HOOK AND FUR By Bob Brown The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) is in the process of releasing 125,000 catchable-size trout into western Washington lakes in preparation for the Nov. 27 Black Friday fishing opener. WDFW will stock 44 lakes with 11-inch to 13-inch trout, with a fewer larger ones in the mix. Some of the lakes recently stocked include Grandy and Campbell in Skagit County, Beaver in King County, Gibbs, Leland and Teal in Jefferson County, and Isabella, Island, Lost, Spenser and Nahwatzel lakes in Mason County. Additional stocking will take place in western Washington through October and November. The fall fish plants are in response to anglers' requests to increase fall and winter trout fishing opportunities in western Washington, said Larry Phillips, WDFW inland fish program manager. A list of lakes to be stocked, and the department's recently updated stocking plan, can be found at http://wdfw.wa.gov/fishing/fall-into-fishing.
River fishing report
" Lower Columbia: Still-good numbers of fall chinook are being caught from the Cowlitz River upstream. Best success was in the Woodland area, where boat anglers averaged about one chinook per rod. Effort is holding up with just over 200 boats, and nearly 100 bank anglers were observed during last Saturday's flight count. Cowlitz: Boat anglers fishing near the mouth are catching some coho, though the rest of the river was slow, said Joe Hymer of the WDFW. Bank anglers at barrier dam are catching fall chinook and steelhead near the trout hatchery. The majority of the chinook were wild or dark and released. Last week's count: 1,226 chinook adults, 78 jacks, 743 coho adults, 753 jacks,122 summer steelhead, 11 cutthroat trout and two pink salmon at the Cowlitz Salmon Hatchery. " Kalama: Anglers are catching steelhead and some chinook. Angler effort and catch has been increasing. Oct. 31 is the last day of the night closure, anti-snagging and fly fishing-only rules on the lower river. Some legal sturgeon are being caught and released in the Kalama area. " Lewis, including North Fork: Anglers are catching some fall chinook, coho and summer steelhead. However, on the East Fork, there has been little to no effort. " North and South forks of the Newaukum: Open to fishing. Cooler weather and recent precipitation have increased flows in those tributaries eliminating the need for the drought-related fishing closures. " The following areas are closed to fishing: 1. Snohomish River, from the mouth Burlington Northern Railroad bridges) upstream to the confluence of the Skykomish and Snoqualmie rivers. 2. Skykomish River, from the mouth upstream to the confluence of the North and South Forks. 3. Snoqualmie River, from the mouth upstream to Snoqualmie Falls. 4. Wallace River, from the mouth upstream to 200 feet above the water intake for the salmon hatchery. Game fish rules are unchanged and remain as specified in the 2015-16 Washington Sport Fishing Rules pamphlet.
The meat of it
Do-it-yourself meat cutters can watch a new video on Idaho's Fish and Game website (http://fishandgame.idaho.gov/content/game-processing) that shows how to butcher and prepare big game for freezers. Learn how to prepare to remove muscle groups from the bone, and decide on various cuts and properly package. Bob Brown lives in Roy and is a freelance outdoors writer. He can be contacted at robertb1285@centurylink.net
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