of bright fall chinook, and the action was required to avoid additional chinook mortalities resulting from ongoing fisheries.

Fisheries managers from Oregon and Washington made the announcement yesterday.

The closure will also provide extra protection for wild steelhead.

The season will remain closed through Oct. 31 downstream of Bonneville Dam and through Dec. 31 upstream of Bonneville Dam.

Drano Lake may also be closed. That action is pending.

All other permanent regulations remain in effect.

Wildlife club to hold monthly meeting Oct. 2

The Vancouver Wildlife League will hold its monthly members meeting on Wednesday, October 2, at 7 pm. The meeting will be held at the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife Region 5 office in Ridgefield. The guest speaker will be Mike Foulke, who will be presenting a new program for kids fishing.

Members of the public are always welcome.

WDFW approves Long Beach September razor clam digs

State shellfish managers with the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) have approved three digs on morning low tides for Long Beach after marine toxin tests showed the clams are safe to eat.

The upcoming digs are slated for Long Beach on the following dates:

• Sept. 27, Friday, 5:52 a.m. -0.9

• Sept. 28, Saturday, 6:36 a.m. -0.8

• Sept. 29, Sunday, 7:19 am -0.6

No digging is allowed after noon on these digs.

“We know people have been looking forward to digging razor clams, and based on our surveys, we expect some great digging on Long Beach,” said Dan Ayres, WDFW coastal shellfish manager.

All diggers age 15 or older must have an applicable 2019-20 fishing license to harvest razor clams on any beach.

WDFW hosts meetings to discuss warm water fishing

The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife has scheduled meetings statewide, including one in Ridgefield, to seek input from the public on the implementation and adoption of rules liberalizing bag limits for bass, walleye, and catfish in all anadromous waters of Washington state.

The Washington legislature passed Second Substitutes House Bill 1579 this year, which directs the department to “adopt rules to liberalize bag limits for bass, walleye, and channel catfish in all anadromous waters of the state in order to reduce the predation risk to salmon smolts.”

The Ridgefield meeting will take place on Sept. 30 from 6 to 8 p.m. at the WDFW Region 5 office at 5525 S 11th St.

This legislation does affect 12 lakes and reservoirs in Region 5, listed below.

• Lake Merwin

• Mayfield Lake

• Yale Reservoir

• Swift Reservoir

• Stiegerwald Lake

• Vancouver Lake

• Silver Lake

• Davis Lake

• Scanewa Lake

• Bass Lake

• Grant Lake

“A lot of lakes and reservoirs still maintain the regulations for bass, walleye and channel catfish,” said Steve Caromile, the WDFW warm water fish program manager. “What we are doing now is adding in some of those lakes and reservoirs that have salmonid runs going through them.”

He was quick to point out that other species in these waters will still retain their limits. For instance, the nine-inch crappie limit in Silver Lake will be retained. Also, in Merwin and Mayfield, the 50-inch size limit for tiger muskies will stay in place.

While the action was directed by the legislature, and as such the rules will be adopted, the department is seeking comments on how to implement the changes.

To review and comment on the proposals, visit WDFW’s website at https://wdfw.wa.gov/fishing/regulations/season-setting/. The public can comment on the proposed rules at the meeting or online through Oct. 17.

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